Noam rolled over, pressing his body closer to Kasey's, letting his warmth surround him. "Morning." He kissed Kasey's shoulder as he settled his head against his chest.
"Mmm, morning. Sleep well?" Kasey wrapped one arm around Noam.
"I must have. I didn't even hear you get home." He almost never went to sleep until he was sure that Kasey was home safe from a sting. "You must have been quiet."
"Actually, Casper barked at me when I came in. I thought for sure you'd hear her." Kasey trailed his fingers down Noam's arm.
"It went well?" Noam was slowly accepting what Kasey did. He still struggled with the danger it put Kasey in, but he couldn't ask him to quit, not when he saw how much of a difference the team made.
"In and out without any problems." Kasey smiled.
"You know, it's kind of nice to think that several months ago I would have spent my night investigating the mess you made, but now, I'm here at home holding you in my arms instead."
"I agree. I used to hate knowing you were headed to a scene I just left. This is much better." Kasey kissed the top of Noam's head. "But, we need to be to my house in an hour, so you can meet Bryon."
"Don't your friends know not to schedule things in the morning?" Noam groaned.
"Not Bryon. He's been an early bird from the day I met him. Hated it. I don't know how he does it. He's always up until we report in from a sting, then monitors police reports for the next hour or two to make sure we're clear, but still gets up early every day. Might have to do with the fact his girlfriend has to go to work early."
"Hmm, remind me to make sure I find an evening job. I like our mornings together." Noam lazily ran his tongue over Kasey's nipple.
"That feels good." Kasey moaned, his head arching back, eyes closing.
Noam smiled. "I'd keep doing it all day, but we have to get up and get ready to go."
"Fuck, I swear tomorrow we are staying in bed all day."
"Promise?" Noam loved that Kasey still made him feel sexy even though they didn't have sex. The gentle touches, kisses, and caressing did more for him than sex probably would anyway. It gave them time together to talk, laugh, and just be close without the frantic need and desire to have sex getting in the way.
"You keep doing that and I'll promise you just about anything." Kasey ran his fingers through Noam's hair. "I really don't want to get up."
"I know, but we need to go. I'm looking forward to meeting Bryon. Other than that brief encounter with Faith's dad, I haven't met any of them yet."
"You'll meet the others soon. Faith has a competition coming up and she's invited all of us. I'm just waiting to find out when."
Noam sat up. "Matt didn't kill you for getting her hooked on jumping?"
Kasey laughed as he rolled to his side before sitting up and swinging his legs over the bed. "No, but he still glares at me every time it's mentioned."
"I'd watch your back for a while." Noam stood, groaning as he stretched. "We should have just stayed at your place. We'd have had five more minutes in bed."
"Next time we'll do that, or I'll just have him come here."
Noam loved that Kasey was finally willing to introduce him to his friends. He'd wanted to meet Bryon since finding out that he'd been such a big part of Kasey's past. Anyone who would take someone in the way Bryon had Kasey meant he was probably a pretty great guy.
Casper circled his feet as he pulled on his sweats. "Good morning." He bent and pet her. "How come you weren't in bed this morning?"
She jumped back up on the bed and curled against his pillows.
"Sure, you go back to bed while Kasey and I have to motivate." He rolled his eyes.
"Come on, Grumpy, I'll get us coffee. You want to shower before we go?" Kasey headed out of the room.
"No, I showered last night. I'm good unless you're taking me somewhere fancy."
"My house isn't fancy enough for you?" Kasey cast him a playful pout.
"Your house is perfect, but when I think of your house, I don't think showers and nicely dressed. I think naked and lazy on the couch." Noam grinned as he pulled two coffee cups out of the cupboard while Kasey started a fresh pot.
"I'll take naked and lazy with you any day over anything else." Kasey bent in and gave him a quick kiss. "I thought maybe later today we could head over to that new bakery near the park and see what they have."
"We could take Casper for a walk and stop by on our way back. She's been good, and I owe her a good walk." The walk wouldn't hurt him either. He was getting lazy not working.
"That works." Kasey slapped Noam's ass. "I'm going to go get dressed while the coffee brews. Don't drink it all before I get back."
"I might." Noam sat down to wait. As tired as he was, it was going to be a three-cup type of morning. He'd have to make a new pot when they got to Kasey's to keep him going. He glanced at his phone, scanning his emails, and checking messages as he waited.
"Finally," he groaned as the coffee pot gurgled, letting him know it was ready. He poured two cups, taking them both to the table as Kasey walked back in. "I don't know how you motivate so quickly." He blew over his own coffee to cool it.
"It's going to be a good day." Kasey sat down. "I've got the next two nights off work, which means more time with you."
"Aww." Noam raised a brow.
"Shut up and drink your coffee. You're a moody bastard in the mornings, you know that?"
Noam laughed. "Makes you wonder how I worked so many years having to get up at six."
"Do you miss it?" Kasey asked.
"Not a bit." He didn't miss a thing about it. It was amazing how much stress lifted off his shoulders the day he'd quit. He hadn't realized how much things were weighing on him. "I guess maybe little things, but nothing that would make me regret quitting or make me want to go back."
"Good, I'm glad. I really felt guilty. I know we've talked it over again and again, but I'm glad there is no regret."
Noam shrugged. "I'll find something good to keep me busy. Hopefully something with normal hours. No more two in the morning call outs."
"Unless I need bail," Kasey teased.
"Don't even joke about that. It's my biggest fear. I'd never get you out if you get caught, so don't joke about it, think about it, or let it happen." He narrowed his eyes at Kasey. "After everything we've been through, I expect you to be by my side for a very long time, not locked up in some prison cell where I have to schedule visits and blow kisses through a three-inch pane of glass."
"You make it sound so romantic." Kasey blew him a kiss.
"Fuck off." Noam flipped him off. "Seriously, don't let it happen." He downed half his coffee before standing. "I'll go get dressed." He bent down and kissed Kasey before heading down the hallway to the bedroom.
Once dressed, he hurried back out, glad to see Kasey had poured him another fresh cup of coffee. He sat down to drink it as he listened to Kasey playing catch with Casper in the backyard.
It was amazing how perfectly things were working out. He'd been hesitant, unsure if he could get past his issues with what Kasey did. It was more the danger of it that worried him now than the legality of it all. He didn't want to think about what he'd do without Kasey, and even joking about him getting caught caused him to grit his teeth to keep from telling him to quit everything.
Kasey would if he asked, but he never would. No matter how hard it was to sit home at night, knowing where Kasey was, he would never ask him to give it up. He just needed to find something to keep himself busy, so he wasn't thinking about Kasey's job all the time.
"Ready to go?" Kasey asked as he shut the back door.
"Yep. Your car or mine?"
"Mine's out. Might as well take it." He grabbed his keys off the table.
"We'll be back, Casp." He waved at the dog who looked as if she was pissed she wasn't invited to join them. "We'll take you out later, I promise."
The drive to Kasey's was short. He loved Kasey's house. Not just the fact it was nicer than his own, but the way it was surrounded by trees and how set back from the street it was gave it a sense of seclusion. He loved that about it.
"I'll start fresh coffee for you," Kasey called as he headed to the kitchen.
"You know the way to my heart." Noam laughed, following him, taking a seat at the kitchen table just as the doorbell rang. "Punctual." Noam grinned, glancing at the time.
"Bryon is always that way." Kasey hurried to the door.
Noam stood and finished making the coffee Kasey had started. He'd just hit the button to start it when Kasey and Bryon walked in. He turned, nervous and wanting to make a good impression on the man who was like a brother to Kasey.
"Bryon, meet Noam." Kasey smiled.
"Pleasure to finally meet you." Noam smiled as he shook his hand.
"You as well." Bryon grinned.
"Want coffee, Bry? It'll be done in a minute," Kasey asked.
"Sure." Bryon sat down at the table, and Noam followed, unsure what to say.
"So, I didn't plan to rush into this, but I had something come up and can't stay long. I hate to admit to you this visit isn't just about meeting the man who finally grabbed Kasey's attention. There is more to it than that." Bryon smiled across the table at him.
Noam glanced at Kasey, then back at Bryon. "Okay." He glanced at Kasey again. "You knew?"
"Yes, but only since last night. Bryon wanted to be sure I was okay with things before he talked to you." Kasey came to stand behind Noam, gripping his shoulders gently.
"What's this about?" Noam was trying not to feel like he needed to be on the defensive.
"I hear you might be looking for a job," Bryon said.
"I am." Noam eyed Bryon cautiously.
"I'm expanding my operations and am looking for someone to run the newest team." Bryon glanced up at Kasey.
"Damn it, Bry, don't be so vague." Kasey sat down beside Noam. "The truth is, Bryon works with me, or more like we all work for him. He's the head of our team."
Noam sat up straighter. "Oh, I guess I shouldn't be shocked to hear you work together. It would make sense. For some reason, when I tried to think of who might work with Kase, I never thought of you. I'm not sure why."
"I worked with a team when I met Kasey. When they split, I started my own." Bryon folded his hands on the table.
Noam held up his hand. He was flattered they would think of him, but he couldn't stomach doing what Kasey did. "I can save you time. I can't do what Kasey does, and I have no computer skills. I wouldn't be of any help."
"No, but you do have connections with the police department." Bryon again glanced at Kasey before looking back at Noam. "What I have in mind is all legal. It's currently being done around the world, but not as effectively as I hope to have it work."
"Explain." Noam wasn't sure he liked the idea of anything that had to do with the team and his department connections.
Kasey stood and poured them each a cup of coffee. "Just give him the facts, Bry."
"What I want to do is have a team of people who act like young kids online. Decoys. What is happening in other areas are these decoys save chat logs with men and women who are trying to meet them, then the decoys and their teams go to the meeting place and call the cops to come arrest them. What I'm hoping to do is gather evidence through chat logs, then arrange with the police to join my team at the meet and arrest them. I don't want to call the police when we get someone and have to explain it all. I want to go in, have the police already informed and make an arrest for child grooming with intent to meet."
"Okay, but you know I'm not with the police department anymore, right?" Noam was slowly starting to understand what Bryon wanted to do. He liked that it was legal and not as violent as what the others did.
"But, you, if anyone, could get the city to listen and maybe work with your team. I want you to run the team of decoys I hire. It would be your job to decide when a pedophile was serious about meeting a child, set up that meet, have the police go with you, and make an arrest. My team of hackers will get you all the background we can on the pedophile before you go in. I'm only focusing on those who want to meet children under twelve. It would be too large a job if we included children older than that, but it's something we might look into in the future. For now, I want the vilest pedophiles off the street and on the sex offender's registry. I want a paper trail so that if this isn't enough to scare them off, then we know about them. We can watch them."
Kasey gripped Noam's arm. "Our team only goes for those who have already served time or have shown they are deep into the pedophilia and sex trafficking circles. For many of the people you'll arrest, it will be their first offense. We're not castrating for that, though at times I think we should."
Noam nodded.
"So, this is just something I'd like to set up, nothing is being done as of yet. I need someone I can trust to have contact with my main team, share information, but work with the other team. The decoy team would never know about my main team. I want the decoy team on the up and up. Somewhere the police can come visit if they want to see how it all works." Bryon took a sip of his coffee.
"Wow, that's the last thing I was expecting." Noam blew out a hard breath. "So how involved with your main team would I be?" He didn't want to be close enough that he would draw attention to any of them.
"Information only. You'd join our meetings twice a week, share information with us. Give us names and information so we could search a person's location and background before you set up a meet with them, other than that, you wouldn't have to have contact at all. If you'd rather only deal with Kasey and me, then I'm okay with that. I get why you might not want to get too involved."
"And who would you hire for decoys?"
"That, I have yet to work out. I'm not sure how to go about finding people with the mental strength to deal with the vile chat that some of these men and women send to what they think are children. One member of our current team who was testing this out had a sixty-nine-year-old man tell what he thought was a nine-year-old little girl that he wanted to fist her. The chat logs are horrid to read, and whoever we hire will need to be strong enough to deal with it."
Noam sat back, his hands curled around his coffee cup as he thought about everything. He loved the idea, but it wasn't going to be easy. How was he supposed to explain his new job to his contacts at the station? How did he go from detective to pedophile hunter in just a few months?
"Pays good," Kasey whispered to him.
Bryon laughed. "Yes, the pay is good. You'd make what all the other members of my main team make. You'd have medical insurance and a life insurance plan. The decoys I hire will get an hourly wage plus benefits if they work full-time."
"Do I want to know where the money comes from?" Noam asked.
Bryon shook his head.
"You don't want to know, but if you did, I don't think you'd have any issue with it." Kasey gripped Noam's arm tighter. "I promise no one is suffering or losing anything other than the men we are sending to prison."
Noam nodded, unsure if he wanted more details on that. Sometimes not knowing was best. "If I do this, when would you want to start?"
"Yesterday." Bryon shrugged. "We aren't on a timeline, but the sooner we get it running the better. My focus was finding someone to run it. I'd debated at first on moving one of my hackers over from the main team, but then when everything happened with Kasey and you, I started to think about your connections with the police and how that could help us get them to work with us. If you take the job, then I just need to figure out who to hire as decoys."
"And the location where all this will be done?"
"That's also undecided. If you have a place in mind, or a certain area of town you like, we can look there. I'm happy with a house set-up or an office set-up. I tend to like houses because it gives you several rooms to work from plus a kitchen and bedrooms to relax in. Like with our team house, we even have a game room so when things get too intense we can take some time and let the stress go. If you decide to take the job, I'll have Kasey bring you over and let you look around. This would be where you spend a lot of time, so let's make it whatever you're comfortable with and whatever you think you need." Bryon glanced at Kasey. "He can tell you, I'm easy going. As long as the rules are followed to protect the team, I don't care much about the little stuff."
Noam already had ideas of where to hire team members for the decoy jobs, but he wasn't sure he was taking the job yet. "You trust me? This can't be as simple as you just inviting me into your group and risking I might tell anyone."
"It's not. We put it to a vote. We put all major decisions to a vote. No one is ever brought in without everyone agreeing. If one person feels uncomfortable with a choice, we move on and forget it," Bryon explained.
"I'm assuming that since we are having this conversation, the whole team is aware and willing to accept me if I choose?" Noam asked.
"The vote was ten to zero." Kasey smiled.
"Ten? I thought there were only nine members?" Noam glanced at Kasey.
"Faith voted on this one." Kasey laughed.
Noam was shocked. "Faith is part of all this?"
Bryon shook his head. "Faith is aware we help save children and protect them. She knows that my team was responsible for her rescue, but she doesn't know what we do. She was there when we were talking about the decoys. She's been through enough to know the world isn't a safe place, but we are very careful of what we say around her. She is convinced she is going to be the team doctor someday when ours retires."
Noam ran his hand over his face, trying to take everything in. It was a lot to digest. It sounded like a dream job. He could still use the skills he had as a detective, but he wouldn't be bound by the department. He would still be helping people and putting the criminals behind bars. But, there was also a risk. A big one. Any association with Bryon and his team could put him in prison.
"You don't need to decide today. I just wanted to ask and get the offer out there. It's in the beginning stages, and if you chose to join us, I want you there from the beginning. The team would be yours for the most part, and I'd want you to set it up how you're comfortable," Bryon told him.
"You'd give me control?" Noam didn't take Bryon as someone who gave control away easily.
"I'm not power hungry. My main worry is that my team stays safe. By agreeing to join with us, you agree to keep our secrets. I don't need to tell you what would happen if our identities got out. I think we came close enough with that already." Bryon glanced at Kasey.
"Yeah, we've been there, done that." Kasey found Noam's hand.
Noam turned to look at Kasey. "How do you feel about this? I mean it's your work, your friends, your life I'd be intruding on."
Kasey shook his head. "You wouldn't be intruding. I hope that my friends become your friends, and as far as intruding on my work, other than meetings, we wouldn't work together unless there was a reason to. We'd work different shifts, work different locations. I am all for this if it's what you want, but if it's not, I support that too and will be happy with whatever you decide to do."
God, he loved Kasey so much.
Noam leaned over and kissed Kasey softly before looking back at Bryon. "Can I have the night to think about it and have Kasey call you in the morning?"
"Of course. I wouldn't expect you to make a huge decision like this right away. Take all the time you need." Bryon offered his hand. "Now, I hate to cut it short, but I really do have another appointment that came up. I'd hoped to actually get time to visit, but we'll have to plan dinner or something for that soon."
"It's more than okay. Thanks for the offer. I really will think hard about it." Noam smiled, relieved that Bryon was leaving, and he'd have time to talk to Kasey about everything. There was so much to consider.
"Everything okay?" Kasey asked Bryon.
"Yeah, it's just a meeting that popped up I can't miss. Nothing serious." Bryon stood and hugged Kasey. "You okay with all this?"
"You know I am." Kasey smiled.
"Good. Then I'll talk to you two soon." He gave a nod to Noam before turning and leaving the kitchen.
A few seconds later, Noam heard the front door open and close. He glanced over at Kasey. "Wow, that's a lot to take in. Not sure what to think."
"It is, but I think it's something you'd enjoy." Kasey sat down at the table.
"I do too. I just don't know if it's worth the risk." Noam ran his hand over the back of his neck. "I mean, I wouldn't be working with your team, and my team would be doing everything legally, but there is still that slight chance that someone connects the two."
"There's always a risk, but honestly, I don't think it's a huge one. The fact that you're working with the police and not hiding from them would mean they'd be less likely to suspect anything was amiss. Plus, with your job history, you've already earned their trust. After the last year and all the cases concerning children you had to deal with, this would be a logical step for you to take." Kasey reached for his coffee.
"True, and I could say it was the two kidnapped girls who had been groomed online that pushed me over the edge and made me want to do something more. Everyone would believe that." Noam sighed. "You want me to do this?"
Kasey smiled. "I want you to do what you want to do. I think you'd be perfect for this job, but if it's not what you want, I'd rather you find something that would make you happy."
"They won't pay me to lay in bed all day holding you. That's what would make me happy." Noam grinned.
"Hmm, I might pay you for that." Kasey laughed.
"Seriously, I'm going to do some soul searching today. I'll decide by morning what I'm going to do." Noam was pretty sure he would take the offer, but he refused to rush his decision. He'd think about it all first.
"Then how about we top off the coffee, move to the bedroom, put in a movie, and be lazy for a few more hours? You can think while I hold you." Kasey was already standing and reaching for both their coffee cups.
"Lazy sounds good." Noam stood, giving Kasey a soft kiss before letting him go refill the cups.
No matter what he decided, it meant a lot that Kasey and his team trusted him. He'd worried that they were concerned he'd eventually turn them in. If they were inviting him to join, that meant they weren't waiting for the other shoe to drop, and that meant more to him than almost anything. He loved Kasey and would never do anything to hurt him.