Page 58 of Pain
"He's the closest thing you have right now, so enjoy it. At least you won't have to go bar hopping with Dyson anymore."
"That's if Matt wants to keep up the casual hookups. With Faith home, he might not want anything going on. I'm not sure he's out to her. He's had no reason to ever bring up the fact he likes men too, plus, she might not take well to him seeing someone other than her mom, and right now, keeping things normal for her will be important." Xander climbed back in the car.
"Well, for what it's worth, I think you and Matt are a good thing. If he wants to continue, then go for it. I think you're just what the other needs right now." Kasey pulled out on the road.
As they drove back to the house, Xander wondered about that. How could Kasey know what he needed when he'd spent his entire life trying to answer that same question?
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Why haven't they called?" Matt paced the team house, trying not to shove past everyone and rush to the hospital where Faith was.
"I don't know. Maybe they haven't verified who she is yet. You know they can't call until they are absolutely sure." Becca curled her feet under her as she sat on the couch.
Matt stared out the window. It had only been thirty minutes since Xander had messaged him, telling him the cops were there. He was restless, angry, and scared, but more than anything, he just wanted to see Faith again.
"Beau will call as soon as she gets to the hospital. The scanner traffic says they are en route with three girls." Bryon sat on the edge of the coffee table.
"How long does it take usually?" Matt asked.
"I don't know. We don't usually follow up on anything after we leave. We make sure the kids are found, and leave the rest to the cops." Trenton gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure she's telling them who she is right now, and they are contacting the detective in charge of your case."
"If she can tell them." Matt sighed, praying that Faith was alert and not injured.
"You saw our heat signature scan of the house. All three kids were moving around in the room they were in. That's a good sign." Carter handed Matt another bottle of water before sitting down on the couch beside Becca.
Matt closed his eyes, leaning his head against the cool glass of the window. He'd seen all the scans of the house, seen the pictures of Faith that the fuckers who held her had taken, he'd seen it all. It made him sick to think of what Faith had gone through. Any hope that she wasn't abused went out the window with the first photograph he'd seen. They had dressed her up, put make-up on her, and had her pose in ways that a child should never have to. Several times, he had to leave the room, afraid he was going to get sick at some of the images he'd seen. Even then, he was glad he knew. He didn't have to wonder what had happened to her, what she might not tell him. He was prepared for whatever might come up in talks or in therapy. There would be no surprises.
He turned, looking at the group sitting around waiting with him. He hardly knew many of them, but they were supporting him as if they'd been friends for years. He didn't want to think about how hard this would have been to deal with alone. He would have called Jason or his sister to meet him at the hospital, but either one of them would have honestly been more of a hindrance than a help. The team seemed to know that he needed his space, and he was sure once he was with Faith, that would be even more so. He didn't feel pressure to talk about what he was feeling or tell them he was okay. They all knew he wasn't.
Lights flashed as a car turned into the driveway.
"That's Kasey and Xan," Trenton told them.
Matt's stomach ached, wondering what the people who were holding Faith were like. He'd seen their pictures, but that was all. He didn't know who they were, what they did, or even what they had planned for his daughter and the others they held.
Xander climbed out of the car and their gaze met through the window. Matt took a deep breath and watched as Xander did the same. Was he wrong to have asked Xander to go? He'd wanted someone he trusted there. Not that he didn't trust the others, but Xander would have gone the extra mile if he'd needed to, he wasn't sure the others would.
The door opened, and Kasey walked in, followed by Xander. The two looked tired, but both came over to him once the door was closed.
"I'm sorry I couldn't bring her to you." Xander pulled Matt into his arms.
"I know, it's okay." Matt took a heavy breath, trying to find comfort in Xander's embrace. He was barely holding it together. "Were they horrible?"
Xander pulled back and looked at him. "Yes, the fact they had Faith made them horrible. As for who they were, what they were like, neither of them had a chance to even speak. We took them by surprise and had them down before they could even respond. I can't tell you anything about them other than they deserved what they got, and what they will get."
Matt stiffened. "I didn't think about that. Faith will have to go through court, won't she?"
Becca stood. "The courts will do everything they can to keep the children from having to testify. There is enough evidence against these guys that I don't think they will have to. It's never a guaranteed thing, but I don't know of a judge or prosecutor that wants to make a child take the stand."
Matt nodded as he glanced at Kasey, then at Xander. "Thank you, both of you."
"We were doing our jobs," Kasey told him. "But tonight might have meant a little more because we knew it would bring your daughter home again."
Xander nodded. "Has there been any news yet?"
Matt shook his head. "Nothing."
"It's early yet. I bet they are just getting them to the hospital." Xander wrapped an arm around Matt, letting him lean against his chest.
