Page 16 of Secret

"I'm in." Carter raised his hand.

They all turned to look at Beau, who was sucking on his bottom lip. He finally blew out a long breath. "A trial period, but I'm warning you now if this takes us away from who we are, what we've been about, I will walk. We go after the worst of the worst. Unless we know for a fact a crime is about to happen, we stay back."

Bryon brushed his hands down his pant legs. "You have my word. Anything we find through this new search will be brought before the team. We decide together who we go after. If one of us doesn't agree, we back off."

Everyone nodded.

"I have something to bring up." Becca scooted to the edge of the couch. "It's not a case, but people were gossiping around the courthouse at lunch today. I overheard someone talking about the Sanders case. Evidently, he's out on parole next week and moving to this area."

Kasey shook his head. "We almost had him." He hated George Sanders even though he'd never met the man. He didn't need to. They'd found enough evidence online that the team had planned a sting right away. They'd been one day too late. As they were planning the operation and learning the layout of the man's house, the cops had found him. One way or another, it got Sanders off the streets, but Kasey thought of him as the one who got away. Somehow, he'd managed to get early parole. Another failure for the justice system.

Sanders had been a first-grade teacher. Everyone thought they could trust him. How wrong they were. He'd been teaching piano lessons to young girls and boys in the evenings. Parents would drop their kids off, thinking they were in good hands, only to find out years later that Sanders had abused them and taken disgusting photos of his actions to share with his perverted friends. It turned Kasey's stomach to think about the images he'd seen.

Bryon nodded. "Cops beat us to him. He's served his time, but we will keep a very close eye on what he does once he's out. I know his type. I give him a month before he is back to his old ways. We'll put extra time into making sure we have surveillance on the house and access to any online media he has."

"I just wanted you to know. I wasn't here for all that, but I've heard you talk about it." Becca reached for the plate she'd made herself right before the meeting started.

"Thanks, Bec. Anyone else got anything?" Bryon asked.

No one answered.

"Okay, then I'll call if something comes up. Xander, check in tonight like always. This sting should be in and out without a problem. And, if you don't hear from me, I'll see you back here Monday night for another meeting." Bryon reached for his plate.

Kasey stood. "I'll see you guys later. Good luck tonight, Xan." He started for the door.

"You're not eating?" Beau raised a brow.

"I'm going to go run a few miles. The food will weigh me down, but thanks." He quickly left before anyone could question him more. He just wanted to be alone. There wasn't even really a reason.

As he pulled out of the driveway and headed home to change into his running clothes, he thought about the new program Bryon talked about. Hopefully, it would keep them busier, because as much as he hated having to do the job he did, he was going nuts with nothing to do. It was either feast or famine. With too much time on his hands, he was going to lose his mind.