“Hey,” he said with a smile. Something about Darren always connected to Hank. Liam knew it was irrational, but victims of abuse often made connections in their head that would never shift. Or so his counselor had told him.

“Hey,” Liam said with added tones of happiness. He didn’t want Darren thinking Liam wasn’t pleased to see him. After all, they worked with each other during the day, so why wouldn’t a friend want to visit another friend after work? Darren was nothing like Hank. Darren was the one who helped Liam get away from Hank when he realized what Hank had been doing.

“Jack asked us to go over. You wanna do it now?”

Liam blinked at Darren. “Jack. Now.”

Darren nodded, then bounded down the steps three at a time, landing solidly at the bottom. “Coming?”

Liam looked back into his quiet space, at the bed in full view, and the order he had inside. Going out meant going into the big house, with the chaos and noise of the kids and Jack and Riley, and food, and—“Okay,” he said.

He shut the door, locked it and joined Darren at the bottom of the steps.

“I don’t know what he wants,” Darren said.

There was an inflection in his tone as if he was asking a question, as if Liam might know why the boss wanted to see them.

Liam shrugged. “I have no idea.”

The walk was short, and they reached the kitchen door without talking. Darren knocked and walked in. That was kind of how it was at the big house. No one worried if you walked into the kitchen; there was always food here if a body wanted a meal or something. Food and talking.

Liam liked food, talking not so much.

Riley looked up from the table. He and Hayley were poring over textbooks with way too many words and not nearly enough photos.

“Everything okay?” Riley asked. He frowned a little and glanced over his shoulder to the hall. “You want Jack?”

As if he’d heard his name, Jack walked into the kitchen. His hair was damp and curled at the ends, and not for the first time, Liam stopped breathing. Something about Jack made him stop and stare; another part made him tense. Stupid, really. Jack had been nothing but good to him, even accompanying him down to Laredo for the trial.

“You wanted to see us?” Darren asked.

Jack nodded. “If you have a few minutes.” He walked past them to the door. “Let’s take this outside.”

Liam’s heart fell, and worst-case scenarios flooded his head. Jack was firing them; Liam would lose his home, and Marcus would see that Liam wasn’t the kind of guy he wanted to be with. Liam would be alone and would have lost not only his job but the man he loved.

Stop it. Just stop it. Marcus loves me.

He pushed back the negative shit in his head, and followed the other two outside. Jack led them to the fence and turned to face them.

“I wanted to run something by you,” Jack began. He stared down at his feet for a long moment, and Liam felt uncomfortable to see Jack not quite able to look at them.

“Is everything okay?” Liam asked softly, his empathy for Jack coming to the fore. He’d do anything for this man, and he hated that Jack looked uncertain here. That was wrong; Jack and Marcus were the solid anchors to Liam’s life.

Jack looked up. “Yeah, sorry. Look, this could either be really difficult or really easy. You remember Kyle Braden?

Liam didn’t have to search his memories to know who that was. Kyle, along with Danny Flynn, and Gabriel Reyes. Those three names carved deep into his heart. “He was in the courts with me,” Liam said.

“Kyle was the dark-haired kid that had to be helped down off the stand, right?” Darren added.

Liam shot the Darren a glance. He hadn’t for one minute thought that anyone else would recall the name; no one else was as involved as he was. Not even the brother of the one who abused them all.

“I’ve been thinking a lot since the case, kinda caught up in my own head about what happens to kids like him.” Jack looked at Liam.

You mean kids like me, Liam thought. “What about them?” He was this close to asking Jack what the fuck was going on.

“I thought of setting up a place where I could make sense of it all, give kids a place to go. Like a halfway house similar to where Steve works, a sanctuary of sorts.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Liam snapped.

“Liam—”

“You think you’re some fucking saint? You think you can solve all the shit in this world with your money?”

“Liam,” Darren warned.

Liam shot a look at Darren. He didn’t seem at all stressed about this, but then why would he be? It wasn’t him who’d been raped and abused and left too scared to run. It wasn’t him listening to Jack Campbell-Hayes suggest he could fix the whole freaking world.

Jack held up a hand. “It’s okay, Darren, I got this. Liam, I have a place on the property that with some work could make a good place to offer….” He trailed away.

“So what are you asking me for? Permission to be the first one you save?” Liam couldn’t help his attitude. Abruptly he had become what he always suspected, another charity case. The first of many, it seemed. He realized he’d clenched his hands as disappointment warred with anger inside him.

“No, fuck no,” Jack said quickly. “I want to ask you how you would feel if you saw Kyle or Danny or Gabriel again? How you would feel being a part of this project?”

Liam looked at Jack carefully, saw the slightly anxious expression. Was this man, this strong, determined man, looking to Liam for input here? “Me?”

“And Darren,” Jack added.

“Okay by me,” Darren said. “I want to help as much as I can. I sent money, but two of the checks never got cashed. I hired a PI—”

“Can I have what he found?” Jack interrupted.

“Of course.”

“And can I share your information with my PI as well, and maybe with Steve who runs a local shelter, so I can get his input into this?”

Darren glanced from Jack to Liam. “Yes, let’s get these men found, so… I can make things right.” He appeared to feel like he shouldn’t be standing there. He clapped Liam on the shoulder. “You okay?”

Liam appreciated the question, as embarrassment began to rise inside him. “Yeah,” he muttered.

“Okay, I’m out of here. Let me know what needs doing and when I need to do it.”

He shook hands with Jack, and disappeared off into the gathering gloom. That left Liam and Jack.

“I’m sorry,” Liam murmured.

“I’m sorry I fucked this up,” Jack said.

Liam shook his head. “I’m sorry I’m fucked-up.”

“I think we should both stop apologizing. And, Liam, I promise you, you’re not fucked up. You’re rightfully angry with everything life has dealt you. Do you think you could handle what I’m doing, or what I want to do here?”

Liam nodded. He could see the other three again. He’d never been inclined to keep in contact; he didn’t know any of them, but they shared the fact they’d all been abused by Hank Castille. Hank was gone, rotting in prison, so that left the victims behind.

“Can I be the one who liaises with Steve at the center? I owe him for what he did for me, and if I can work with him, then that would make things right.”

“Of course you can. That would be a help beyond anything I could imagine.”

Liam drew back his shoulders. He could do this. “I had Marcus,” Liam began. “He helped me… helps me. I get it that you want to do something for the ones who don’t have anyone else.”

Jack nodded. “In a nutshell. There’s a place on the Double D’s land, needs some work, big time. I don’t see this as quick. I want to invest time and resources.”

“And you want me to what, work on the house?” Liam didn’t have a lot of time left after the ranch time.

“We’d work it out. You could project manage if you like, or suggest ideas, but always be my sounding board? Alongside being liaison to the shelter and Steve.”

“I like working with the horses.” Please don’t take me from the horses.