Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

WHILE SETH DROVE the SUV in squares to spot any potential tails, Teagan sent a message to the rest of her teammates to update them on the latest events. Seth might trust his friends but she didn't.

Fury burned a hole in her gut at the actions of Detective Wilson. What was the man thinking, cornering her in a room with a witness to his actions?

Teagan deliberately focused on the anger and pushed aside the building nausea when she remembered other, more violent confrontations in her childhood before she'd escaped the cult and joined the military.

After sending the message, she slid her phone into her pocket and stared out the side window. Although she should watch for a tail, Teagan couldn't see anything but the past, a past so horrible her breath stalled in her lungs at the memories.

A hard hand wrapped around hers and squeezed gently. Seth said nothing but his touch was enough to allow Teagan to breathe.

What was wrong with her? She'd beat this dragon down successfully many times to go undercover with Artemis. Why was this time different? Something to think about when she was alone. Now was not the time to get lost in her head. Seth's life depended on her. He said nothing but the morning's events had devastated the handsome detective, no matter if the confrontation with his commander was staged.

Forty minutes later, Seth parked at the back of Donovan's and came around to open Teagan's door. He lifted her from the passenger seat and set her down. Instead of stepping back, he glanced at Noah. "We'll join you in a minute."

Soon, Violet and Noah entered the restaurant through a door opened by Knight.

Teagan wrapped her arms around Seth's neck. They were under observation by at least one of Seth's fellow cops. "What are you doing, Seth?"

"What I can for the moment." He traced the line of her cheekbone with his forefinger, his touch light. "It's not enough but will have to do for now. Are you all right, sweetheart?"

She wanted to give him a blinding smile and offer a pretty lie. She couldn't. "No."

"How can I help?"

The ball of ice in her stomach melted. "You already are."

Seth stared into her eyes for a beat, then slid his hand to her nape and urged her to rest against his shoulder. As though they'd been a couple for decades instead of hours, Teagan nuzzled the side of his neck and relaxed against him. The detective's other hand pressed against her back, his hold secure. "I've got you, Teagan."

"We need to go inside," she murmured.

"They'll wait for another minute. You're more important."

Touched, she kissed his neck. "I wish we'd met years ago."

"Me, too, babe." Finally, he eased her back. "Better?"

"More than you know."

"We'll talk, Teagan," he warned.

"I know."

Seth kissed her gently, then pressed his hand against her lower back, guiding her toward the back door of the restaurant. "Thanks for waiting, Knight," he murmured.

"Got nothing better to do with my time than watch you make out with your girlfriend," he said wryly.

"Can it, buddy."

Knight chuckled and waved them inside to a small dining room. Noah, Violet, and Seth's two other friends, Bowen and Marsh, were the only occupants.

Bowen and Marsh stood and shook hands with Seth before greeting Teagan. "What happened in the vacant office, Seth?" Bowen asked after they all sat at a round table.

Teagan stiffened.

Under the table, Seth covered her hand with his. "Wilson assaulted Teagan. Kepler helped set it up."

The three detectives scowled. "I should have known he was up to no good," Marsh muttered. "Wilson said he would offer Teagan and Violet water or coffee but then Kepler planted himself outside the door to prevent anyone from getting near."

Knight shook his head. "Helpful, Wilson is not, and Kepler does whatever Wilson wants." Disgust rang clear in his voice.

"What's going on, Seth?" Marsh asked. "We know you and Noah aren't dirty so why is the lieutenant acting like you're the scum of the earth?"

"Does this have something to do with the guy murdered on the running trail?" Bowen's gaze went from Seth to Noah and back. "I know that's your preferred place to run."

Seth glanced at his partner, eyebrow raised.

"Tell them."

Dread curled in Teagan's stomach. What if Seth and Noah were wrong to trust these men? While they seemed honorable, what if they weren't? These three cops literally held Seth and Noah's lives in their hands. Once the operation was in motion, if it went as Teagan suspected, the four of them would be cut off from help for a time. Although the rest of Artemis would be close, a bullet could end their lives in seconds.

Seth turned his attention to the women. "Teagan, Violet?"

"Do you trust them?" Violet's gaze shifted from detective to the next.

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

She and Teagan exchanged glances, then Teagan said, "Go ahead." She turned to the three men. "Just know this. If anything happens to Seth or Noah and we find out you're responsible, we will take you down."

"Understood." Bowen turned back to Seth. "Talk."

For the next few minutes, Seth and Noah took turns updating the men. The longer they talked, the more grim the expressions grew on the faces of the three detectives.

"I don't like it," Marsh said. "Too many things could go wrong once you're inside the compound walls."

"Too risky," Knight agreed. "There has to be a better way to go about this."

Noah snorted. "Too late now. Our reputations and careers are trashed until this is finished."

"Do you really think an email to Ardmore PD is going to fix what's in motion?" Bowen shook his head. "Even if they send out an announcement, hold news conferences, and have a meeting with Burnett, more than one cop on the beat and detective in the bullpen won't believe you've been cleared. Your innocence will always be questioned along with your integrity."

"Tell me something I don't know." Seth rubbed the back of his neck. "This is not how I saw my career with Ardmore PD ending."

"When do you go undercover?" Knight asked.

"We've already started the game," Noah said. "We went to The Ranch last night. The leaders of The Brotherhood were there. The news media is already blabbing about our fall from grace. A friend of the ladies doctored our files and painted us with a muddy brush. We'll figure out the best way to contact The Brotherhood and go from there."

Knight studied Noah, then Seth. "I might have a way to get in."

"Explain," Seth said, his gaze locked on his friend.

"You know I had a sketchy childhood. Several old friends are involved in The Brotherhood. They've tried to recruit me, Marsh, and Bowen over the last four months."

"You'll introduce us?" Too easy, Teagan thought. Then again, if Knight could push up the timeline, she and the others could finish this mission sooner and stop whatever big plan The Brotherhood was cooking.

Knight shook his head. "That won't work. The Brotherhood is a close-knit community. Friends bring in friends and family. That's how they cultivate loyalty."

Bowen snorted. "Sounds like a cult."

Goosebumps surged across Teagan's skin. That was a little too close to home. Literally.

A shrug from Knight. "It is. Doesn't matter if they call themselves a militia. The bottom line is The Brotherhood's organization is like a cult's."

Great. Just great. Teagan's worst nightmare come to life, and this time, she had more than herself to protect. If she screwed up, she could lose Seth, Violet, and Noah.

"You're a cop," Noah said. "You can't become part of a militia."

"You are."

A wry smile. "Didn't you hear the news Burnett shouted at the top of his lungs? We're no longer cops."

"So, have your tech friend work on my record as well."

"Same," Bowen and Marsh said.

"You can't be serious." Noah dragged a hand down his face. "For one thing, it leaves Burnett with five detectives suspended or fired along with Wilson and Kepler. We can't leave him that shorthanded. For another, you'll have as much difficulty being reinstated as we will."

"That's assuming Burnett will approve of the five of us going undercover," Seth said. "Only a slim chance of that happening."

That wasn't the only approval needed. Maddox would have to be convinced to risk Artemis' lives with three other unknown cops in the operation as well, and the boss wasn't an easy sell. In order to get the approval, Murphy would have to clear Knight, Marsh, and Bowen, including digging deep into their backgrounds to make sure no unpleasant surprises popped up and bit them when they least expected it.

"You're not going in without backup," Bowen insisted. "It would be a suicide mission."

"We already went on plenty of those over in the Sand Box," Knight said. "I don't want to lose any more friends to a war against terrorists, homegrown or not."

Seth studied the expressions of his friends for a moment, then glanced at Noah. "Opinion?"

He shook his head. "Doesn't look like we have much choice. If Knight is right about the membership invitations coming from friends and family, we'll need him to get admitted to The Brotherhood, and Bowen and Marsh will insist on joining the undercover party."

Marsh folded his arms across his chest. "Exactly."

"Face it, Dixon," Knight said. "You need us."

Seth glanced at Teagan. "Think your tech friend could work it out in the next couple of hours?"

"We'll have to receive Maddox's approval first."

The other three detectives exchanged glances. Bowen leaned closer to Teagan. "Are you talking about Brent Maddox, the CEO of Fortress Security?"

She nodded.

"How do you know him?"

"Violet and I work for him."

Marsh, Knight, and Bowen stared at her and Violet.

"They're members of a black ops team," Noah said.

Knight whistled softly. "Nice. You're still not going without us, Seth. We were part of the same unit overseas. We're going with you whether or not your tech friend helps us. If we have to, we'll confront Burnett in his office about your unjust dismissals and hand over our guns and badges."

"If you do, you'll be stuck with the same problem Noah and I will face. You could be viewed as traitors and dirty cops, especially if it's known that you joined the militia. You may never get your jobs back if you do this."

"We're friends and battle buddies who have each other's backs," Marsh said. "We're more interested in getting you out of the compound in one piece than job security."

Teagan couldn't fault them for their loyalty to a friend. Her teammates did the same for each other on each undercover mission.

She slid her phone from her pocket and hit her speed dial for Maddox.

"Yeah, Maddox."

"It's Teagan. You're on speaker with Noah, Seth, Violet, and three other detectives from the Ardmore PD."

"Elias Knight, Andre Marsh, and Grant Bowen?"

Her eyebrows rose. "Yes, sir."

"What do you need?"

"Seth and Noah's friends are insisting on going into The Brotherhood with the infiltration team. According to Knight, The Brotherhood works like Fortress. Invitation only."

"I see. Gentlemen, we'll run deep background first. If you pass muster, we'll see about getting your background adjusted to fit the circumstances. The last thing we want to do is raise suspicion about why so many cops from Ardmore PD want to join The Brotherhood."

"Sir, this is Elias Knight. I have friends and family already involved in the organization. They've been recruiting me hard. Perhaps your tech friend could adjust our files to show disillusionment with law enforcement. The five of us were in the same military unit. No one will be surprised if we show solidarity with Seth and Noah."

"Background first, then we'll see. Time line?"

"Yesterday, sir," Violet said. "We made quite a splash at the station."

"What happened?"

"While Seth and Noah were being dressed down by their commander, one of the other detectives cornered and assaulted Teagan. His partner was the lookout."

"Where were you, Trevelyan?"

"Recording and preparing to intervene when Teagan took care of the detective herself."

"How long did this go on?"

"One minute."

"Never should have gone on that long," Maddox snapped.

"I handled it, sir," Teagan said, her hand tightening around her phone. She didn't want her teammate called on the carpet in front of Seth and his friends. Besides, if she'd needed help to handle Wilson, she would have asked for it.

"That's no excuse. You were supposed to have Teagan's back, Violet. This doesn't happen again. Understood?"

Violet's face flamed. "Yes, sir."

"Teagan?"

She stiffened, "Sir?"

"You have nothing to prove."

"But, sir…."

"You froze, didn't you?"

How did he know? No one knew, not even Violet, and she'd been in the office with her. "Only for a few seconds," she admitted. Her cheeks burned. Teagan thought she'd beat this down. Was she wrong? Man, if that was the case, this was a lousy time to discover the truth. The Brotherhood was not a social club. These men and women were tough as nails and expected you to give as good as you got. If she appeared weak, she'd be prey for every person in that compound. No way would she put Seth and Noah in the position of having to defend her.

"If there is a next time, handle it immediately or ask for help. Period. I'm trusting you to be honest with me and yourself, Paloni. If you let me down again, I will pull you from Artemis until I'm positive your response will be spot on every time. Am I making myself clear?"

Teagan gritted her teeth. Did he have to do this here, today? Yeah, she got where he was coming from. The boss was looking out for her wellbeing. If he couldn't trust her to react appropriately, she could be seriously hurt the next time. Worse, if she froze, one of her teammates could pay the price. That wasn't acceptable. Every member of Artemis was a friend, and now that small circle included Seth and Noah. "Yes, sir. It won't happen again."

"Make sure you're ready. Z is already catching chatter on the Dark Web about Seth and Noah. If they're introduced as a good fit for The Brotherhood, you could be undercover in a day or two."

"Copy that, sir."

"Seth?"

"Yes, sir?"

"At the moment, only you and your partner are approved to work this op with Teagan and Violet. Do not go around me. We'll lay the groundwork for all five of you provided your friends pass our background checks. Fair warning. They are extensive. If you have any secrets in your backgrounds, they'll be uncovered by the time we're finished. Do you want to tell me anything before we start?"

Bowen snorted. "Grant Bowen, sir. That depends. Will you go as far back as our juvenile years?"

Maddox chuckled. "We don't play by the same rules as law enforcement. Everything is fair game to Fortress tech geeks."

"Then you should know every one of us has a juvie record. As soon as we hit 18, we each joined the Army. We were all Special Forces. We served in the same unit and mustered out of the military together to attend the police academy and join Ardmore PD. We're a team, sir. Whether or not you like it, we're going in with Seth and Noah. We'll have their backs like we always have."

A slight pause, then, "We'll see, Knight. Do nothing until I get back to you. Teagan, Violet, touch base with Iona and report the latest." Maddox ended the call.

Marsh gave a soft whistle. "I'd hate to be on his bad side."

"You don't know the half of it," Violet muttered. "That was a mild rebuke. Maddox has made seasoned veterans quake in their boots. He doesn't put up with anything."

Bowen pushed back from the table and stood. "We need to get going. If we're out of touch too long, we'll raise suspicions before we make our play."

The other two stood as well. "Don't contact The Brotherhood," Knight said. "We'll get you in there soon."

Marsh looked grim. "I hope the feds are wrong about the militia group planning something big. If they're not, though, you'll need all of us with you to get the information on the target and get out of the compound alive."