Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SETH brEATHED A sigh of relief as the rest of their team escaped by the back door, leaving him alone with Teagan and her teammate. "Rayne, do you want me to show you where you can sleep?"

The other woman shook her head. "I won't sleep tonight. You and Teagan need to rest. Iona and I will keep watch. No one will slip past us."

Although he felt uncomfortable allowing the women to stay awake while he slept, Seth understood the logic. Once he and Teagan stepped outside the doors of his home tomorrow morning, they'd be on stage every minute until the op ended and the militia disbanded. That meant he and Teagan wouldn't sleep much. Couldn't afford to let their guards down in enemy territory.

Seth turned to Teagan. "I'll walk you upstairs."

At the front window, Rayne eased the curtain aside to peer out. "You expecting anyone else tonight, Seth?"

He drew his weapon. "No."

"Two men are making their way to the porch."

Oh, man. Seth's gut clenched. He had a feeling he knew who his unannounced visitors were.

He went to the window and eased the curtain aside enough to identify the men. Yep, just like he thought. "It's okay." Not really. He hoped to avoid this. "They're my brothers."

"Where do you want to talk to them?"

"Kitchen." Seth dragged a hand down his face. "We need coffee."

Teagan headed toward the kitchen. "I'll start a pot. Rayne needs coffee anyway for her shift."

Rayne moved toward the stairs. "I'll wait upstairs. Explaining Teagan's presence is easier than explaining mine."

A moment later, a heavy knock sounded on the door.

Seth steeled himself for the confrontation to come, then unlocked and opened his door. He stared at Oliver and Sebastien. "What are you doing here?" he demanded in a surly tone.

His brothers glared. "You inviting us in?" Oliver put his booted foot on the threshold to prevent Seth from slamming the door in their faces. "Or are we doing this on the porch in front of the neighbors?"

He paused as though considering his options, then opened the door wider and motioned them inside. "Kitchen." Seth led the way into the heart of his home. His heart skipped a beat when Teagan turned from the counter to smile at him. In less than a minute, she'd given her hair the just-rolled-out-of-bed look and somehow came across as sultry and besotted with him. Who was he kidding? Teagan Paloni was flat out hot.

Oliver spotted Teagan first and came to an abrupt halt. Sebastian slipped into the room behind him. Both of Seth's brothers stared.

Seth held out his hand to Teagan. "Baby, these are my brothers, Oliver and Sebastian. Guys, this is Teagan."

"Wait." Oliver turned. "This is your running partner?"

"That's right."

Sebastien was the first to recover from the shock. "It's nice to meet you, Teagan. We were convinced Seth made you up since he never brought you home to introduce you to the family."

She shook hands with both of his brothers. "It's nice to meet you both. Please, have a seat. Coffee will be ready in a couple of minutes."

The brothers sat at the table where Seth joined them. Sebastien frowned at Seth. "You want to do this with your running buddy in hearing distance?"

"She's more than my running buddy. Teagan is mine."

More staring from his brothers. "Since when?" Oliver demanded. "The last I heard, you hadn't manned up enough to ask her for more than a coffee date after your runs."

"I've been working on it for months."

"Why haven't you brought her to meet our parents?"

"No time. I've been busy."

"That's a lame excuse and you know it," Sebastien snapped.

Teagan brought three mugs of coffee to the table and distributed them. She grabbed another bottle of water for herself and faced Seth. She looked at him, an unasked question in her eyes.

"Stay, babe," he murmured and patted the empty chair beside his.

"This is a family discussion, Seth. It's none of your girlfriend's business," Oliver said.

"She stays," he said flatly. "My house, my rules. If you don't like it, you know where the door is."

"What's with the attitude?" Oliver scowled at him.

"What do you expect when you show up at my house this late without calling? Teagan and I had plans." Sleeping, but his brothers didn't know that.

A snort from Oliver. "You can wait to rush her back upstairs, bro. This is more important."

He folded his arms across his chest. "What do you want?"

"Really?" Sebastian set his coffee mug down with a thud. "Is that how we're playing this?"

"Spit it out or leave so Teagan and I can get on with our night." Seth's gut knotted. He hated doing this to his brothers. Man, he'd have to eat crow for a long time after this mission was finished. Forgiveness would be slow in coming.

"You haven't returned our calls and texts," Oliver said in the opening gambit. "We wouldn't be here if you bothered to respond."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Come on. I was busy. I would have gotten around to it."

"We don't ignore family." Sebastien slammed his fist on the table. "Family rule, bro."

"Well, you're here now so let's get on with this so I can go to bed."

Under the table, Teagan rested her hand on his knee and squeezed lightly, offering silent support.

Although he appreciated the gesture, nothing would make him feel better about lying to his family.

"That's the way you want it?" Oliver glowered at him. "We can do it that way. You got fired from the force."

"Wrong. I quit."

His brothers stared at him. "What were you thinking?" Sebastien shoved back from the table and paced the length of the kitchen and back.

"That I was being set up to take a hard fall." He sneered. "Turns out Noah was in the doghouse with me. We both dropped our weapons and shields on Burnett's desk."

"You worked hard to earn that shield. Why would you turn it in without a fight?"

"I'd prefer not to take a knife or bullet in the back."

"Rumors are flying hot and heavy that you're a dirty cop," Oliver said.

Seth shrugged.

Fury glittered in the eyes of his brothers.

"That's it?" Sebastien demanded. "A shrug? Why aren't you fighting to keep your job instead of playing house with your woman?"

"Maybe I don't want to be on the job anymore." Big lie, that one.

"No way." Oliver shook his head. "You're lying, bro. I don't know why but I'm not having it. We don't lie to each other."

"What's going on, Seth?" Sebastien dropped into his chair again. "You can trust us. You know that, right?"

"What is this, an intervention?" Seth scowled.

"If that's what you want to call it, then sure."

"You're interfering in my life. Get over yourselves and butt out. I don't need or want your sympathy or listening ear or whatever you had in mind. I'm not depressed but I am furious about how things went down. Although none of this was my fault, I'm the scapegoat along with my partner. The department thinks we're dirty? Fine. We'll land on our feet somewhere else with people who appreciate what we offer."

His brothers exchanged glances. "You already have a job offer?" Oliver looked skeptical. "With a black cloud of suspicion hanging over your head?"

"What have you gotten yourself into, bro?" Sebastien's brows knitted.

"Nothing I'm ready to talk about. I haven't decided if I'll take the job. If I do, however, my problems will be over."

More suspicion filled the eyes of his brothers. Seth didn't blame them. He'd question the explanation if he was on the other side of the table, listening to Sebastien or Oliver spew this drivel.

"What kind of job?" This from Oliver.

"The kind I'm not ready to discuss."

"Does that include Mom and Dad? You're worrying both of them. You know that, right? Dad's blood pressure is through the roof and Mom's having trouble controlling her diabetes because of you."

"That's not fair." Teagan's grip on Seth's knee tightened. "You can't lay the blame for their health issues on Seth."

"Stay out of this, lady. You might be Seth's dream woman but you're not part of our family. You don't belong with him or with us."

"That's enough." Seth stood, eager to get his brothers out of the house before any of them said something they couldn't take back. "No one treats my woman with disrespect, not even you."

"You're throwing us out?" Sebastien stared at Seth, his disbelief clear.

"Yeah, I am. Both of you get out."

"We aren't finished yet."

"Oh, yeah, you are. You crossed the line with Teagan. Rather than beat you to a pulp for the insult, I'm telling you to leave my house and keep your noses out of my business."

Watching the growing mixture of fury, disgust, and hurt on his brothers' faces almost killed Seth. This is why he'd hoped to go undercover before his family got in his face about the rumors. Should have known that would never work. His family was too close. At least, they were. Now? He didn't know.

His brothers stood and headed for the living room. "If you won't talk to us, at least contact Mom and Dad, all right?" Oliver glared over his shoulder as he gripped the doorknob. "You owe them that much."

"Tell them you're fine, just busy. Anything is better than radio silence." Sebastien followed Oliver to the porch before turning to Seth one more time. "This isn't you, Seth. I don't know what's going on or why you're lying. Just know if you need help, you can come to us."

Oliver reached over the threshold and yanked Seth into a hug. "Love you even if you are acting like a jerk," he muttered.

When he released Seth, Sebastien reached in and hugged him. "Day or night, you need us and we'll be there. No questions asked, okay?"

"I got it." He blinked against the burn in his eyes. "Go home and get some sleep. Watch your backs."

His brothers froze. "Why did you say that?" Oliver demanded.

He had to give them this much. It was the only way to protect them. "I received a threat earlier tonight."

"What threat?" Sebastien scowled.

"A paper left under the windshield wiper of my girlfriend's vehicle."

"I want to see it."

"Can't. I already sent it to a private lab for processing."

"What did it say?" Oliver asked.

"To watch my back because dirty cops deserve a knife or bullet in the back."

"Any idea who might have left that threat?"

"Maybe Wilson and Kepler."

"Why them in particular?"

"Wilson assaulted Teagan in an empty office at the station while Noah and I were in a meeting with Burnett."

Another scowl, this time from both brothers. "He put his hands on her?" Sebastien asked.

Seth nodded.

"Are you facing charges for assaulting a fellow officer?"

"Nope."

Oliver shoved Seth hard enough to push him back a step. "You let Wilson get away with hurting your woman? What is wrong with you? We taught you better than that."

"Hey, I would have taken him apart, but I didn't have to. Teagan took care of it herself."

Silence greeted his statement.

"You're kidding," Oliver said.

"Afraid not."

"She took down a veteran cop?"

"Why isn't she under arrest?" Sebastien asked.

"Her friend recorded the assault and Teagan's response long enough for proof, then was going to help." He shrugged. "Teagan didn't need help. When I finally got into the room, Wilson was curled up on the floor where Teagan had punched his groin."

"Wait a minute. What do you mean, when you finally got in the room? What stopped you from going to your woman's aid?"

"Not what. Who. Kepler was the lookout in the hallway outside the office. He delayed me long enough that Teagan had to handle Wilson by herself."

"Burnett take care of Wilson and Kepler?"

"Short-term suspension."

More frowns and grumbles from his brothers. "Why did they earn a slap on the wrist for assault?"

"He's down five detectives."

"Five?" Oliver stepped closer. "Who else is involved?"

"Knight, Marsh, and Bowen."

Sebastien's mouth curved slightly. "Should have known. They had your back in the military and still do."

Oliver studied Seth, then said, "You're involved in something you can't talk about, aren't you?"

"Leave it alone, bro. I'm not talking to you about this. I don't want you caught up in anything that will make you a target."

Sebastien growled. "I knew something was up."

"The city needs to see you as angry and disappointed with me."

"Whatever you're involved in is that dangerous?"

"I'm depending on you to continue the charade even with Mom and Dad. It's important."

"What about your woman? Does she need protection, too?"

He shook his head.

Silence, then Sebastien said, "No." He got up in Seth's face. "Tell me you're not involving her in this mess."

Seth remained silent.

"Are you nuts?" Oliver dragged a hand down his face. "We protect our women. We don't drag them into the line of fire."

"Go home. Make sure your families are safe."

"If you need us, we better get a phone call."

If Seth was forced to call his brothers for backup, he and the rest of the infiltration team were toast.