Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

THE NEXT MORNING , Seth circled the hood of Teagan's SUV and opened the passenger door to assist Teagan to the ground. He lifted her from the seat. Instead of stepping back once her feet were on the ground, he moved into her and palmed her nape. Such soft skin. He wished he had the time and the right simply to touch her.

"Are you okay, Seth?" Her voice came out husky. Rather than fight his hold as he'd expected, Teagan wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her weight against him. Her fingers stroked his hair, her touch gentle. "We don't have to do this. We can find another way."

He shook his head. "It's too late. Your buddy, Zane, was as good as his word. My records and Noah's have been altered and leaked everywhere, including to the press. My career as a law enforcement officer with Ardmore PD is probably over."

"How do you know?"

He rested his forehead against hers, his heart aching at the confrontation to come. Didn't matter that the meeting with the LT was a setup. His reputation and Noah's were already taking a beating. He and his partner had received texts throughout the night, demanding answers. Neither of them had replied. What could they say? "My parents and brothers sent messages overnight. So did our former partners and squad mates. Trust me. The word is already out and spreading like wildfire. It will only grow worse after the blowup in Burnett's office."

"We'll do our job as quick as possible and fix your reputation. You'll be able to step back into your career if you want it."

He squeezed her nape briefly. Although he appreciated her support, Seth suspected this was the end of the line at APD. No matter how many emails and memos were sent to his squad mates, suspicion would linger. "Are you ready?"

Teagan brushed her mouth over his. "We're already on stage. I feel eyes on us from inside the station. Too late now if I'm not ready."

"I don't want to work an undercover op with you caught in the middle," he murmured against her ear. "My gut says it's too dangerous to take you inside the compound. I don't want to lose you to the fake Seth." And whatever was in her background that haunted Teagan could come back to bite them at an inopportune time.

"And I don't want to lose you to the fake Teagan. Our roles will be a mixture of falsehoods and reality." Another light kiss. "We'll make it work. Who better to watch your back than me? I care about you. Trust me, Seth. This is what we do. Let's get this done so you can go back to your career."

Although he nodded, Seth still wasn't convinced the damage could be fixed. His career and Noah's might be toast. If they did a good enough job, perhaps Maddox would offer him and his partner employment. But what would that mean for him and Teagan? What if they were deployed during opposite months? He'd never see her.

Heart heavy, he brushed her mouth with another brief kiss and eased away from temptation. "We should go. Noah and Violet are waiting."

She slipped her hand into his as they walked toward the station house.

Seth felt as though he was seconds away from hurling when he stepped into the lobby and faced the cold gaze of the desk sergeant raking over him, the first of many contemptuous looks from his coworkers as he and Noah led the women toward the lieutenant's office.

Burnett flung open his office door when they were halfway across the bullpen. "Dixon, Mann, I didn't invite your girlfriends into this meeting. Find a place to park them while we have a little chat."

Heat poured through Seth's veins. Keeping the women separated from them wasn't the plan Burnett had proposed last night. What had changed in the last nine hours?

Teagan's hand squeezed his. "It's fine. Violet and I can sit in an empty office or we can go back to the lobby."

Not in the lobby. He didn't want Teagan and Violet that far away from them. He knew they were trained operatives capable of protecting themselves. They should be able to trust the men and women in blue.

The circumstances, though, didn't lend themselves to trusting the safety of his woman and her friend to his coworkers. That realization made him sick to his stomach. He didn't want to lose the connection with his coworkers, but already they looked at him and Noah with suspicion, anger, and disgust.

Seth looked at his LT. His jaw hardened. No matter what his commanding officer wanted, Seth's priority was protecting Teagan. "An empty office, sir."

His boss sneered. "Worried about your little girlfriend?"

The disdain stung, fake though it was. "Yes, sir."

"Should have thought about that before you brought her for moral support."

The squad room had gone dead quiet. Even the cuffed perps were silent, watching the drama play out. The only noise to be heard was the ringing of unanswered telephones.

"LT, what about putting the women in O'Hallaran's office?" Noah asked. "He's on vacation this week."

"Yeah, fine. Get them situated and park yourselves in my office in two minutes or less."

"Yes, sir."

Noah cupped Violet's elbow and guided her toward the empty office with Seth and Teagan a few steps behind. As they passed various desks with detectives watching their progress, the ugly whispers reached Seth's ears. Muttered curses and vitriol became more vicious as they passed the detectives who Seth would have said were good friends 48 hours earlier. Now, he hated to have his back to these fine men and women.

Once inside the office, Seth shut the door and glanced at his partner. Noah's expression was as grim as Seth suspected his own expression was. This wasn't good.

He turned to Teagan and cupped her cheeks, well aware of the audience staring at them through the windows. "Do not leave this office for any reason, sweetheart. I wish I could say you're absolutely safe in here. Now, I don't know."

She leaned into his palm. "We'll be fine. We can take care of ourselves. Finish this step so we can go on with the next phase of this mission." Teagan smiled. "After that, we'll try dating like normal people."

That brought a chuckle, and still he hesitated. Seth didn't feel right leaving her and Violet in this office without him or Noah.

"Go," she murmured. "Clock's ticking."

Right. "Watch your backs. If you need us, sing out." He bent his head and brushed her mouth with his before grasping the knob and stepping outside the office with Noah on his heels.

The noise level dropped to nothing again as they approached Burnett's office.

"Traitors," someone muttered.

Seth stopped and scanned the room. No one would meet his gaze. An elbow nudge from Noah got Seth moving again. No need to let their coworkers see how much this was getting to him. They had a role to play. Time to get on with the mission.

He knocked hard on the LT's door and opened it without waiting for an invitation to enter.

"Forgot your manners, Dixon?" Burnett snapped.

"Reporting as ordered, sir," he retorted, contempt in his voice. Man, he hated to disrespect his commander.

"Get inside and shut the door unless you want the whole bullpen hearing our conversation."

Noah followed him into the office and slammed the door shut behind him.

Playing his role for the avid audience staring at them from the bullpen, Burnett glared at Seth and his partner. His words were spoken for their ears only. "Give the ladies my apologies for their reception. By the time I arrived for my shift, the entire squad was in an uproar about you two. More than one of them demanded I fire you on the spot."

Seth snorted. "Nice to know they have our backs."

"As you can tell, the Fortress tech crew did their jobs well."

"I know, sir." Seth grimaced. "My parents and brothers started messaging me around one this morning. My brothers are threatening to come to Ardmore to have a heart-to-heart talk." Except knowing his brothers, talking wasn't on the agenda.

"Maddox is efficient. I'll give him that." Burnett motioned for them to take the seats in front of his desk, dropped into his own chair, and flipped open a file folder filled with information about Noah. "Mann, you still want in on this op?"

"Yes, sir. No way I'm letting my partner do this alone."

"Last chance to back out, son."

"Pass. I'm not letting Seth, his girlfriend, or Violet go into this situation without me."

"Understood. You have my thanks and that of the FBI, Noah. We'll do our best to reverse the damage once this is finished."

He grimaced. "I understand, sir."

Burnett twisted the file and shoved it across his desk. He jabbed a finger at something on the page. "Is the rest of your team prepared?"

"Yes, sir."

"Here we go, son. Just know I understand that none of this is true. No matter what happens, I've got your back."

"Appreciate that, sir."

The lieutenant flipped open the second file, this one filled with information about Seth, and slammed his fist on the document. He glared at Seth. "Same goes for you," he said, voice soft. "I will talk to your family members and set the record straight when this op is finished."

"Thank you, sir." Wouldn't negate the confrontations to come with his family.

"The Brotherhood has a long reach, and they aren't shy about bragging over their infiltration into law enforcement agencies in Tennessee. Unfortunately, they're smart enough not to point fingers at specific agencies so we can't track down the compromised officers. That's why we're putting on this show for your coworkers. So, let's get on with it, shall we?"

The next few minutes were spent listening to Burnett rant and rave over their records for the benefit of their audience and Seth and Noah questioning his accusations, then the LT finally wound down to demanding their guns and badges because of new evidence implicating them both for Pico's murder and several other charges that Murphy had slipped into the altered records. Murphy didn't do anything by halves.

"You're a disgrace to the uniform," Burnett yelled, making sure his voice carried to the bullpen. "Both of you can consider yourselves suspended from duty until further notice. And if I were you, I wouldn't ever expect to wear a badge and gun again. You'll be lucky if you don't spend the rest of your lives in prison."

Seth leaped to his feet with his partner a split second behind. In a raised voice, he said, "Forget it, Burnett. I'm done." He laid his weapon on the desk. That didn't hurt since he had more than one weapon at home in his gun safe. Tossing his gold shield on the LT's desk almost killed him.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I quit. I've put in over ten years on the job for you. If you don't have enough faith in me to believe in my innocence, I guess I can't expect you to have my back when it counts, can I?"

Burnett surged to his feet. "What did you say to me?"

Outside the office, several detectives rose and headed toward his door to provide help if needed.

"You heard me. Calling me a disgrace to the uniform is rich. You're supposed to have the backs of your men. Instead, you stabbed me and Noah when our backs were turned."

"Get out of my office, Dixon," he shouted. "Count yourself lucky you aren't leaving in handcuffs." Burnett swung around to Noah as Seth eased toward the door. "What about you, Mann? Got anything to say?"

Noah laid his weapon and badge on the desk, then backed away and followed Seth. "Watch your back, LT," he murmured. "Until we know if our unit is compromised, you can't trust anyone."

A slight nod from Burnett.

Seth threw open the door and strode toward the office where Teagan and Violet waited. One of his fellow detectives stood in the hall, blocking access to the women. "Move, Kepler."

The other man smirked.

The sound of a crash came from the office, followed by a groan. Kepler partially turned, frowning.

Seth shoved the detective aside and opened the door to the office. He rushed inside and skidded to a stop. His mouth gaped.

On the floor, Wilson, one of Seth's squad mates, groaned. With him being curled up in a fetal position, didn't take a genius to figure out that one of the women had either punched or kicked the detective in the groin.

Kepler shoulder-checked Seth as he pushed past him to kneel beside his friend. After a whispered conversation with his buddy, he glared at Teagan. "You're under arrest for assaulting an officer," he snapped, rising to his feet and reaching for his cuffs.

Seth shifted to stand between Teagan and Kepler. Without taking his attention from the other detective, he said, "What happened here, sweetheart?"

"Your friend on the floor was stupid enough to grope me. I don't appreciate any man except you touching me without permission."

Fury burned in his gut.

"You got proof of your accusation?" Kepler glared at her.

"Right here, Detective." Violet turned her phone around and showed him the confrontation between Wilson and Teagan.

When the recording finished playing, Seth took a step toward Wilson, his hands balled into fists. The jerk had put his hands on Teagan more than once and shoved her into a corner before he gripped her shirt and tried to shove the hem up to her shoulders. One minute, he was up in her face, leering down at her. The next, he was on the floor after Teagan rabbit punched his groin and shoved him away from her.

Teagan gripped Seth's forearm. "Let it go."

"He assaulted you, baby." He glared at Kepler. "Not only that, Kepler helped set up the assault."

"What's going on in here?" Burnett glowered at everyone in the office, especially Seth. "I thought I told you to get out of my station house."

He inclined his head toward Wilson. "He cornered Teagan and assaulted her. Violet recorded it."

Face flushed, the LT glowered at Kepler. "Get your buddy off the floor and into my office."

"But, sir…."

"Now," he snapped.

Kepler practically carried a groaning Wilson from the office.

Burnett closed the door after the pair left. He turned his back to the office windows and door and the audience watching everything. "Teagan, you're all right?"

"I'm fine."

Her white face said otherwise. Man, Seth wanted five minutes alone with Wilson and Kepler. However, if he followed through on his first instinct, Noah and the women would have to go on this mission without him. No doubt in his mind that the detectives would press charges against him for assault. If he was in jail, he couldn't protect Teagan. That wasn't happening.

"Show me the recording," Burnett ordered Violet. After he viewed the footage, he tapped a few keys. "I sent this to my phone." After returning Violet's phone, Burnett said, "Wilson and Kepler were trying to punish Seth and Noah. Doesn't make what they did right, though. Do you want to press charges against the detectives? If you do, I'll see that they're prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

Teagan shook her head. "No harm done."

"This time." Seth wrapped his arm around Teagan's waist. "If they come after Teagan again, I will take them down."

"I didn't hear that threat," Burnett said dryly. "I'll have a hard talk with them. Since you two just quit on me, I'm down two detectives, so I can't suspend them for as long as I'd like." He glanced at Teagan and Violet. "Do your best to avoid Wilson and Kepler. I'd rather not have to arrest either of you before this op gets off the ground. By the way, Violet, where is the camera?"

The medic tapped her necklace. "I have an app on my phone to turn it on and off."

"Just out of curiosity, why didn't you help Teagan?"

A slow smile. "She didn't need it."

A nod from Burnett. "Time to go before I read my suspended detectives the riot act. Check in when you can, Seth and Noah."

If they could. Seth had a feeling the check-ins would be few. "Later, sir."

"Watch your backs," their commander said, and stormed from the office. As soon as he returned to his own office, his muffled voice rose in anger at the other two men.

"Let's get out of here before the temperature in this building grows even colder," Noah muttered.

Seth threaded his fingers through Teagan's and led the way from the office, his body a step in front of hers in case more of his colleagues tried something as they left the station.

Two more detectives stood as Seth led Teagan from the office and left the bullpen. A third man gave him a slight chin lift and a subtle hand signal.

He breathed a little easier. At least some of his friends had his back. How far that went was another question.

More cold stares from the rest of the officers and civilians working in the bullpen as Seth and his group passed by their stations. Turning his back on the people he should have been able to trust made his skin crawl.

As they walked through the lobby and exited through the front doors, Seth wondered if this was the last time he'd be in this building as an employee.

Once they were safely outside, Seth drew a deep breath and glanced at his partner. "That was brutal."

A snort from Noah. "I expected to feel a knife in the back any moment."

"Do you blame them? I gather Murphy did a good job."

"I hope I would have given other coworkers the benefit of the doubt if the situation was reversed." Noah slid his arm around Violet's waist and stepped closer to Seth and Teagan. "What happened to Knight, Marsh, and Bowen?"

"Bowen signaled me to wait."

Teagan turned to Seth. "Can you trust him?"

He nodded.

"Are you sure?" Violet asked. "You trusted the rest of your squad mates and they turned on you."

"These guys served with us over in the Sand Box. I'd bet my life and yours on their loyalty to me and Noah."

He got them moving toward the parking lot, slowing when he saw Knight waiting by the SUV, his attention supposedly riveted on his phone. That never happened. Knight was aware at all times. Having his attention focused on his phone was unheard of.

Seth noticed Teagan and Violet slipping free hands into their pockets, no doubt to have access to their weapons if Seth and Noah were wrong. "Wait," he murmured. He didn't want Knight injured.

Neither woman stood down, but they also didn't brandish weapons either. He'd take the small win.

Knight waited until Seth was a few feet away before he slid the phone into his pocket. He said, "Donovan's in the back room," and walked away.

"Inside," Seth murmured. He unlocked the SUV and lifted Teagan to the shotgun seat and buckled her in. By the time he climbed behind the wheel, Noah and Violet were inside as well.

He drove from the parking lot and turned in the opposite direction of Donovan's. He drove squares for a while to be sure they weren't being followed, then headed for the restaurant.

Seth prayed he wasn't taking Teagan and the others into a trap.