Chapter 4

four

Monday mornings meant team meetings, and Autumn hated them. Well, hate was too strong of a word. More like she was annoyed by sitting in a room going over things. One of her many therapists—there had been a few—said that she had ADHD, which was probably true. Joseph had often attacked her lack of focus. Butthead.

“Did you just call the boss a butthead?” Charity whispered to her. The mainland transplant was as brilliant as she was beautiful. The African American scientist was their forensic tech, who dressed in the most amazing outfits. Today, she had gone all Rosie the Riveter with her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck, a red scarf with white polka dots around her head, and she was wearing an actual jumpsuit. She looked like she just walked off a movie set.

“No. I was thinking of Joseph.”

Adam tossed them a look, and Autumn smiled. Adam Lee had just assumed command of Team Alpha. Del was in charge of both active teams, with a third team being formed over the next six months. Adam was the heart of TFH. A local boy who came from a long line of cops. His mother also made the best Hawaiian fried rice.

Adam started going over the plan for the week and the cases they would take on, and she fell back into her thoughts again. She wasn’t on any of these particular investigations. Still, they kept abreast of what was happening with their other team members. That way, if they needed backup, they had a rudimentary idea of the investigation.

Autumn and Adam had just finished up an investigation into a new drug operation out in Wahiawa, which resulted in a significant bust.

“Also, Del, Seth, and I agreed that we needed to occasionally train on each other’s teams. Since Bravo trained with us before they went into the field, we will start having individuals train with Bravo this week.”

“What do you mean work with them?” Autumn asked. “I thought we already did that.”

She did not need to spend any more time around Seth Harrington. It was bad enough that she’d had breakfast with him. Yes, Rami was there, but she hadn’t had dreams about him all weekend. Nope. That had been Seth, and she didn’t get it. Rami was the kind of guy she usually went for. No strings attached. Those kinds of men did not ask questions. Seth didn’t just have strings. He would want the whole deal. Plus, she was pretty sure she wasn’t his type, either.

“Del and I think knowing how Search and Rescue worked would be beneficial. Granted, none of us will take over, but it would be good to have some cross-training. And thankfully, you’re free.”

“Wait, what?”

“We finished up that bust last week. You have nothing else going on, and it would be best that only one team member does the training at the time.”

“You said it wasn’t training.”

“I said that we would not take over for them, but it would be good to understand their mission.”

She wanted to roll her eyes but knew how far to push Adam. He was pretty even-tempered, but he did have his limits. Autumn learned at Joyous Wave not to poke the bear any further than needed to get your point across.

As if on cue, Team Bravo walked into the standard room. She narrowed her eyes on Seth, who smiled. Butthead. He knew she was the first one up for the training.

“If there’s nothing else, let’s get on with our day. Autumn, before you go off with Bravo, we need to review some of last week’s particulars.”

She nodded and rose from her seat to follow him into his office. She shut the door and sat down.

“Stop pouting.”

“I am not pouting. Do I look like I’m pouting?”

“I know your expressions, and that one is definitely your pouting one.”

Before she could respond to that nonsense—she never pouted—Del opened the door without knocking. Rude, but then he was the boss of everything.

Former special forces in the Army, Del took over TFH as soon as it was formed. He was a hunk of man, and his grumpy demeanor was only softened by his good looks. The man was a walking dream, with thick dark hair, golden brown eyes, and muscles for days.

He took the seat next to hers.

“I explained to Autumn why she would work with Bravo this week.”

Del studied Adam for a long moment, and then his serious gaze cut to Autumn. Dammit. The man could take a girl down with just a look—and not in a good way.

“I believe the word you should use is ordered.”

She blinked. “What?”

“You don’t need an explanation. It’s an order.”

Ugh. She hated that, and Del knew it. She knew it was an order. Adam pretty much announced it to the group, but Del was a hard ass and didn’t like any back and forth.

“I just don’t want to do it.”

There was a long beat of silence, then he cracked a smile. Adam laughed out loud.

“The one thing I love about you is that you are always brutally honest. Just be nice to our new team. They’re all amazing law enforcement officers, and we’re lucky to have them.”

“Just so you know, I had dinner with them Friday night. So there.”

Yep, that was mature. Seriously. Why was she freaking out? There was no reason for it. She usually enjoyed learning new things. It came from not going to a real school until she went to college. Also, Joseph thought women should only learn reading so they could read recipes. Jerk.

“Oh, really?”

“Well, Ian and I ran into them at Seafood Cartel, and we ate with them and Maya.”

“I love that place,” Del said. “Emma can eat her weight in tacos.”

Del’s wife was tiny, so there was a good chance it wasn’t that much food. She remembered their last girls’ night and how much Emma ate that night. Autumn realized that the woman ate almost as much as she did sometimes.

“Right? I just always want to fall face down in their Taco Cabo.”

“That being said, be nice,” Adam said. His voice was firm this time, and she could tell it was an order.

“Are you afraid I will hurt their feelings? I’m nice.”

“You are, to a point. But like I said, you can be blunt,” Adam said.

“What’s wrong with being blunt? It works for Del.”

Adam rolled his eyes.

“I’m the boss. I can be blunt AF if I want to.”

She didn’t smile, but it was hard. When she’d first met Del, he wouldn’t have hesitated to use the f-word, but now that he had little ones, Autumn had noticed he had been policing his language. It was adorable.

She glanced back at Adam. “Did you make up needing to talk to me about our case?”

“No. We’re going to probably go to trial. Whoever is supplying that operation has them freaked out.”

“Still not understanding why they would do that,” Del murmured.

“So much so that they’ll go to prison instead of talk?” she asked.

“For right now. But I wanted to go over a few notes. It should only take a few minutes. Then you can go play nice with Bravo.”

“Gonna stare a hole in her head, boss,” Ryan said.

Seth blinked and looked at his dog handler. “What?”

He smiled, which was a rare thing for Ryan. The former LAPD was the strong, silent type. Seth understood because he knew Ryan’s background. So, when he smiled, it usually made everyone around him smile.

“You’re going to burn a hole in the back of her head.”

“Who are you talking about?” Seth asked.

Ryan let one eyebrow rise up.

“Why would you say that?”

“Since we walked in and noticed her in Lee’s office, you’ve barely taken your eyes off her.”

He could argue with him, but Seth knew he was right. His obsession with the woman was getting worse. There was something about Autumn Bradford that drew him. He didn’t understand why because she wasn’t really his type. He liked the type A kind of woman because they fit his lifestyle of no attachment. She had that to a point, but there was something under the surface that he couldn’t figure out. She hid so much of her past that he wanted to peel away those layers and find the soft, gooey center.

And what the hell was that thought about?

“Just gonna be interesting. You’ve been watching her for months.”

He frowned at Ryan. “Now, what the hell does that mean?”

His cheeks felt hot, and he was worried he was blushing. Him. A man in his late thirties who had fought and killed for his country. Like a damned schoolboy.

Before Ryan could say anything else, the door to Adam’s office opened, and she was striding over to them.

She wasn’t overly tall, but she had long legs. When she walked through a room, the energy shifted. At least, it did for him. From Ryan’s expression, he didn’t get the same vibe as Seth did.

What was that about?

“I’ve been told to play with you today.”

Ryan snorted, and she smiled. Seth frowned at Ryan, who grinned at him. That was rare enough these days that it held him momentarily stunned.

“Yeah, we’re not doing much today other than strength workouts.”

Part of being in search and rescue was needing to be able to actually rescue people, meaning they had to carry them part, if not all, of the way.

“Cool. I need to work on my upper body anyway. Are we doing it here in the gym?”

He nodded.

“I need to change. When are we starting?”

He frowned.

“What’s that for?”

“What do you mean?”

“You. You’re frowning.”

He smoothed out his expression. “I wasn’t frowning.”

“You were.”

Before he could respond, Ryan decided to chime in. “You were, boss.”

Deciding to ignore all that—and he was the boss, so he could—he said, “We’re meeting down there in five minutes.”

“See ya,” she said, racing off. He blinked at how fast she was.

“She’s timing herself. The girl lives for pushing herself,” Marcus said. The African American was the foremost authority on the teams for terrorism. He would soon transfer to command Team Charlie.

He glanced over at the man. Marcus was an okay guy, but he did date Seth’s ex, Tamilya, who was also on Team Alpha. He had no animosity towards the guy since Seth and Tamilya had broken it off years ago and had remained friends.

“That seems to be different than what she shows the world.”

“No. She’s irritated that someone is imposing on her time. It likely has something to do with food because that’s very important to her. If she wants to have a snack break, she now has to work around Bravo’s schedule. But she wants to prove to Del and Adam that she’s all in for her job.” He shrugged. “Probably has a lot to do with how she was raised.”

Everyone knew she was the daughter of a cult leader, a man who disdained the law and definitely had a nut or two loose in that head of his.

“How so?” Ryan asked.

“Well, from the time she could probably remember, she pleased an authority figure. Del and Adam are that to her at this stage in the game. I will say she always pitches in if she can.”

He had noticed that, too. She kept herself separate but on equal footing. And whenever they needed extra hands, she was there, adding to the group’s overall strength. It was odd that she did so much, but many of the group knew little about her personal life. Yes, they knew she was a child of a cult leader, but beyond that—and the speculation about her relationship with Ian—people knew very little about her.

“She’ll beat you down there if you aren’t careful,” Marcus said.

When Seth glanced over at the elevators, he noticed Ryan and Maya were already waiting on it.

“Thanks. Hey, how is the hiring for Team Charlie?”

“Got a few perspectives. It’s hard since they all need the highest security clearances.”

They all needed security clearances, but the terrorism group would have to have the highest because of what they would handle.

“I might have a few guys I can recommend. I know some of my old teammates are getting ready to retire.”

“Hey, thanks. That would help a bunch.”

“No problem.”

“Are you coming, Boss?”

He glanced at the elevators again and noticed Ryan and Maya standing on the lift.

“Coming,” he said, nodding to Marcus before jogging over to the lift.

“Do you think it was best to put her on that team?” Adam asked.

“She isn’t on the team. She’s shadowing them, and it would help if we all understood their mission. Autumn doesn’t need to know exactly what they do, but understanding their mission is important.”

Adam watched as she zipped out of her office and hurried to the elevators. She had some kind of bar in her hand—either candy or granola.

“But starting with Autumn?”

Del chuckled. “Yeah, risky, but it works this week. They need to feel as if they are part of the team.”

“You think they don’t feel like part of the team?”

“I think they do to a point. They showed up when we needed them dealing with the Hank Seymour problem.”

Seymour had reportedly tried to abduct Adam’s fiancée Jin a few months ago. When they zeroed in on the group they thought had her, Bravo showed up ready to help without being asked.

Del nodded. “I just want to be sure Alpha appreciates what they do. It’s different from terrorism. Most will understand that, but search and rescue is slightly different.”

He nodded. Each Bravo member was certified as an EMT. While the entire TFH force couldn’t do that, they should understand basic rescue procedures to help in an emergency.

“Okay. But if this goes badly, I’m blaming you.”

“Son, I live in a house dominated by women. I’m used to getting blamed.”

Adam smiled, and then he started laughing because it was true.

“Now,” Adam said, still chuckling, “why are you in my office?” He knew Del wouldn’t have shown up just to talk to Autumn.

“We have an issue with a visiting dignitary who needs extra security and gave the state department and the state of Hawaii little to no warning.”

That’s when he saw Marcus waiting on them. He waved him in.

“So, I take it Alpha is in the hot seat for this one?”

“Yeah,” Del said. “Let’s get to planning.”