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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.”
