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“Sir?”
“The feds are pressuring all of us for information. Zane is catching more rumors online about a big operation involving The Brotherhood. It sounds like an armed conflict against high-ranking officials.”
Seth stilled. “How credible is the information?”
“Z doesn’t make mistakes. We need this op wrapped up yesterday. You hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I expect you to check in within six hours, sooner if something breaks.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Later.”
Seth dragged a hand down his face. Man, he hated to do this but didn’t see another way around it. “We need to hack Peters’ computer, baby.”
“If we can’t find his password, we’ll need Riley. She’s the computer whiz. We don’t have time to mess around with this. We can’t afford to be caught in that office without a good explanation.”
“I’ll handle the explanation. We need information to stop Peters and Richardson.”
“Then let’s help Jillian and Rubin escape so we can focus on stopping these homegrown terrorists.” She made another call. “Iona, we need to hack a computer. We also need to break out a couple of teens from Haven tonight.”
“You don’t ask for much, do you? How soon for both?”
“Let’s bring Riley inside when we send out Rubin and Jillian,” Seth said. “Maddox is setting up a safe house. The kids have agreed to testify against Peters and Richardson.”
Silence, then, “What aren’t you telling me?”
He gave an abbreviated explanation, ending with, “We need them out of here tonight. I don’t want either of them set up as targets for the Dynamic Duo.”
“Got it. We’ll call you when we’re ready.” Iona ended the call.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
WHEN TEAGAN RETURNEDto the kitchen with Seth, Rubin and Jillian looked up with hope in their eyes. “You’re leaving tonight.”
Jillian’s eyes widened. “How? No one can leave Haven without permission.”
“You and Rubin are. I hope you have nothing important in your quarters because it’s not safe for you to go back to collect anything.”
“We can’t keep anything of worth in our quarters, so that’s not a problem.” Rubin’s voice held an edge of bitterness. “Where will we go?”
“We have friends close by who will take you to a safe house,” Seth said. “You’ll have a team of bodyguards to watch over you 24 hours a day. We’ll work out the rest of the details in time. If you want our help to escape and protection for the long term, you must testify. Otherwise, you’ll be on your own.”
Rubin scowled at Seth. “Peters hurt Jillian. He forced himself on her no matter how many times she said no. What he did was wrong. He has to pay for that. If that means testifying to put him in jail, then we’ll testify. He’s obsessed with her. Peters will never leave Jillian alone unless he’s in jail or dead,” he said flatly. “If you won’t help us, I’ll do the job myself.”
Teagan studied him as he spoke to Seth. The teen meant every word. While she admired his determination to protect the girl he loved, Teagan worried about him going after Peters evenif Artemis or Seth and his teammates captured the militia leader. For Rubin, revenge against Peters meant regaining the control stripped from him and punishing the man abusing Jillian.
“Will I have to return home?” Jillian asked.
Marsh shifted, drawing Jillian’s attention to him. “Going to trial is slow. By the time you make it to the courtroom, you’ll have had your eighteenth birthday. No one will force you to return home.”
But what would happen after the trial? Witness protection? Teagan didn’t like the idea of two teens in the world on their own without adults they trusted for guidance and safety.
Even though they believed they were in love, their relationship was new. Although she doubted Jillian would want to break protocol and contact her family, what about Rubin? Was he as willing to give up everything, including his family, for a woman he’d known for a few months?
Teagan didn’t like their odds of surviving in witness protection unless it was with Fortress. Maddox was a miracle worker. If the couple went into Fortress Security’s witness protection program, perhaps something could be worked out to help them survive. They needed a mentor close by in case they ran into trouble. She’d broach the topic with Maddox.
