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Once everyone else left the training center, Noah rounded on Seth. “Are you nuts?” He glared at his partner.
“Richardson and Peters are military.”
“Then they should have seen and fixed the holes themselves. Why are we doing their jobs for them?”
“Because it was a test.”
Teagan smiled. “Wondered if you caught on to that.”
“A test?” Bowen said, voice low. “Are you sure?”
“Even the most incompetent officer learns enough to set up a perimeter watch. What we saw was too bad to be normal operations. They wouldn’t have put up with this kind of incompetence in the military.” She shook her head. “This was a test of our loyalty, proving that we had the best interests of The Brotherhood at heart.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Well, did we pass?”
“We’re still alive without new bullet holes,” Violet said. “I say it’s a win.”
“Orders?” Noah asked Seth.
“Go with Violet to the infirmary and make sure everything is as it should be. When you finish, come find me.” He shifted his attention to Bowen. “You and Teagan are with me.”
“What’s first on the agenda for us?” Teagan asked.
“Find the machinist’s shop to make copies of the keys. After that, we’ll track down Richardson and convince him to let us help train enforcers and guards.”
Her lips curved. “Your idea of a date is lacking, baby.”
Seth chuckled. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“Can’t wait to see Richardson’s face when we volunteer for training duty,” Bowen said.
CHAPTER TWENTY
RICHARDSON GLARED ATSeth and his teammates. “I don’t need help training my own men. Unlike you, I did the full twenty before retiring.”
And that made him disloyal to the service? Seth clenched his teeth, holding onto his temper by a thread.
“We want to do our part to contribute to this community,” Bowen said. “You know our backgrounds and that we trained to protect and serve.”
He folded his arms. “They threw you away, Bowen. Guess they didn’t appreciate your help, did they?”
“That doesn’t change who we are at our core,” Seth said.
Suspicion still filled Richardson’s eyes. “There are plenty of places to help in The Brotherhood. We have various positions just waiting for the right people to fill them. Why push your way into the one place that doesn’t need or want your expertise?”
Seth stepped closer to the angry militia leader. “One big reason.” He pointed at Teagan. “If I’m not at her side, I want someone I’ve trained to be as invested in protecting Teagan as I am.”
“She looked capable of protecting herself a few minutes ago.” He sent a dark look Teagan’s way. “You telling me her performance was a fluke?”
He shook his head. “I’d bet money on her any day in a fight, but all of us can use backup. Teagan needs the best backup available because I’m marrying that woman and starting afamily with her as soon as I talk her into it. I can’t do that if she’s hurt or killed in a firefight with inadequately trained soldiers at her back, and I could lose her if the protection detail around this compound isn’t the best in the business.”
“And you think you and your team can create that kind of security perimeter?”
“Given enough time, yes.” Too bad for Richardson and the others that Seth and his team wouldn’t be here long enough to truly turn those men into a civilian unit like his Ranger unit. “The better they are at their job, the safer we’re all going to be, especially you and Peters.”
Richardson studied him for a moment, then shifted his attention to Teagan. “So, you’re going to marry the disgraced cop?”
