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“Do you trust her?”
“Gut instinct? Yes.”
“Go. I’ll cover Neal’s position.”
Teagan hurried off and returned with Shelly. “Seth, meet Shelly Vance, former military police. Army.”
Seth shook her hand. “Why didn’t you come to the meeting after lunch today?”
She scowled. “Mr. Richardson told me to get my sweet little butt back in the laundry room where I belong.”
He rolled his eyes. “We have a vacancy in the guard unit. You interested?”
“Absolutely, but you don’t know my capabilities, sir.”
“You’re a trained police officer. I worked with enough in the military to know your training, Shelly. Make sure you’re at the training session at 0400 tomorrow morning. If you’re as good as I think you are, you may find yourself on the enforcer squad.”
“Wherever I can help, sir. Any special orders?”
“You will see or hear nothing during your watch if it involves my teammates unless we’re in obvious distress. Understood?”
Interest filled her eyes. “Yes, sir.”
“You’re on watch until 1:00 a.m. Can you function on three hours of sleep?”
“You bet, sir. The Army trained me well.”
He chuckled. “Same. We’ll check on you before we turn in ourselves. We’re making the rounds of the guards and checking security.”
“Yes, sir.”
Seth and Teagan completed their circuit around the interior of the compound and turned toward the back of the headquarters building, where Violet and Noah waited for them.
“Got what you need,” Violet murmured. “Let’s get this done.”
Noah checked the door. “Locked.”
Teagan pulled a set of lock picks from her cargo pocket and crouched in front of the knob. Within seconds, she stood and opened the door.
Incredible. Seth wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or appalled at how quickly Teagan manipulated the lock picks to gain illegal entry to the building.
He entered the headquarters building with his teammates on his heels. “We’re on a security sweep. Violet and Noah, check the first floor for occupants. If you find bugs and cameras, remove them. I doubt Peters and Richardson want eyes and ears in this place.”
“Copy that.” Noah motioned for Violet to precede him.
“Second floor, babe,” Seth murmured. “We’ll follow the same pattern as Noah and Violet. Security sweep of the entire floor. We’ll spend extra time in Peters’ office to be sure nothing slips past us that might harm him.”
She bypassed the elevator and headed for the stairwell. A minute later, they emerged on the floor with the executive offices.
Seth motioned toward the office beside the stairwell. “You take that one. I’ll take the one across the hall. Let’s get this done and go.” His gut told him trouble was coming. Whether it would hit tonight or tomorrow, he didn’t know, but he intended to heed the silent warning.
One by one, they cleared the offices, with Teagan scanning each one for unwanted electronics and removing what she found. Finally, they reached Peters’ office. Once again, Teagan had to pick the lock.
“We’ll have to lock it back before we leave,” Seth murmured. “Peters will notice if the door is open in the morning.”
“No problem.” She easily manipulated the lock and opened the door. “Keep watch. I’ll be as fast as I can, but I have to scan for cameras and bugs first. Once I deal with those, I’ll search for a password. If I can’t find it, we’ll have to sneak Riley in here.”
Seth brushed a kiss over Teagan’s lips and motioned her inside the office. Once she slipped into the room, he turned to face the hallway and settled in to wait. Ten minutes later, the elevator chimed with the car’s arrival.