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Not Noah and Violet. They would have used the stairs. Seth straightened from the wall and waited.
Two sets of footsteps echoed in the hall as the couple walked closer.
“Please, Mr. Peters. I need to finish my tasks and go to my quarters. My husband is waiting.”
“Your first duty is to me,” Peters said, then paused a few seconds. “Unless, of course, you want your husband to spend some quality time in the punishment room.”
A soft gasp. “No, please.”
“I guarantee he won’t be able to do his job for at least a week, and he will also reap consequences for not pulling his weight. Is that what you want?”
“No, sir,” came the tearful response.
The more Seth heard, the angrier he grew. Appeared Peters was targeting a different woman since Jillian wasn’t available. This woman wasn’t any more eager for the militia leader’s attention than the teenager.
He stepped into Peters’ office. “Peters is coming down the hall with a woman.”
“I’m almost finished,” Teagan murmured. “Keep him off me for two minutes.”
“Get it done or call it, babe.”
“Okay. Go.”
Seth returned to the hallway and walked halfway to the corner so he could delay Peters and the woman without the militia leader seeing Teagan at his computer.
Seconds later, Peters and a dark-haired woman with tears streaming down her cheeks rounded the corner. Peters stopped abruptly, eyes narrowing. “What are you doing here, Dixon? I thought you were getting some rest.”
“Security check.” He eyed Peters. “You’re supposed to be resting tonight to be fresh for your meetings tomorrow. Why are you back in the office?”
“None of your business.”
“Wandering around the compound without security makes you a prime target, Mr. Peters. If you plan to leave your quarters at night, I’d appreciate advance notice so we can assign a security detail.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I was in the Army for 20 years. I don’t need bodyguards every minute of every day.”
“How long have you been out of the military, sir?”
Color flooded the other man’s cheeks. “Are you implying I’m incapable of protecting myself?”
“You brought in my team for your protection. If you don’t need us, we’ll find someone else who appreciates our talents.” Seth folded his arms and waited for the comeback he knew was coming.
Peters smirked. “I don’t think so, Detective. Have you forgotten the trouble you left behind in Ardmore?”
“I have forgotten nothing.”
“If you leave my employ, all your problems will move back to the forefront, and you will have to answer for the charges pending, as well as for the problems in your file. If you go to jail, your woman won’t wait 20 years for you.” A wintry smile curved Peters’ lips. “If you survive. Inmates aren’t kind to former cops.”
“And you’ll make sure the inmates know I was a cop.”
A shrug. “Can’t control what leaks.”
Jerk. “I can take care of myself.”
“And your woman? Who will take care of her while you’re fighting for your life behind bars?”
“Teagan can take care of herself. She has a mean streak of which I thoroughly approve. She doesn’t need me for protection.”
Teagan needed to finish what she was doing. Peters would become impatient soon.