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“I wouldn’t expect any less, sir. Would you have done something different if Jerry and his friends came after you in the dead of night?”
He shook his head. “This is an organization based on military training and principles. We can’t have dissension in the ranks. I can’t predict Peters’ response to the news.” His smile was wintry. “But you’re tough. You can handle whatever repercussions come, can’t you? Carry on, Dixon.”
Seth took a minute to let the adrenaline bleed off. Looked like he’d have to make his case with Peters. Otherwise, he might spend time in the punishment room. Better him than Teagan or the others.
He returned to the training center and immersed himself in helping these men become better at protecting themselves and others. The rest of the training sessions included weapons skills, and he knew just who to tap on the shoulder to lead them.
He signaled Teagan to take over since she was an expert in knives and guns of every variety. He also wanted to shake up some men who continued to look at her and Violet with disdain.
By the end of the session, the men showed the beginning of an attitude change. Seth would take that for a win. At 7:00,he released the trainees to shower and eat, then return to their duties.
“Who’s drawing the short straw with Peters first?” Noah asked.
“You and Grant. Teagan and I will be spot-checking the trainees. Marsh, monitor the trainees this afternoon. Teagan and I will take the afternoon shift with Peters.”
“I can handle a shift with the lecherous creep.”
“Not saying you can’t. However, I want you to steer clear of Peters as much as possible. No need to remind Peters that you prevented him from spending time with Jillian last night.”
“And you and Teagan interfered with his plan to rape Martina, too.”
“Who’s in charge of assigning jobs around the compound?”
“A woman named Maddie,” Bowen said. “Of course, she takes orders from the Dynamic Duo. What are you planning to do?”
“Have Martina reassigned to kitchen duty. Ivan told me she’s a chef.”
Noah scowled. “What is she doing cleaning buildings?”
Marsh snorted. “Peters probably has all the attractive women working where he has easy access to them.”
“I don’t know,” Teagan said. “He seems to think he’s the leader of the free world with access to anyone at any time. I don’t know that the job matters. He believes all he has to do is snap his fingers.”
“Teagan’s right.” Seth frowned. “I’m hoping he’ll lose interest in Martina if she’s out of sight.” At least until he convinced Ivan to leave Haven with her. “All of you watch your backs. Won’t take long for word to spread about Jerry and his cronies. We’ll face serious hostility. Don’t let your guards down for an instant.”
“You heard the man,” Noah said. “Let’s grab food on the way back to our quarters, clean up, then get to work.”
As Seth and Teagan patrolled through the camp, glances in their direction shifted from friendly to cautious to fearful. They also encountered their fair share of resentment and anger at the supposed deaths of Jerry and his friends.
After lunch, they took over guarding Peters. The militia leader’s eyes narrowed when he saw them in the hall. Still in a meeting, he merely nodded at them and returned his full attention to the computer screen.
“I think we’ll be called into the principal’s office before school’s out,” Teagan said.
Two hours later, Peters opened his door. His eyes glittered with fury. “Inside. Now.”
They followed the militia leader inside his office and closed the door. Seth and Teagan stood in front of his desk.
“What happened with Jerry, Dixon?”
“He persuaded a guard on duty to leave his post without permission, then broke into our quarters with his three friends. All four men were armed. We captured and interrogated them. They admitted to planning to kill me and my men, then raping Violet and Teagan before killing them, too. If they’d succeeded, they would have demanded to be your personal security detail, sir.”
“Where are they?”
“We disposed of them.”
“You killed them?”
“What part of they planned to rape and kill Teagan and Violet didn’t you understand, sir? When you recruited my team, I told you that Teagan was mine and Violet was Noah’s. No one will hurt them or threaten to hurt them and get away with it unscathed. The men were a threat to my woman. I took care of the problem.”