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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
IN THEIR QUARTERS, Teagan walked straight to the kitchen, grabbed a soft drink from the refrigerator, and downed half of it without taking a breath. She set the bottle on the counter before she dropped it, annoyed at her hand shaking. Bad enough to show weakness by puking in front of the man she adored. Trembling just ticked her off.
She closed her eyes, stomach still roiling. Really? Pervert Peters planned to tie her up for weeks and rape her to get her to cooperate? Never going to happen. She’d sooner die than allow him to put his hands on her body.
“Teagan.” Seth’s arms wrapped around her waist, his chest pressed to her back. “He won’t touch you. I give you my word.”
“What if he sets you up for the Secret Service? You won’t be around to protect me.”
“If that happens, you’ll protect yourself. You’re a fully trained black ops soldier who knows dozens of ways to kill to keep yourself safe. I expect you to use every skill in your arsenal to escape Peters’ clutches.”
She spun in his arms. “You heard what he said. He’ll use Violet against me. She’s my friend. I can’t let him hurt her.”
“You also heard him admit he would only play you. Richardson won’t let him hurt Violet. He’s too interested in having her for himself. Besides, from what I’ve observed, Violet is just as capable of protecting herself from predators as you are.”
“They’re both sick creeps.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.”
“Why aren’t you more upset?”
“Oh, I am, but I’m also grateful we have a few more pieces of information. Working in the dark doesn’t give us the best chance to defeat their plan.”
“We don’t have the targets yet.”
“We know the Secret Service is providing protection. We also know the date and time. Perhaps Fortress can help us narrow down the potential targets before we leave in the morning.”
“When will Peters inform us we’re leaving Haven?”
“My guess is minutes before the caravan is due to depart. He doesn’t want us to have too much time to ask questions or put pieces of the puzzle together.”
Well, he would have succeeded if they hadn’t planted the bug where it would do the most good.
“Are you ready to report to the others?” he murmured, cupping her nape with his palm. “If you don’t want to recount the information, I can tell them what they need to know.”
While Teagan appreciated Seth giving her the option of bowing out, she refused to take the easy out. She shook her head. “Let’s go. They need to know they’re being set up for a fall.”
Seth brushed his mouth over hers and released Teagan.
She preceded him to the living room, where their teammates waited for an update.
With one look at her face, Violet surged to her feet, releasing Noah’s hand. Did her teammate realize how much of a couple she and Noah were becoming? Somehow Teagan didn’t think it was only for show.
“What happened, Teagan? Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine. Sit down, Violet. We have news.”
“Not much,” Seth clarified. “Enough to know Peters and Richardson have plans to get rid of us after we assassinate the target assigned to us.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised by that,” Noah said. “Give us details.”
Between the two of them, Teagan and Seth recounted the conversation in the headquarters conference room.
By the time they finished, Noah’s eyes glittered. “Neither one of them will touch Violet while I’m still breathing.”
“I think that’s the whole point,” Bowen said dryly. “Peters and Richardson plan for us to be out of the way, whether dead or in jail, so they have free access to Violet and Teagan.”
“We know the plan,” Seth said. “We have to come up with a way to make them think we’re falling in line without assassinating anyone or becoming victims ourselves.”