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“I parked by the west side door.”
“We’ll meet you at your SUV,” Knight said.
Soon, the rest of the team exited the hotel by the west door. “Let’s get out of here,” Seth murmured to Knight. “My gut says we need to leave in the next few minutes.”
“Same.” Knight grimaced. “Trouble’s coming, Major.”
As he drove onto the highway leading to Lawrenceburg, Seth watched for tails. Although he took several detours, he didn’t spot anyone following them.
The knots in his gut loosened a little. Maybe they’d slipped out of the hotel at exactly the right time. He returned to the highway and completed the journey to Lawrenceburg and the Magnolia Inn.
Since the reservation was in Teagan’s alias, she went inside the lobby with him to register and pick up key cards for both rooms.
Seth handed Knight his cards, and the team collected their gear. After climbing the stairs to the second floor, Seth signaled Teagan and Violet to scan the rooms. This time the scans were clear.
“I think we’re safe for the night. Get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long, hard day.”
Marsh frowned. “I hope we don’t end up on the evening news as an assassination team sent to kill the leaders of the free world.”
Seth was afraid that’s exactly what would happen. He told Knight, Marsh, and Bowen about Salitto and King.
Bowen’s eyebrows shot up. “What’s a SWAT sniper doing with an assassin?”
“Good question. I asked Zane to look for Salitto and King near Crockett Park on the day Pico was murdered and to track their movements a week before the death. I don’t know if he’ll find proof, but I think Salitto and King killed Pico.”
Marsh whistled softly. “Why didn’t they kill you, too? Why go to the trouble of setting you up for murder charges?”
“We take the death of a cop personally,” Noah said. “If they’d killed Seth, we wouldn’t have rested until we hunted down his killer. King isn’t our best buddy but he and everyone else in our house knows we have each other’s backs. If he and Salitto are Pico’s killers, they wouldn’t want to generate more interest in the case. Nobody except us cares about a CI who was a junkie.”
Knight sighed. “All right. If Zane comes up with anything overnight, let us know.”
“Count on it,” Seth said.
After the rest of his team left, Seth said, “I’ll take the first watch. I’m too wound up to sleep.”
“I’ll take over in four hours.” Noah picked up Violet’s bag and took it to the first bedroom. When he returned, he kissed Violet, brushed his thumb over her cheekbone, and went to the other room and closed the door.
“See you in a few minutes,” Violet murmured to Teagan. “Good night, Seth.” She closed the bedroom door behind her.
“Do you want company during your shift?” Teagan asked Seth.
He shook his head. “Sleep while you can. I need you at the top of your game tomorrow.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew his head down to hers. Teagan took his mouth with an intensity that stole his breath. His woman could light him up in a split second. Something told him that would always be the case, even in their later years.
Long minutes later, he broke the kiss. Though reluctant to be separated from her, his control was whisper thin. Another intense kiss would snap that thread and take them places they weren’t ready to go. Not yet. “We have to stop, baby,” he murmured, his forehead against hers.
Seth held her until their breathing slowed to a normal rate. “I love you, Teagan.”
“I love you so much, Seth.” Her gaze locked with his. “I don’t want to lose you to Peters and Richardson’s plot.”
“You won’t. I have no intention of doing something foolish because I want to marry you and have a family.” She stiffened in his arms. “No pressure, Teagan. No timeline. More thananything, I want to go to sleep with you in my arms every night and wake up to your beautiful face each morning.”
“My job….”
“It’s your choice. I won’t take that away from you. You have my full support and always will.”
“What if I can’t have children?”