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Zane laughed. “Oh, man. You’re never going to hear the end of this, Brent.”
“Shut up, Z,” Maddox groused, then turned back to Seth. “I assume you and your team will work missions with Artemis if the opportunity arises.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Deal. First, give me advance notice on the timing of your honeymoon. I’ll work around it. Second, choose a name for your group.”
“We’ll use our group’s call sign from the military. Echo unit.”
“Excellent. Zane, get Echo unit onto PSI’s training schedule. It’s also time for a refresher for Artemis. Both teams can enjoy Durango’s training regimen together.”
Each member of Artemis groaned.
Seth and his teammates exchanged glances. “What’s the problem?” Seth asked. “Training is necessary.”
“You’ll see,” Teagan said. “They’re sadists, every one of them. You just think you’re in shape, babe. You’ll find out quickly how out of shape you are.”
Violet sighed. “I’ll stock up on everything I need to treat injuries.”
Maddox said to Teagan, “I’ll ask Morgan to schedule more training sessions with you, too.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Maddox opened the file folder in front of him and distributed contracts and pens to each member of Echo unit. “Once you sign, you’ll be full-time employees.”
Two minutes later, he gathered the signed papers and said, “Gentlemen, welcome to Fortress Security.” Maddox stood. “We’ll be in touch soon to tell you when to report to Personal Security International.” He glanced at Burnett. “I’ll see in you in my office when you finish here.” He left the conference room with Zane behind him.
Burnett stood as did Seth and his teammates. “I’m sorry,” the lieutenant said. “I didn’t expect things to end like this.”
“We’re not surprised,” Bowen said. “We knew when we volunteered to go undercover with Seth and Noah that we may not come back to our jobs.”
“I hate it.” Burnett sighed. “This isn’t what I wanted. You’re the finest detective squad I’ve worked with in my time as a cop. If I knew of a way for you to remain safe, I’d keep you on the squad.”
“We understand, LT,” Noah said. He held out his hand. “Watch your back.”
Seth smiled. “If you need a black ops unit, you know who to call.”
Burnett chuckled. “I do, indeed.” He shook hands with the rest of the men. “Be safe, all of you. If you need me, you have my cell phone number. Don’t be afraid to use it.”
“LT,” Seth said. “You’re down five detectives. Would you be interested in the name of a former cop who wants to get back into law enforcement?”
“Who?”
“Colton Wells. He was a detective with the Metro-Nashville PD. You interested in talking to him?”
“How did you meet him?”
“Ran across him in Haven. He didn’t know what Peters and Richardson were planning, sir. We got him out of the compound before we left for Washington, D.C. He’s a good man.”
“Do you trust him?”
“I do, sir.”
“I can’t promise anything but I will talk to him. How do I contact Wells?”
Seth rattled off Wells’ cell phone number. “Thanks, LT. I appreciate you giving him a chance.”
After the lieutenant left, Iona, Riley, and Rayne pushed back from the table and stood. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starving,” Iona said. “Echo unit joining Fortress is cause for celebration.”