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“Your skills.”
“Why?”
“That’s need to know for members only.” He smiled. “At this moment, you aren’t part of our family, Dixon.”
He snorted. “If you think we’re joining your organization with blind loyalty, you’re out of luck.”
“Don’t be so fast to reject our offer,” Peters murmured. “Remember, we can help you with your problem at the department.”
“Explain.”
“We can make the murder charge disappear.” A pause. “For a price.”
Seth sneered. “How much will it cost me?”
“One year of complete loyalty to the cause. If at that point you’re not convinced, we part ways. No harm, no foul.”
He didn’t believe that for one second. Only a fool would believe anything these men said.
“Let me get this straight,” Noah said. “You’re offering us jobs for one year, and in return for complete loyalty, you’ll make the charges against us go away?”
“That’s right.” Richardson finished the last of his coffee. “What can you lose?”
“A lot.” Noah glanced at Knight, Marsh, and Bowen. “I assume you received the same offer?”
“We did.” Knight shifted his attention to The Brotherhood’s leaders. “How soon do you want an answer from all of us?”
“Noon tomorrow.” The two men pushed back from the table and stood. “Contact your cousin if your group is interested in what we’re offering. One minute after noon, we’ll be on the road out of town. At the point, the offer will be rescinded. We have other men to recruit if you turn us down.”
“Wait a minute,” Seth said, scowling. “We have fourteen hours to make our decision and put our financial house in order?”
A shrug from Peters. “That’s the deal. Take it or leave it, Dixon.”
“You want all seven of us?” Noah frowned.
“All or none. The five of you have worked together for years. We need your experience and expertise. As for the ladies, well, no question, we need their skills as well. Neither of them has to be part of your unit for this to work.” A smile. “Besides, like we said earlier, we want our people to be happy. It’s obvious Teagan and Violet are essential to your happiness and contentment. Beyond that, their skills are valuable in the camp and for our mission.”
“Which you refuse to tell us until we sign on the dotted line.”
“Exactly. Think about all we can offer you for one year of your time.”
“Salary?” Bowen asked. “While you’re offering Noah and Seth a clean record, all of us have bills to pay.”
Peters chuckled. “Of course. Your pay will be $100,000 each for one year of your time. Hopefully, we’ll see you all tomorrow.” He and his friend left the coffee shop.
“What…?”
Teagan gave the sign for silence and pulled out her electronic signal detector. She stood and slowly circled the table. The chaser lights turned red when she reached the place where Peters had been sitting.
She crouched and looked under the table. A moment later, Teagan stood and dropped a small black disc into her coffee. “Clear.”
“We need to get out of here,” Iona said in their earpieces. “Richardson and Peters only parked down the block from theshop. When they realize their bug isn’t working, they’ll try to follow us to our next destination.”
“Copy that,” Teagan said. She looked at Seth. “The house?”
He nodded and turned to the other three detectives, who were exchanging puzzled glances. “Richardson and Peters are waiting down the block for us to have a chat about our new opportunity with The Brotherhood. Take evasive action, and meet back at my house with Teagan and Violet’s team.”
“You got it.” Knight strode from the room with the other two falling into step behind the detective. Soon, the taillights of their vehicle disappeared in the distance.