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She cinched a pair of zip ties around Wilson’s wrists and turned to see Seth standing a few feet away, his weapon pointed at the fallen detective. “Seth.”
He glanced up. “What?”
“Wilson is down and he’s not going anywhere. Put your weapon away.”
“He hurt you, Teagan.”
“Who was on the floor of the office, curled up in a ball? I’d say I won that skirmish and this one.” She reached out and laid her hand on top of his weapon. “He’s done. Don’t let him interfere with our plans. Besides, I’d rather not waste money bailing you out of jail.”
He glared at the unconscious detective. “Might be worth it.”
Teagan exerted pressure on Seth’s hand. “Put your weapon away. Is there a cop you trust?”
“Burnett.”
“Call him. Have him take care of Wilson and Kepler and the other two detectives. We can’t afford to be delayed.”
“I hate admitting you’re right,” he muttered. Seth glared at Wilson a moment longer, then holstered his weapon. “Monitor Wilson while I check on Rayne and Iona.” He went to the kitchen.
He returned a moment later, shaking his head. “You and your team are incredible. You took down two veteran detectives with years of experience with no difficulty.”
“It’s what we’re trained to do.”
“Baby, all I can say is Artemis rocks.” Seth slid his phone from his pocket and called his lieutenant. After a brief conversation, he ended the call. “Burnett will be here in fifteen minutes with reinforcements.”
“What about Noah’s attackers?”
“Chastain and Carter’s lieutenant is heading over there to take care of the garbage.” He sighed. “Four detectives are going to jail tonight. Now Burnett will be down seven detectives with two down in another house. I should tell Knight, Marsh, and Bowen to go back to work. The LT will need them.”
“Don’t bother. Unit loyalty trumps everything.” She ought to know. Teagan would do anything for her teammates. Artemis was a tight-knit unit. They had each other’s backs, no matter what.
Seth’s friends were the same with him. They wouldn’t let him go into such a dangerous operation without them.
Soon, Burnett arrived. He stepped into the house and scowled at the two suspended detectives now sitting side-by-side on the couch, hands cinched behind their backs. “What were you thinking?”
“Come on, LT. It’s not like it looks,” Kepler said. “We just stopped by to talk, you know, to apologize to Teagan.”
She rolled her eyes. Seriously? They didn’t know she’d been staying at Seth’s place. No, their entire mission had been to punish Seth for allegedly being a dirty cop.
Burnett stared at the two men. “That’s the explanation you’re going with? Pathetic.”
“You believe the word of a traitor over ours?” Wilson demanded. “You know us.”
“Yeah, I do, which is why this explanation of yours has holes big enough to drive a semi through.” The lieutenant glanced over his shoulder at the beat cops awaiting his orders. “Cuff these two and take them to the station. Be sure to read them their rights. Don’t want any missteps on our part to prevent these men from having their day in court. Once they’re processed, contact their union representative.”
“But Lieutenant…,” Kepler protested.
“That’s enough,” his commander snapped, his voice barely above a growl. “You’re in enough trouble already. Don’t add to it.”
When the men had been stuffed into the back of a patrol car, Burnett turned to Seth and Teagan. “Have you had contact with Richardson and Peters?”
They summarized events since Seth resigned from the police force. “We’re meeting them at noon,” Seth finished.
“Are you sure Wilson and Kepler don’t know about this mission?”
“As far as we know, sir.”
“Do they have connections to The Brotherhood?”