Chapter Six
WHY DID ELIAS Knight have to be so stubborn?
She’d practically admitted that she was in love with him, and he’d gone off on a tangent about some death sentence placed on him by the Reckoners.
“You aren’t putting a potential death sentence on me.
I’m accepting it willingly.” She cupped his jaw in her hands.
“Get this through your thick skull, Elias. All of us have death sentences from people who are more dangerous than your father and his buddies. I’m not running from a relationship that I’ve wanted since I first met you.
If you can’t or won’t speak how you feel out loud, I’m claiming this relationship for you and for me. ”
Amusement lit his gaze. That’s when Iona knew she had him.
“That’s not how this works. You can’t claim a relationship for me.”
“Watch me.”
Elias cupped her face in his hands. “Are you sure, Iona? The Reckoners are relentless. They’ll never give up the hunt for me, and finding them is problematic. The Reckoners don’t have a home base for long. They move every six months.”
“If the Reckoners turn out to be the ones behind the shooting, we’ll go after them with every Fortress resource we have, and that’s considerable.”
He studied her face for a beat, then took her mouth in a hard kiss. When he lifted his head, his eyes glittered. “If you’re sure this is what you want, I’ll accept your invitation to date.”
She laughed as the rest of their teams broke into applause and whistles again.
Seth held up his hand. “All right. Settle down. Now that we have Knight’s love life straightened out, can we get back to the original reason for this lively gathering?”
Teagan shrugged. “What’s to discuss? It’s simple. Elias isn’t going undercover alone. End of story.”
“You can’t stop me.” Elias held up his hand when his friends protested. “Look, no one was supposed to know what I was doing.”
Iona pointed at him. “Not true. The boss expected you to have a backup. That’s us.”
“I can’t take nine people with me into an MC.”
Seth glared. “Four with their Old Ladies.”
Teagan flinched. “Hearing that term makes me want to find a mirror and pluck out all the gray hairs.”
Her teammates laughed.
Elias shoved his hand through his hair. “Don’t you understand what I was telling you? Taking your wives into an MC like this one is too dangerous. They’ll be vulnerable to attack.”
Noah snorted. “They’re always targets. You remember their skills with weapons, right?”
“Of course. How could I forget?”
“Any man or woman who comes after Artemis will be in for a big surprise.” A mean smile curved his mouth. “And after our women walk away the victors, we’ll finish the job.”
Grant nodded in agreement. “Do you know of anyone better qualified to survive in that environment than Artemis?”
“Even thinking about taking Iona into that environment makes me want to hurl. How can you consider putting your wives at risk for me?” Elias shook his head. “I can’t let you do it.”
“Why not?” Rayne propped her fists on her hips.
“I’m not worth the risk, all right? There, I said it. Are you happy now? Deal with it.”
Grant gave him The Look. “Watch your mouth, Knight.”
“Sorry, Rayne. Look, I appreciate the support, but I can’t let you do this.”
Seth picked up his phone and made a call, placing it on speaker.
Seconds later, Maddox said, “Yeah, Maddox.”
“It’s Seth. You’re on speaker with Echo and Artemis.”
“What do you need?”
“Fake IDs in an MC for nine more people.”
“I’m way ahead of you. They’re ready along with people who can provide references from a real MC. Those men have already been briefed and are ready for the calls and questions.”
Elias stared at the phone. “Sir, how did you work that out?”
“They owed me big favors. I cashed them in for this. More questions?”
“How long is this assignment?” Teagan asked.
“As long as it takes. We have to find those weapons and stop the sale before the weapons and ammunition make it to the streets. Too many civilians will die if we fail.”
Noah said, “You planned for us to go undercover with Elias?”
“Of course.”
“Why weren’t we briefed before now?”
“Because I was under the mistaken impression that he planned to talk to the rest of you about the assignment before now. It’s a mistake I won’t make again.”
Elias flinched. Ouch. To have the boss irritated with him wasn’t good. “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”
“Don’t lie to me, Knight. I know you. You won’t be able to prevent yourself from trying to protect the people you care about. You haven’t gotten through your thick skull the knowledge that those same people can take care of themselves, and all of you are safer together than apart.”
“Teamwork makes the dream work,” Andre said.
“Exactly. Are you taking notes, Knight?”
“No, sir. I’ve got it.”
“You better. I don’t like to repeat myself. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Seth?”
“Sir?”
“I hate to say this, and I’ll deny it if you quote me, but you and the others need to go shopping.”
Seth grinned. “Understood, sir.”
“Get whatever you need. I hope the five of you know how to ride motorcycles because it will be obvious if you’re greenhorns.”
“When do we have to be ready?”
“Tomorrow. I’m sorry I can’t give you more time. Knight had two weeks’ notice. Blame him for the short clock.”
“We’ll do that, sir. We’ll need the IDs tonight.”
“I’ll meet you at Marissa’s Boutique in an hour. Maddox out.”
Elias and everyone else stared at the phone in Seth’s hand. “Did he just say what I thought he said?” Andre asked. “Marissa’s Boutique?”
“That’s what we heard.” Seth looked amused. “All right. Looks like we need to find this fancy dress place to meet the boss. Anyone know where it is?”
No one raised a hand.
Elias would have been surprised if any of the women admitted to knowing where this place was located, much less the men.
“I’ve got it.” Rayne stared at her phone screen. “We should leave in the next couple of minutes. It’s almost to Chattanooga, in a small town named Sapphire Springs.”
Seth stood. “You heard the lady. We leave in two minutes. Elias, you and Iona ride with me and Teagan.”
His stomach knotted. “Yes, sir.”
Minutes later, the caravan left Hartman and headed toward Sapphire Springs. In Seth’s SUV, Elias waited for the inevitable tongue-lashing that he was due. He hoped his friend would cut him a little slack and not totally embarrass him in front of Iona.
His gut tightened further. Iona. What was he going to do about her? He considered several options and came up with one conclusion. He could do nothing to prevent her from inserting herself into his dangerous operation.
Before too many miles had passed, Elias became sleepy. He struggled to stay awake and focused in case he was needed and lost the battle.
Sometime later, Elias woke when the SUV slowed down, then stopped. He sat up and scanned their surroundings. Small town, USA. They must be in Sapphire Springs. Why had their boss requested that they meet him here? There was only one way to find out. Get out and ask him.
The four operatives exited the SUV and met the others on the sidewalk in front of Marissa’s Boutique. The wide picture windows showed Brent Maddox inside the store with his wife, Rowan.
Seth opened the door to the shop and motioned for Teagan and Iona to go inside. He and Elias followed them in and headed for Maddox.
As the other operatives scattered throughout the shop, the boss introduced them to Tabby, the owner of the boutique.
Tabby smiled. “Everybody wants to know who Marissa is and why I own her shop.”
“Now that you mention it, I’d like to know the story.” Elias wrapped his arm around Iona’s shoulders. He’d soon have to change the way he held her. She wouldn’t like it. At all.
“Marissa is my cat. I named the shop after her.” She glanced at Maddox, who motioned for her to continue. “She’s the only thing I brought from my old life in Oregon.”
Elias caught what she meant immediately without her having to elaborate. Tabby was in Fortress Security’s version of WITSEC or Witness Security. She was one of those people the boss mentioned who owed him a favor. “I like the name. It hints of class.”
Tabby grinned. “I think so, too.” She turned to Maddox. “Who am I outfitting, Brent?”
“All of them.”
Her eyes widened. “All?” She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Good grief. That’s going to be quite a bill. Are you sure you want to purchase clothes here? You and Rowan told me not to go cheap on pricing.”
Rowan rested her hand on her husband’s chest. “He’s sure, Tabby. Load them up and send Brent the bill.”
Elias rubbed his neck. He understood what the boss was trying to do, but the clothes he and his friends needed couldn’t be purchased from the stock Tabby had in her store. “Brent.”
He held up a hand to stop him from saying more. “Where are they?”
“The back two rooms. I separated the clothes. The women’s clothes are in the first room on the right. The men’s clothes are in the second room.”
Elias smiled. He should have trusted the boss to think of the minor details, like clothes.
Seth motioned for the others to follow him. “Let’s go. We’re on a short clock.”
The men and women separated at the first door.
Unlike the others, Elias stood awkwardly in front of Iona, longing to pull her against him and share a deep, long kiss.
That would not happen. He’d never kissed Iona, and their first kiss would not be in front of their teammates.
The one they’d shared an hour ago wasn’t what he’d call an actual kiss. It was a statement of claim.
That’s when Elias realized he’d fallen in line with Iona’s plan. Not only was she going undercover with him, but their teams were as well. Should have known that’s what would happen. Echo unit was family, and family got into your business whether or not you wanted them to.
The longer he stood there, staring down at Iona without moving, the more hurt grew in her eyes. Nope. That wasn’t happening. He bent and kissed her cheek near her ear. He lingered long enough to whisper, “I want our first proper kiss to happen when we’re alone.”
Elias pulled back slowly and looked into her eyes. Clear. No hurt. Yes! They’d have to talk before they left for this assignment tomorrow. She had to understand the real Elias would be buried deep in order to survive the next few days or weeks.
He inclined his head toward the room with the other women. “Go. We’ll talk later.”
“Promise?”
“You have my word.”
After a slight nod, Iona turned on her heel and walked into the room, closing the door behind her.
“Are you coming?” Seth eyed him from the doorway of their room.
“Yep.” He stalked inside and looked at the clothes in numbered piles. “What’s this?”
“The boss sent Tabby our sizes. She labeled them by number. Your clothes are number three.”
“That’s a smart idea.” Each of his teammates wore different sizes. This was the best way to save time and prevent confusion.
After a brisk knock, Maddox entered the room. “Well? What do you think?”
“She nailed the look. How did she know what style to use?”
“Tabby used to be in an MC. I gave her the patch and colors worn by a nonexistent MC that you five were members of before you came to the attention of the police officers in your old compound. The story is that the MC president sent you to the target MC to keep you out of jail. The target president talked to Zane, who’s pretending to be your fake president. ” Maddox grinned. “He had a blast.”
Elias chuckled. “I’ll bet. What are we doing about rides for each couple?” Man, he didn’t know if his teammates could ride at all. Worse, he couldn’t ride a motorcycle with his shoulder messed up. How would he explain that?
“Bear is delivering the motorcycles to Fortress headquarters in the early morning hours. You’ll leave from there for your assignment. He’ll also pick up Iona’s ride to take back and repair.”
“Sir, I can’t ride a motorcycle with my shoulder like it is.”
“Got it covered. Zane told Dutch King about your encounter with law enforcement, how you were targeted and shot by a dirty cop.”
“So, I need to get out of town fast, and I need the brothers’ protection in case the shooter tracks me down.” He gave a slight nod. “Makes sense. It’s a good story. Who’s the law enforcement contact?”
“Who else? Cal Taylor. His team is off the deployment rotation for the next couple of weeks. That should be long enough to verify that the police officers are after you and your buddies.”
“Nice. So, do we have road names?”
“That’s on you to choose. Zane told Dutch that he wouldn’t be able to miss ten people descending on his clubhouse at one time, and one man would be in a pickup truck, hauling his bike because of a bullet wound. If I were you, I’d use my military handle. You’ll respond to the names immediately.”
“Yeah, but our women won’t. They know us by our first names.”
“So, let the women use your first names. Make it work, Elias. No one knew you would be targeted and shot. We’ll have to use the incident in your cover story.”
“Yes, sir.” Elias’ gut knotted. He’d been searching for a way to keep Iona away from this mission.
The last thing he wanted was to take her into harm’s way.
With his boss’ last orders, Elias was officially out of excuses.
Despite months of watching Iona’s back on the sly, he’d have to take her into the heart of the lion’s den.