Chapter Eight
ELIAS PEERED OUT his picture window at the quiet street. Something bad was coming. But when?
A second question plagued him, too. Would he be the only target, or would the team come under fire as well?
A soft brush of fabric against the stairwell wall told him that one of the nine other people in his home was coming to join him and Seth. His guess was Teagan or Iona.
Both women walked into the living room. After a quick glance around, Teagan headed to the kitchen where Seth kept watch.
Elias held out his arm, and Iona snuggled against him as if she belonged there.
Each time he was with her, he knew she was his.
Now he had to find the courage to speak up and claim her.
If she knew he held back because he didn’t want his past life to taint her, Iona would be angry.
Worse, he was coming to realize he needed her to be whole.
He sighed. Yeah, he was toast. That’s all there was to it. Elias settled her against his side. “Couldn’t sleep?”
Iona shook her head. “Teagan couldn’t sleep either. At this rate, we might as well assign couples for night watch.”
He threaded his fingers through her long chestnut hair, which felt like silk against his skin. “Want to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
“I thought women always wanted to talk about their feelings.”
She chuckled. “So you manned up and asked me even though you really don’t want to talk about feelings?”
“I should get extra credit for that. Just saying.”
She looked up at him. “Extra credit toward what?”
“Getting me out of the doghouse next time I say something stupid to you.” He drew a deep breath, steeled himself, and said what he should have months ago. “Or extra credit toward finally wising up and claiming what’s mine.”
Iona’s eyes widened. “And what’s yours?”
He cupped her chin in his palm. “You.”
“And that means what, exactly? Don’t make me guess, Elias. I don’t want to get this wrong.”
“You can’t get it wrong. I’m saying straight out that you’re mine.” Elias grabbed his courage and held on for dear life. “And I’m yours.”
“So, we’re dating? I thought we had already established that.”
“Yes, we’re dating. Exclusive. No changing your mind or take-backs.” When Iona remained silent, Elias frowned. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether you staked your claim just for this mission and intend to dump me back into the abyss when the mission ends.”
“Are you kidding? I can finally claim you as mine. I’m keeping you, no matter what it takes.”
A slow smile curved her lips. “Good to know.”
“Yeah? Then you should know if anyone tries to get between us or take you away from me, I’ll fight back, and I’m not above playing dirty to keep what I need.”
“Understood.”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs as the rest of their teams entered the living room. “Did someone announce breakfast?” Grant asked, eyes twinkling.
The operatives laughed, and Seth looked at the teams. “I guess we’re getting an early start this morning.”
“Breakfast, right?”
He rolled his eyes. “You must have hollow legs and arms, buddy. Lucky for you, I know there’s a diner near here that’s open twenty-four hours a day. If no one objects, let’s load our gear and lock up before we leave so we don’t have to come back here.”
“Any supplies you need to replenish, take care of it at Fortress headquarters.” Noah hugged Violet to his side. “We leave in five minutes.”
Soon, the caravan of black SUVs parked in the lot at the side of Sophie’s Diner. The operatives exited their vehicles and walked into the establishment. A handful of people were already in the restaurant, scattered around the dining room.
The hostess’ eyes widened when she saw Elias with nine people. “Uh, Mr. Knight. It’s great to see you. How many are in your party this morning?”
“Ten.”
“Do you want to sit in your normal spot?”
“Yes, please. Thanks, Molly.” Elias’ hand pressed against Iona’s lower back as the hostess led the operatives to the back corner of the restaurant. The men pushed three tables together and rearranged the chairs.
After they sat down, Molly distributed the menus, promising their server would be with them soon.
Less than a minute later, a teenage girl hurried to their table. “Hi, I’m Jenny. What can I get you to drink this morning?”
After they gave the teen their orders, Elias smiled at her. “How are your parents, Jenny?”
“They’re doing well, Mr. Knight.”
“And your baby sister?”
She grinned. “Great, thanks to you.”
Elias held up a hand. He hadn’t wanted a pat on the back, especially not with his teammates near at hand to hear the discussion.
However, he wanted to know what was happening with the little girl, if today was the last time he saw Jenny.
“No thanks needed. All I did was connect your family to the best specialist I know in that field. I’m glad everything worked out for your sister’s benefit. ”
Jenny backed away from the table. “I’ll return in a minute with your drinks and to take your order.”
Iona leaned close. “What’s the story?”
“Exactly what I said. I introduced Jenny’s parents to a specialist in childhood cancer. Seems like it paid off.”
“How did you meet the specialist?”
“Matt Dempsey’s mother was murdered in Ardmore. Grant and I investigated the case and nailed the killer. Dempsey vowed to repay us someday. We told him if he really wanted to repay us, to give us an IOU. I just collected on mine.”
“Helping a sick child was a sweet thing to do.”
He shrugged his good shoulder. “It was just a phone call. Trust me, Matt was glad to repay me.”
Jenny returned carrying a large tray filled with various cold drinks and two coffee pots.
After distributing drinks and pouring coffee into mugs, the teen grabbed her notepad and pen.
“Are you ready to order now? I recommend the pancakes. The cook does a great job with them, and they’re endless.
You eat as much as you want. I’ll keep bringing platters of pancakes until you tell me you’re finished. ”
Seth glanced around the table. “Is that okay with everyone?” When no one objected, he smiled at Jenny. “You talked us into it. Ten orders of pancakes, and keep them coming.”
“Great! I’ll put your orders in. It won’t take long. Promise.” She hurried off.
Within fifteen minutes, Jenny had brought the first round of pancakes and several orders of bacon to the table.
Near the end of their meal, their conversation petered off to nothing as the operatives noticed a deep rumble outside the diner, growing louder by the minute.
Elias gripped his coffee mug tighter. He knew that sound, had grown up with it. Motorcycles. A lot of them.
He motioned the teenager over to their table. “Is it time for you to take a break?”
She nodded.
“Take it in the kitchen, all right? Don’t come back out here until the MC is gone.”
“But Shaylah can’t handle all the tables by herself.”
“Let her figure out who can help her, but it can’t be you, Jenny. Go.”
She rushed into the kitchen and disappeared through the double swinging doors. Seconds later, Maude and Shaylah were out on the restaurant floor, laughing and joking with the patrons.
Elias deliberately relaxed, noticing that his teammates did the same. He’d never seen a motorcycle club in this diner. If he had, he would have taken his business elsewhere. Since he didn’t believe in coincidences, Elias was sure this had something to do with him.
He wished he could ask his friends to leave the dining room, but that would go nowhere. His lips curved. Who knew a kid who grew up in a brutal MC would have stubborn friends who actually cared about him?
Elias glanced at Iona. She was watching him, waiting for his response.
Instead of speaking, he reached over and threaded his fingers through hers.
Together, then. Although he didn’t enjoy having her this close to an MC, he’d have to get over it.
In less than twelve hours, she would be in the middle of an MC as his Old Lady.
She smiled for a beat, then sobered and faced the door.
Yeah, the only way to match wits with their quarry was to face them head-on. If the Blackthorn Riders and this MC were anything like his father’s club, subtlety was lost on them.
“Advice?”
“If they’re like my old MC, they don’t do subtle.”
“Got it. We can handle this, Elias. Trust us, please.”
Elias lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Oh, I do. Looking forward to proving it to you.”
The front door opened, and ten bikers swaggered into the diner. The lead biker motioned to the front of the diner and caught Maude’s attention. She nodded and walked to the hostess station to pick up menus, then went to the group of tables the men had shoved together.
Shaylah stopped at Elias’ table. “What should we do?”
“Maude knows what to do. You shouldn’t show your young, beautiful face around them.”
“What if they hurt Maude?”
“We won’t let that happen. We’ll monitor things, Shaylah. Just act like you normally do.”
She didn’t look happy. “Tell me if I need to help.”
“We will. Take care of your tables, and leave the rest to us.”
“We’ll get a later start to Nashville than we wanted.” Seth wrapped his arm around Teagan’s shoulders and kissed her temple. “I had hoped we’d beat the morning traffic.”
Grant shook his head. “No such thing anymore. We always run into traffic no matter the time of day or night.”
Noah grimaced. “That’s what happens when so many people move into an area in a short period.”
“Growing pains.” Rayne sipped her water.
As the minutes passed, the club members’ laughter grew louder and more obnoxious.
The diner’s other patrons kept Maude and Shaylah busy as they quietly requested their checks and left the restaurant before finishing their meals.
Soon, the only people left in the diner were the Fortress operatives and the MC members.