Chapter Eight #2
Elias counted the minutes in his head as the MC members kept Maude in a rush to deliver more and more pancakes. When they’d eaten their weight in the breakfast food, he relaxed. Soon, they should go on their way.
One of the older men in their group said, “Hey, I need more coffee.”
“Coming right up.” Maude set a platter full of pancakes in the center of the table.
“Not you.” He pointed to Shaylah. “Her. I want sweet cheeks over there to bring my coffee.”
Blood drained from Shaylah’s cheeks, and she fumbled with the silverware she was distributing around an empty table.
“Ah, now, you’re going to hurt my feelings,” Maude said. “I thought we had a special thing going.”
The biker grinned. “We do. Sometimes a man needs something a little younger and sweeter to make him feel good. Send your friend over here. My buddies and I want to talk to her. That’s all. Ain’t no harm in talking.”
Maude shook her head. “She’s busy setting up for the morning rush. We have to have the tables ready, or we’re behind from the start, and that throws all of us off, including our diners.”
She did her best to turn the biker’s attention from Shaylah, but Elias knew from experience it wouldn’t work. The other man wanted a taste and wouldn’t let it go until he got what he wanted.
He sighed. So much for arriving at Fortress early.
Shaylah continued to set the empty tables, keeping her eyes on her task as she moved from one table to the next. Although she placed silverware on the tables a distance away from the bikers, finally the only tables left to set were the ones near the bikers.
She moved to a table closer to the bikers but kept the table between her and them.
Smart girl. But it wouldn’t be enough. Elias used hand signals to warn his teammates that trouble was coming.
A scowl marred the expression on the biker’s face when he realized what Shaylah had done. He ignored Maude’s attempts to draw him into a conversation and stood. He stalked toward Shaylah.
“Go,” Seth murmured.
The five male operatives stood and walked toward Shaylah and Maude.
Maude stood with her fists on her hips. “Now, you boys leave her alone. She’s too innocent for the likes of you.”
“Maybe we like innocent young things,” another biker said, his hard gaze locked on the girl.
The older biker grabbed Shaylah’s wrist. “I’m talking to you. I don’t like chicks who ignore me.”
The girl gasped and attempted to tug her wrist out of the biker’s hand. “You’re hurting me.”
Elias grasped the biker’s wrist and squeezed hard. If the man didn’t let go, Elias wouldn’t think twice about breaking his wrist to free the girl.
The biker’s face drained of blood, and he released Shaylah in a hurry.
“Hey,” one of the biker’s friends said. “You’re asking for trouble, mister. Let go of our president.”
Ah. Should have known from his arrogant attitude. “What’s the name of your club?”
“Nightwatch. Mister, you don’t want us for an enemy.”
“What we don’t want is for you and your buddies to mess with the ladies kind enough to serve you an excellent breakfast and great coffee.
” He leaned closer to the president. “And you’re supposed to set an example for your younger members.
” Elias changed his wrist hold to one more excruciating.
“Is this how you want them to act in public?”
Perspiration dotted the president’s face. He shook his head.
“I didn’t think so.” Elias smiled. “You gentlemen look like you’re finished. Maude has your tickets ready at the register. Go settle your bills, and be sure to leave the ladies a nice tip.”
“Let’s go.” The man’s voice sounded strained as he waved his men to the register.
Once all the men had paid, except the president, Elias released him, anticipating retaliation from the leader.
The president stepped past Elias, then spun on his heel with a roundhouse punch aimed at the jaw.
Elias sidestepped just enough for the punch to breeze past his face, caught the wrist, and twisted the president’s arm behind his back.
He shoved the man’s face onto the tabletop, ignoring the sharp pain of protest from his own shoulder wound.
“Dumb move,” he murmured and torqued the arm up higher.
Just a little more and he’d break the man’s arm.
“You’re making yourself look like a fool, Prez.
Unless you want a broken arm, you’ll pay your bill like an honest biker, leave the restaurant, and go on your way to your next destination. Am I making myself clear?”
Prez clenched his teeth and nodded.
“Good. The last thing you want to do is give your men a reason to doubt your leadership ability. Show them that real men protect those who are weaker.”
Elias released him and stepped back, watching every move Prez made. This time, however, the man walked to the register, paid his bill, and signaled his men to follow him out.
As soon as the bikers rode away from the parking lot, he cupped his shoulder and sat in the nearest chair with a groan. Pain radiated from his shoulder through the rest of his body. Man, gunshot wounds hurt. He’d had enough of them to last a lifetime.
Violet crouched beside him. “Did you pop the stitches?”
“I don’t think so. The shoulder hurts pretty bad, though.”
She looked at Shaylah. “Is there a back room where I can look at Elias’ shoulder?”
“Yes, of course. Come with me.”
Noah helped Elias to his feet. “One of us could have taken care of the problem. Let us help next time.”
“I didn’t want the situation to end in gunfire.”
His teammate frowned. “You didn’t trust us.”
“Noah,” he began.
“That will be a problem on this assignment, Elias. If you don’t trust us, the other MC will know and wonder why. We’re a team, buddy. Start acting like it.”
“Yes, sir.” Great. Not only had he ticked off their second in command, Elias might have damaged his shoulder in the process of acting like a lone wolf.
Shaylah hurried down a dimly lit hall and opened a door near the exit sign. “Here. Will this work?”
Violet glanced inside. “This is perfect. Thanks. We won’t be here long, Shaylah. I just need to check Elias’ shoulder. He had surgery on it yesterday.” She motioned with her hand. “I don’t want to keep you from your duties. I can handle this.”
“If you’re sure. Let me know if you need anything.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Iona, keep watch in case those bikers circle around and come back.” Noah glanced at Violet. “Do you need his shirt off?”
“It would be best. You okay with that, Elias?”
“Sure.” To be honest, he didn’t care about anything but making the pain stop. He was close to barfing.
With Violet and Noah’s help, Elias shed his shirt and sat in a chair near a small table.
For the next few minutes, Violet examined his shoulder, poking and prodding much as the doctor had done the day before.
She finally sat back. “I don’t think you popped the stitches, but you’ll need to ice the shoulder frequently today and take your pain medication.
This isn’t the time to be macho and suffer in silence. ”
“I hear you.”
“What time did you take your last pain pill?”
He thought a minute, blinked, and shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
Violet scowled at him. “Then it’s been too long. Stay ahead of the pain, Elias. If you don’t, the pain will be hard to kill. Look, we need you to have a clear head, and you can’t do that if you’re in excruciating pain.”
“I won’t be clearheaded if I take what the doctor prescribed for pain, either.”
“Fair enough.” She turned to Noah. “Get my mike bag, love.”
He nodded and turned an intense stare on Elias.
His lips curved as he nodded. Yeah, he’d monitor Noah’s wife. Like he would ever let anything happen to her. However, he understood how the operative felt. When you found the woman who made you complete and made the darkness bearable, you did anything necessary to keep her.
Noah returned in less than a minute with Violet’s mike bag over his shoulder.
When he set the bag on the table, Violet unzipped it, searched for a beat, then pulled out a small bag of capsules.
“Try these. Sorenson gave me a supply to try on operatives with more serious injuries. Do yourself a favor, Elias. Sleep on the way to our destination. Rest will help you heal. I realize we’ll be short on sleep when we’re amid the MC, so help yourself before getting into the thick of it. ”
“Yes, ma’am. Thanks for checking my shoulder, Violet.”
“I’ll check it again tonight when I change your bandage.” She glanced at Noah. “Let’s take care of the bill.”
Elias popped two of the capsules and swallowed them dry before he turned to Iona. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m glad you didn’t injure your shoulder again.”
“So am I. To be honest, I didn’t consider the shoulder. I just reacted to prevent bloodshed.” Elias eyed her, unease growing inside him by the second. “Something is wrong. Talk to me.”
“Not wrong. Just an observation.”
“Which is?”
“A good leader knows when to delegate.”
He closed his eyes for a beat. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks for the reminder.”
She squeezed his hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. We still have to fight traffic going into Fortress headquarters.”
Elias groaned. “Don’t remind me. I dread that drive.”
She held out her hand. “Keys.”
He stared. “You want to drive?”
“You just took pain medication and, according to Violet, you need a nap.”
Although he hated to give up control of the wheel, Iona was right. She should drive. The trick would be if Elias could nap while she drove.
He dug into his pocket and dropped the key fob into Iona’s outstretched hand.
Her fingers closed around it. “How much did that hurt?”
“More than I want to admit.”
“I’ll bet.” She brushed a kiss onto his lips and threaded her fingers through his. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of your ride.”
He chuckled as they left the back room and walked to the cash register to pay their tab. Elias handed Maude his card. “You did great with those bikers, Maude.”
“I’ve dealt with plenty of them in this diner. Haven’t seen this bunch before, though. How did you know what to do with them?”
“I have family in an MC.”
She nodded and handed back his card. “Well, I appreciate you stepping in before those boys scared Shaylah.”
Elias slid his card back into his wallet and shoved the wallet into his pocket. “Have a good day, Maude. I’ll see you next time around.”
He pressed his hand against Iona’s lower back and left the restaurant. He pulled up short when he noticed his teammates gathered near his SUV. “Problem?”
“Your buddy, Prez, left you a calling card.”
They moved back so he and Iona could see. The driver’s door of his SUV had a target scratched into the paint. Elias flinched. “Oh, man. Bear is going to kill me.”
“We’ll ask for a loaner.” Seth frowned. “Unless this will sell our cover story better. What do you think, Elias?”
He studied the target. “Maybe. I thought Brent had a truck for us to haul my bike on. We’d need a trailer for the bike if we drive my SUV.”
“True. All right. If we tell Bear you saved a couple of women from a biker club, he might let you slide.”
The mechanical genius had a soft spot for women and kids. Yeah, Seth was right. He might get lucky this time and escape Bear’s razor-sharp tongue.
“I’ll take the lead to Fortress headquarters. Elias, you fall in behind me. Everyone needs to stay alert in case of trouble.”
Elias opened Iona’s door and helped her into the SUV. Once she was situated, he circled the hood to the passenger side and clambered into the cab of the SUV and latched his seatbelt. “Give me a smooth ride, babe.”
She grinned. “I’ll do my best. Sleep if you can, Elias.”
Fat chance of that happening. Even with the medication taking the edge off the pain, his mind was going a million miles an hour, trying to fit puzzle pieces together, but he didn’t have enough pieces to make even a partial picture. Who wanted him dead?
He needed to figure it out fast. If he didn’t, his teammates and Iona could pay the price.