Chapter Twelve
ELIAS’ HAND CUPPED Iona’s nape and pushed her upper body down toward her knees.
A split second later, the crack of a rifle being fired was followed by her window spiderwebbing.
If the shooter kept firing at the window, the bullet-resistant glass would shatter, making all the operatives vulnerable to bullets.
“Do you see him?” Grant asked.
Elias shook his head. “I can’t see anything.”
“Got him,” Rayne said. “Want me to fire back?”
The rifle shots continued. “No. Let’s see if we can outrun the ambush. Right now, it’s just one shooter. Unless he has friends somewhere, we’ll be out of range in a few seconds.”
Ten seconds later, the gunshots sounded like firecrackers in the distance, but no more bullets hit their truck.
Iona reached up and tapped his hand. “Let me up.”
Elias released her. “Sorry.”
She gave him The Look. “No, you aren’t. While I appreciate you looking out for me, a simple ‘duck’ would have accomplished the same thing.”
“I’ll remember that next time.” Maybe.
“Grant, you and Rayne are okay?”
Rayne glanced over her shoulder. “We’re fine. So, who shot at us? Blackthorn Riders or someone else?”
Grant scowled. “If someone else pulled the trigger, who told them we were out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“Good questions with no answers right now.” And that worried him. The possibility that the Reckoners were behind this attack hadn’t escaped him. Elias had no proof, just a gut feeling.
“Monitor our surroundings.” Grant adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. “I’m not planning to stop until we reach the cabin.”
“Fine with me.” Rayne twisted in her seat to watch out the right-side window. “What are we wearing to this dinner with the President of the Blackthorn Riders?”
“A clean shirt, jeans, a leather jacket or cuts, and tactical boots.”
“Really?” She sounded disappointed.
“Were you expecting to wear a ball gown to this dinner?” Grant teased.
“No, but I brought a nice blouse and dressy boots.”
“I’m glad we don’t have to wear tuxedos. I feel like an overdressed monkey in one.”
Iona smiled at him. “I think you’d look amazing in a tuxedo with tails.”
“Bite your tongue, woman. I’ll stick to jeans or fatigues.”
The rest of the trip to the cabin was uneventful. When they arrived, the men of Echo unloaded the groceries and toted the bags into the kitchen. The women of Artemis put the supplies away.
Seth motioned for Elias to follow him outside. “What happened?”
“Two things. First, we had a couple of Blackthorn Riders follow us all the way to Red Rock.”
“Why?”
“Not sure if it was posturing by Blackthorn or if Dutch intended it as a signal to local law enforcement that we’re under his protection. Either way, that’s not standard MC behavior.”
“That doesn’t explain the bullet holes and messed-up glass.”
“Someone with a rifle fired on us about halfway back to the cabin.”
“Did you get a look at him?”
He shook his head. “I caught a flash of sunlight on his scope. Otherwise, we would have had no warning.”
“You were lucky.”
“I know.” He turned his head to look at Seth.
“The shooter was aiming at Iona.” Elias didn’t have to think about his answer.
The bullets had been aimed at the passenger side of the truck and focused mainly on the window to the back seat.
If Elias had been the target, the shooter would have been better off aiming at him through the back window.
Seth’s expression was grim. “What do you want to do?”
“For now, stay the course. Yeah, this attack targeted Iona, but it was a sloppy attempt to kill her. If the shooter really meant to take her out, he would have concentrated his bullets on the passenger side window. Once that was gone, he would have no barrier between him and his target. One more bullet, and Iona would be dead.”
“Are you sure, Elias? You’re gambling with the life of the woman you love.”
He froze. Love? Yeah, Elias loved Iona Byrne. How could he not? “How did you know?”
Seth chuckled. “As a man madly in love with his wife, I recognized the signs.”
“What signs?”
“Your gaze locks on her the instant she walks into a room. You touch her at every opportunity. I hate to tell you this, Knight, but you don’t have a sunny personality on a normal day.
However, ever since Iona walked into your life, that curmudgeon look on your face has morphed into the look of a lovesick sap who smiles more often.
And no, buddy, she doesn’t know how you feel.
From what I’ve seen, though, Iona has plenty of powerful feelings on her side, too. ”
Elias turned away, rubbing his face with his hands to give himself time to think and come up with something to say. “Are you sure she feels strongly about me?”
“Oh, yeah. No one can miss it but you.” Seth clapped him on the shoulder. “Face it, Elias. You finally stumbled onto the right woman at the right time and place.”
“The right woman and place are true. The right time is debatable. Being with me puts her in the crosshairs. I don’t want to lose her to a sniper’s bullet.”
“I get it, man. All we can do is protect both of you to the best of our ability. We’ll stay alert.”
But would it be enough? He clenched his jaw. It would have to be. What other choice did they have?
“Do you still want to have dinner with Dutch?”
“No choice, Seth. We have to go. To bail at the last second would be the ultimate insult. We would lose whatever credibility we had, and we could forget working our way into the inner circle and learning their plan.”
“Figured that’s the way it would work.” He glanced at his tactical watch. “We should start getting ready. I assume being late is also a tremendous insult.”
“That’s right.”
“Then we better get to it and change for dinner. When you finish sprucing up, call the boss. It’s time to check in.”
“Copy that, sir.”
Seth and Elias returned to the cabin and followed the sound of the women’s laughter upstairs. Seth found his wife in the knot of women in the hallway and pulled her toward a room. “Come on. I put our bags in here. We need to change clothes.”
Elias leaned his back against the wall. When Iona turned to look at him and smiled, he considered that to be the sign to separate her from her teammates. Without saying a word, Elias held out his hand.
She left the group and placed her hand in his. “What is it?”
“Time to change clothes.” He led her to the first room at the top of the stairs on the right, one room they’d cleared of electronic devices. To be sure things were as he left them, Elias held up his hand and scanned the room one more time. Clean.
“We’re clear.” He motioned to the bags on the queen-size bed. “You can change clothes first. I’ll wait in the hall.”
Iona stared at him. “We’re sharing a room.”
“There are no other bedrooms, Iona, and our teammates are married. That leaves us to share one room. Because of the story we gave to Blackthorn, they believe we’re a couple. We’ll blow our cover if I sleep on the couch downstairs.”
She frowned. “How would Blackthorn know?”
“Whether it’s spying on us through the windows, using listening devices we might have missed, or just walking in on us without knocking before I’ve hauled the blanket and pillows upstairs, they’ll know.”
Iona watched him for a beat, then gave a slight nod. “Wait for me in the hall.”
“You won’t protest our sharing a room?”
“What’s the point? We’re adults. We’ll figure it out.” She used a shooing motion. “Go. I won’t be long.”
Elias walked out of the room and waited.
Iona was as good as her word. In less than five minutes, she opened the door and rejoined him.
How she made a leather jacket, black jeans, and a white blouse look as though she was ready for the runway was beyond him.
“You look beautiful.” He bent his head and brushed her lips with his.
“Thanks. Now, let’s see what you can do.”
“Do you need a hand, Elias?” Grant asked.
“It would be faster.” Stupid shoulder wound. He also needed to take his pain medication. The pain was making him more short-tempered than usual.
“Let’s get it done while Rayne is changing.” He followed Elias into the bedroom and shut the door.
Elias pulled a clean shirt and black jeans from his bag. “This is as fancy as I get. I hope Iona can deal with it.”
“She knows what you’re like, and she fell for that man. Besides, I don’t think Iona cares what clothes you wear as long as you’re by her side.”
“She could do better than me.”
Grant snorted. “That’s true for all of us.”
Elias chuckled as he worked his way into a t-shirt with his friend’s help. When he’d changed his fatigues for black jeans and dragged a brush through his hair, he glanced in the mirror and called it good enough. “Thanks for the help.”
“No problem, Elias. I need to check on Rayne.”
After Grant left, Iona slipped into the room and let her gaze drift from the top of his head to the toes of his tactical boots.
The longer she stared, the more uncomfortable Elias grew.
He was just himself, although Iona looked at him as though he was a male model in a photo shoot. “Well, do I pass inspection?”
“You look ruggedly handsome.”
Right. “I need to call the boss. It’s time to report in.”
“I wonder what he’ll make of the escort and ambush.”
“I don’t like it,” Brent said ten minutes later. “Do you think the shooter is a member of the Blackthorn Riders?”
He considered it, then rejected the idea. “I don’t think so. The connection would be too obvious. These guys aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they aren’t stupid either. I believe Dutch told them to keep eyes on us. I don’t think that included trying to kill us.”
“So, how did the shooter know you’d be on that road?”
“Either Dutch has a leak, or he’s in on whatever is going on. My guess is the second option.”
“No fresh injuries?”
“Not for any of us, sir.”
“What’s next on your schedule?”
“Dinner with Dutch and his Old Lady and probably his vice president and enforcers, and possibly their Old Ladies.”