Chapter Twenty-Three
IONA FROWNED, HER gaze shifting from Elias to Dutch and back. This wasn’t a pleasant scenario for any of them. “What does that mean, Dutch? Are you threatening to kill your own cousin? I thought blood was thicker than water. Changed your mind about that in the last two minutes?”
Dutch’s cheeks turned red. “What did you say to me?”
Elias shifted to stand partially in front of her. “Unless you’re deaf, you heard Iona. So, cousin, are you threatening to kill me?”
He snorted. “Nope. I don’t waste my time on fools, and that’s what you are, E. You could have had everything. Instead, you chose some ragtag MC and a sassy woman who should learn to keep her mouth shut.”
Seth whistled. “That was a mistake,” he murmured, pity in his eyes.
Iona patted Elias’ back twice in a silent signal to stand down.
After a moment, he moved to let her have a clear view of his jerk of a cousin.
Happiness bloomed inside at Elias’ trust. He could have insisted on handling it himself.
He wanted to. But he stepped aside to give her the chance to take his cousin down a notch or two.
She smiled and signaled her teammates to be ready. “So you think I should be taught a lesson, Dutch?”
“Oh, yeah.”
His men chuckled.
Echo unit did not. Each operative was teetering on the edge of losing control.
“Think you’re man enough to teach me what I need to know?”
A broad smile curved Dutch’s mouth. “You bet.”
“Good. Let’s find out.”
His mouth gaped. “Now?”
“Why not?”
“I don’t think Elias would appreciate watching what I have planned.”
No kidding. “Do you think he would interfere?”
“Do you know him at all? Of course he would. He has a hero streak a mile wide. My cousin wouldn’t be able to help himself.”
Without taking her gaze from Dutch, she said, “Elias, do you trust me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Enough to let me handle this?”
A slight pause, then, “Yes. If he hurts you, I will retaliate.”
“He won’t have the chance to lay a hand on me.”
“Better not. I am very fond of your face like it is.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at Elias’ cousin. “There you are, Dutch. A promise from Elias to let us settle this between ourselves. Are you game?”
He glanced uneasily at his men and the operatives. “Well, there’s not enough room in here.”
“Outside and spread out,” Seth ordered.
“Wait a minute,” Dutch protested, but no one paid attention to him. He was the last one to walk outside.
“Where do you want us?” Violet murmured.
“Points of a compass. Stay alert.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The rest of Artemis positioned themselves in the circle as Iona directed.
The men of Echo unit stationed themselves beside their wives.
Elias stood to her left, just inside the circle of watchers.
Although he’d given his word not to intervene, Iona knew him well enough to understand that promise only extended so far.
If he believed Iona’s life was in jeopardy, he would step in.
She smiled. He wouldn’t have to step in.
As long as Dutch’s cronies didn’t interfere, she could handle the MC leader.
Dutch scowled. “What are you smiling at? You’re going to get the beating of your life, and then we’ll see if you find this situation so funny.”
Iona shifted her weight slightly. “Bring it.”
“You heard her,” Enforcer One snapped. “Show her how proper women are supposed to act.”
“Yeah,” Enforcer Two said. “If you don’t, the other women will sass their men, too. It’s like a virus, man. You gotta stomp it into the ground.”
Iona stared. Stomp a virus into the ground?
Good grief. If Eddie was pulling the strings and orchestrating this whole thing, no wonder he didn’t bring Dutch and the Blackthorn Riders into the Reckoners’ fold.
Dutch wasn’t strong enough to stand up to pressure from his MC members.
Didn’t bode well for the MC’s chances of long-term survival under Dutch’s leadership.
She held her arms away from her body and wiggled her fingers in a come-ahead gesture to get him moving. She and the other women had a mountain of potato salad to make before they went to bed tonight.
“Show her how it’s done, Dutch,” Enforcer Three shouted.
That plus Iona’s sultry smile did the trick.
The MC leader lumbered forward and grasped her right upper arm in an iron grip faster than she expected.
Well done, she admitted to herself. Another time, she’d hold back and take Dutch through his paces.
Tonight, though, she didn’t want to waste time on a sparring match.
Iona fisted her hand, raised her arm against his thumb, and twisted, breaking his hold. She followed up immediately with a right cross to his face.
Dutch stumbled back, shock on his face. With a roar of fury, he ran at Iona.
Guess he wanted to play rough. Fine with her. She sidestepped Dutch enough for him to stumble from his momentum and miss her entirely. When he fell to his hands and knees, Iona slammed the side of her fist onto the back of his neck.
Dutch went down and didn’t move.
Enforcer One ran to his fallen leader. “Dutch!” He dropped to his knees, glaring at Iona. “Lady, you better hope he’s not dead because if he is, you’ll be dead soon, too.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’ll wake up with a headache in a few minutes. If I were you, I’d find a cold pack and some over-the-counter pain medicine.”
Enforcer Two helped Enforcer One haul their fearless leader to his feet. They draped his arms across their shoulders and lugged him off the field of battle.
Elias bent and kissed her hard. “Well done.”
“Thank you.”
“I wonder how they’re going to get Dutch home,” Violet said, expression thoughtful.
“Don’t know and don’t care.” Iona turned back to Elias. “What repercussions can I expect?”
“I don’t know.”
“Iona’s concern is valid.” Seth frowned. “Dutch won’t appreciate being shown up by a woman in front of his men. What will be even harder to take is that she made it look easy.”
“He’ll plan to retaliate when you least expect it, Iona,” Elias said. “Keep your guard up.”
“Don’t worry. I planned to do that.” She looked at her teammates. “Come on. We have work ahead of us tonight.” Iona turned to Elias. “You and your team are on kitchen duty with the rest of us.”
“I can hold my own in kitchen cleanup, but the rest of these guys, except for Seth, are only useful in front of a grill.”
“They’ll learn some new skills tonight. We all have to work together, or the side dishes won’t be ready for tomorrow.”
“After tonight, do you think Dutch will still want our help?” Noah shook his head. “I’m afraid he’ll send word for us to get out of here tomorrow at first light.”
“He might.” Seth folded his arms across his chest. “But we had to show him we can handle ourselves, even the women. Elias is right, though. Dutch will have a hard time living this down. He’ll be planning payback.”
“We’ll handle it.” Teagan rested her hand on her husband’s forearm. “It’s what we do.”
He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth and guided her toward the back door. “We need to get busy. If the MC members want nothing to do with us and our potato salad, we’ll be eating the stuff for a week.”
Andre held up his hands. “Not me. I say we have a company picnic and unload the stuff that way.”
Laughter followed that statement.
Andre wasn’t wrong. Iona loved potato salad as much as the next person, but she could only eat so much without having to run extra miles.
The operatives filed into the kitchen. Iona put the men to work washing, peeling, and cutting potatoes into chunks and tossed them into large pots filled with water to cook.
She divided the remaining chopping duties among Artemis.
As the minutes passed, mountains of celery, onions, and boiled eggs grew.
After washing his hands and drying them, Elias asked, “What’s next?”
“Time for the rest of your team to use some muscle.” Iona handed him two measuring cups. “You’ll be the expert measuring guy.”
“What am I measuring?”
“Mustard, mayonnaise, and dill salad cubes.”
“I can handle that.”
“We’ll let your teammates stir the ingredients into the potato salad.” She nudged him gently. “You’ll get a turn stirring next time we make this.”
They finished the large bowls of potato salad and coleslaw just after midnight when it was time for Iona and Elias to take over the watch.
“Are you sure you don’t want someone else to take the watch for tonight?” Seth asked. “Both of you look wiped out.”
“That’s what coffee is for,” Elias said. “We’ll be fine, sir. You and Teagan get some rest.”
“We’ll finish the lunch preparation tomorrow,” Iona said. When the rest of their teams groaned, she laughed. “That’s enough out of the lot of you. If you want to eat, you put in the work. I’m not feeding the MC crowd and ours without help to prepare the food.”
“It better be worth a sore arm,” Grant muttered.
“You can judge for yourself tomorrow.” She shooed them upstairs and turned to Elias. “We need to report to Maddox and check in with Zane.”
He nodded. “Let’s make coffee and set up in the office.”
She poured two to-go cups of coffee and carried them to the office where Elias waited for her with his laptop and hers open on the desk. The large, freestanding computer screens were courtesy of Riley. That woman was a genius with computers.
Elias patted the chair beside him. “Have a seat. Which one first?”
“Maddox. His call will be the more difficult of the two.”
Elias pulled out his phone and called their boss.
“Yeah, Maddox.”
“It’s Elias. You’re on speaker with Iona.”
“Understood. Sit rep.”
Elias spent a few minutes explaining the situation to their boss, ending with, “Iona took him down in two minutes, sir. Watching her do it was a pure pleasure.”
“Any injuries, Iona?”
“No, sir.”
A soft whistle. “Dutch will be angry about that. He’ll be looking for payback.”
“I can handle it, sir.”