Chapter Twenty-Four
ELIAS CLENCHED HIS jaw as he waited for his mother to answer the phone. Zane and Iona had to be wrong.
But what if they weren’t? His stomach twisted at the thought of his father manipulating his life to force him back into the MC. Nausea surged. What if they were right? What if his friends had seen what Elias was so reluctant to face?
After the fifth ring, Naomi Crane answered the call. “Elias, what’s wrong?”
Leave it to his mother to know when something was off. Why did mothers have a sixth sense telling them the truth before their child spoke a single word?
“Maybe I called because I wanted to hear your voice.”
“As much as I’d like that to be the case, I know you too well, baby. Let’s have it. What’s wrong?”
Elias closed his eyes for a moment. “Would my father set a trap to force me back into the Reckoners?”
She gasped. “Oh, Elias. I thought Eddie had given up that crazy scheme when you joined the military.”
His heart skipped a beat. Oh, man. Talk about his worst nightmare coming true. “What’s the point of forcing me back into the fold?”
“Power.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “Must be a boost to his power, because he’s never done one thing to help me in my entire life.”
“I’m so sorry, Elias. I should have fought him harder.” She wept quietly.
“No, Mom. This isn’t your fault. If you had fought him in court and won, he would have taken me from you.
I know that now.” Too bad he hadn’t figured it out before he’d hit his teenage years and believed the lies his father told him about his mother abandoning him, and how Eddie had rescued him from the system.
He frowned. “Was I ever in the child services system?”
“No, why?”
Another lie. “He told me you’d given me up to child services, and he was the one who rescued me.”
Naomi groaned. “He lied to you, sweetheart. It’s not true. I swear I never abandoned you.” She sniffed. “I didn’t fight hard enough to keep you out of his clutches. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for that.”
“Mom, don’t. It’s behind us, all right? We mended our relationship after I left the military. Besides, we have more important things to discuss.”
A slight pause, then, “Like what?”
Elias turned to Iona with his eyebrow raised in silent query. He wanted to distract his mother quickly. If he didn’t, Joe would get on the phone after sending Elias’ mother off on an errand. At that point, Joe would verbally tear a strip from his hide for upsetting his mother.
Iona nodded.
“I’m dating someone, and I’d like to introduce her to you.”
Naomi gasped again. “Really? Oh, Elias, that’s wonderful news. Who is she? Do I know her?”
He laughed. “You know who she is, but you’ve never met her.”
“Wait. Are you talking about Iona?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I knew she was special to you, even though you denied it repeatedly. I know you too well, Elias. When can I meet her?”
After another glance at Iona and receiving permission, he said, “What about right now?”
“Are you here? Elias, where are you?”
“I’m not near your home, Mom. I’m a few hours away. What about a video call with both of us?”
“I’d love that. I want to see your face to make sure you’ve forgiven me for the past.”
His gut knotted. “Mom, come on. You know how I feel. It’s in the past.”
“Doesn’t sound like it based on the question you asked me.”
“I want you to focus on something good, so I’m going to switch to video call.” He pushed the button to activate the camera. Elias smiled at Naomi Crane. “There you are. You look good, Mom.”
His mother blushed. “Thanks, baby. Now I know your eyes need to be checked.”
He chuckled. “Nope. Just had a checkup, thank you. My vision is perfect.”
She rolled her eyes. “Wait until you hit 40. That will change.”
Elias shifted the camera to include Iona. “Mom, this is my girlfriend, Iona. Babe, this is Naomi Crane, my mother.”
Iona smiled. “I’m glad to meet you, Mrs. Crane. Elias has had nothing but good things to say about you since I met him.”
Elias sat back and watched an expert communicator at work. Within a matter of minutes, Iona and his mother acted as though they had been best friends forever.
About half an hour into their conversation, his mother glanced to the side and beamed. Joe must have walked into the room. “Hello, sweetheart.”
“Who are you talking to, beautiful?”
“Elias and his beautiful girlfriend.”
“Is that right? Well, you’ve been monopolizing their time for quite a while. How about letting me have a turn?”
“Oh, of course.” Naomi turned back to the screen. “I’m so glad Elias finally saw who’s been in front of his face for months, Iona. The next time Elias comes home, I expect you to come with him, all right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Elias swallowed the lump in his throat. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, Elias. Now, here’s Joe.” With a last smile, she left the camera’s view.
Joe watched Naomi until she left the room, then rounded on the camera, his eyes burning with fury. “Your mother has been crying, Elias. What did you say to her?”
“Nothing.”
His stepfather glared. “Don’t lie to me. You’re not too big for me to handle, Elias.”
Elias held up his hands. “I asked her about Dad. I had to, Joe. Look, I didn’t tell Mom because I didn’t want to worry her, but someone shot me in the shoulder a few days ago. There’s a possibility that Dad is involved.”
Joe’s expression hardened. “Are you all right, son?”
“I will be. Do me a favor.”
“Name it.”
He realized then how much like a Fortress operative his stepfather sounded. “Watch over Mom.”
“You know I will. What am I looking for?”
“Someone out of place. He may be a biker or not.”
“Not Eddie?”
“He doesn’t do his own dirty work.”
Joe eyed him for a moment. “Are you safe, Elias?”
He said nothing, his gaze locked on his stepfather.
A sigh. “I see. Likelihood Naomi will be used as bait?”
“Too high.”
Joe scowled. “Anyone else in the line of fire?”
“Iona. Possibly our teammates.”
“What is Eddie’s agenda?”
Between them, he and Iona explained their reasoning for the heightened alert.
“Iona, do you think Eddie might use you and/or your teammates to force Elias to return to life in the MC?”
“Yes, sir,” Iona said.
“Elias, do you agree?”
“It’s a theory.”
“You’re not sold on the idea.”
“I think the theory is far-fetched. Why would Dad bother to force me back into the Reckoners now? I’ve been gone for a long time; ten of those years I spent as a police officer putting groups like the Reckoners behind bars.”
“I don’t know how sound your reasoning is, but I don’t want your mother used as a pawn in Eddie’s crazy head games.”
Elias’ temper flared. Joe couldn’t possibly think he condoned his father’s habit of manipulating people into doing what he wanted. “I’m concerned about Iona for the same reason. Dad will go to any lengths to achieve his objectives.”
Following a slight nod, Joe said, “Why didn’t Eddie kill you?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?”
“Power play,” Iona said.
“Explain.”
“Eddie could have had you killed. Instead, the shooter left you wounded instead of finishing the job. The only thing that makes sense is that his goal isn’t to end your life.
It’s showing you he has power over you. He’s not finished, though.
He’ll ramp up his campaign to grab me or Naomi to use one of us as leverage to force your cooperation. ”
Elias’ gut knotted at the possibility she was correct. He loved Iona and his mother. He’d gladly die for either of them. But that wasn’t enough for Eddie Knight. Nope, he didn’t want Elias to die. Eddie wanted to suffocate Elias and force him to become someone Elias hated.
“Can he do that?” Joe demanded.
“Force me to cooperate?” Elias uttered a bitter laugh. “All he has to do is grab Iona or Mom, and I’m toast.”
“You don’t give the rest of us much credit.” Iona glared at him. “We knew the risks when we signed on to be your backup. Instead of worrying about what your father has planned for you, why don’t you consider what plans we have for him if he crosses the line and endangers one of us?”
He blinked, amazed at his own shortsightedness. He knew Seth better than any family member. His team leader always thought eight to ten steps ahead of everyone else. Of course he had a plan. The stress and fear eating him alive since this op began melted away.
Elias leaned in and took Iona’s mouth with his, forgetting about Joe until his stepfather loudly cleared his throat.
“That’s enough of that now.”
Wrong. He’d never get enough of Iona. Not in a million years.
Joe studied him for a moment. “How serious are you and Iona?”
“Very.”
“You realize your mother will start talking about grandchildren the week after you’re married?”
He laughed. “Yeah, Joe. I know.”
A nod. “I expect you to maintain your cool when she does. Am I making myself clear, son?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Anything else you want to discuss with your mother or me?”
“I need a second favor, sir.”
“Anything.”
“Take Mom on a second honeymoon, somewhere out of Dad’s reach.”
Joe gave a slow nod. “I’ll take care of her. You have my word. If you need us, we’re a text or phone call away. We’ll do anything we can to help.”
“I appreciate it, Joe, but we’ve got this.”
“I believe you do, but the offer still stands. Your mother and I love you, Elias.” The screen went dark.
“Joe seems like a good man.”
Elias slid the phone back into his pocket. “He’s the best, and he adores my mother.”
Iona smiled. “You’re a lucky man to have parents who love each other and you so much.”
She got it. Elias smiled back. Iona understood that Joe Crane was the man he looked up to as his father, not Eddie Knight. Knowing Eddie, that was part of his reasoning for wanting Elias back under his thumb. He hated Joe. Too bad. Joe Crane was worth ten Eddie Knights.
“Want me to call Maddox?”
“I’ll take care of it.” He took his phone from his pocket and called his boss.
“Yeah, Maddox.”
“It’s Elias. You’re on speaker with Iona.”
“What do you need?”
“Protection for my mother and stepfather. I asked Joe to take my mother on a second honeymoon somewhere out of my father’s reach.”
“When will he leave?”
“Knowing Joe, two hours or less from now.”
“I’ll take care of it. Anything else?”
“Not at the moment.”
“Watch your backs. Maddox out.”
Iona leaned over and brushed his mouth with hers. “Come on. We have a job to do.”
“And more research to do,” he murmured. “I’m curious about Dutch’s accident.”
Iona’s fingers flew over the keyboard for a few seconds, then paused. “Zane sent Dutch’s complete file to our email addresses.”
“Good. I want to know what kind of accident he had that messed up his face to the point where Dutch needed plastic surgery to fix the damage.”
She scrolled down the screen until she found a particular file and clicked on it. “While you focus on your cousin, I’m going to look into good old Trish’s file and see what hidden goodies lurk in her background.”
He chuckled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have a grudge against that woman.”
“In the words of wise children everywhere, she started it. But I’ll finish it.”
“Watch yourself. She’s already an enemy. After you thoroughly defeated her husband in a sparring match, she’ll feel an even bigger need to knock you down a level or two.”
“I’ll put my military and Fortress training up against whatever technique she uses any day.”
He tapped the tip of her nose gently. “I appreciate your confidence, Iona.”
“But?”
“Don’t get too cocky.”
She held up a hand. “Got it.”
They settled into silence as they each dug into the files. He read about Dutch’s life after Elias had enlisted in the military. His heart sank at the tough life his cousin had endured. Why hadn’t he known about the abuse?
He rubbed the back of his neck, watching the security camera views while he considered what he’d learned. After several minutes of contemplation, Elias reached a conclusion he didn’t like but knew in his gut was the truth. The realization sparked even more anger toward his father.
“What’s wrong?”
He glanced at Iona. “My father did this.”
She tilted her head. “A few minutes ago, you said this situation wasn’t his handiwork.”
“My mistake. When Mom divorced Dad, he fought her for me, not because he had any great love for me. I was just a tool he could use to hurt her. I was his plan for the future. In his demented mind, he wanted me to step into his shoes and assume leadership of the Reckoners.
“He thrust me into all kinds of situations where I had to fight my way out. It was his way of toughening me up. What he hadn’t counted on was how much I hated his MC and the MC life.
I wouldn’t cooperate except to fight my way out of trouble because I didn’t want to lose my one chance to get into the military.
I knew that would be my only way out. So I waited and made friends with Seth.
We were going to enlist together, and we planned it down to the minute.
Seth told me there was no other way, and he was right.
If Dad found out, he would have locked me up after he beat me senseless.
“So we planned it together. Seth’s family was supportive of him joining the military. We begged them not to tell anyone until we were gone. What I didn’t consider was my father’s anger over me turning my back on the family legacy.”
“He punished you by taking away the heir to the throne’s position, didn’t he?”
“He chose Dutch as his successor.” Elias blew out a breath.
“Dutch should have been thrilled by that because he’d been jockeying for my father’s approval since we were kids.
But in the end, even Dutch disappointed my father because he started his own MC instead of falling into line with my father’s plan for succession. ”
“I don’t understand what the big deal is.” She frowned. “It’s just an MC. It’s not like he’s the King of England planning to hand off the royal throne to a distant relative.”
“In a way, Dad is MC royalty. Clubs all over the country have great respect for the Reckoners. They’re a strong MC, one that other clubs want to copy.”
“Then it sounds like your father did his job too well.”
“What do you mean?”
“He trained Dutch so well that he learned how to create and run his own club. Successfully, too.”
He stared for a beat. “So now that his succession plan blew up in his face, he’s gone back to the original plan, forcing me to become President of the Reckoners.”
Could his life be any more complicated? He shook his head. All he wanted to do was romance Iona Byrne. How had he fallen into his father’s trap when Elias had spent the past two decades evading even a hint of trouble from his past?
His jaw hardened. He would not let his past impact Iona or his friends. No matter what the cost.