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.”
“Not alone,” Maddox insisted. “You did a good job shifting his focus off Elias and onto you. From this point on, finish the job together. This isn’t a solo act. Don’t make Dutch so angry that you’ll make an enemy out of him.”
“But, sir….”
“No, Iona. I know you can handle yourself. We trained you to do that. What we didn’t ask you to do was show off your skills to cut down a man with an oversized ego. You’re supposed to be Elias’ Old Lady. That means you’re part of a team. Act like it.”
