“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?
