“I’m not sure you’re worth the time and effort needed to train you.”
He laughed, his bitterness clear in the sound. “Too late for that, isn’t it? You gave me your word. I’m holding you to it.”
Elias gathered his strength and climbed to his feet. He held out his hand to Iona. “Let go of her. Now.”
In a move that surprised Elias, his father released Iona’s wrist.
He tucked her against his side. “Are you okay?” he murmured.
She wiped away the blood from her split lip using the back of her hand. “I’ll survive.”
“Get moving or I’ll shoot your woman.”
“You said you had plans for her.”
“She has plenty of places to shoot that aren’t fatal.” He chuckled. “Controlling you will be so much fun. I should thank you for providing years of entertainment, Elias.”
He didn’t bother to reply. No need to encourage Eddie’s madness. Elias wrapped his arm around Iona’s shoulders and walked along the path once more.
As they walked, Iona studied him. “How bad are you?” she whispered.
Suck it up, Knight, he told himself. In these circumstances, honesty between partners was a necessity. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep going.”
She took more of his weight. “Hold on to me.”
“You can’t do that for long.”
“I won’t have to.”
“We’re two minutes out,” Seth said through the comm device in their ears. “Had to take out the trash first.”
The news was so welcome that Elias swayed on his feet.
“Don’t you pass out on me,” Eddie said, then cursed loud and long when Iona helped Elias to a fallen tree to sit. “Get him up and moving. Now.” He waved the barrel of the pistol around inan explicit threat to punish Iona for Elias’ problems if she didn’t get him up on his feet.
Elias rolled his eyes. What was she supposed to do? Wave her magic wand and magically infuse him with strength? Eddie’s enforcer had done his job so well that Elias needed a hospital.
Ironic that one of his father’s henchmen had injured Elias badly enough that he might die, the one thing he’d feared as a kid growing up. When he was a teen, he couldn’t imagine anything worse than dying before really living. His gaze locked with Iona’s. Now he knew the worst thing was leaving Iona alone in the hands of his father.
“Get him up,” Eddie screamed at Iona.
“Ninety seconds,” Seth whispered through their comm devices.
Wouldn’t be fast enough. Elias allowed Iona to help him to his feet. “Hurry, Seth,” he murmured.
“Copy.”
His father was losing his cool fast. He could see Eddie’s patience unraveling with every slow step Elias took.
“My vehicle is just over that rise.” Eddie shoved Iona from behind. “Go. I don’t want Elias’ friends to interfere with my plans.”
“Why do you care anymore?” she asked. “You don’t have an MC left. Your members are dead or incapacitated. What good will it do you to set yourself up as a king with no followers?”
He laughed. “Is that what you think, that I don’t have members left? You are so wrong. Six MCs are joining under the Reckoners’ banner with me as their leader. Can you imagine? No law enforcement agency will stand against me, and more MCs will join us, making me the most powerful president of all the MCs nationwide.”
“How will you do that if you’re in prison?”
“Who is going to arrest me? Certainly not you or your friends. No one will stand against me. If my weakling son survives his injuries, he’ll stand by my side to rule the MCs, subject to my wishes, of course.”
