“I’ll follow you to Elias’ house.”
“Copy that.” Seth ended the call.
No use putting off the inevitable. She made the dreaded call.
“Yeah. Murphy.”
“It’s Iona. You’re on speaker with Elias.”
“Understood. How are you, Elias?”
“Fine.”
“Uh huh. Iona?”
“He’s in pain and nauseated, but he’s better than he was yesterday.”
“I’ll take that. What can I do for you?”
“I need you to set up an appointment with Bear.”
Silence, then, “How bad is the damage?”
She sighed. “According to Seth, bullet holes in the side panel and the driver’s window needs to be replaced.”
“What happened?”
Iona gave the condensed version of events and ended with, “We’re both injury free this time around.”
“Good to know. I’ll take care of setting the appointment. Don’t be surprised if Bear contacts you. He’ll be deeply offended that you allowed someone to damage one of his babies.”
Wonderful. Not. “I couldn’t avoid bullets, Z.”
“You can try that excuse. I doubt it will fly, though.”
“I’ll think of something else.”
“I’m transferring you to Brent. He’ll want to know what happened.”
A moment later, Brent’s voice filled the cabin. “Maddox. Are you okay, Iona?”
“We’re fine. You’re on speaker with Elias. We’re driving to his house in Hartman.” Knowing Elias, he probably had anotherhouse or two under different names in different parts of Wilson County.
“Sit rep.”
Iona and Elias told Brent about the incident on the interstate and the condition of her SUV. “Zane is going to set up a repair appointment with Bear for me.”
“Chicken?”
“You bet, sir. I don’t want to set him off. I love my ride, and because of the damage, he may put me in a clunker after this mission is over.”
“I’ll talk to him and explain the situation. He likes Elias, so you might get lucky.”
“I hope so, sir.”
“Elias.”
“Sir?”
