She leaned close as silence fell on the group again. “Yes. We’ve been dancing around each other for months. It’s time to move this relationship to the next logical step.”
“No, Iona.”
“Give me one good reason this declaration can’t stand.”
Frustration exploded inside him. Why now? Why couldn’t he have the one thing that made his life worth living? “I have a death sentence hanging over my head, Iona. Anyone who is mine automatically carries the same punishment. I won’t put that on you.”
CHAPTER SIX
WHY DID ELIASKnight have to be so stubborn? She’d practically admitted that she was in love with him, and he’d gone off on a tangent about some death sentence placed on him by the Reckoners. “You aren’t putting a potential death sentence on me. I’m accepting it willingly.” She cupped his jaw in her hands. “Get this through your thick skull, Elias. All of us have death sentences from people who are more dangerous than your father and his buddies. I’m not running from a relationship that I’ve wanted since I first met you. If you can’t or won’t speak how you feel out loud, I’m claiming this relationship for you and for me.”
Amusement lit his gaze. That’s when Iona knew she had him.
“That’s not how this works. You can’t claim a relationship for me.”
“Watch me.”
Elias cupped her face in his hands. “Are you sure, Iona? The Reckoners are relentless. They’ll never give up the hunt for me, and finding them is problematic. The Reckoners don’t have a home base for long. They move every six months.”
“If the Reckoners turn out to be the ones behind the shooting, we’ll go after them with every Fortress resource we have, and that’s considerable.”
He studied her face for a beat, then took her mouth in a hard kiss. When he lifted his head, his eyes glittered. “If you’re sure this is what you want, I’ll accept your invitation to date.”
She laughed as the rest of their teams broke into applause and whistles again.
Seth held up his hand. “All right. Settle down. Now that we have Knight’s love life straightened out, can we get back to the original reason for this lively gathering?”
Teagan shrugged. “What’s to discuss? It’s simple. Elias isn’t going undercover alone. End of story.”
“You can’t stop me.” Elias held up his hand when his friends protested. “Look, no one was supposed to know what I was doing.”
Iona pointed at him. “Not true. The boss expected you to have a backup. That’s us.”
“I can’t take nine people with me into an MC.”
Seth glared. “Four with their Old Ladies.”
Teagan flinched. “Hearing that term makes me want to find a mirror and pluck out all the gray hairs.”
Her teammates laughed.
Elias shoved his hand through his hair. “Don’t you understand what I was telling you? Taking your wives into an MC like this one is too dangerous. They’ll be vulnerable to attack.”
Noah snorted. “They’re always targets. You remember their skills with weapons, right?”
“Of course. How could I forget?”
“Any man or woman who comes after Artemis will be in for a big surprise.” A mean smile curved his mouth. “And after our women walk away the victors, we’ll finish the job.”
Grant nodded in agreement. “Do you know of anyone better qualified to survive in that environment than Artemis?”
“Even thinking about taking Iona into that environment makes me want to hurl. How can you consider putting your wives at risk for me?” Elias shook his head. “I can’t let you do it.”
“Why not?” Rayne propped her fists on her hips.
“I’m not worth the risk, all right? There, I said it. Are you happy now? Deal with it.”
Grant gave him The Look. “Watch your mouth, Knight.”
