“Deck. We should be safe enough. I have a privacy fence that prevents all but the most determined souls from spying on me.”
“Fine.” To prevent more objections from her teammates, Iona headed for the back door.
“Watch yourself,” Noah warned Elias.
“Unnecessary to tell me that.”
“After the display we just saw, I disagree. If you touch her out of anger, you’ll regret it.”
He held up his hands again. “I get it, all right? If I step out of line, you’ll beat me to a pulp.”
“Unless I take you out first,” Teagan murmured.
Elias froze in place for a beat, acknowledged the warning with a nod, and opened the door for Iona.
She stepped onto the deck and walked to the oak railing. The night was clear, the light from the moon bright enough that they didn’t need artificial light.
The wind blew Iona’s dark hair out of her eyes and helped cool her heated cheeks. She felt bad for Elias. He felt terriblephysically, and no one had noticed, including Violet, their medic.
Iona was no better. She’d missed all the signs until the last few minutes of their heated argument. If she had read Elias right, he’d deliberately set tempers flaring so he wouldn’t have to talk about what was bugging him so much about this assignment.
If Elias thought he’d sneak that tactic past her, he was dead wrong. She thought about getting in his face. Under other circumstances, she might have. If she followed that plan, Elias could be tempted to put his hands on her, and her teammates would spill from the house in a flood of motion and emotion. Elias wouldn’t know what hit him. So, best not to take that chance.
Instead, Iona watched the tree limbs sway in the breeze for a beat, then two more, before she said, “Talk to me.”
Elias was silent for a long time. “I can’t.”
She wrestled her temper down and locked it away. Temper had no place in the discussion. “Let me give it a shot, then. You don’t trust me.” And, man, didn’t that hurt to admit out loud.
His head whipped toward her. “What did you say?”
“You heard me, Knight. I’m not repeating myself.” Couldn’t repeat it, truthfully.
“You can’t be serious.”
“About you not trusting me? You bet I am since it’s the only explanation that makes sense. You can trust Echo at your back anytime in any situation, but you don’t trust me. Why else would you plan to leave me behind?”
He dragged a hand down his face. “You’re exasperating. I never said that, and I don’t feel that way. Want to try another bit of psychology on me? You might get this one right.”
Iona narrowed her eyes. “Don’t overstep, Elias. Remember, I have many knives, and I know how to use them.”
His lips curved. “You are a master with knives.”
“Are you worried about my accuracy with a gun?” Yeah, she was poking the bear, but what else could you do when the bear was stubborn and refused to see the truth?
He stared. “Your accuracy is better than mine.”
“Well, I’m out of reasons, Elias. You’ll have to tell me the truth instead of letting me embarrass myself.”
The operative broke eye contact with her, holding the railing with a white-knuckled grip. “If I speak the words, I can’t go back. Ever.”
Iona froze. “You want to go back to the Reckoners?” Surely not. Right?
Elias Knight swung around and stared at Iona. “You don’t understand, Iona. If you haven’t lived it, you can’t relate to the blood and death and degradation I endured, the utter chaos that was my life. My father sees me as a traitor. I have a target on my back. So, would I ever want to go back to that life, go back to living with a motorcycle club? No way.”
Iona’s heart broke as she listened to the strong and rugged Elias describe his life before he joined the Army and escaped from a path to destruction. How could she have worked with him for so many months and not known where he came from?
Looking at him, no one would know that Elias had been born into a motorcycle club and lived that life until he turned eighteen, took control of his life, and joined the military. Who would have ever expected that this refugee from an MC would grow up to become a decorated soldier and homicide detective, and an operative for Fortress Security?
