“Which is?”
“A good leader knows when to delegate.”
He closed his eyes for a beat. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks for the reminder.”
She squeezed his hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. We still have to fight traffic going into Fortress headquarters.”
Elias groaned. “Don’t remind me. I dread that drive.”
She held out her hand. “Keys.”
He stared. “You want to drive?”
“You just took pain medication and, according to Violet, you need a nap.”
Although he hated to give up control of the wheel, Iona was right. She should drive. The trick would be if Elias could nap while she drove.
He dug into his pocket and dropped the key fob into Iona’s outstretched hand.
Her fingers closed around it. “How much did that hurt?”
“More than I want to admit.”
“I’ll bet.” She brushed a kiss onto his lips and threaded her fingers through his. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of your ride.”
He chuckled as they left the back room and walked to the cash register to pay their tab. Elias handed Maude his card. “You did great with those bikers, Maude.”
“I’ve dealt with plenty of them in this diner. Haven’t seen this bunch before, though. How did you know what to do with them?”
“I have family in an MC.”
She nodded and handed back his card. “Well, I appreciate you stepping in before those boys scared Shaylah.”
Elias slid his card back into his wallet and shoved the wallet into his pocket. “Have a good day, Maude. I’ll see you next time around.”
He pressed his hand against Iona’s lower back and left the restaurant. He pulled up short when he noticed his teammates gathered near his SUV. “Problem?”
“Your buddy, Prez, left you a calling card.”
They moved back so he and Iona could see. The driver’s door of his SUV had a target scratched into the paint. Elias flinched. “Oh, man. Bear is going to kill me.”
“We’ll ask for a loaner.” Seth frowned. “Unless this will sell our cover story better. What do you think, Elias?”
He studied the target. “Maybe. I thought Brent had a truck for us to haul my bike on. We’d need a trailer for the bike if we drive my SUV.”
“True. All right. If we tell Bear you saved a couple of women from a biker club, he might let you slide.”
The mechanical genius had a soft spot for women and kids. Yeah, Seth was right. He might get lucky this time and escape Bear’s razor-sharp tongue.
“I’ll take the lead to Fortress headquarters. Elias, you fall in behind me. Everyone needs to stay alert in case of trouble.”
Elias opened Iona’s door and helped her into the SUV. Once she was situated, he circled the hood to the passenger side and clambered into the cab of the SUV and latched his seatbelt. “Give me a smooth ride, babe.”
She grinned. “I’ll do my best. Sleep if you can, Elias.”
Fat chance of that happening. Even with the medication taking the edge off the pain, his mind was going a million miles an hour, trying to fit puzzle pieces together, but he didn’t have enough pieces to make even a partial picture. Who wanted him dead?
He needed to figure it out fast. If he didn’t, his teammates and Iona could pay the price.
