“Iona thinks we might overhear useful information if we hang out in the coffee shop in Red Rock.”
“Sounds good to me.” Rayne headed for the hallway. “If there’s a bookstore in town, that’s also a good place to pick up a few books to place on these shelves.”
“Nope.” Grant caught up with his wife and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I don’t want to waste good books on a library that isn’t being used. We’ll hold them for our own library.”
After telling Seth what they were doing, Iona handed Grant the keys to the truck. “Since you’re a control freak.”
“Guilty.” Grant unlocked the truck and opened the front passenger door for Rayne. After helping her inside the vehicle, he circled around to the driver’s seat while Elias and Iona climbed into the backseat.
“Elias.” Grant looked in the rearview mirror. “Do a check.”
“Copy that.”
Elias pulled an electronic signal detector from his pocket and turned it on. Immediately, the chaser lights changed from green to red. “Ears.”
“Find it.”
After a careful search, Rayne said, “Here.” She held a black dot on the tip of her finger. She lowered the window and flicked the listening device off her finger. “Check again.”
Elias turned on the signal detector again. This time, the chaser lights stayed green. “We’re clear inside.”
“We probably have a tracker on the truck.”
“Since we’re going to the coffee shop, don’t stop on the side of the road. We can check the truck after we park in town.”
Almost an hour later, Grant pulled into an empty parking space in the lot beside the shop. “Stay here while I check for the tracker.”
“I’ll go with you.” Elias opened his door and climbed out.
When the doors shut, Iona and Rayne stared at each other. “Does he do that often?” Iona asked.
“Every time he can get away with it.” She smiled. “He has a strong protective streak. To keep the peace between us, I let him do the security checks when we’re at home. On missions, we both do the checks.”
She might have to try something similar with Elias. Iona had noticed the times when he put his body in front of hers. “I might have to adopt a similar policy.”
Rayne studied her for a moment. “Are things serious between you two?” She held up her hand. “Never mind. It’s not my business, and you just started dating. The answer is probably no.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“That’s the answer to your question.”
Her teammate’s face lit up. “Really?”
Iona laughed. “Are you surprised?”
“I shouldn’t be. We’ve been watching you and Elias for months.” She grinned. “In fact, we’ve been speculating how soon you two would finally admit you had feelings for each other.” She mimicked polishing her nails on an invisible lapel. “I won. I can’t wait to tell the others to pay up.”
She should have known. Iona had instigated an observation game when Teagan and Seth began dancing around each other. The winner usually won dinner at a favorite restaurant, or the other Artemis members would chip in to buy a book or a gift card to the winner’s favorite store. “What will you choose for your prize?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.”
The men opened the truck doors and helped the women onto the asphalt. Grant opened the door to the coffee shop, and the four of them went inside.
Iona glanced around. Typical coffee shop decor with a small-town twist. This coffee shop offered coffee blends named after the streets around town. She remembered them from her session studying the town map. She’d learned long ago that committing a map of the area to memory was a good practice. It had saved her life more than once over the years.
Elias nudged her toward the counter. “Order what you want.”
