Iona flinched. “Way to jinx the night.”
After they arrived at the cabin, Iona, Elias, Grant, and Rayne joined the other Fortress operatives in the dining room.
“Do you want lunch?” Violet asked. “We made grilled cheese sandwiches.”
Elias grimaced. “Sounds good, but I couldn’t eat a bite.”
The medic’s eyes narrowed. “Are you hurting?”
“Yeah, but that’s not why I want nothing to eat. We ate enough scones to sink a battleship at the coffee shop.”
Andre rolled his eyes. “Real hardship, that.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you knew how much food we ate.” Grant rubbed his stomach. “Although those scones were amazing, I don’t want to see another one, let alone eat one, for a long time.”
“Never thought I would hear that come out of your mouth.” Noah shook his head. “Who are you, and what have you done with the real Grant?”
Grant scowled as his friends laughed. “Ha ha. Look, we might have a real problem here.”
The others sobered. “What do you mean?” Seth asked. “Did anything happen while you were in Red Rock?”
“First, we ran into a couple of nosy cops. Wouldn’t surprise me to find out that they ran our plates the minute we left the coffee shop. Second, a group of gossipy ladies also ended up in the coffee shop at the same time we were there.”
“Something came of the gossipy ladies.”
Grant nodded. “A hermit farmer who lives on Dale Hollow Road apparently ran into someone’s fists multiple times. The ladies described him as beaten to a pulp.”
Elias picked up the story. “The nosy cops stopped by our table to check our weapon permits and our knuckles.”
“They must have been satisfied because you’re not in jail.”
“For now.”
Seth shifted his attention to Elias. “What do I need to know?”
“Chances are high that one group involved in this sale will try to eliminate us tonight.”
“Are you sure?”
“As much as I can be. Someone bugged and tracked our SUV into Red Rock. We stripped the truck of all unwanted electronics before we returned here, but it doesn’t take a genius to know where we were going.”
“Does your famous gut tell you which group is going to strike first?”
“I wish. My gut is not that helpful.”
“Some warning is better than none. You and the others should eat something more substantial than scones. When you finish, we’ll look into Farmer Merriweather before you take a field trip.”
Elias nodded, although Iona knew he would rather not involve his friends further. Not an option, though. Echo unit had each other’s backs in good and bad situations. His teammates wouldn’t allow him to question the farmer alone. Friends. What could you do?
He rested his hand on Iona’s lower back and guided her toward the kitchen. “We’ll be back.”
“Will you be able to eat?”
“I’ll manage.”
Right. Would his stomach explode? That was the question. Grant always found room somewhere to put more food. The rest of them didn’t have hidden pockets of emptiness just waiting for a meal to fill them.
Iona went to the refrigerator with Rayne while Grant and Elias seated themselves at the breakfast bar. “All right. I’m assuming you don’t want a seven-course meal.”
