“No.” She held up her hands. “You can’t take that on. I’m ultimately responsible for me. Besides, I’m not the target. You are. If anything, I should be worried about you.”
“Don’t kid yourself. My father isn’t above using the woman I love as bait in a trap designed especially for me.”
She stared at him, an expression of shock on her face.
When she continued to stare, Elias frowned. “What is it?”
“You love me?”
He thought back through his sentence and realized he had indeed admitted the truth. “I meant what I said. I love you, Iona.”
She flew into his arms. “Elias, I love you too.”
Now it was his turn to stare. “You don’t have to say that to spare my feelings. I know it’s fast.”
“No, it’s not. I’ve been in love with you since the day we met. If anything, you’re the one who is late to the party.”
“Story of my life.”
“What are we going to do about it?”
He blinked. “My life or the fact that we’re in love?”
“The second.”
His mouth slowly widened into a grin. “Are you hinting at marriage, Byrne?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not hinting, Knight. I’m flat out saying we should get married.”
“I agree, and I accept your half-baked proposal. So, Ms. Byrne, how soon shall we tie the knot?”
“The minute we’re finished with this mission. Deal?”
“Deal.” Weirdest marriage proposal he’d ever heard, but he’d take it and her.
Seth walked in and pulled up short. “Oops. Sorry for interrupting.”
Elias released Iona and stepped back. “It’s fine. What’s up?”
“After I left the cabin to check on the rest of Echo unit, someone left a present on the porch.”
Elias’ hand clenched into a fist. “Show me.”
“You will not like it.”
“Oh, that’s a guarantee.”
The three of them walked outside to the porch, where Seth pointed at the box near the steps. Elias glanced at Iona. “If I asked you to stay here, would you?”
She smiled.
“That’s what I thought.” Why did she have to be so strong? He appreciated Iona’s strength most of the time. This wasn’t one of them. “Did you look inside, Seth?”
His friend nodded. “Grant made sure it wasn’t rigged to explode first.”
“Having an EOD expert is handy.” Good to know that Iona wouldn’t be blown to bits alongside him when he looked inside the box. Elias knelt in front of the plain box and lifted the lid.
He flinched at the gruesome sight before him. Inside the box were the remains of a decapitated rat’s body, its head having rolled into a corner.
