Seth chuckled. “I like it. Thanks for the suggestion.”
“Glad to help. Do you need me to stay looped in until you dispose of the men?”
“Nope. Go back to bed, Z. Thanks for the help.”
“Yep. Call if you need me.”
“Echo, let’s load these boys into the back of the truck. I don’t want to be caught by the local police moving dead bodies at sunrise.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
IONA PREPPED THEcoffeemaker as the sun rose and pushed the button to start the brewing process. The interrupted night’s sleep was telling on her. Iona’s brain cells weren’t firing, and her energy button appeared to be broken. All she wanted to do was sit somewhere and take a nap.
That wasn’t an option, however. The operatives had an agenda today. After last night’s combined attack, they couldn’t afford to wait any longer. A visit to Christopher Merriweather was at the top of their to-do list. If they could identify the location of the weapons stash and ammunition, Seth could report it to Fortress, who would pass the location along to the FBI agents waiting to move in and capture the loot and the group waiting to make a profit from the sale.
Iona didn’t know or care who the profit-seeking group was. Her goal was to shut down the sale and get out of Dodge. Her primary concern in this deal was keeping Elias out of his father’s hands and out of the crosshairs of Trish and her cronies.
Needing to keep herself busy, Iona perused the contents of the refrigerator, then poked through the cupboards, where she found a beaten-up but serviceable waffle maker. Iona pumped her fist in victory. Waffles sounded like a winner this morning. If Echo unit wanted eggs or bacon, the men could persuade one of the other women to give her a hand.
Iona grabbed ingredients from the refrigerator and the meager pantry where she and the rest of Artemis had agreedto leave the dry goods. After assembling her ingredients on the counter, she measured out the dry ingredients, then the liquid ones, and mixed them.
When the batter was perfect, Iona plugged in the waffle maker and prayed the old cooking tool wouldn’t short out or cause a fire.
She had a nice stack of waffles already finished when Elias walked into the kitchen. “Good morning. Again.”
“Something smells amazing in here. I can’t decide if it’s you or what you’re making.”
Her cheeks burned at his compliment. “Thanks.”
“How can I help? Keep in mind that I can’t cook, but I can follow directions.”
“Do you want scrambled eggs with the waffles?”
He gave her a deer-in-the-headlights look. “Um, yes. Asking me to make them will be a disaster.”
She grinned. “All you have to do is follow my directions.”
He blew out a breath. “Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Noted. Grab the eggs from the refrigerator along with the milk.” Step by step, Iona guided Elias through the process of making scrambled eggs.
Fifteen minutes later, Elias laid a platter filled with perfect scrambled eggs on the breakfast bar next to her stack of waffles, paper plates, maple syrup, and plastic utensils.
Iona set disposable to-go cups on the counter next to the coffeemaker. She also set out a carafe of hot water for those of her team who might prefer hot chocolate or herbal tea this morning. She had a feeling, though, that most of them would go for the coffee. Caffeine was a must after interrupted sleep.
The rest of their teams straggled into the kitchen in pairs. “What do we have here?” Seth peered down at the food. “Who’s the gourmet chef?”
“Iona,” Elias said.
“I had help from Elias.”
Noah paused while lifting a spoonful of scrambled eggs. “Elias? You’re kidding.”
“It’s the truth. He followed my instructions to the letter, and the result is the perfect scrambled eggs you’re getting ready to eat.” She stared him down, daring him to back out.
Noah was smart enough to follow through on adding the scrambled eggs to his plate. “I’m sure they’re fine.”
Iona prepared a plate for Elias and motioned for him to sit down. “Try your eggs, Elias.”
