“How?”
“Echo can take Artemis out for a night on the town.”
He snorted. “To a dive bar?”
“Limited choices in a small town.”
“Limited intelligence is more like it.” He motioned for her to continue.
“You can take us out to dinner first, then end the night at the bar.”
Noah scowled. “I don’t like it.”
“None of us do,” Seth said. “What makes you think you can get the information better than we can, Iona?”
“Frankly, the members of Artemis are more attractive than Echo.”
“No.” Elias stepped in front of Iona and cupped her chin in her hand. “You’re planning to flirt with some Neanderthal to learn the location of the sale, aren’t you?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“Yeah, either use good old-fashioned torture or inject them with thiopental.”
Iona smiled. She figured he would suggest those options sooner than later. She pressed her mouth to his for a moment, then broke the kiss. “You can hold those options in reserve.”
“I don’t like this plan, either,” Andre muttered.
“Same.” Grant glared at Rayne who merely smiled at her husband.
“This is a lousy idea,” Seth groused. “What if these MC members get the wrong idea?”
Teagan winked. “Well, then, you and the rest of Echo will be right there to persuade them otherwise.”
Andre folded his arms across his chest and glared at Riley. “Are you planning to shove us in the corner unless you give us a signal to step in and whisk you away?”
She batted her eyelashes at him. “Well, now that you mention it, that’s what I was thinking.”
“No.”
“Andre.”
He shook his head. “Forget it, babe. If you’re sweet-talking a bunch of bikers, I will be glued to your side to remind those clowns that you are off-limits to their hands and mouths. Violators will be persecuted.”
Her eyebrows soared. “Do you mean prosecuted?”
“I know exactly what I said, and I meant it, too.”
She sighed. “Look, I have several knives, Andre, and I know how to use them. If they touch me without permission, they will regret it.”
“Not good enough. I don’t want their hands or mouths on you or for them to think you’re offering an engraved invitation.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Let Echo make the initial contact, then Artemis can join us after we get the conversation rolling.”
Iona frowned. “What’s the difference?”
“We’ll make it clear we’re at the dive bar together and you’re off-limits to anyone but us. Your job is to convince those bozos that you’re impressed with them and with the way they support their president.”
