She rushed into the kitchen and disappeared through the double swinging doors. Seconds later, Maude and Shaylah were out on the restaurant floor, laughing and joking with the patrons.
Elias deliberately relaxed, noticing that his teammates did the same. He’d never seen a motorcycle club in this diner. If he had, he would have taken his business elsewhere. Since he didn’t believe in coincidences, Elias was sure this had something to do with him.
He wished he could ask his friends to leave the dining room, but that would go nowhere. His lips curved. Who knew a kid who grew up in a brutal MC would have stubborn friends who actually cared about him?
Elias glanced at Iona. She was watching him, waiting for his response. Instead of speaking, he reached over and threaded his fingers through hers. Together, then. Although he didn’t enjoyhaving her this close to an MC, he’d have to get over it. In less than twelve hours, she would be in the middle of an MC as his Old Lady.
She smiled for a beat, then sobered and faced the door.
Yeah, the only way to match wits with their quarry was to face them head-on. If the Blackthorn Riders and this MC were anything like his father’s club, subtlety was lost on them.
“Advice?”
“If they’re like my old MC, they don’t do subtle.”
“Got it. We can handle this, Elias. Trust us, please.”
Elias lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Oh, I do. Looking forward to proving it to you.”
The front door opened, and ten bikers swaggered into the diner. The lead biker motioned to the front of the diner and caught Maude’s attention. She nodded and walked to the hostess station to pick up menus, then went to the group of tables the men had shoved together.
Shaylah stopped at Elias’ table. “What should we do?”
“Maude knows what to do. You shouldn’t show your young, beautiful face around them.”
“What if they hurt Maude?”
“We won’t let that happen. We’ll monitor things, Shaylah. Just act like you normally do.”
She didn’t look happy. “Tell me if I need to help.”
“We will. Take care of your tables, and leave the rest to us.”
“We’ll get a later start to Nashville than we wanted.” Seth wrapped his arm around Teagan’s shoulders and kissed her temple. “I had hoped we’d beat the morning traffic.”
Grant shook his head. “No such thing anymore. We always run into traffic no matter the time of day or night.”
Noah grimaced. “That’s what happens when so many people move into an area in a short period.”
“Growing pains.” Rayne sipped her water.
As the minutes passed, the club members’ laughter grew louder and more obnoxious. The diner’s other patrons kept Maude and Shaylah busy as they quietly requested their checks and left the restaurant before finishing their meals. Soon, the only people left in the diner were the Fortress operatives and the MC members.
Elias counted the minutes in his head as the MC members kept Maude in a rush to deliver more and more pancakes. When they’d eaten their weight in the breakfast food, he relaxed. Soon, they should go on their way.
One of the older men in their group said, “Hey, I need more coffee.”
“Coming right up.” Maude set a platter full of pancakes in the center of the table.
“Not you.” He pointed to Shaylah. “Her. I want sweet cheeks over there to bring my coffee.”
Blood drained from Shaylah’s cheeks, and she fumbled with the silverware she was distributing around an empty table.
“Ah, now, you’re going to hurt my feelings,” Maude said. “I thought we had a special thing going.”
The biker grinned. “We do. Sometimes a man needs something a little younger and sweeter to make him feel good. Send your friend over here. My buddies and I want to talk to her. That’s all. Ain’t no harm in talking.”
Maude shook her head. “She’s busy setting up for the morning rush. We have to have the tables ready, or we’re behind from the start, and that throws all of us off, including our diners.”