“Move out, Agent Grant,” he ordered Eli.

Eli did as ordered as Jed rolled his eyes and gave Brogan a quick, short shake of his head.

This was why he preferred working with Jed and Eli instead of the two agents over those in the regional office. He could trust them to cover his back, both in and out of the field. His gut was already telling him Doogan’s reaction was way off base.

He’d come out there specifically to piss Brogan off. All he’d done was make him highly suspicious. The other man was a manipulator. And he was trying to ensure that Brogan did as he wanted him to do, not as he was telling him to do.

Doogan wanted the Mackays in on this operation, and he’d wanted them there from the beginning.

From the first day Brogan had set foot in Pulaski County, Doogan had been pushing him toward Eve.

Walking back to the house as the last of dawn began to slip away, he knew Doogan was only pushing him, or Eve, into informing her brother of Brogan’s mission. And Brogan couldn’t figure out why the other man didn’t say so. Brogan had finally put Doogan’s manipulations together. He was salivating to get the Mackays on this operation.

Doogan was a hell of a manipulator, but usually he was only this bad when he had no other choice. And if he wanted the Mackays so badly, why not just ask them himself? Or he could have gone to Timothy. There were few things Timothy enjoyed more than manipulating Mackays; he would have loved to have pulled Dawg and his cousins into the operation himself.

There were few things Doogan loved more than the chance to do his own manipulating, too, though. Once he saw that pulling the Mackays in would actually take some effort, he would have done exactly as he did: rushed straight to Somerset and set his plans in motion. Plans that would get him killed if they managed to harm even the first silken hair on Eve’s head.

* * *

Eve stood in the large bathroom staring through the window that looked out onto the water and the small beach with its long dock extending out to deeper water.

It was the faint sound of the boat’s trolling motor moving up the waterway that had urged Eve to crawl from the bed and go to the bathroom, where she could see the beach more clearly. And boy, had she gotten an eyeful that she hadn’t expected.

It was easy to recognize the three men Brogan had just been talking to. Jedediah Booker and Elijah Grant, the two building contractors staying at her mother’s inn, along with Chatham Doogan, were meeting with Brogan.

She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she’d been able to follow their expressions. Brogan had been trying to hide his irritation and suspicion, where both Jedediah and Elijah had looked more amused than anything else.

The one thing that had clearly come across, though, and really pissed her off was the fact that Brogan and Doogan obviously knew each other very, very well.

Liars. She hated them. There was something about deliberate lies and deceit that reminded her far too much of Chandler Mackay.

As Brogan moved toward the house, Eve turned and rushed back to the bed, knowing he would come straight to her. He wouldn’t wait; he wouldn’t find anything else to do.

Crawling back into the huge, obviously custom-made bed, she pulled the sheet to her breasts just as Brogan entered the room. He came to an immediate stop as he saw she was awake and waiting for him.

Instantly wariness seemed to settle around him, though his expression didn’t change. It didn’t flicker in his gaze, and there was no tension in his body. So she had no clue how she knew he was suddenly unsettled by the fact that she was waiting for him.

“You’re awake,” he stated softly, moving toward her as she watched him closely.

“For a while now,” she agreed. “I wondered where you were.”

“I had some business that couldn’t wait.” He grimaced as he rubbed at his jaw. “We’ll discuss it later. Are you ready for breakfast yet, or would you like a hot bath first?”

They would discuss it later?

Eve could feel an impending sense of panic settling in her stomach.

“I’d rather discuss the business first,” she argued.

Brogan shook his head, his lips tilting in that little partial grin she thought was so sexy.

“Breakfast or bath.” Evidently, those were her only choices. “Which do you prefer first? There are some bath salts to ease the soreness in your muscles, imported all the way from China.” Rueful amusement tinged the blue-gray depths of his gaze.

“Bath, I guess.” She shrugged. “Brogan?”

He paused as he moved to turn to the bathroom, staring down at her questioningly instead.

“This business we’re going to discuss,” she asked as her heart began beating hard and sluggishly. “Is it something bad?”

“No, it’s nothing bad.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry, sweetheart; everything will be okay. I promise.”

But he didn’t really believe that. He wanted to, she thought. He might be trying to convince himself it would be, but she could sense his uneasiness, and that was freaking her out just a bit. She shouldn’t be able to sense anything that he wasn’t showing the obvious signs to.

“I’ll start your water.” Turning, he headed back to the bathroom before pausing at the door and glancing back at her. “You have several changes of clothes; wear whatever you like. I thought we’d take a walk after breakfast, but the path is easy enough for sandals or sneakers.”

A walk sounded nice. Or was that when he was going to discuss the business of Chatham, Elijah, and Jedediah’s morning visit?

Checking the bag he had brought, Eve pulled out one of the heavy plastic hair clips she used to pin her hair up. Twisting the long strands to the top of her head, she clipped it in place before moving to the bathroom when he left.

True to his word, he had started her bath. The water was deliciously warm without being too hot. The bath salts gave it a silky, caressing feel as she settled into it, sighing at the luscious sensation of the water easing overused muscles.

The tub itself was large enough for two or three people. There was an open shower larger than her entire bathroom. The vanity and sleek modern overlarge sink sat on one side of the room, a pair of heavy padded chairs beside it. The toilet was in a room by itself, separated from the bathing area with a sliding wooden door that pushed into the wall. Heated ceramic tiles covered the floor, while more tile covered the walls and gave the bathroom an elegant, charming feel. It was luxurious and ultrarich, with enough wasted space to house two more regular-size bathrooms.

The entire house was a rich person’s play den, nothing more. One of those places the megarich kept as a hidden sex spot: wild parties, mistresses, booze, and drugs. Hell, in the other bathroom there had been an eight-ball of cocaine sitting in the medicine cabinet in plain view.

She hadn’t checked this bathroom that well yet.

Finishing her bath with the fragrant soap Brogan had laid out for her, Eve stepped from the tub nearly half an hour later. Drying herself, she brushed her hair until the silky sheen gleamed a blue-black, then dressed quickly.

The white lace panties and matching bra she’d found in the bag comprised one of her nicer sets. Trust Brogan to pick out the best she had.

The short cream-colored chiffon skirt and matching sleeveless top slid over her skin as she dressed, caressing it with cool silkiness.

The top was held up by fragile straps over her shoulders, while the shallow vee cut of the bodice revealed the upper curves of her breasts. The skirt fell just below her thighs, the soft flare of the material making her legs appear much longer and sexier.

She was dressed now and ready to face whatever lies or perhaps explanations Brogan might have.

Nervously she left the bedroom and headed to the main part of the house. There she found Brogan in the large open kitchen sliding pancakes onto a plate with steaming eggs. Beside it sat another plate, while bacon, sausage, and fluffy biscuits filled a platter.