Sliding Eli a questioning look, he wondered at that particular comment.

Eli was well aware of the importance of keeping Zoey from facing the punishment of a crime she hadn’t committed. Just as he knew why it was so important to allow Harley Perdue to remain hidden and the suspicion of his death to remain intact. The prey Harley was hunting was back in town, according to the message Doogan had received, his attention once again focused on Zoey. The stakes had risen though, and the threat of arrest was in the very near future if Doogan didn’t find a way to stop it, quickly.

John David had made certain he’d aided the Mackays’ little plot to tie Doogan’s agents up with the oldest sisters, but he’d known Zoey would never give in to the only agent Doogan had left in town. Even Doogan knew Eli was still far too young to be able to handle that little spitfire.

Eli knew it as well.

Just as they all knew that Eli wasn’t the reason someone was conspiring to destroy her. Take out Zoey, and the ties between the Mackays and Homeland Security were destroyed. Especially if the agent looking into Harley’s disappearance had his way.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” It was all Zoey could do to hold back her laughter as she defended herself against Eli, having obviously heard him. “I promise, if I neuter you, it wouldn’t be by accident.”

Despite the laughter and her genuine amusement, Doogan was perceptive enough to see the fear Zoey was pushing back, though.

“Well, that’s comforting.” That fear wasn’t going to stand in the way of his having her, Doogan had already decided that. He’d thought about nothing else, hungered for no one else, since that first taste of her. “Let’s do our best to ensure it doesn’t happen, either by accident or by design. I wouldn’t be pleased.”

Zoey’s gaze flicked back to him, shadowed and undecided.

“I don’t believe I’d be pleased either,” she finally murmured, definitely too low for Eli to hear as they neared the powerful black king cab four-wheel-drive pickup Doogan had elected to use while he was in Somerset this time.

It was the perfect vehicle for the job he was there to see to. And perfect for her needs. As he’d learned before nearing the starting line, she had to rely on friends to slip her motorcycle from the garage on the lower floor of the converted warehouse she lived in to the races. Eli was most often elected, always late, and always complaining about the chances of getting caught by her brother, her cousins, or their friends.

Doogan had no intention of complaining.

“Load it up, Eli,” he ordered the younger man before escorting Zoey to the passenger-side front seat.

Eli’s muttered complaints were ignored as Doogan opened the door, gripped her waist, and lifted her effortlessly into the roomy front seat.

She was watching him closely, the smile gone, her unusual pale green eyes probing, intent.

“He isn’t happy with you,” she informed him, her hands sliding from his shoulders. “Or with me. He could end up blabbing to Graham.”

It wouldn’t matter; Graham would come to Doogan before he went to a Mackay, and Doogan knew it.

“I can kick his ass far more effectively than Graham can,” Doogan assured her, wondering at the lingering suspicion in her eyes. “And he knows I’ll do it if he blabs.”

At least, Eli better know it.

Closing the door, he strode to the back of the truck, where Eli was strapping the cycle down, still muttering to himself about bosses, guns, and a new career.

Doogan stood silently listening, watching, until Eli finally turned to him with a dark frown.

“I could make certain that finding a new job becomes very difficult,” he told the younger man. “I could actually make it impossible, Eli. And before you open your mouth to Graham, or to our fathers, you should check your e-mail and your new mission parameters from none other than Director Bryce himself. Don’t force me to have you called in for refusing to obey direct orders.”

“And let me guess.” Eli glared at him. “One of those parameters is that Graham isn’t to know about your sudden association with Zoey? Right?”

“Pretty much. At least until I inform him of it myself,” Doogan agreed. “Do you have a problem with your orders, Agent Grant?”

Securing the last strap on the cycle, Eli jumped to the ground and slammed the tailgate closed before turning to Doogan again.

“I obey orders,” he reminded Doogan. “Whether I like them or not. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. That doesn’t mean they won’t find out.”

“Then let’s put it this way,” Doogan stated softly. “If anyone finds out, by any means, I’ll hold you directly responsible. What do you think about that?”

“That you suck.” Eli’s glare deepened. “You suck really bad.”

“And it’s going to suck even worse for you if anyone so much as realizes I’m in town before I inform them,” Doogan promised him. “So you better figure out how to make certain that secret, along with Zoey’s, remains carefully protected, Eli. Very well protected.”

Eli glanced away for a moment. When his gaze returned it was filled with grief and painful concern for the young woman he knew had become a target. “You’ll get her killed. You know that being with her will only make the danger worse. They’ll kill her just like they killed your family.”

His family.

A faithless wife, a jealous brother, and the beautiful, innocent daughter Doogan would have given his own life to protect. The sister and niece Eli still grieved for and still blamed Doogan for the loss of.

“They can try,” he snarled furiously. “But this time, I fucking know they’re here, don’t I? I know their target and I know how they work.” Fury burned through him, the flames of rage nearly overwhelming him before he found his control and reined them back ruthlessly. “Now you can help me, Eli, or stand the fuck back and keep your mouth shut. But don’t get in my way. Do that, and you’ll be as much an enemy to me as they are.”

With that, Doogan moved to the front of the truck, stepped into the driver’s seat, and glanced at Zoey’s knowing expression.

“Finished threatening Eli?” She shifted in her seat to watch him directly. “Shame on you.”

He merely grunted at the amused chastisement. “He’ll survive it. Maybe,” he promised her, putting the vehicle in drive and heading for the gravel road that led to the clearing. “If he doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut by now, then he needs to learn.”

Eli would definitely survive his threats. If he didn’t follow his orders, though, he might not survive Doogan’s foot up his ass. Or Director Bryce’s anger. Zoey Mackay had become the boss’s new pet project and if Eli or Graham interfered, then there would be more hell to pay than either Graham or Eli might survive.

FOUR

She was crazy.

Insane.

She’d lost her ever-lovin’ mind, just as Eli had accused her as they rode home from the airfield two weeks ago.

Doogan was the biggest threat to her life, Eli had reminded her somberly. If Doogan learned Zoey was having nightmares about having murdered Harley, and he couldn’t find Harley Perdue, then he could arrest her. And if he did, all favor the Mackays had found with Homeland Security would go to hell. It would become a war. One her brother and cousins couldn’t hope to win, and she’d end up in prison.

Eli had watched her like a hawk for the past two weeks as well, as though expecting her to sneak out to meet his nemesis. It was amusing at times, exasperating at others. And the nightmares were becoming worse and more frequent. She wasn’t getting enough sleep and her temper was getting testy. And she couldn’t stop thinking about that damned kiss.