Eli was just determined to make sure the Mackay blanket of protection remained fully in place around the youngest sister, it seemed, despite the secrets he held where the past year was concerned.

Loyalty, he thought. Eli’s loyalty had shifted far too much in the direction of the Mackays.

It seemed all four agents he’d sent to Somerset had switched loyalties from Doogan to the Mackay clan. Now didn’t that just figure? And why hadn’t he expected it? He should have.

“Zoey, you’re going to end up locked in a damned convent for your own safety,” Eli hissed at her, concern gleaming in his gaze. “You don’t understand. Dawg finds out about this and there will be no way in hell he’ll let it go. Especially if he’s involved.” He jerked a thumb in Doogan’s direction.

Celadon-green eyes gave a mocking little roll, her expressive features settling into a warning expression. “Eli, I’m already not pleased with you right now,” she warned him. “And I’m well able to decide who I let into my little circle of friends and who I don’t.”

“He’s no woman’s friend,” Eli seemed to be reminding her.

Doogan had suspected the younger man had done all he could to douse the sexual response Zoey had shown on the plane two weeks before.

“Boy, you’re pushing it,” Doogan stated, icy anger overshadowing the fondness he actually felt for the younger man.

“She’s going to get herself killed,” Eli retorted, frustration creasing his face before he glared back at Doogan. “What do you want? What are you doing here?” His gaze flicked over Doogan in disgust. “And since when did you start dressing down?”

Doogan arched his brow and just stared back at Eli for long, silent seconds, the warning clear in his eyes. The kid was pushing his luck. Mackays might have his loyalty, but he was still an agent of Homeland Security and therefore under Doogan’s command. And he was still family. Sort of.

“This is messed up,” the younger man muttered, no doubt in response to the fact that he knew Doogan well enough to guess how deep his interest in Zoey extended. And Eli should damned well be aware of the fact that the need for additional protection was now imperative.

“Possibly,” Doogan agreed, never taking his eyes off Eli.

Eli breathed out in resignation. “What? What do you need?”

He might remember who ultimately held his job in his hands, but the kid was doing so with a decided lack of respect. He was going to have to take care of that, Doogan reminded himself.

“I want you to assure Ms. Mackay I’m fully capable of helping her with her bike,” he asked, pleasantly he was certain. “She’s hesitant to believe I am.”

Eli’s eyes widened, sheer terror seeming to flicker for just a second before he rubbed at the back of his neck, a grimace pulling at his lips.

“Elijah,” Doogan prompted warningly.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Eli agreed, turning to Zoey suddenly. “He’s guaranteed to make every male in your family ready to lock you up, though, if they find out you’re having anything to do with him at all. Walk away, Zoey.”

She actually laughed at Eli and when her gaze returned, Doogan made damned sure the look she saw on his face reminded her of that kiss in the plane, and the hunger that burned between them.

And she remembered. The light flush on her face, the way her eyes seemed to darken just a little at the edges assured him that she did.

“Zoey, you promised to stay away from him,” Eli groaned, resignation and exasperation mixing in his tone.

“Eli,” Doogan murmured warningly, “keep it up and I’ll shoot you myself.”

It was enough to make him wish he’d never sent Eli to Somerset to begin with, no matter how much Grant Brock had needed him at the time.

“Don’t threaten Eli now,” Zoey chastised him sweetly. “I get to hurt him first. He seems to forget which Mackay he promised to be loyal to first.”

Doogan arched his brow at her with mocking amusement before turning back to Eli. “Why don’t I give you more power and less excuses, then? Unlike Eli, Dawg and his cousins don’t scare me in the least.”

“Shows how smart you’re not,” Eli muttered before glancing warily at Zoey.

The young agent rubbed at the back of his neck again, his need to further warn Zoey clear in his expression.

“Stop making your neck raw, Eli.” She rolled her eyes again, obviously reading the look.

“You have a truck? I have to get the bike back to the warehouse.” She turned to Eli, pointing her finger back at him demandingly. “Keep your mouth shut, Eli. Squeal, and I’ll make bacon out of your ass, you got me?”

He actually looked worried, Doogan thought. Was it the threat, or the woman making it? He had a feeling it was Zoey causing all that concern.

“He doesn’t have a truck . . .”

“It’s parked on the other side of the trees,” Doogan broke in before turning back to Eli. “Get her bike, Eli, and follow us.” Without waiting for an answer, he lifted a brow at Zoey. “Need a ride?”

“If you don’t mind,” she answered with a pleased little smile. “And I look forward to seeing how good you are. With my bike.” Impish, teasing, that smile did something to him. Something he didn’t want to think about or look too closely into.

“You could be biting off more than you can chew,” he warned her. “With the bike as well.”

Her brow lifted with graceful doubt for a moment.

“Come on, show me your truck.” She was laughing at him again. “We’ll get my baby loaded and get her home. Maybe next month Billy Ray will be paying me.”

Oh, that was a given, Doogan thought without a doubt in his mind. If Eli thought he knew electronics, motors, or cycles, then he had nothing on Doogan.

“You can count on it,” he promised her. “Bet on it.”

Leading the way from the illegal racing track, Doogan pushed back that odd surge of emotion he felt, when emotion was something he rarely felt. Instead he let the satisfaction he felt free instead.

Who could have guessed that Zoey would have been so easy to connect with again? Adrenaline junkie? It was more than apparent the youngest Mackay sister was still chasing the only edge of adventure she could find outside her brother’s and cousins’ circle of control.

Following her to the parking area, just far enough behind her to glance at the rounded curves of her ass, encased in snug jeans, her legs surrounded by riding chaps, he wondered how wild she could get.

“Dawg Mackay will neuter your ass,” Eli hissed, pushing the bike as he came beside Doogan. “He will cut your balls off with a dull knife and you know he will. This is not a good idea.”

Eli was far too frightened of Dawg Mackay and his cousins. Personally, Doogan believed the younger man should be more frightened of Zoey. He would be, he thought in amusement, if Eli wasn’t lying about the proficiency she was attainting in the martial arts as well as the street fighting lessons he was giving her.

“You’re so melodramatic, Eli,” he drawled, rather than advising the agent of the error of his ways.

The boy definitely had a problem, Doogan thought, casting him a dubious look. Eli had been pissed ever since he’d stepped into the plane to see Zoey in Doogan’s arms.

It wasn’t jealousy, though. Doogan could have faced the jealousy and dealt with it. What Eli was trying to protect her from was a danger that seemed to be following Doogan as well. One Doogan was beginning to believe was behind the events a year ago that still threatened to destroy her.

“Don’t worry, Eli,” Zoey assured him, her voice light, easy as she threw Doogan a sultry look. “I promise I won’t let Dawg neuter him. I imagine Doogan just wouldn’t be his charming self without his balls.”

It was her tone of voice. There was something about it that had him wondering if he should be wearing a cup of some sort. Perhaps one made of titanium?

“That is, if she doesn’t do it first,” Eli said just loud enough for Doogan to catch. “By accident even. She’s dangerous. You don’t know . . .”