They were silent for long minutes while he worked. She knew not to distract him while he pulled together the French braid weave that kept her hair tamed from her forehead to her nape.

“So what’s the favor?” Once he started plaiting the hair from her nape to her shoulders, he was safe to speak to.

“When Doogan comes on to you—and he will come on to you, I’m afraid—just remember, he’s the same rat who asked Eve out to dinner even when he knew Brogan was crazy about her,” he said.

“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked as he worked quickly, efficiently, making the months and months it took him to learn how to do it all worth it.

“Well, it proves he’s a rat, and that information might keep me in the running for the opportunity to cheat on that lottery,” he snickered, securing the hair tie at the end of the braid.

Zoey dropped her head, shaking it and holding back her laughter. “You’re a nut, Eli.”

He patted her back consolingly. “You love me, Zoey. You know you do.”

He was her best friend and as much a confidant as her sisters.

“Come on, Eli, let’s go meet your boss’s boss. Why are we riding to the other side of Louisville to do this anyway? Doesn’t he know where Graham lives?” she asked in interest.

“Oh, he knows, and Graham’s invited him in several times. He just says he’s too busy. That’s the same excuse he gave this time. So he’s meeting us at a private airfield instead. The plane’s landing just long enough for him to take care of some business and then he’s leaving again.”

Sounded a little too complicated to her. No wonder the government was short on money. They spent too much playing spy games in far too complicated ways.

Zoey led the way to the back of the apartment and the stairwell that led to the small garage she kept hidden from her family at the back of the converted warehouse.

The extra-wide metal door provided plenty of clearance for the Harley she stored there. Twelve feet deep but over a hundred feet wide, the full width of the warehouse. The garage provided plenty of room for her Harley and Eli’s as well as her racing dirt bike, tool cabinets, parts, and a long workbench. The rest of the area she used to store both paintings as well as empty canvases.

Wrapping the tail of her braid around her head and securing it with a bobby pin, Zoey pulled on the full-head helmet and activated the radio in it.

“Test,” she murmured into the link that connected to Eli’s.

“Loud and clear,” he answered, his voice low. “Ready to ride, girly-girl?”

“If you stop calling me those ignorant names. Really, Eli?” He was like a brother. An easygoing younger brother.

“Really, Zoey,” he chuckled as she hit the remote on the bike to slide the door open and started the powerful motor.

Within seconds they were pulling out from the garage, the wide door closing behind them, security automatically activating and locking the entire building down while she was gone.

With the wind whipping around her, she pushed the nightmares behind her and let herself just enjoy the ride and the sense of freedom she found in it. A freedom she knew would be too short-lived and not nearly the adventure she would have wished.

TWO

The other side of Louisville turned out to be the Indiana side.

Not that she cared, but hell, he could have told her they were leaving the state. Sometimes, Eli had an odd habit usually attributed to Mackays.

Sneaky machinations.

She just didn’t know yet what or who Eli was machinating against. Or for. But she had no doubt she’d figure it out. She’d gotten good at figuring out male games over the past years.

“We need to discuss your communication skills, Eli,” she informed him drolly as they moved into traffic from the exit. “They’re leaving a bit to be desired.”

And how she would love to see his expression right now.

“I said the other side of Louisville.” And didn’t he sound so confused?

God love his heart, she was going to shoot him one of these days. He was becoming rather too good at the male confusion thing, too. She knew him, though, and she knew better. Eli was anything but confused.

He didn’t appear in the least confused either. Relaxed and enjoying the ride himself, he all but lounged back on the bike, the dark face shield of the helmet hiding his expression. And no doubt hiding the lack of confusion in his expression.

Confused? Not Eli. She could just imagine the smug grin on his face. The one that quirked his lips when he knew he’d pulled something off that he hadn’t been so certain he could accomplish.

“This was needed information, you know.” She tried to sound stern, but it wasn’t easy. She didn’t really care, she was just nosy about intended destinations when she was riding along. “What if I have something planned for tonight?”

“You have a date or something?” Eli chuckled knowingly. “I thought all your potential suitors were still cowering behind their mommies’ skirts in fear of Dawg. You notice I’m not cowering.”

She had to laugh at the comment, because she was well aware Dawg actually laughed himself at the thought of her sleeping with Eli. He saw the younger man as no more than a watch puppy willing to give up information whenever he directed a Mackay frown at him.

“I have noticed Dawg giving me credit for having better taste,” she shot back. “He only lets you rent one of my spare rooms because he feels sorry for you. And because you’re such a little narc. Kind of like a little golden retriever pup, I think. All playful energy and no bite.”

“Golden retriever pup?” he exclaimed, outraged.

“A little Christmas puppy with a big ol’ bow on his neck,” she laughed. “Dawg’s personal little tattletale.”

He chuckled at that. “Never with the good stuff, though, and you know it, Zoey-cat. He’d kill me if he ever learned what I was holding back.”

She had to wince at that.

Yeah, Eli would be in serious trouble if her brother ever suspected all the choice, juicy details Eli was deliberately hiding from him. They’d known when they worked out the details of his occupation, though, that Dawg would see him as easy pickings when it came to keeping an eye on his baby sister.

“Naw, he’d just hurt you real bad,” she snickered. “Don’t worry, I promise to install the handicap lift you’ll need to get to your room. It’s the least I could do.”

“I appreciate your encouragement. Really. Just makes my little heart warm with affection, Zoey-girl.” He didn’t sound so affectionate, though. “We’re taking the next exit. The airfield is just about fifteen minutes away.”

The long stretch of interstate was basically deserted of businesses or even fast-food joints.

“Hell of a place to meet,” she stated as they took the exit. “Ever heard of e-mail? It’s great for all kinds of things. Pictures, videos, top-secret files. Phones are great too for oral reports. There’s even video chats now, Eli.”

Yep, it was no damned wonder the country was going bankrupt. All the clandestine, knotted routes their spies took no doubt cost a hell of a lot of money.

“And all are hackable, transferable, or otherwise vulnerable,” he reminded her. “The big boss isn’t the real trusting sort with top-secret stuff. He doesn’t appreciate anyone else who isn’t just as careful either.”

The real suspicious sort. Like Dawg and her cousins. The way he talked about the “big boss,” unlike the men in her family, he was more accepting of a woman fighting side by side with him. Eli once stated that the big boss was prone to even accept women on his security teams when he needed personal protection.

“The man’s a real pain in the ass,” Eli growled. “His family is even related to royalty somehow. I just never bothered to ask how. He’s irksome enough as the boss.”