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“Oh, Eli, you did not just blame me for losing that race.” One hand went to her hip; the other clenched the strap of her helmet as though actually considering using it on the young man’s head. “I know you’re not that damned stupid.”
Doogan himself would have already at least threatened to use the helmet on the young agent. Just because Eli was so damned scared of her. He deserved to have his ass kicked for letting such a tiny thing scare him like that.
“Well, I wasn’t the one who lost it,” he assured her, frowning down at her. “Come on, Zoey. It’s not my fault.”
She glared back at him. “I am not talking to you, Eli. Talking to you just pisses me off, so if I were you, I’d run.”
“Zoey . . .”
“And run fast.” Her voice lowered as he stepped back and actually turned and stomped off.
Now that was funny.
Doogan couldn’t help a chuckle this time as he watched Eli get as far as the middle of the crowd gathered around Billy before he stopped and turned back to watch Zoey.
That was when Eli caught sight of him.
Doogan let his gaze meet the agent’s and watched Eli’s eyes widen in surprise.
“I could help you with that motor,” Doogan offered as Zoey made to pass him, her head down, lips thinned angrily.
That brought her to a stop.
For a second, surprise and feminine hunger flashed in her gaze before it stilled beneath a sudden shadow of fear.
“Now, doesn’t that offer just sound a little too good to be true?” she drawled, not bothering to hide that Mackay suspicion and mockery that ran deep and wide. “Why would you want to help me, Mr. Chatham Bromleah Doogan the Third? You might actually get grease on your royal hands. That would suck now, wouldn’t it?”
He lifted a brow slowly. Well, he hadn’t expected an open-arms greeting, but he hadn’t expected such a confrontational attitude either.
“Do I have Eli to thank for this reception?” He nodded to Eli as the other man strode toward them, his eyes narrowed, disapproval lining his face. “I thought we were getting along rather good the last day we saw each other.”
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.
