Nauti Dreams (20 page)

for whatever DHS has going on here. Is that true?”

Chaya slid the recorder back in her case before lifting her eyes to Ray. She let him hold

her gaze, just as he had allowed her to hold his. “Natches is my weakness, Mr. Mackay,”

she finally admitted. “And he doesn’t take no for an answer sometimes.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” he said, his voice gentle as he smiled back at her.

“Are you using my nephew, Agent Dane?”

“No, Mr. Mackay. I’m trying to protect your nephew.”

And to that, he nodded slowly. “And I believe you. Now I think you have some bridges to

repair outside. Rowdy’s got a slow burn. He doesn’t do mad easy, but he’s getting close

to mad. Dawg is ready to fight. And Natches will stand between them and you, but I’d

hate to see that happen. Fix it, if you don’t mind.”

“And I’m supposed to do that how?”

“By being honest, Miss Dane. As honest as you can be. Those three boys ain’t no one’s

dummies, no matter what that Cranston fellow wants to think. And after today, they’re

going to block you unless you’re smart enough to work with them.”

“And if that threatens Natches?” she asked softly.

“Then now’s the time to warn him.” He rose from his seat and watched her with that

fatherly look that demanded action. The right action. “Let him help you, Miss Dane.

You’d be amazed how easy he can be to get along with then.”

And he was right. She couldn’t tell them the truth, because even she didn’t know the

whole truth. But she could tell them enough to perhaps get them to back down. Because

they had to back down, just for a little while longer.

He stared at the caller ID on the phone before answering it, his jaw clenching in anger.

“Yes?”

“They were here.” Nadine’s voice was shaking with fury. “We have to do something

now.”

His lips thinned. “Settle down. Now’s not the time to do anything, peanut. We sit back

and let her ask her questions. She can’t hurt us.”

“She knows something,” Nadine hissed. “I could tell. And she’ll get what she needs. If

she finds out, she’ll fry us.”

“If you don’t calm down, you’ll fry us. You don’t know anything, remember that. Johnny

was a good boy and you’re his mother. Period.”

“They recorded Johnny bragging about belonging to Chandler. They did DNA tests. That

bastard Dawg gave them blood and they matched it. They know it’s the truth. If they keep

digging, they’ll find the connection.”

Now that piece of information was worrisome. He hadn’t expected that. He’d managed to

keep that information buried for too many years, he didn’t like it coming out now. Didn’t

it just figure that Johnny had to brag? As though it were something to brag over.

“The connection is hidden, peanut. Take one of your pills and calm down. As soon as I

can I’ll be there and we’ll talk. We’ll figure this out. Until then, remember, they can’t get

anything unless you tell them.” He hoped.

“Do something,” she whispered. “You have to do something before they question anyone

else. They’ve already been to Wenden’s and Ray’s. If they keep digging, they could dig

up something else.”

If Johnny had revealed the truth about Chandler, God only knew what else he had let out.

He grimaced at the thought of that. Hell, he had thought Johnny was smarter than that. He

hated being wrong.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he promised her again. “If they show up again, don’t

answer the door. Pretend you aren’t home. I’ll check into things and I’ll have something

when I get there.”

He heard her breathing, heard the little sigh of relief.

“Will you stay the night this time?” she asked then, that little whisper of hope bringing a

smile to his lips.

“I’ll try to arrange it. I’ll call you when I’m coming. Promise you’ll stay calm, peanut.”

“I promise. Until you get here.”

“Until I get there.”

He disconnected the phone, tapped his finger against it thoughtfully and began to make

plans. It was sooner than he liked, but it was time to start cleaning things up.

TEN

Natches caught her as she came out of the marina office. His fingers latched around her

arm and before she could do more than breathe a protest he began dragging her toward

the Nauti Dreams.

He had no idea what the hell was going on here, but he was getting ready to find out. She

wanted to question the rest of the damned town, that was fine and dandy by him, but

when she started questioning family, then he expected answers.

And when she started dealing with that rattler Nadine, then he sure as hell expected those

answers to be forthcoming.

“I don’t like being dragged around like a child, Natches,” she told him as he pulled her

onto the deck of the boat and unlocked the door.

He pulled her into the houseboat, slammed the sliding door closed behind him, then

stalked to the kitchen for a beer.

All shit aside, he’d seen a new side of Chaya today. For the first time, this morning, he’d

seen the agent. Steel eyed, her demeanor cold, she refused to back down. And rather than

turning him off as it should have, it had made him hard. Because he knew the woman

underneath, liquid hot and burning for him alone. Dawg called her plain, and he’d wanted

to smash his cousin’s face in for the comment despite the fact that he knew, had seen, the

metamorphosis she somehow managed to undergo.

The agent, with her hair slicked back into a ponytail, her eyes cold and hard, her

expression emotionless, blended into the background for most people. Not plain, but

easily passed by for some reason. Natches had always seen the woman beneath that look

though, because he knew her, in all her expressions, in many of her moods, and he knew

there was nothing plain about her.

She was complex, complicated, and sometimes too damned sharp to suit him. And she

was good at hiding. Hiding herself as well as her secrets.

He turned back to her after downing half the bottle of beer he’d pulled from the

refrigerator, remaining silent as he watched her.

Dressed in jeans because she knew they made folks more comfortable and a light sweater

beneath a dark blazer. And those boots. Those boots made her legs look longer, made

them sexier. The gray sweater brought the soft golden highlights in her eyes free, and

softened her delicate face.

And when she crossed her arms over her breasts and glared back at him, his cock

throbbed in anticipation.

“The Mackays are going to have to keep their noses out of this,” she snapped. “You and

Dawg following me around town all day, then showing up here. What the hell did you

think I was going to do anyway? For God’s sake, Natches, you know how an

investigation works. There are questions afterward, loose ends to tie up and, considering

there’s a million dollars missing and possible co-conspirators, facts to find. You don’t

just drop a case like this.”

He didn’t say anything. He finished the beer, tossed it in the trash and narrowed his eyes

on her once again.

And it infuriated her. He could see the mad rising in her eyes. The distant expression he

referred to as her “agent face” began to peel away. A light flush worked over her cheeks,

her lips lost that thin, cool little line and the lower curve became almost lush, definitely

sensual.

Here came his Chaya, the woman.

“Timothy’s playing a very neat little game,” he said then. “I can see it in every move

you’re making and I know you can, too. He gave you orders I’m not to accompany you

on these interviews? Have you asked yourself why?”

“Probably because you’re too damned nosy and you don’t know how to stand down,” she

muttered.

He almost grinned at the accusation.

“Because he knows he’s going to be poking in my business,” he informed her. “Whatever

the hell he has going on here is going to piss me off and he doesn’t want me to know

about it until he has no other choice.”

“This does not concern Ray Mackay, Natches,” she told him again, and he saw the truth

in her, felt it. “Are you going to go off the deep end when I question Dawg? Rowdy?

What about Crista Mackay? Are the Mackay cousins going to close rank against me

then?”

He paused and stared back at her. Is that what she really expected? That he would side

with his cousins, with anyone, against her? Hell, he had risked his damned hide for her in

Iraq, not just once but twice. Did she think he would do any less for her here?

“I have a job to do, Natches. I don’t have the option you chose last year of telling

Timothy Cranston to get fucked. And to be honest, this time, I don’t want that option. I

want to know who the hell thought they could get away with murdering that kid that

drove the transport vehicle. I want to know how Johnny Grace got away with nearly

killing Dawg’s woman. And I want to know why the hell this little town is suddenly a

beehive of terrorist activity.”

His brows almost arched at that statement. The last year, he and Dawg had admittedly

been concentrating on their own lives. Had they somehow managed to miss something

going on that they should have seen?

“I haven’t seen many terrorists this week, Chay,” he finally stated, tilting his head and

watching her curiously. “Is there something here that I should know?”

She inhaled slowly. “Last year you had nearly a dozen terrorists near or around Somerset.

The Swede that laid that down payment on those missiles wasn’t a happy little camper

after his arrest, and he has friends. Friends who most likely are sitting right here just

waiting to see who they should target to get that money back. A million dollars is a hell

of a lot of money, Natches, even in today’s economy.”

His brow arched. “That was one of your flimsier excuses,” he told her. “Try again.”

Chaya stared back at him, recognizing the slow, lazy drawl as it passed his lips. It wasn’t

what he said, it was how he said it. It was the dangerous throb of suspicion just beneath

the careless tone, the warning that he wasn’t buying whatever she was selling. And she

had warned Timothy he wouldn’t. No matter the truth of it, Natches knew there was more

going on. Somehow, the list of names she had interviewed today, in that little group, she

had managed to tip Natches off, and it wasn’t just her questioning of Ray Mackay.

“Someone in Somerset was helping Johnny,” she told him. “Someone who had more

contacts than Jim Bedsford could have managed. Bedsford was a front, Natches, nothing

more. Someone else was pulling the strings.”

He leaned against the low counter, crossed his arms over his chest and stared back at her

with those frighteningly observant eyes of his. Sometimes, she swore he could see clear

down to her soul with those dark green eyes.

“What’s your proof?”

“Bedsford’s contacts couldn’t have gotten him and the Swede together last year for that

missile deal. That group doesn’t deal with penny-ante thieves. They’re too slick for that

no matter how impressive the merchandise. Someone else brokered that deal, someone

from Somerset. Someone Timothy’s been chasing for years. That’s all I know.”

“The deal in Iraq?” he asked her then. “The one Craig was involved in? Does it tie in?”

The illegal transfer of arms and information to terrorists, and the unsanctioned attack on

the hotel, the explosion that killed her daughter.

She flinched at the question and forced back the more personal aspects between herself

and Natches now. There were things they had to deal with, later. Right now, she had to

deal with this, and she hated it.

“It ties in,” she told him. “It also ties in to several other thefts the public is unaware of, that were made too close to Somerset. Those thefts go back further than Iraq and the

threads of suspicion lead right back to Somerset.”

“So you’re here to do what? Avenge Beth?” He shook his head wearily as he pushed his

fingers through his hair and stared back at her. She could see the memories in his eyes,

too. The loss. The pain.

“I’m here to ask the right questions and see if I can’t force them into making a move.

Timothy has other agents watching persons of interest.” She held her hand up as he

started to speak. “I have no idea who they’re watching. I’m here to ask the questions;

they’re here to see who moves after I ask those questions. This isn’t about Beth, Natches.

It’s about stopping it.”

“So he’s put your ass in the line of fire and he’s hoping to catch whoever puts you in their

sights?” he bit out. “Son of a bitch, Chay. He’s working you. He’s using your baby and

your pain, and he’s working you.”

She didn’t like to think of it that way, but she inclined her head in agreement, because

there was always the risk of that. Timothy was definitely capable of it.

“He’s hoping to catch whoever he’s watching through the questions he’s sending me to

ask. He’s spent years investigating this, Natches. He’s not going to stop now.” She

sighed.

“And you think he didn’t expect me to get involved?” He threw her a disbelieving look as

he paced to the other side of the room and turned back to face her, his hands propped on

his hips, his expression forbidding.

“I was told to keep you as far away from this as possible. He knew you wouldn’t stay

away from me, but he was hoping you would stay out of the rest of it.”