The Nauti Boys Collection

by Lora Leigh

  “Why?” she demanded again. “Why are you here? Why are you involved in this?”

  He tilted his head and watched her almost curiously.

  “Because, despite your sheriff’s beliefs, the head of the serpent was never cut off, sweetheart. Mackay didn’t have the temperament to be the head of anything. He took orders. He was a soldier that became a liability. He was a disease. The head is alive and breathing.” He smiled, a cold, hard curve to his lips. “And Zeke might run, but he can’t hide from the truth. He’s a part of it. He’ll always be a part of it.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  She was hurting. Zeke swore he could feel her hurt as he left the house and forced himself into the Tahoe he had hidden in the back drive. The vehicle was hidden there, beneath a dense covering of trees where it wouldn’t be detected, along an old dirt farm road his father had used when his parents had lived in this house.

  His father had moved into another house closer to town after Zeke and his mother had left. The farm had been pretty much abandoned for years, until Zeke returned.

  It was the hardest thing Zeke had ever done, forcing himself into the vehicle before starting the engine and pulling out of the drive. He headed back toward the Bar when everything inside him was urging him to return to the house, to explain, to tell her why this had to be done and the ghosts he had to exorcise from his own past.

  His mother hadn’t left his father simply because of his adulterous activities. Nothing was ever that simple with his mother. She had divorced Thad Mayes because he had finally crossed a line that was unacceptable to her. He had tricked his son into committing a crime that she knew would haunt him for the rest of his life.

  At the age of fourteen, Zeke had shot and killed a man. It didn’t matter that he had killed another of the League’s members, one that his father wanted rid of. It didn’t matter that the man was a deviant with the sexual tastes of the criminally insane. The fact was, Zeke had killed him. He had lifted his father’s handgun from the table, turned, and shot the bastard in the heart, just as his father had taught him during target practice.

  The old hunting cabin where the murder had taken place was gone now; someone had burned it to the ground after Zeke and his mother left town. Zeke often wondered if his father had destroyed it. If he’d ever regretted that night and fought to get rid of the memories as well.

  Zeke still had nightmares. He still remembered his father’s pride, how he had lifted the slain man’s head in one hand and smiled back at the camera James Maynard had wielded, as though the death were a triumph.

  Zeke had become ill. He’d thrown up for days. For weeks he’d been unable to sleep, until he finally told his mother what had happened. It was then that she had packed their bags and escaped with him to Los Angeles, along with many of the pictures she knew his father had.

  Her insurance, she had called it. And Thad Mayes had sent her more insurance over the years. He’d been confident she wouldn’t talk; she knew the price of talking. Everyone who talked died. Proof didn’t matter, but she’d had enough to keep her safe.

  Now Zeke was breaking that unwritten law of keeping silent. He had talked. Years ago he had talked to Timothy Cranston when the plans to trap the homeland terrorist group were first being hatched.

  He hadn’t known the Mackays would be brought in on it. He hadn’t known he would be pushed out of the investigation once it started. He hadn’t known about the pictures his mother had amassed. But he knew now. DHS knew now. They knew everything, even his own crime.

  He’d stayed as far away from her as possible until it wasn’t possible any longer, he told himself. But he hadn’t used her to the extent she believed. Taking her to his bed had been something he’d been unable to fight. But still, it had played into the job he had set for himself. That of trapping the last members of the League.

  He needed Gene’s attention focused on him while Cranston and the Mackay cousins worked their magic to finish the investigation they’d started years before.

  It would come to a head tonight. They had the Walkers’ killers; they had the information on the last of the members of the League in this area as well as others. They had pictures; they had his mother’s journals, all of which would be turned over to Cranston the second they met up. And tonight Gene would be at the bar with the last members of the homeland terrorist organization that would finally be rooted from his county forever.

  It was almost over. More than twenty years of hell, and Zeke would see the end of it tonight. When the sun broke in the morning, the weight of a lifetime of guilt would be lifted from his shoulders, and he would have the satisfaction of knowing he had finished it.

  And tonight, Zeke had broken Rogue’s heart. He’d seen it in her eyes and he’d been helpless to stop it, just as he’d been helpless to stay away from her. He’d grasped at the excuse to forget his own principles and take her to his bed. He’d known what he was doing even as he’d done it, and he’d prayed they’d both survive it.

  He had known he was going to hurt her, but he hadn’t expected to feel that pain as though it were a part of him as well. He hadn’t expected to hurt with her for everything he knew they may not have.

  Not that Zeke was willing to let her go yet. He knew to the bottom of his soul if he survived this night, he’d do his best to heal her heart and claim it again. But if he didn’t return, if he couldn’t come back to her for whatever reason, then he’d know she wouldn’t wait. The pain would ease with the anger, and her hatred would protect him from her loyalty.

  Turning onto the back road that led to Rogue’s bar, Zeke tightened his hands on the wheel of the Tahoe and felt the muscles in his jaw flex at the thought of claiming her, free and clear, knowing there might be a real future, rather than just the here and now, or the hope of a future.

  This had been hanging over his head for too long. The risk of discovery before the remaining members of the League were identified. The risk that the men he was searching for would realize just how deep he was into this rather than watching from the sidelines as it had appeared.

  At this point, nothing mattered but finishing this and getting back to Rogue to explain, to beg for forgiveness. To touch her. To know he had the right to touch her as he needed to. God help him, as he needed to.

  The need to touch her, to taste her one last time had been nearly overwhelming. If he had though, he’d have not made it out of the house without possessing her, without telling her the truth. Without loving her.

  “I’ll be back, Rogue,” he whispered, and he wished he had said it before he left.

  He made the final turn toward the bar when the world exploded around him.

  Zeke slammed on the brakes as a ball of fire erupted into the night where Rogue’s bar had been. Debris and flames tore through the darkness as vehicles were racing out of the parking lot.

  It rained fire. The ground shook with a secondary explosion, spurring Zeke to slam his foot on the gas as he flipped the sirens on.

  The Mackay cousins and Rogue’s brother were in that bar. They were waiting in the office, watching through the security cameras as Gene met with the other members of the League that were still free at the bar. He’d been meeting them right beneath Zeke’s nose. So confident. Damn him. He’d taken Zeke’s trust for granted, had taken his loyalty for granted.

  All these years he had trusted Gene with the truth. He’d discussed each move he’d made with the other man; he’d let him in on every step he’d taken. And he’d been betrayed. He’d hoped he was wrong. Prayed he was wrong. He had never imagined the depths of Gene’s guilt though.

  That betrayal was like acid on his tongue as the Tahoe screamed into the bar’s parking lot. The vehicle slid to a stop, rocking from the force applied to the brakes as Zeke caught sight of Dawg dragging Natches and John across the parking lot.

  He jumped from the vehicle, racing toward them.

  “Cranston and Rowdy. Where are they?” he screamed as he gripped Dawg’s shoulders, holding him in place.


  Dawg’s face was pale, blood streaked, his green eyes wild. “Inside. Goddammit, they’re inside.”

  Everything inside Zeke began to congeal in complete rage. Turning on his heel, he ran for the bar. Pushing through the hysterical guests pouring from the main entrance to stagger into the smoky haze inside as he searched for the other two men.

  “Cranston!” he screamed out the agent’s name.

  “I have him.”

  Zeke turned, staring in shock as Gene stumbled through the smoky haze.

  He and Rowdy supported Cranston’s half-conscious form. Gene’s blond hair was singed, soot covered his face. A gash along his forehead seeped blood and Rowdy didn’t look much better.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Zeke took Rowdy’s weight as he swayed and nearly went to his knees. “Son of a bitch, their wives will kill me.”

  “No shit,” Gene snarled furiously, his blue eyes enraged. “If I don’t end up killing every friggin’ damned one of you myself. Motherfuckers. This is what I get for trusting a slimy damned Homeland Security agent and my best fucking friend.”

  Confusion and rage clouded Zeke’s mind. With his hands full of Rowdy’s nearly unconscious form, he couldn’t slug Gene. He followed him instead, finally having to duck and sling Rowdy’s weight over his shoulder to rush him from the bar as another explosion shook it.

  Too damned much liquor. It was going off like mini-bombs as the fire began to race through the entire building.

  “Thank God. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch.” Dawg raced toward them, his green eyes demented in his haggard face. “Is he alive?”

  Dawg jerked Rowdy from Zeke as Gene collapsed on the grass, far enough away from the bar for safety, and let Timothy Cranston’s weight slide to the ground.

  “What the hell happened here?” Zeke jerked Dawg around, glaring down at him as sirens began to fill the air.

  “We fucked up, that’s what the hell happened,” Dawg screamed. “You were watching the wrong man. Fucking Cranston, I’m killing the son of a bitch this time. He had us watch Gene when Gene was working with him all along. He wasn’t the man we were searching for.”

  Dawg was out of control. Thick, heavy veins pulsed in his neck as his green eyes glowed with a rage that warned Zeke that the other man wouldn’t think before killing.

  “What the hell are you talking about? You were watching the wrong man?”

  “Because I’m not your goddamned killer, you fucking moron.” Gene stumbled to his feet, swaying before righting himself. “And Cranston knew it. The dirty bastard, I’ve been working with him since the day those two state police offers were killed. Yeah, the fucking pictures you found?” he sneered in Zeke’s face. “I didn’t kill those men, Zeke.”

  “You were there!”

  “I was there, and my whole fucking family was at risk if I made the first fucking wrong move!” Gene screamed. “My family, Zeke. My wife. My kids. I contacted someone I knew in DHS after the bodies were taken away. The morbid motherfucker had me watching you.”

  Shock resounded through Zeke with a tidal wave force as he stared back at Gene. Cranston was a manipulating bastard, there was no doubt of that. From the moment he had hit town with the supposed excuse of having been suspended, Zeke had known he was playing games. Hell, Zeke had been helping him play those games, and he’d never suspected he was being hung out to dry like every other agent that ever worked for Cranston was hung out.

  “He had me watching you,” Zeke rasped.

  “And the killer got away.” Dawg pushed between the two men. “Your killer is Jonesy, Zeke. He slipped out of the bar after taking a baseball bat to Natches and Walker. He’s gone.”

  Zeke stared back at him, fighting to process the information bombarding him now.

  He turned to Gene, the suspicions tearing through him now were destructive. Cranston had known all along. Like Zeke, he had no proof of his suspicions, unlike Zeke, he hadn’t been chasing shadows. Cranston had had them all chasing shadows as he focused on Jonesy.

  “Did you know it was Jonesy?” Zeke rasped back at Gene.

  Gene shook his head furiously. “Jonesy wasn’t part of the League, Zeke.”

  “Are you sure?” Zeke grabbed him by his shirt collar and jerked him closer. “Think, Gene. Did he know about the house? My house?”

  Did Jonesy know about the secret tunnel into the basement, or the entrance to it?

  Gene’s eyes widened. “God. You hid her at the house. God, no, Zeke.”

  “Did he know about the house?” Zeke shook him roughly. “Did he know about the tunnel into the basement?”

  It was the only way to get to her without setting off the alarms that would have instantly rang Zeke’s phone. It was the only way anyone could get to Rogue.

  “Zeke, it was his idea,” Gene rasped. “Dad told me about it. Jonesy helped plan the construction of that tunnel years before your father ever built the house.”

  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” Jonesy’s voice was saddened, filled with regret, but Rogue also saw the maniacal glimmer of determination in his eyes as he slowly closed the panel to the hidden tunnel.

  He stared around the room, his expression resolved, but also heavy. As though two men resided inside him, but the one that held the gun was now dominant.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be like what, Jonesy?” She stared at the gun incredulously. “Like a man betraying everyone who loves him?”

  She knew the moment she saw the gun that Gene wasn’t the only man that had betrayed a friend. Of course it had been in the pictures as well. Those scattered across Zeke’s desk. The three men, Thad Mayes, James Maynard, and Jonesy. The friendship they had forged as young men hadn’t been broken. The friendship that had aided Dayle Mackay and Nadine Grace in their treasonous activities had never disintegrated. It had remained strong, regardless of what others thought. A bond such as the three had shared would have been nearly impossible to break completely.

  “I’m not betraying a friend.” He locked gazes with her, anger shadowing his eyes. “A friend would have listened when I warned her to steer clear of trouble. Your daddy listened. He took his woman and he left town, like I told him to do. Unfortunately, he didn’t come back and collect his daughter as I’ve warned him to do in the past five years. For some reason, Cal thought the threat was gone because Thad, Dayle, and Nadine were gone.” He shook his head with a mocking little grunt. “He didn’t consider James a threat, and he thought Gene’s loyalty would stay with Zeke. He’s not as smart as he used to be, Rogue. Or maybe he really just doesn’t care what happens to his troublemaking daughter.”

  That wasn’t the case. Her father had screamed, harassed, and threatened her for five years in an attempt to get her back to Boston. His last-ditch effort was sending in John.

  Her breathing hitched harshly. Oh God, John.

  “Where’s John?” she whispered, his claim that he had killed her brother ricocheting through her mind. “What have you done, Jonesy?”

  “Same thing I did to Thad.” He sighed. “That baseball bat I keep at the bar has a lot of blood staining it, Rogue. Now it has your brother’s and Natches Mackay’s as well. Right now, they’re burning in the flames of hell. I set an explosion in the bar. It’s gone, little girl. Gone along with your brother, Timothy Cranston, and those bastard Mackay cousins.”

  “No.” Her head shook in disbelief. “You wouldn’t hurt John. Jonesy, please. You didn’t hurt John.”

  Where was the man her father had said he would trust his life to? The man Rogue had trusted her life to?

  Jonesy shook his head, regret filling his eyes though the gun never wavered. “I told you to stay away from Zeke Mayes, Rogue. He’s been trying to identify the remaining members of the League for six months now. Hell, we knew all along that he was working for DHS to take us down. Gene kept us informed there. The League has to survive. Our plans will go through. The future is more important than friendship or blood, girl.” His voice rose as anger filled it
. His expression creased in fury as his hand tightened around the gun.

  Rogue could feel the deadly intent that washed through the room now. Jonesy was going to kill her. She could see it in his eyes, in his face. The man she had thought she had known didn’t exist. Nothing existed behind the eyes she had once thought she could read except anger and murderous determination.

  Betrayal was a rancid taste in her mouth as she fought to swallow past the tightness in her throat. Rogue wanted to howl with the pain now. She could feel the sharp wounds burying inside her soul, digging into her with merciless agony.

  Tears were locked in her throat and in her eyes as she stared back at Jonesy, from his powerful shoulders to the insanity glittering in his eyes. It could only be insanity. There could be nothing sane about what he was doing. He had killed John and Natches.

  John lit up the world with his games and his laughter. He was cynical, sometimes he was bitter, but he had loved her, made her laugh.

  And Natches, with his crooked grin and his complete devotion to his wife and unborn child. He liked to joke that his wife would be the one to kill him eventually. Instead, it had been Jonesy. A trusted friend.

  She couldn’t believe either of them were dead. John and Natches both were tough; they were strong. Jonesy might have hurt them, but she refused to believe they weren’t alive any longer.

  Especially John. The brother who had taught her how to fight, the one that hid frogs in her drawers when she was a child, yet had bloodied his friend’s nose when she was younger for frightening her. He had protected her. He loved her. She couldn’t lose him.

  “Yeah, it’s a hard thing, realizing it’s your fault your brother’s dead. Your friends.” A flash of regret clouded his eyes for long seconds. “It wasn’t easy to dispose of John, I want you to know that. But it wasn’t near as hard as killing Thad Mayes was. We were like brothers. But he was a weakness to the League. All that picture taking him and James Maynard had done. He threatened us with those pictures, you know? He wanted out. Wanted to go to L.A. to be with that bastard son of his.” Jonesy snorted at that. “He grew weak in his old age. Then that stupid wife of his trying to blackmail us and his dumb kid asking the wrong questions. We took care of Thad’s wife, and Zeke’s, too. And we took care of Thad. Thought Zeke got the message, loud and clear. When he came back here, I was gonna let it go. He was nice and quiet, wasn’t making any waves that I knew of.”