by Lori Foster
“Or what?”
“Or I won’t keep you in touch with your brother.”
That took her back a step.
His hand fell. Her expression was so wounded, so accusing, that it cut him. “No, honey, I’m not saying I’d let your brother be hurt.”
“Ha!”
“But he’ll be checking in often.” He searched her face. “To me.”
Realization dawned in her expressive eyes. “And you’ll withhold info from me if I’m not playing nice?”
Spelled out, it sounded even worse. “Something like that.”
“Jerk.”
“I know.” God, what he’d give if things could be different. “Look at it this way. You need to be here—”
“Where would I go, Logan?” Arms spread wide, she turned a circle. “We’re in the middle of freaking nowhere!”
“True. But it hasn’t escaped my notice just how ingenious you and your brother can be.”
That flash-fire temper of hers faded until her mouth quirked. “Oh, my God, you think I’m Houdini? You think I can somehow arrange for an airlift? What am I, a damned ninja?”
“No, but you are incredibly sexy, and you’re out for payback—”
“Get over yourself!”
“And that’s fine,” he continued. “Heap all the anger on me that you want. I deserve it.”
“Something we agree on.”
His own temper edged up there. “Dash does not.”
Reese stuck his head out the door. “Can you two resolve the most immediate issues so that we can get on the road?”
“You’re leaving now,” Pepper said. “Both of you.” And then lower, to Logan, “Don’t sweat it, Detective. Baby brother will be safe from my evil clutches.”
She started to storm off, but Logan stopped her again, this time with a single, soft apology. “I’m sorry.”
She stopped, faltering a moment, her back still to him.
Logan moved closer. “I’m going to keep saying it until you believe it.”
“Damn it,” she muttered low. She breathed harder, then suddenly turned around and grabbed his face.
Her kiss was so hot and deep that he almost forgot where they were and that he was about to leave.
Slowly she eased away. “Oh, I believe it, Logan,” she said against his mouth. “But it doesn’t matter enough. Yet.”
He watched her walk away, her ass looking very fine beneath the T-shirt, her shoulders back with stubborn pride. It took Reese snagging his arm and drawing him away to finally get him to the truck. He turned to watch as Dash held the door open for Pepper, then waved them off and followed her in.
With no reason left for lingering, he got behind the wheel and turned the truck around to leave.
They drove in silence for a good fifteen minutes before Reese chuckled.
“Fuck you.” While staring out the windshield, Logan went over all that had to be done, everything he needed to address today—things that Reese would know about and some he wouldn’t.
His foul mood only enhanced Reese’s hilarity. “She has you on the run.”
Maybe. But he wouldn’t discuss that with anyone. “Where’s your car?”
“I left it in a lot near where I picked up Rowdy’s car. You can drop me off there. I’ll head home to check on my dog, clean up and change, before coming to the station.”
“The dog’s been closed up all this time?”
Reese grunted. “I wouldn’t have an apartment left if I’d tried that.” He turned his cell back on, glanced at it, then shook his head. “A neighbor lady has him. Alice-something-or-other.”
“She’s watching your dog, but you don’t know her name?”
“Thanks to you, I was left to quick improvisation. She was handy, she likes Cash, so…” Reese shrugged. “She and the dog get along great. She has the magic touch with him, and believe me, Cash needs a little gentleness. I don’t know how I’d have worked it, but I wouldn’t have just left him alone that long. He’d feel abandoned. So it’s a good thing Alice was around.”
It left Logan curious, hearing such an outpouring over a dog Reese had just gotten and a neighbor he’d never before mentioned. “Does she have a dog of her own?”
“No. But it’s clear she loves animals.”
“A good quality, right?” How would Pepper feel about a pet? Maybe a cat or dog—or both. He had a feeling she’d love it, and that gave him something to consider.
“She’s a single woman, super tidy, so you’d think she’d be on me to come get him, right? But last night when I called to check on him, I woke her. And get this—she’d taken Cash to bed with her because that’s where he wanted to sleep.”
Single and over-the-top friendly to his dog—seemed clear enough to Logan. “She’s on the make.”
“Definitely not. Hell, most of the time she won’t even acknowledge me. If it wasn’t for Cash, she still wouldn’t. She’s a strange one, I’ll give her that.”
“Define strange.”
Reese pondered that. “I guess self-contained covers it. And alert—like a cop, but in a different way. Maybe with more worry than caution.”
“But you trusted her with your dog?”
“Cash loved her on sight. What can I say?” Reese grew introspective. “It’s a hell of a conundrum.”
Sounded to Logan like Cash wasn’t the only one taken with the woman. They drove another twenty minutes in relative silence, each lost in their own thoughts, before Logan asked, “Have you heard from Peterson?”
“Strangely enough, no. My cell was off, of course, and we were on our own time…but, yeah, I half expected a dozen messages when I turned my phone back on.” He glanced out the window, indifferent.
“She’ll probably chew both our asses when we get in.”
“Because of the club snafu, you mean?” Reese shook his head. “I doubt she knows we were anywhere near there.”
“The thing is…” Logan flexed his hands on the steering wheel. “Morton Andrews died last night.”
“The hell you say!” Reese scowled in surprise. “I saw the site, Logan, and the situation could have gone either way. It’s not like the floor was obliterated.”
“It was a homemade bomb. He died at the hospital after getting hit with shrapnel.” While gauging Reese’s reaction, Logan shared the few details he’d gotten from Rowdy on the second death.
Reese shook his head. “We’ll need to find the sniper, but I doubt anyone will miss either of the men.” Rife with disgust, he muttered, “As far as I’m concerned, good riddance to them both.”
He was good—but there was something missing in his response. “You knew about Morton’s newest venture into human trafficking?”
Reese didn’t deny it, but he did clarify. “I didn’t know much, only that he hoped to dabble. Why?”
“You didn’t think to share it with me?”
“You’re not a slacker, Logan. You know the club dealt in prostitution, and you knew Morton was brutal. It only made sense that he’d cut corners where he could.”
“By buying women?”
Reese took in his skepticism. “Don’t tell me you’re surprised?”
That Morton Andrews would peddle flesh? No. But that Reese had info he hadn’t shared? Yeah, that was an unpleasant revelation. “You should have told me.”
“The way you researched him, I assumed you knew, as well. And with you on your stakeout of Pepper Yates, we didn’t really have a lot of time to chat.”
Bullshit. They’d talked, but Reese hadn’t mentioned it. “I got sidetracked a few times. What do you know about it?”
“Only had a few leads, nothing concrete.” Reese rolled a shoulder. “I hadn’t checked into it yet, but one of my snitches told me that suspected traffickers were contacted by Andrews’s cronies.” Reese gave him a quick look. “Speaking of snitches…have you checked this truck for GPS tracking?”
“Yeah.” No way in hell would he have taken Pepper to the lake house if he hadn’t known she would b
e safe there. “Rowdy had me tagged with a mini-device, but he’d already removed it. There wasn’t anything else.”
“Damn. He actually told you that?”
“He says he’s come clean about everything.” And for the most part, Logan believed him. So far, everything he’d said had added up.
“Guess he wasn’t taking any chances with his sister.”
“No, Rowdy Yates is not a man to take chances.” Logan could only be grateful for Rowdy’s diligence. “Turns out he had reason to mistrust me, right?”
Reese directed all his attention on Logan. “He had reason to doubt your motives—that’s a different thing entirely. His gut told him you weren’t being up front.”
“Because I wasn’t.” Logan slowed at an exit ramp. Thanks to the highways, the lake house wasn’t far from where he lived and worked, but it was secluded. “Gut instincts are usually dead-on.”
Reese conceded the point. “I’ve never understood why so many people ignore them.”
Logan felt the same—which was why he had to take Rowdy’s concerns about Reese seriously.
“But now he knows what motivated you,” Reese pointed out. “And in all instances, the end goal makes a difference.”
“You think so?” Logan didn’t feel very righteous about any of it. If he could turn back time…then what?
If he’d never gone after Rowdy, he’d never have met Pepper. She’d remain in hiding, living her life as a lie.
“I know so. Rowdy might be too involved to have a clearheaded perspective, but you’re not, so stop berating yourself.”
Did Reese hope to justify deceptions of his own? “There’s never a good reason for hurting a woman.”
“There’s hurt, and then there’s hurt.” Reese smiled. “Last night, Pepper proved she’s not exactly a delicate flower.”
She’d proved…something. Logan didn’t know what. “Stow it.”
“In fact, Dash was afraid you’d knock a hole in the wall, the way you two were rocking that bed.”
His temples pounded. “Shut up.”
Reese grinned. “In all seriousness, seeing her on her way to and from your room, she appeared far from wounded. In fact, I’d say you’re all but in the clear already. So how about we appease the lieutenant, I’ll research that bomb, we’ll track down a sniper, and then we can both get back to our lives.”
Logan nodded, but he knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Nothing ever was—especially when dealing with Pepper Yates.
*
THE CLOSER HE GOT to his apartment, the more anxious Reese became. He’d spent a near sleepless night on a too-small, narrow couch. He’d put up with an irascible and accusing female. He’d dodged Logan’s subtle inquisition and condemning silences. And then he’d had more driving to do to get his car back home. He was exhausted, concerned, feeling a little cornered, and yet…
The majority of his thoughts centered around his neighbor.
A quick glance at his watch showed it to still be early. He had a little time before he should put in an appearance at the station.
Was Alice up? Should he call her?
Or surprise her by knocking?
Knocking, he decided.
Fighting off an absurd smile, Reese parked. Morning sunshine already baked the parking area. It’d be another scorcher.
Despite the exhaustion, he went up the steps with a sense of keen expectation. Was Alice still in her pajamas? What did she wear? Probably not anything sexy. Maybe something staid and shapeless. His grin widened at that image.
At her door, he raised his hand to knock—and heard Cash’s berserk barking. The door opened without him knocking, and Alice stood there, well-wrapped in a peach-colored cotton housecoat.
He barely had time to register her soft expression, mussed hair and small bare feet before Cash leaped up against him.
Giving up his perusal of warm, sleepy woman, Reese knelt down and showered the dog with the attention he wanted.
Cash almost knocked him over in his effort to lick his face. Laughing, Reese stood again.
Alice handed him the leash. “He hasn’t been out yet. I wouldn’t delay on that.”
“Hang on.” Flattening a hand on the door, Reese kept her from shutting him out.
She looked down, let out a sigh and said, “Too late.”
Damn it. Reese looked down, too, and saw Cash now cowering in what looked remarkably like embarrassment. “No worries, buddy. It’ll mop up.”
Cash thumped his tail in relief—and went back to excitedly yapping.
Reese laughed.
Alice tipped her head to study him.
Given the manners of his dog, he should have been embarrassed, too, but what the hell? It was funny. “Leave it,” he told her. “I’ll take care of it as soon as I come back in.”
“Okay.”
“Alice?”
She paused.
“Answer when I knock.” And then, rather than let her dismiss him, he dismissed her by walking away.
In an absurd voice reserved only for the dog, he said, “Come on, Cash. Let’s go, my man. That’s a good boy.”
He was all the way to the bottom of the stairs when he heard Alice’s door click shut.
So she’d watched him go? Great.
Cash continued to bound around him, so Reese walked the dog out to the grass and let him do as he pleased. After sprinkling a half dozen areas to claim them, Cash chased a bee, barked at a squirrel and ran after the stick Reese threw for him.
After a good five minutes of playing, Reese dropped down next to a tree so Cash could get in his lap.
It was odd, but he accepted the truth—he’d missed the dog, too. Smiling at that silly idea, he hugged Cash and even kissed the top of his furry head.
The dog went bananas again, making him laugh.
“You really did miss me, didn’t you? Was she cruel, is that it? Did she feed you birdseed or smack you off the couch?”
“Of course I didn’t.”
Reese looked up—and there Alice stood. She’d quickly dressed in casual slacks and now wore slip-on shoes, but she hadn’t yet combed her hair.
“I was teasing.” Reese patted the ground beside him. “Care to sit with us?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
So why had she joined them? Just to keep him from getting near her apartment again? Interesting. “Did he behave for you?”
“That depends on your idea of behaving.” But she smiled at the dog. “He ate a throw pillow while I was…that is…” The words fell away, and she ducked her head.
Interest spiked, Reese said, “While you were what?”
She cleared her throat. “Away from the couch.”
Away from the couch doing what? “Cooking?” Thinking of the occasions when Cash had done the most damage to his place, Reese offered, “Changing? On the phone? The computer?”
“Showering, actually.”
He’d have paid good money to see that. “So…you were in there long?”
“Ten minutes, tops.” She turned brisk. “But after scratching at my bathroom door, he quieted. I assumed all was well. Until I found the stuffing everywhere.”
Great. “Sorry about that. I’ll pay for the damage.”
“No need. I made the pillow, and I have fabric left, so I’ll just make another.”
Somehow it fit that she could sew. But what else? “You’re sure?”
“Don’t give it another thought.”
Cash finally plopped down, his chin on Reese’s thigh. His tail thumped hard on the ground as Reese stroked him.
“He obviously adores you.”
Was that surprise in Alice’s tone? “I’m an adorable guy.”
The slightest of smiles quirked her mouth. “Did you need me to watch him today?”
“I wanted to talk to you about that.” He checked his watch again. “Come on. Sit for a minute.”
Unsettled, she searched the ground and again shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“Actually you
’re skittish. Why is that?”
“I’m not!”
Whoa. Slowly, keeping his gaze on her, Reese got to his feet. Cash went on the alert, unsure what they were doing. Hell, Reese was unsure, too. “Could we sit on the steps then?”
She looked back at the apartment, drew a breath and nodded as if she’d just agreed to enter a burning building.
With grave seriousness, he said, “Thank you.”
One way or another, Reese knew he’d figure out the problem. But not now, not with such a limited time frame, not in the lot of his apartment building with his dog craving attention.
But soon. Probably a whole lot sooner than Alice whatever-her-last-name-might-be would like.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
BY SILENT AGREEMENT, they headed back toward the steps. “Where do you work?” Reese asked.
“Here.” She waited for him to sit on a step, then put herself as far from him as she could get without actually sitting on the blacktop. “I’m self-employed.”
“Really?” Interesting. “Doing what?”
“I’m a virtual assistant.”
Never heard of it. When he continued to stare at her in confusion, she launched into a rehearsed explanation.
“Other people who work from home often need help with databases, phone calls, filing and other general forms of organization. That sort of thing.”
Enjoying how she’d opened up—in a miniscule way—Reese kept her talking. “How’s that work?”
“It’s easy enough with the internet and email. Different clients send their information to me and I keep their business lives running smoothly.”
“So you’re here…pretty much all the time?” That was so convenient, it almost felt like fate. Not that he believed in fate. If he did, he knew he was screwed big time, given that fate so far seemed to have a sick sense of humor.
“I… Yes.” She frowned. “I’m not sure I understand why you’re asking.”
Reese put his hands on his thighs in sudden decision. “Here we go. I found Cash in a box in the middle of a street. The box was taped shut, so I know someone put him there on purpose.”
“Dear God!”
He liked that reaction because it mirrored his own. “It was sheer luck that he hadn’t already been hit by the traffic. I saw the box move, got suspicious and stopped. The second I lifted it, I knew there was a dog inside, so I put him in my car, cut the tape—and out popped Cash.”
