Bare It All

chapter EIGHTEEN

LOGAN LOOKED STUNNED. “The hell you say.”

Reese started to speak, and Peterson said, “End of story, Detective.”

Reese knotted his hands. “How did anyone even know?”

“I have no idea.” Again Peterson looked at Alice. “Perhaps you should ask her?”

Both Logan and Reese turned to her with accusation. Shaking her head, Alice fought the urge to physically retreat. “I haven’t spoken to anyone.”

Pepper, Rowdy and Dash held silent. To Alice, it felt as if they’d all tried her and found her guilty.

Slowly, eyes flinty and untrusting, Reese turned away from Alice to address Peterson. “A word, please?”

“Certainly,” she agreed, gesturing for Logan and Reese to follow her into her office. Her own annoyance overflowed as she quipped, “As long as it’s the right word, not the forbidden word, I’m all ears.”

Not liking it but unable to change things, Reese agreed.

That’s how it worked.

He said to Alice, “Wait here.” Slanting a sharp look at Rowdy, he added, “She doesn’t go anywhere alone.”

“Got it covered.”

“Thanks.”

The commands didn’t bother Alice near as much as watching him go. Blast the man, he had demanded trust from her and so she’d shared her biggest secret.

But did he give trust in return? No. How could he think that she’d instigated a gag order? Why would she confess to him and then do that? It didn’t even make sense. And if he’d just asked her—privately—she probably could have explained. But, no, instead he—

“Alice?” Looking very put upon, Rowdy pointed out the bench that Dash had vacated. “Why don’t you and Pepper park it over there and...I don’t know. Chat or something.”

Encouraging her again to make Pepper her confidante?

Rowdy sighed. “If you need to talk to me...?”

“No, I don’t.” It was bad enough that she’d told Reese about Trace. No way would she tell Pepper and Rowdy, too. “What are you going to do, though?”

“I’m going to stay out of the way as much as I can.”

Dash said, “I’ll keep you company.” The men moved to stand against the wall a few feet away—out of sight of the officers.

Poor Rowdy. He really didn’t like anyone in law enforcement, and yet his sister would soon marry a cop. Not that she thought Rowdy would let that get to him for long. Rowdy was a survivor because he knew how to adapt to changing situations.

He would adjust to this, as well.

Putting Rowdy from her mind, Alice sank down to sit on the bench. She was both hurt that Reese had given her such an accusing look and nettled that he hadn’t taken her at her word. In the car she’d shared her biggest secret, so he should trust her now.

Settling down beside her, Pepper nudged her with her elbow. “What’s going on with you two?”

“What do you mean?” Alice hedged.

Pepper gave her a long, droll look. “You guys shoot sparks one minute, and antagonism the next. Are things not going well?”

“It’s complicated.” There were so many things on her mind, Alice couldn’t even sort it out to herself. She had mostly forgiven Reese’s sexual interrogation, and she’d confessed about killing Murray. But now, in the face of his continued distrust, she had to wonder if she’d made a monumental mistake.

“You know,” Pepper said, “I’ve always found that things seem less complicated once I share them. Of course, Rowdy is the one I always shared with, and he has a great way of breaking stuff down so it’s not so overwhelming.”

“He does,” Alice agreed. “He’s such a...plain speaker.” Rowdy never hesitated to tell her things, regardless of how intimate they might seem to her. But she couldn’t tell him about Reese playing games in bed.

Given that Rowdy was a dominating personality, she could only imagine how he’d smile over Reese’s methods of getting info.

Pepper looked down at her feet, offering in an offhand way, “If you’d rather talk to him, I understand.”

“It’s not that.” Maybe she shouldn’t have told Reese about Trace. Surely he wouldn’t say anything to the lieutenant, not after being warned away.

What would Trace do if Reese didn’t let it go?

Because somehow, she just knew Reese wouldn’t.

Her head throbbed with possibilities.

“Alice?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “I might have really screwed up.”

“How so?” And then, with suspicion, “What did Reese do?”

“Nothing.” Yet. But if he pressed the matter...

“I’m not buying it.” Pepper studied her. “Reese did something, and now you’re upset. God, he can be such a jerk.”

“No,” Alice denied. “He’s not a jerk, but he is occasionally autocratic. And stubborn. And maybe a little too protective.”

“Yeah?” Grinning with interest, Pepper asked, “What else?”

“Actually, he’s pretty wonderful.” When he wasn’t being distrustful or asking her too many questions. Her face flushed at the reminder of how he’d gotten his answers. “Most of the time, anyway.”

“Not perfect—same as everyone else, I guess, huh?”

Not perfect, but close. “I guess.”

Alice nudged her again, playfully this time. “I won’t pry, but remember what I told you. You can trust me if you ever want to talk.”

Maybe a different perspective would help. She eyed Pepper’s encouraging smile and figured, what the heck. “Reese used sex against me.”

Pepper’s smile slipped. “Come again?”

“He wanted to know things...about my past. Things that, I take it from the lieutenant’s dictate, won’t be discussed here after all.”

“Wow.” Fascinated, Pepper sat back. “I wondered what that was all about.”

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you details.”

“Obviously not, since it’s forbidden.” Worried now, Pepper asked, “You aren’t in any trouble, are you?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Good. I’m glad.” She searched Alice’s face, then prompted her with, “So Reese wanted these answers...?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to tell him. I mean, we truly haven’t known each other that long.”

“Pfft. I loved Logan right from the start.”

Love. Wide-eyed, Alice said, “You did?”

“Sure. I didn’t realize it at the time, not until he double-crossed me in a really rotten way. Then it was so crushing, I knew I more than liked him. If I only liked him, it wouldn’t have hurt so much, and I wouldn’t have been so obsessed with it all. With him.”

Wow. “Logan double-crossed you?”

“Big-time. But that’s another story, and right now we’re talking about you.”

“But...since you loved Logan, did you trust him?”

Laughing, Pepper said, “Shoot, no. I had secrets about my secrets.” She sobered. “But looking back, I know that if I had trusted him sooner, we’d have saved a lot of time, and maybe he wouldn’t have gotten shot.”

Alice took her hand. “I’m sure that wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe.” Pepper let out a breath. “Let’s get on to the juicy part of how Reese used sex against you.”

Alice felt a gaze on her, and she glanced at Rowdy and got caught. Dash talked to him, and Rowdy nodded as if he listened and heard. But his attention stayed on Alice.

She blushed as if he could actually hear her, and Rowdy smiled.

Alice gulped and turned away. She should probably get through the story before Reese returned.

God, how did she even put it into words? “He got me...worked up.”

“In bed?” Pepper asked in the same low voice Alice had used.

Alice nodded. “Then he asked me the stuff he knew I didn’t want to talk about.”

“Because he figured you were distracted with lust, huh?”

“Yes.”

“That kinky bastard.”

Kinky? Pepper didn’t think it was...mean? Or underhanded.

“Let me guess.” Full of sympathy, Pepper squeezed both her hands. “You’re hurt? Embarrassed?”

“Well...yes.” Who wouldn’t be?

“It was pretty diabolical, I’ll give you that. But tell me this—knowing Reese is a detective, and knowing he cares about you, did he ask about stuff that he needed to know? Or at least thought he needed to know?”

Alice dropped her shoulders. “Yes.” In for a penny... “I came to that conclusion on my own. I knew I had to come clean about everything, but I had to figure out a way.”

“So you did tell him?”

“Yes.” She bit her lip. “After we were in the parking lot.”

“Ah.” Pepper nodded. “So that’s why he was so hot under the collar? Well, that and he’s jealous of my brother.”

Alice didn’t want there to be any bad feelings between Pepper and Reese. After all, Reese and Logan were best friends. She’d hate herself if she inadvertently caused an issue. “Reese trusts Rowdy. He’s just...well, we don’t have a clear understanding yet.”

“Meaning you’re falling for him, but he hasn’t yet told you how he feels?”

Alice’s shoulders slumped. “Pretty much.”

“So, get even.” Warming to that idea, Pepper said, “You can make yourself feel better about how Reese used you if you use him back, and you can turn the tables on him and get answers of your own.”

A little scandalized, Alice said, “I couldn’t!”

“Of course you can. Payback doesn’t have to be hell.” Pepper bobbed her eyebrows. “It can be loads of fun.”

Alice whispered, “Did you...?”

“With Logan? You betcha.” Pepper leaned closer. “We’d had great sex, so even though I was pissed at him, I figured why should I suffer?”

Sex with anyone other than Reese would be suffering.

“We had to hide out in his brother’s lake house. Shhh, the property’s top secret, so don’t tell anyone about it. Dash wants to keep it private, so only Reese, Logan and I know about it. Well, and now you. But anyway, each night when it was time for bed, I went to Logan. We’d have mind-blowing sex—and then...” Pepper got quiet.

Oh, no. She couldn’t leave her hanging like that. “And then what?”

“I left him to go sleep by myself.”

How...sad. “What did Logan say about that?”

“He didn’t like it, but men do not turn down sex. Especially not sex with women they care about. And trust me, Reese cares about you.”

God, she hoped Pepper was right. Still, she had grave reservations about the plan. “I don’t know. Logan and Reese are very different men.”

“True. But they’re still men.”

Both women jumped when Rowdy said, “Pepper is right. We’re easy.”

Heat rushed into Alice’s face.

Rowdy chucked her under the chin. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but you two can’t whisper worth a damn.”

Pepper glared at her brother. “You had to be straining your ears!”

“Just be glad I took Dash up on his offer to get us drinks, or he’d have heard it all, too.”

Looking mean, Pepper stood to face Rowdy. “Doesn’t matter. He was there at the cottage when I got my revenge on Logan.”

“Trust me, kiddo, no way did Dash feel sorry for him. For you, that was a lousy idea.” He turned to Alice. “But for you—I say, go for it. Reese will spill his guts with a smile on his face.”

There was that plain speaking Alice had admired. Now, though, in the middle of a police station with Pepper listening in, it wasn’t quite so appreciated.

Luckily, Dash came back with four frosty cans of Coke, so nothing more was said on the subject. That didn’t stop her from thinking about it, though, and forming some solid plans.

* * *

“HOW?” REESE DEMANDED. “How could anyone have known if Alice didn’t say anything?”

Peterson took a chair at the long table. “You’re sure she didn’t?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “She said she didn’t, so she didn’t. She wouldn’t lie about that.” But damn it, she’d killed a man and hadn’t seen fit to tell him.

“Then I’d say someone has eyes everywhere.”

“Which means,” Logan said, pointing out the obvious, “he’s someone with power.”

“Yeah.”

“Not that we’re talking about this,” Peterson pointed out. She tapped her nails on the conference table, then added, “Supposedly a certain senator ordered the gag.”

A senator.

“My orders came from the captain.” More tapping. “And he was quite clear on it all.”

Logan sank into his own seat. “Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way. Could be the vigilante is more like a secret op or something.”

“Maybe,” Reese conceded. But damn it, he needed to know, whether Alice felt like sharing or not. “I trust her.”

Logan lifted his brows. “Come again?”

“Alice.” He paced the small confines of the conference room. “I trust her. She wouldn’t be protecting the guy if he was hurting anyone other than the creeps who need it.”

“Who needs it,” Peterson pointed out, “is up to the judicial system.”

“Maybe,” Reese said again.

When Peterson and Logan both stared at him, he pulled up a chair of his own and leaned over the table toward them. “How many times has a ruthless murderer slipped through the cracks? How many times has evidence gotten botched and some a*shole gets loose, only to kill again?”

Peterson rolled her eyes. “Not that we’re discussing this.”

“No, we’re not.” Reese made up his mind. He’d find out what he needed to know, but he’d trust Alice enough to keep others out of it. In his heart—damn, when had his heart gotten tangled up in this?—he knew she was one of the most moral, honest, caring women he’d ever met.

How could he betray her? He couldn’t.

“Let’s get this over with.” He left the room to fetch Alice and Rowdy. He found them with Dash and Pepper, drinking Cokes and joking around. “Alice?”

Her gaze met his, and she turned bright red.

What the hell was that about? Rowdy grinned, saluted him with his Coke and asked, “Can we common folk join the discussion now? I gotta tell you, being surrounded by the boys in blue makes me itchy.”

Several cops glanced at Rowdy, but overall they ignored him.

Reese ignored him, too. “Dash, can you stay with Pepper? We won’t be long.”

“Sure. No problem.”

Pepper started to object, and Reese said, “Alice?” He held out his hand. “Come on, honey. We’re ready for you.”

He hoped Alice understood his acceptance, but in case she didn’t, as soon as she got close, he said low, “I’m sorry.”

Blinking big brown eyes up at him, she asked, “For what?”

“For thinking, even for a second, that you’d somehow alerted Trace.”

“You believe me that I didn’t?”

Pausing outside the door to the conference room, Reese gave one sharp nod. “No more secrets between us. Right?”

“Um...” Like a deer caught in the headlights, she froze. “Okay?”

Reese smiled. It was an agreement, albeit uncertain, maybe even unwilling. “Good.” He held her shoulders. “You ready to do this?”

“Of course.”

So stubbornly independent. “It doesn’t bother you, does it?” He caressed her, fought the urge to kiss her. “Being here?”

Maybe having the same thought, Alice leaned into him, her face tipped back, her eyes warm on his mouth. “I thought it would.” She put a hand on his chest, stroked up and over his shoulder. “But I got so involved chatting with Pepper that I forgot all about it.”

Every time she chatted with Pepper, he worried. Not that he didn’t like Pepper, because he did. But at all times, she was like a small, sexy explosion waiting to happen. The last thing he wanted was for her to influence Alice.

“The meeting is in here, Detective.”

At Peterson’s forceful tone, Reese gave Alice an encouraging smile and steered her into the room.

For the next forty-five minutes he sat back and let Logan and Peterson ask questions of Rowdy and Alice. It worked better to let someone fresh, someone uninvolved, get the info from them.

Alice handled it like a pro. It amazed him the amount of details she remembered, and how accurately she relayed them again. So often, witnesses got confused or mixed up about the order of things. Excitement and adrenaline caused a lot of people to miss specifics of the surrounding area, time frame, location, sometimes even the appearance of an attacker.

Not Alice. At all times, she remained alert, soaking up details the same way a detective might. Now, in relating those details, she didn’t come across as phony or like she was making up anything. She shared what she could, and occasionally enhanced what Rowdy had seen while attempting to trail her.

The different perspectives from their accounts matched up.

When Peterson pulled out a folder, Reese realized that the lieutenant planned to show a photo of the murdered girl. He moved closer, sitting beside Alice, his hand on the back of her chair.

Alice must have realized what she’d see, because she braced herself. The subtle shifting of her shoulders, the tightness in her expression, might not have been obvious to the others, but Reese knew her. He saw the dread and the iron will that kept her in the seat.

“Is this the same tattoo?” Peterson laid the photo on the table, turned it and moved it forward.

On the other side of Alice, Rowdy’s expression hardened. He cursed low.

With sadness filling her features, Alice took her time studying the photograph. “When did she die?”

“Recently,” Reese said, not wanting to involve her with all the nitty-gritty. She’d already dealt with enough ugliness in her lifetime.

Alice lifted the photo to see the tattoo better. She drew in a shaky breath, blinked back tears.

Peterson said gently, “Take your time.”

“It’s similar.” Alice dug in her purse and found a tissue, then drew a steadying breath. She didn’t make a big deal of her tears, either to apologize for them or to seek sympathy. “Not exactly like Cheryl’s, but pretty close.”

“Same size?” Logan asked.

“Yes.” Alice touched her own forearm. “From here to here,” she said, indicating just above her wrist to just below her elbow. “About five or six inches long and less than three inches wide. It didn’t circle her arm. It was sort of contained in a narrow rectangle but without a frame.” She looked up at Peterson. “Cheryl’s was still red. I think she’d just had it done.”

Taking the photo back, Peterson returned it to the folder.

Logan said, “You’re sure you didn’t get a last name? Didn’t see where Cheryl was headed?”

“I didn’t want to pry.” Peeking over at Reese, Alice shrugged. “But I did give her a phone number that she could call in case of an emergency.”

Reese wanted to groan. “The police?” he asked hopefully. Or maybe the elusive Trace.

Alice shook her head. “She wanted nothing to do with the police.”

Indignant, Peterson dropped the folder on the tabletop and sat back in her chair.

“You could’ve given her my number,” Rowdy told Alice.

“Cheryl didn’t know you. And right then, she wasn’t feeling real comfortable with men.”

Already knowing the answer, Reese took Alice’s hand. “So, whose number did you give her?”

Wincing her apology, Alice whispered, “Mine.”

* * *

REESE FELT THE way she held on to him, almost like a lifeline. The entire situation left her far more stressed than others would know. “Your cell?”

She shook her head. “A cell phone, yes, but not my regular phone.” She skimmed the faces of Peterson and Logan before focusing on Reese. “I’m not an idiot, and I don’t take chances.”

“I know that.” Not dumb by any stretch, but too daring? Too bold? Absolutely.

“I keep extra cell phones for...emergencies.” Rushing beyond that, probably hoping it wouldn’t draw notice—ha!—she added, “I’ve been carrying the phone since then, but Cheryl hasn’t called, so I’m assuming she made it home okay.”

A cautious move, to give Cheryl a different number. But that didn’t excuse things. “Why didn’t you tell me before now?”

Looking him in the eye, not really making any excuses, Alice said, “If Cheryl had called, I would have told you.” She turned to face the others. “No one else has that particular number, so any call will be from Cheryl, or someone who got the number from her.”

Keeping the annoyance from his tone wasn’t easy, but Reese didn’t want Peterson or Logan to get the wrong idea. Or maybe the right idea: that he didn’t have control of the situation at all. “Anything else you haven’t mentioned?”

She nodded.

Great. “Now would be a good time then, don’t you think?”

“I told Cheryl we’d need a code of sorts in case anyone found her, or tried to coerce her in any way. The plan is that if someone is listening to her, she’s to tell me that everything is peachy.”

“Peachy?”

Alice shrugged. “It’s not an everyday phrase, but it’s not so obvious that others might understand. I told her if she said that, I’d know something was wrong, and I’d do everything in my power to help her.”

So, she had planned to stay involved? Frustration rushed through Reese. He scraped back his chair and stood. “Everything being what?” She was one small woman, untrained, too soft—

Alice rose to stand before him. “Everything being...you.”

“Me?” Damn it, he hadn’t seen that one coming. Chagrined, especially with the others watching, Reese said, “So you think I’m in your power, do you?”

Alice nodded. “It’s within my power to tell you. And, of course, if you know those creeps have found her again, you’ll help her.”

Irrefutable logic. What could he do but concede the point? “Of course.”

The beatific smile Alice gave him made him feel like Superman. Not kissing her was difficult, he was so... Damn, he was proud. Of how she’d held it together under the difficult situation, and her faith in him.

Peterson cleared her throat. Logan frowned and Rowdy smiled.

Time to take charge. Again. Why was it that every time he got around Alice, he had to regroup? If he didn’t take care, he’d end up with a boner for all to see.

Taking her wrist, he removed her hand from his chest and sought some needed distance from her influence. “I think that’s all we need from you.”

Unfazed by the dismissal, she resisted his efforts to guide her to the door. “You’ll let me know your plans?”

Pushy. But so sweet, too. “Probably not.” Before Alice could get too worked up over that, Reese got her to the door. “I need a few more minutes. Why don’t you and Rowdy wait with Dash and Pepper?”

Confusion blunted her composure. “Reese?”

Definitely pushy. “I won’t be long.”

“But—”

Rowdy gently caught her arm and, with a nod at Reese, took her along with him as he exited the room.

The second the door closed, Peterson said, “Well. That was interesting.”

Wasn’t it, though? Reese sought words to explain Alice’s unique gift of deception and details, but Peterson gave her attention to Logan.

“Why exactly is your brother here?”