He let his attention roam over her body. "Great nightgown."

"Thank you." Was Pepper correct?

Could simple clothes affect him so much? Apparently. She smoothed the rumpled cotton of her gown. "The thing is, I've only had half a cup of coffee.

And I haven't brushed my teeth yet." And I'm an awful coward. "Pepper will be here soon, and I won't be ready."

"I'm not rushing you."

Good Lord. Then what would rushing be like? She could barely wait to find out. "Okay."

His smile quirked, spread until he laughed. "Alice." He stepped up to her before she could dart away. "I can't stop thinking about getting inside you-"

She groaned.

"-but I'm not saying it has to be right away. I want you to want me, too."

Seriously, he had to know. "That's not the problem." But verbalizing the problem wouldn't be easy, because the problem itself was complex, a mangled mix of her past, her present intent, demons and determination.

"Hey." He tipped up her chin. "I can wait until we work it out."

Because he felt confident that they would? She hoped so. She wanted that more than she'd wanted anything since...since she'd lain awake at night, praying for escape, silently begging for a way out of a living nightmare.

She rubbed her forehead, refusing to go down memory lane yet again. Looking at Reese always helped to lighten the darkness, so she smiled up at him.

"Okay."

"You are the most agreeable woman."

He bent and kissed her before she could dodge him. Mindful of her feelings, he kept it light, almost teasing. "I have to go. Have fun with Pepper, but be careful. You have my number if anything comes up."

CHAPTER TEN.

ALICE STEPPED OUT of the changing room in the cuffed jean capris, peasant top and wedge sandals. Pepper looked her over with a big smile, then proclaimed the outfit, "Perfect."

It would be her fifth, which was only a third of what Pepper had purchased.

Alice toyed with the loose ties at the neck of the shirt. "It's comfortable." So far, everything Pepper had helped her choose was easy to wear, affordable and complimentary.

"That outfit, with your new hairstyle..." Pepper whistled. "Reese will go nuts."

She touched her hair, now parted more to the side, trimmed just enough to make it fuller and deliberately tousled. She liked it, too. "It'll be easy to replicate."

"The makeup, too. Honestly, you have such great bones, you can't go wrong."

No one had ever noticed her bones before, so she had to wonder about that.

When Pepper's phone rang, Alice darted again into the changing room to dress in her regular clothes.

They'd been shopping for hours now, before and after lunch. Alice admired the pale, iridescent pink on her nails and toes, thanks to a professional mani and pedi.

Pepper had encouraged her to be worked over, head to toes, and she'd had so much fun.

Except for the sensation of being watched.

Off and on throughout the day, Alice had felt the scrutiny but no alarm.

Sometimes being so observant was a curse.

Most likely the attention had been men admiring Pepper. Her new friend had the kind of "stop traffic" looks that never failed to draw male appreciation.

When she stepped back out of the room, Pepper accompanied her to the cashier, saying, "That was Logan.

They're done at the station finally, so I guess we should call it a day."

Alice smiled. "I know you're anxious to see him again."

"It's new to me," Pepper admitted.

"I'm probably smothering him, but he'll just have to get over it."

"He adores you, so I'm sure he doesn't mind." She paid with a credit card, then retrieved her additional packages.

"He does." Pepper gave a happy sigh.

"I've always loved my brother, but there haven't been many other people in my life that I could care about."

They started out to the parking lot where they'd met up. "Rowdy is a very interesting person." At loose ends now, but Alice trusted that he'd find his way.

He struck her as a very resourceful man.

"He's the best of brothers and a terrific ally if you ever need one."

A hint? An offer? Alice grinned.

"Reese told you he came to visit me?"

"Yeah." She stopped by Alice's car. "I won't pry, but if you ever need anything, I can be a pretty good ally, too."

"Thank you." No way would she unload her issues on Pepper, especially since her new friend had only recently found peace of her own. She deserved happiness, not drama.

"I don't want Logan to overdo it today, but what would you think about getting together for dinner after he's healed up a little?

We could all four go out.

Someplace not fancy, because I don't do fancy much."

"That sounds perfect, thank you. If Reese is willing, I'd enjoy it."

Pepper snorted. "Reese is all kinds of willing. All you have to do is get on board." She laughed. "Take advantage of the time he has off."

Good advice. Alice said, "I think I will."

Laden with her own packages, Pepper left her with a wave, going to the other end of the lot where she'd parked. Alice waited until she saw Pepper get in a car, then she checked the time.

With any luck, she'd return to the apartment before Cash lost patience and soiled the floor. This was his usual nap time, but when she wasn't around, his routine always differed.

She unlocked her car, stored her packages in the back and opened the windows to let out the steamy heat.

While she waited for the air- conditioning to kick on, she did her usual survey of her surroundings.

The mall did plenty of business with cars coming and going, women walking along in small groups, couples with children. Alice appreciated the sight of normalcy-until the hairs on the back of her neck stirred.

Visually seeking the source of the alarm, she noticed a slow-moving van.

Nice, new, silver...nothing to elicit suspicion-until it stopped beside a truck parked on the outskirts of the lot, away from the rest of the congestion.

Eyes narrowed, Alice put her car in gear and drove closer. Using care, she retrieved her dark sunglasses and slipped them on, then pulled up by the end of a line of other parked cars. Near enough now to watch, but hopefully not that obvious. Other drivers went past in front of her, then continued on, helping to disguise her scrutiny.

The side door of the van opened, and a young lady stepped out. The driver of the truck met her before she'd taken two steps. Her right arm sported a thick gauze bandage, loosely taped in place.

Otherwise she looked fine, dressed nicely enough in jeans and a halter, her long brown hair tidy.

For reasons Alice couldn't understand, her heart lurched.

Holding on to the girl's elbow, the truck driver spoke through the passenger window. He smiled, and though Alice couldn't hear what he said, her mind conjured all sorts of awful dialogue.

Things she'd heard before.

Arrangements. Deals.

Okay, so maybe to the casual observer, it'd only look like the man assisted the young woman into his truck.

Alice saw it differently.

Why was she being moved from a van to a truck? Why in a parking lot? What had happened to her arm?

Even as she told herself she could be overreacting, Alice gave over to her screaming instincts. Waiting until the van pulled away, she put her car in gear and followed the truck at a cautious distance, always keeping at least two vehicles between them. Through the rear window of the truck, she watched the driver and his passenger, attuned to nuances in body language.

Alert.

Her senses churned, her stomach burning, her mouth dry.

Possibilities, spurred by a remembrance of things she'd seen, things she'd reluctantly taken part in, mixed with fresh resolve, pushing aside all other considerations. Cash was home safe. Pepper had already driven away.

Logan and Reese were together, just leaving the station.

She had no one else to worry about- except the young woman in the truck.

Her hands squeezed the steering wheel, steadying her nerve and helping her to focus. The outside shaking abated, but inside, she remained a bundle of jitters.

The truck drove in the opposite direction of where she lived. Farther and farther from her personal sanctuary, from her self-imposed exile, her lonely haven.

In and out of side streets, nearer and nearer to the wrong side of town.

Twice, Alice almost lost the truck. She closed the distance a little, scared spitless on many levels. While she rationalized her actions and tried to plan for outcomes, troublesome doubt returned her thoughts to Reese.

She had absolutely no illusion about how he'd feel at the prospect of her trailing possible trouble. But their relationship was fresh, new, so testing the boundaries would be expected, right?

Neither of them had spelled out any stipulations yet.

Stay out of trouble. Did he really need to spell that out?

Never did she want to outright lie to him, but for sure he would ask. She'd been gone all day. It was time for dinner.

And Pepper had already assured Logan she was on her way home, so Reese would expect her to be at the apartment when he got there.

That is, if he came straight home.

Home. She couldn't start thinking that way. Right now, their arrangement was far from concrete.

And she'd just come full circle in her thoughts.

Nervous sweat dampened her palms, the back of her neck. With each mile covered, the area got more disreputable.

Not that location mattered all that much when the monsters crawled out. They lurked everywhere, in high society and poverty, in business and in everyday life.

Her courage waned as they passed the bus terminal. Few people were out beneath the heat of the midday sun. They left behind businesses and went into a residential neighborhood, except that everything seemed abandoned.

The driver steered around a corner, dark and ominous and empty except for the crumbling brick facade of an old motel with single-story units that formed an L. The truck drove around to the back.

Alice paused before falling into that trap; her car idled on the street, her doors locked, her senses alive to warning signs. She quickly surveyed the area and decided to take an adjacent street separated from the motel only by an overgrown empty lot. She coasted along the curb until she finally spied the truck pulled up to a more open area at the rear entrance.

Neglect fell like a dark stain over the abandoned motel. Jagged glass clung to the frame of a broken back window.

Weeds grew up through crumbling blacktop in what used to be a parking lot. Graffiti covered some of the individual doors. An awning hung haphazardly, ready to drop.

No one had inhabited that wretched place for a very long time.

So, why would the man take the girl in there?

Wishing she'd been wrong, Alice put her car in Park. Quickly locking up, she glanced around but saw no one. Farther down the street, a siren blared, and in the distance she could hear the traffic on the highway.