What to do, what to do?

The other thugs treated Woody differently, with more reverence. They moved out of his orbit, ready to support him if he needed it but unwilling to get in his way.

Who was he to so easily give direction?

And suddenly Alice knew: Woody Simpson was the boss.

This was the man who had abused Cheryl, the creep who had ordered that awful tattoo on her arm.

The man who had made promises, who'd stolen a young girl's heart, only to break it so horribly.

He reached out, touching Alice's cheek, gliding his smooth fingertips along her jaw.

She no longer had a man at her back. If it came to that, she could run. Decision made, Alice demanded, "Stop."

Suspicious, maybe even a little worried, the men paused with the car door open. Nikki and Pam hesitated.

Surprised at her daring, Woody lifted a brow. "Problem?"

"You're the one in charge, aren't you?"

In a gesture that felt more threatening for its gentleness, Woody tucked her hair behind her ear. "I came specifically for you, Alice, did you know that? You fascinate me."

"Really?" Her heart pounded so hard it felt like she might break a rib, but still Alice smiled.

"You had Cheryl tattooed?"

"Yes."

She leaned into him, surprising him with her compliance as she rested one hand on his shoulder.

Compared to Reese, this man felt insubstantial, nowhere near as big and solid and strong. And that made him far less important.

She braced her other hand on his shoulder, too. He was taller than her, but being used to Reese's extreme height, she barely noticed. "Everyone else answers to you?"

His gaze warmed with triumph. "They do."

Looking at his mouth, leaning closer still, Alice parted her lips-and brought her knee up into his groin as hard as she could.

She put everything she had into that blow, all her rage at his brutality, his cruel mistreatment of women. Her aim proved dead-on.

Breath left him in a whoosh, his eyes bulging wide. A disbelieving, "You bitch," faded into a raw groan of anguish, and he dropped to his knees, his hands holding his crotch.

Cursing with various levels of disbelief, his men jolted into action.

Nikki and Pam got roughly shoved aside, Pam landing against the SUV, Nikki falling to the ground.

The ladies looked confused until they saw the guns, and then they started screaming-long, loud and shrill.

Fear got Alice's feet moving, and she stumbled back, her heart a loud drumbeat in her ears.

And suddenly Reese was there, a big, powerful, protective wall standing between her and the armed savages. He took aim as he issued orders, and unlike the weasels now dropping to their bellies, Reese's calm voice rang with undeniable command.

Trace and Logan closed in, as well, and in short order, they had disarmed and cuffed the three men.

In her peripheral vision, Alice saw Woody get to his feet. She jerked around and found him staring at her with such hatred that she felt it clear down to her bones. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Eyes narrowed, posture still bowed with pain, Woody reached to the small of his back, drew out a gun and- Reese's fist connected with his face.

Alice's jaw loosened at the stunning speed of the strike. It knocked Woody back, and he landed on the ground. The gun discharged, startling a small shriek out of Alice. But seeing Woody's face, Alice knew he hadn't fired on purpose.

She doubted the man was that coherent, given the look in his eyes.

Reese was already on him, taking away the gun, flipping him over, jamming a knee into the middle of his back and wrenching his arms together to fasten them with cuffs. With rough hands, Reese checked him for other weapons, ignoring Woody's moans.

Turned to look at her, Reese said, "You're okay?"

Wow. Fear receded under amazement.

Reese handled him like he would a rag doll, expending little to no discernible energy.

She remembered Trace saying that Reese could be ruthless.

Now she knew why. He'd leveled that man with one punch.

She also remembered Reese saying that always, at every moment, he was aware of her.

Biting her bottom lip, she admitted that it must be true, given how quickly he'd reached her.

"Alice?"

Heck, no, she wasn't okay. Far from it.

She sucked in a breath and nodded.

With laudable ease, Reese hauled Woody none-too-gently to his feet and looked Alice over, head to toes. "Are you sure?"

Still dumbfounded by how easy he'd made it look, she nodded fast, unwilling to distract him from his work. "Yes. I'm fine."

Tenants spilled out of the apartment building. A black police van pulled up, accompanied by a squad car, lights and sirens blazing. Pam and Nikki huddled together, a steady flow of tears ruining their makeup.

Suddenly feeling weak, Alice slumped down to sit on the walkway.

"Don't move," Reese told her.

She wasn't sure she could.

Watching as he wrenched Woody toward the black van, Alice tried to catch her breath. But only for a second.

Forgetting her agreement not to move, she raced back over before Reese could get Woody into the back of that wagon.

"Where is Cheryl?"

Woody looked at her, gave a mean smile and said, "Fuck you, honey."

His mocking tone and total lack of feeling pushed her over the edge. She didn't even think about it.

She just kneed him again.

"Ah, God..."

"Alice," Reese reprimanded. "Damn it." He held Woody upright with one hand, and Alice back with the other.

"Honey, you can't do that."

But his mouth twitched.

Alice didn't think it was funny. She literally heaved in her anger and fear.

"Where is she?"

"Bar," Woody gasped, curled in on himself, trying to protect his most vulnerable body part.

Using the length of his long arm, Reese backed Alice up a few steps and ordered, "Stay there."

The adrenaline rush faded, leaving her knees knocking and her eyes damp with tears. She nodded her agreement.

Reese handed Woody over to an officer. "Don't take your eyes off him.

Understand me?"

The cop nodded. "Yes, sir."

Glancing over to confirm that Logan and Trace had things in hand, Reese took Alice's arm and pulled her several feet away.

Any second now, she'd be bawling like a baby, she just knew it. She could feel the sobs gathering steam, squeezing her throat and making her nose tickle.

She couldn't look at Reese, couldn't let him see her weakness.

But he just stood there, waiting, calm, safe, until finally she lifted her gaze to his.

"I love you, Alice."

Her knees almost gave out.

Reese caught her close, not quite smiling, but looking so warm, so...sincere.

She clutched at his shirt, her heart trying to do flips, her pulse going into overdrive.

Reese kissed her forehead. "I love your compassion and your courage."

"Courage?"

"In spades." Ignoring the way she gasped for breath, he kissed her parted lips. "I love your sweet little body, too, and how good we are together in bed."

"Reese..." She looked around, but in the commotion, no one seemed to be listening to them.

He brought her face back to his. "I especially love your temper. But from now on, please don't neuter my prisoners."

What he said seemed so silly, so unbelievable. Except for that one part...

"You love me?"

"Every part of you, everything about you."

He searched her face and whispered, "Very much."

Trace approached. He didn't look right at them, choosing instead to stare off to the side. "Got a message from Rowdy. Says he has it under control, but Cheryl's at the bar with Hickson.

DeeDee, too." He glanced at Alice, coughed and looked away again. "I assume you want to go...?"

Reese nodded.

"I can handle it," Trace said. "And even one-armed, Logan has this under control. If you'd rather-"

"I want to finish it." Reese tipped up Alice's chin. "I don't want you to worry."

She trembled so badly, it felt like she might rattle her teeth loose. But everything would be okay.

And Reese had said he loved her.

She drew a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay."

"Love that, too," Reese said with a small smile, even with Trace standing there. "How you pull it together to prioritize."

"I'll just go wait over there," Trace said, but neither Alice nor Reese acknowledged him.

She hadn't pulled anything together, but apparently she was good at faking it.

"Go to the bar." Alice still clenched his shirt, fighting the urge to crawl up close to him. "Please see to it that Cheryl is okay."

"I'll take care of it."

"I know you will." Because he was that man, the man who helped others, who did whatever he could. A hero.

Hers.