The apartment where he spent an inordinate amount of time with Pepper.

Sitting back, restless on many levels, Rowdy thought about things. He and Pepper had survived by being cautious and by trusting instincts.

For some reason, despite the data before him, everything about Logan screamed a warning. But maybe that was Rowdy's own prejudice.

How could any red-blooded guy be so attracted to Pepper for so long? Most times when Rowdy saw her, she looked like a drudge, like a plain-Jane with no redeeming features to draw in a man.

Being a guy, too, he understood how the male mind worked. At first he'd written off the attraction as a challenge for Logan. After all, Rowdy himself had recently suffered the same type of challenge with the little waitress. He'd gone back to the bar a few times, but he hadn't seen her again, which accounted for part of his restlessness.

But Logan saw Pepper damn near every day, so that reasoning didn't make sense.

If he'd hoped to score with her...no, Rowdy hated thinking along those lines.

Besides, that'd be impossible without Pepper blowing her cover, and she'd never do that. In so many ways, she was more protective than he could ever be.

So what the hell was happening between them? It made no sense. Logan had to be working an angle.

As a safeguard against all threats, Rowdy had furtively kept up with his past, with Checkers and with any info he could find on Morton Andrews.

For all intents and purposes, it was business as usual. Crimes committed without proof of personal transgression.

Accusations that didn't pan out.

Cutthroat business that expanded by the day.

Ripe frustration among a select few in the police force.

But no mention, ever, of Rowdy or Pepper Yates. It seemed they'd been forgotten. Perhaps even the most corrupt villains gave up on loose ends after enough time had passed.

Could it maybe all be over?

Could Logan Stark really be no more than an honest guy looking for companionship?

Rowdy snorted. Before he made that leap, he wanted some assurances. And that meant breaking into Logan's apartment, going through his things and seeing what he could turn up.

He'd uncover the man's entire background, one way or another.

And he'd get started tonight...as soon as he got Pepper to cooperate.

FEELING LIKE A HUNTED MAN, Logan

paced his small living room. Pepper would expect him in another hour. She didn't realize that her personal style of platonic socializing had left him tightly strung.

With lust. Sympathy. Concern.

But mostly lust.

Jesus, each small smile from her was so precious that it left him in a vortex of conflicting emotion. And when she laughed-a very rare occurrence-it reduced him to a basic male animal, an animal who wanted to make a permanent impression on her in the time-honored way of men.

But she'd ruled that out. Though he knew she wanted him, too, she continued to draw back anytime things got too heated. That put him back at square one, having to cajole his way into her narrow social calendar all over again.

Now that he knew part of her background, it only amplified his growing feelings for her. God, but she'd had it rough, and her brother hadn't helped. As a kid, she hadn't wanted foster care. But she hadn't been mature enough to decide what would be best for her.

And really...neither had Rowdy.

Eighteen. Damn. That was so young to have so much responsibility. Logan could understand how easy it'd be to get off the straight and narrow. At eighteen, he'd had the world by the ass. Parents who spoiled both him and Dash.

Independence given to him by indulgent parents. He'd wanted for nothing, certainly not security, comfort, support.

Or love.

Rowdy and Pepper had had none of that. Ever. As children, they'd been neglected by disinterested parents. As very young adults, they'd been threatened by an unknown system. He hated to admit it, but Logan could sympathize with Rowdy. He'd made tough decisions.

But he shouldn't have dragged Pepper into that atmosphere. Though Reese had tried, he hadn't found any clearer photos of Pepper. Nothing in color. Nothing of her body.

Not that it mattered. He couldn't be more obsessed.

Thanks to the paper-thin walls, Logan needed no more than a handheld audio listening device to keep track of her routine. Whenever he wasn't with her, he could still hear her moving around, occasionally listening to the radio or television, showering or doing dishes.

Or talking with her brother.

Many times, after he left her, she ran on her treadmill.

Endlessly.

She probably tried working off the same sexual tension that plagued him. He could have told her not to bother.

Nothing but the real deal would do.

They could be so good together if she'd trust him a little, if she'd...but then again, she had good reason not to trust him.

Logan rubbed his face. Everything was far more complicated than he'd expected-because he couldn't stay detached. He couldn't stay cold and indifferent to Pepper, because she wasn't cold or indifferent. Warm, funny, fickle and so damn sexy...yeah, he hadn't expected that. Not from the grainy little black-and-white photos of her. Not when she hid all that fire behind concealing clothes and a reserved persona.

Her physical appeal wasn't out there and in your face.

It was subtle, something that came from her as a woman, her gentle nature and wounded soul. It was far more potent than a stacked body could ever be.

When the rattle of her water pipes quieted, Logan paced closer to the adjoining wall.

She'd finished her shower.

Closing his eyes, he tried to picture her naked...but came up with an incomplete image. She hid so much from him, every inch of skin from her collarbone to her elbows, her waist to her ankles.

And still, somehow, she turned him on until he almost couldn't take it. Her outfits were so well suited to disguising her figure that most times he strained his eyes trying to figure out the curves of her body.

Frustration mixed with imagination kept him from sleeping at night, leaving him mostly antsy.

She seemed so starved for company, his company, that it broke his cynical heart and nearly corrupted his convictions.

If he only wanted sex, he could have it.

But he wanted her.

Naked, lights on, hair loose and that special little smile in place...

"Shit." On edge, he scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck, laughing at himself. Any more of that and he'd be prowling his apartment with a hard-on.

He had to work it out with her, and soon.

He'd tried things her way. Too many days of sensual torture hadn't gotten him the desired outcome. Tonight he'd press her, emotionally and physically. Because of his end goal, he'd feel like a bastard, but he'd do it anyway. If it blew his cover, then he'd suffer the consequences, but he had to- The ringing of her cell phone stilled his turbulent thoughts.

He knew it was her damned brother keeping tabs on her. Calls from Rowdy Yates were the main reason Logan had the handheld audio device; bugging her apartment would have been too risky.

Listening through the thin walls was safer.

Retrieving the audio device from beneath a desk drawer, he put in the earbuds and pressed the receiver to the wall. He missed the first few words of Pepper's greeting, but he caught her distress right away.

Every call from her brother seemed to cause her grief.

"What if he catches you?" she asked with worry, and then, "It's entirely possible. Even if I try to keep him here...well, no."

Logan frowned. What if who caught him? He adjusted the volume and waited.

"Rowdy, listen to me, please. " She lowered her voice but not enough. "It's too dangerous. Of course I trust you, but if Logan catches you in his apartment, he'll probably call the police. Then what will we do?"

Rage coalesced, crowding out guilt, pity-annihilating every other emotion.

Rowdy Yates planned to break into his apartment.

Bingo, you bastard. I have you now.

Even if he didn't hear a specific time for this break-in, he'd let Reese know.

He'd get things set up in advance so that - "There's no reason. He's just a nice guy." A pause, and then, "I just know, that's all."

Jesus. She thought he was nice? Logan closed his eyes, but that did nothing to alleviate the remorse. Before it was all said and done, Pepper Yates would be badly hurt. By her brother and by him.

In the end, she'd consider him far from nice.

"When you find nothing, then will you let it go?"

Logan held his breath-until Pepper said, "Thank you."

So she agreed to whatever scheme her brother cooked up? That's probably how it had gone throughout their lifetimes- Rowdy leading her down the wrong side of the law.

Never mind that she didn't know he was the law.

"I was supposed to go to his place tonight, but I can ask him over here instead. Yes, I'm sure. I just want it done."

Logan curled a hand into a fist.

Tonight would be the night. After so many dead ends, he should have been relieved, even exuberant.

Instead, he felt the great weight of his conscience and sadness for what he would lose, and for what he never had.

With Pepper Yates.

AS REESE STARTED UP the steps to his

second-floor apartment, one of his female neighbors came out her door. He paused to give her a smile, a greeting, but she didn't acknowledge him. She locked her door, checked it twice and went past him as if he didn't exist.

No eye contact. Not even a quick glance. She avoided him like the plague.

Because for sure, she saw him.

Not like anyone could miss a man of his size. Women teased him about being a hulk. Men walked a wide path around him. He'd been blessed with good genes from the males in his family lineage, giving him height and strength. As a bachelor he had time to hit the gym a few times a week, so he stayed in shape.

Women noticed him, damn it.

But she acted as if she didn't.

Snooty gal. Alice-something-or-other.

Sort of classic looks; baby-fine brown hair cut in a blunt, shoulder-length style, soft brown eyes, very fair skin, average build on the slim side.

He glanced back at her, but she appeared lost in thought as she went out the entry door with single-minded purpose. He'd noticed that about her a few times already. Wherever she went, it was as if she was on a mission. Even when she took out her trash, she did it with extreme focus, as if it took a lot of concentration to get anything done.

It was part of Reese's nature to size up everyone in the building. Hell, everyone in his area. This particular neighbor didn't necessarily interest him any more than the others, but male ego deigned that he disliked being ignored.