"Gun. Knife. Computer." He shrugged.

"Contacts."

Shit. "You can't expect me to give you carte blanche on murder."

"The Glock is for protection!" Pepper snarled not an inch from his face.

Rowdy pulled her away from Logan.

"You want to clear up this mystery once and for all? Get my car to me, and I'll take it from there."

Notably silent, Pepper curled in on herself, her legs pulled up on the seat, her head on her knees.

Had she learned not to argue when Rowdy had a plan? Or did she simply trust him that much to make it all right?

One day, Logan thought, she'd trust him in the same way.

"I can do this," Rowdy said. "But I have to know that she's safe."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

It surprised Logan when Pepper didn't object. It also helped to make up his mind.

He had to call Dash and Reese, and after he got Pepper stowed away he'd have to tell the lieutenant something.

"I'll agree, on one condition."

Ready to impose his will, Rowdy said with silky menace, "Yeah, what's that?"

"If at any point you find yourself in real danger, you let me know so I can send backup your way."

Suspicious, Pepper lifted her head to stare at him. Speculative, Rowdy narrowed his eyes.

At this point, they both had reason to doubt him. Logan shook his head. "I understand your reservations, I really do. But whether you accept it or not, there are trustworthy people in the force." Through the open truck window, he snagged the receiver off the pay phone. "I know, because I'm one of them."

AFTER A FEW QUICK phone calls, they'd

gone back to driving. They decided not to stop for food; it made more sense to get settled for the night. Logan had assured her she'd be eating soon.

Pepper didn't know where he was taking them, and her thoughts were fractured enough that she didn't bother to ask. As she'd said, if Rowdy trusted him, then he was trustworthy. Period.

At least with this. With security.

But not with anything personal. Not with her heart.

Oh, God, she hated to admit that her heart had gotten involved. She wanted to tell Logan to go to hell. She wanted to hate him.

But instead, his nearness comforted her.

And excited her.

How sick was that?

Even now, after everything that had happened, she was so incredibly aware of him. His shoulder bumped hers. His thigh pressed to hers no matter how many times she tried to scoot away.

Over and over, she took deep breaths to capture his scent.

Tonight, she could have been killed; Logan wasn't wrong about that. A bomb had exploded over her head. Morton Andrews had possibly died.

But instead of concentrating on that, her thoughts repeatedly went to Logan, to his involvement, to what he'd done to her and how he'd used her, how he'd abused her trust.

She put her head back and closed her eyes, but she couldn't avoid the truth: she'd abused his trust, too. Sure, they each had their reasons.

Were his any less valid than hers?

He spoke quietly, giving Rowdy directions, making additional plans, discussing things that involved her.

The road got bumpier, and she opened her eyes to look around. The headlights of the truck cut through the obsidian night. Woods lined the sides of the narrow gravel road.

Just to irk Logan, she said, "Planning to dump us somewhere?"

He didn't take the bait. "We're going to my brother's cabin."

"It's secure?" Rowdy asked.

"Other than Dash and me, and now you two, no one knows about it."

"Dash?" Pepper asked.

"Dashiel. My younger brother."

Uneasy, he rubbed the back of his neck.

"He owns the construction company where I..."

"Pretended to work?" Resentment welled up again. "Great cover for you, right? Not that it took all that much to con me." Disgusted, she said, "I made it pretty damned easy."

Rowdy blew out an uncomfortable breath.

Logan went right past that gibe. "Dash enjoys the physical work, but he also enjoys getting away on occasion."

They came upon a split in the road, and Logan said, "Turn here." A minute later, the headlights landed on a large, rustic cottage.

Rowdy put the truck in Park but kept it running as he took in the house. "You say your brother owns the construction company?"

"Yes."

It hit Pepper, and she turned to him.

"Your brother is well-to-do?"

For too long, Logan stared out the passenger window. "Actually, we're both pretty well set for life." Finally he faced her. "Family business and all that.

We work because we want to, not because we have to."

More resentment had her puffing up, on the verge of blasting him.

Rowdy shook his head. "Are we going in, or waiting here?"

"Dash and Reese will be here soon.

We might as well go in and air it out."

Without comment, he reached past Pepper to remove the truck keys but left the headlights on. Latching on to her arm, he said, "Let's go."

Even the firm touch of his hand on her arm affected her. "I don't need your help."

"You do, but right now I'm more concerned with discouraging you or Rowdy from leaving me here. So you're sticking close."

"Oh, that's rich!" She didn't really fight him as he got out, hauling her with him. To do so might instigate a brawl between him and her brother, and the night had been chaotic enough already without any bloodshed. They were each so capable that, once started, a fight could prove damaging-to them both.

"You're accusing us of being dishonest?"

"Not dishonest, just misguided." He nodded for Rowdy to go ahead of them.

Contrary to her reaction, Rowdy didn't seem to find anything amiss. Using the headlights to guide him, he stepped carefully over a stone walkway and made his way around to a side door that Logan unlocked.

Logan stepped inside with Pepper held close to his side, then fumbled around at the wall until he located a flashlight.

After he turned it on, he handed it to Rowdy. "Flip the breaker box in the last bedroom."

"Right." Rowdy moved the flashlight around the interior.

They'd stepped into a kitchen and dining room, with a modest sitting area at the other end of the house. They ran together in a U-shape, bisected by four doors that Pepper assumed to be bedrooms and hopefully a bath.

Rowdy glanced at her, then said, "Be right back."

As he disappeared into the darkness, she felt her tension expand.

Alone, with Logan. Almost.

His hand on her arm contracted, his fingers sort of caressing. "Once the lights are on, I'll open the windows. Let in some fresh air."

She barely heard him. The urge to turn to him, to lean on him, kept her tightly strung. The knowledge that she no longer had to hide from him teased her senses.

"With all the shade trees," Logan continued, "it doesn't get too hot in here, even in the middle of summer."

Somehow he moved closer so that he stood partially behind her, his warm breath near her ear.

"You're still shaking." His arms slowly closed around her, and he eased her back into his chest. He wasn't that much taller, but he was so much stronger, thick with muscle and so incredibly hot.

His thighs made contact with her rump. His broad chest pressed into her shoulder blades. That indescribable scent of his cocooned her, robbing her of animus. She remembered how he'd touched her this way, taking her from behind, following her instructions, both of them wild with lust- The sudden intrusion of light had her flinching away. He released her, but one glance at him had her ducking away from his knowing gaze. Logan didn't follow her, and he said nothing about her retreat, but she had no doubt he'd been thinking the same thing.

She went to patio doors on the longest wall to look out. Rowdy returned and put the flashlight back in its holder on the wall by the front door.

He glanced around with interest at the fishing poles in brackets in the dining area, the wood stove, the well-worn furniture. "This is nice."

"Thanks." Logan pulled aside the drapes and opened the patio doors, then two windows. "I don't get out here as often as I'd like, but whenever I do, it's peaceful."

They heard the approach of another car. Rowdy narrowed his gaze, Pepper went still.

Logan touched her arm, saying, "Stay here," and he went out the door.

Rowdy went to the door and looked out, then came back to Pepper. "You okay?"

Because she didn't know what to say, she nodded. The last thing her brother needed was more worry.

Still checking out every nook and corner of the house, he said, "I don't know Logan's brother, but I've met Detective Bareden."

"Reese."

"Yeah." He watched her. "You know him?"

"I met him when you did." When he'd arrested Rowdy. God, she couldn't think about that right now. Never in her life had she felt more exposed, or more helpless. "He was also at the station when I tried to see you. He's... I don't know."

"Yeah, that's what I think, too."

Glancing over his shoulder toward the front door, Rowdy kept watch for Logan's return. "There's something about him."

"He's not entirely up front." That didn't necessarily mean that Reese was bad, but he was...something.

"No, he's not. I can't get a fix on him, so I want you to be extra careful around him."

They heard Logan speaking quietly and the crunch of feet on leaves and gravel.

"Stick close to Logan, okay?" Now in more of a rush, Rowdy added, "Until I figure him out, avoid Reese as much as you can."

Stick close to Logan? Surely he didn't mean- Logan came in, and right behind him was a man who had to be his brother.