"You're a little sweaty."

Only a swim? That was probably better than getting busy in the water with his brother in the house, but still...

"How could you sleep in this heat?"

"I told you I like it." She went back to his slacks, pushing them down so that he could step out. Eyeing him in his boxers, she said, "I like swimming even more, though. So what do you say?"

"Dash will have dinner ready in a few minutes."

"Then we better get to it." She held out the big T-shirt. "As you see, I was a good girl and stayed covered up today."

As sincere as he could be, given he was already half hard, Logan said, "Thank you."

That made her grin. "I like your brother."

Absurd jealousy stirred. "Meaning what?"

The grin turned into a laugh. "Meaning that, all in all, I had a nice day."

"I'm glad." He'd have to talk more with Dash. He'd taken only a cursory report before heading down to the lake to see her.

"You might want to take a nap yourself after dinner." She went on tiptoe to kiss him. "Now that we have the rubbers, I'm expecting to have an even better night."

She turned away and made a clean but shallow dive into the water, proving that she'd already gauged the depth.

Logan stood there, sporting full wood and wishing he could bypass everything else and go straight to bed with her.

Dash yelled down the hill, "Burgers in five minutes."

Damn. Hoping the water would be cold enough, Logan dove in behind her.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

"EVERYTHING TASTES BETTER off a grill,"

Pepper said as she finished off her hamburger.

Dash agreed. "Doesn't hurt to have that view, either."

"Or the fresh air," Logan said.

The setting sun sent a splash of crimson across the cloudless sky, reflecting the rich colors on the surface of the placid lake.

Dash propped his feet on the railing, a Coke dripping condensation onto his abs.

Pepper sprawled out in a lounge chair, still in the same clothes she'd worn to swim. She looked so carefree that Logan wished he could keep her there forever.

With him.

She swatted away a mosquito, took another drink of her cola, and swiveled her head toward him. "So Reese isn't joining us?"

"Not tonight, no."

"I trust him more when I can see him."

Dash gave a short laugh. "I'm guessing you and your brother feel that way about everyone."

"With good reason."

Almost on cue, Logan's cell phone buzzed.

"Speak of the devil?" Pepper asked.

Since the call came in on the cell phone Rowdy had given him, Logan shrugged. "Reese or your brother. No one else has this number."

As soon as he answered, Reese said, "What was all that with you and Peterson today?"

They hadn't had a chance to talk earlier, not at the station with ears all around. And with Reese gone most of the day, they hadn't even passed each other that often.

"Hang on." He covered the phone and said to Pepper, "I'll just be a minute."

He started to stand so he could seek some privacy.

Pepper waved him back. "I'm going to take a shower and wash the lake water out of my hair."

Dash stood, too. "You'll have to make it fast if you hope to have hot water." He gave Logan a look and said, "Think I'll put away the dishes."

Which was code, meaning he'd keep an eye on Pepper. Logan appreciated his help-and resented it at the same time.

"Thanks. I'll lend a hand in just a minute."

"No rush."

Standing so he could watch Pepper through the patio doors, Logan said to Reese, "No idea what's going on with her, but I have to admit, I didn't expect her to make you lead." He'd been given carte blanche on the specialized task force duties, and he had made headway -though, of course, Peterson wasn't entirely up to speed on everything.

"Maybe she recognizes my superior sleuthing abilities."

That obvious joke fell flat. "Or maybe she knows I'm in a little deeper than I'm letting on." He visually tracked Pepper's every move as she rummaged through the items he'd brought back. She went through the bags, carried the shampoo, conditioner and lotion into the bathroom, and took the rest to the bedroom.

"Or she hopes to pit us against each other. Who the hell knows?"

Pepper came from the bedroom with clean clothes. She spoke to Dash for a moment, then went into the bathroom and shut the door.

The small shower barely accommodated one person, so no way could he join her-even if she'd invited him. But he could picture her naked, wet...and he did.

"Don't let her get to you," Reese said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Who?"

He made a sound of exasperation.

"Peterson." He muffled the phone for a moment, then came back. "Sorry. Cash is underfoot."

Without the view of Pepper to hold his attention, Logan walked to the railing and stared out at the lake. "How's the crazy lady who's been keeping him for you?"

"Never said she was crazy. And, in fact, she's been incredible. Cash is happy, I'm happy, and she's available 24/7. So...if you need me, I'm there. But if not, I figured I'd spend the night with Cash, then show up at work early tomorrow, maybe throw Peterson off the scent a little."

"We're fine here. Don't worry about that." The lawn, though more weeds than grass, was now evenly cut. He hadn't even noticed before, not when he'd been so intent on Pepper sleeping in the rowboat. "What now?"

"I saw the body." Reese didn't bother to disguise his disgust. "The face was a mangled mess, jaw destroyed, one ear blown off, teeth missing. There was too much blood in his hair for me to tell if the color was exact, but definitely blond.

The size, weight and bone structure seemed right."

"You're not convinced it's him?" Did anyone really believe that Andrews had died so easily?

"The thing is, the two bodyguards at the hospital? They'd been drugged."

Logan straightened. "Come again?"

"The bomb did some damage to them, but mostly they were out because someone dosed them. I'm thinking they were props, like the wallet in the pocket of the corpse."

A corpse that could also be a prop.

Reese continued, "Didn't you tell me once that Morton had a scar on his shoulder?"

"Yes." As a younger man, Andrews had done his own dirty work-and hadn't always gotten away intact.

"Well, the upper body is pretty singed and mangled." Before Logan made any mental leaps, Reese said, "And I never saw the scar firsthand, but...I didn't find anything like that on the body."

So it was a stand-in. "He's still out there."

"Maybe. If it's not Morton, well, what will we do about it? That's the riddle, yes?"

"Yeah." Logan's eyes burned from a combination of tiredness and lake water.

"Jesus, I want this over with."

"Now more than ever, I suppose."

"Meaning?"

"You have Pepper to consider, not just a need for vengeance."

"The way I see it, I have more reason for vengeance than ever before."

Andrews had killed his friend Jack-but he'd also made Pepper's life miserable and continued to be a threat against her.

"One way or another, I wanted Andrews to pay. If he's dead, okay. But even if he's not, he'll never get near Pepper."

"Speaking of finding Andrews..."

Reese paused, and then asked, "What's Rowdy up to?"

Logan didn't have to lie. "No idea, really. He's following some leads or something. That's all I know."

"What leads?"

"He said he has reliable contacts on the street-same as most cops do."

"Make no mistake, Logan-he is not a cop."

"No." But that made him no less reliable.

"It's a little dangerous, isn't it, letting him off the leash?"

Logan snorted. Never had Rowdy Yates been leashed, definitely not by him. "I have no choice but to trust him."

Same as he did Reese-with limits on both of them.

Reese hesitated again. "If he turns up anything, you'll let me know?"

"First thing." Logan was ready to disconnect the call when Reese spoke once more.

"I almost hate to miss the show tonight. Hope Pepper takes it easy on you-or not, depending on your preference for that sort of thing."

The call disconnected in the middle of Logan's heated reply. He stalked into the house in time to hear Pepper squawk when the hot water ran out.

Dash grinned. "I did tell her."

Joining him in the kitchen, Logan said, "You two seem to be getting along." He picked up a dish towel and began drying the few plates and utensils they'd used.

"She won me over," Dash told him.

"So she didn't give you a hard time?"

"A little maybe." A crooked smile came and went. "She's genuine, you know? And funny, and not at all unreasonable."

"To you." With him...well, she had grounds to be difficult, so he'd just accept it. For now.

"True." Dash finished with the dishes.

He dried his hands and leaned back on the counter. "She's also as sexy as a woman can be."