Bare It All (16 page)

Doing exactly that, Rowdy related all the details of Alice’s
caper, leaving nothing out. With each word, Reese grew increasingly grave.

Rowdy understood. Ms. Alice Appleton had a knack for driving
protective men insane.

When he finished the tale, Rowdy asked, “Are you going to wake
her up for a chat?”

“As soon as Cash finds a spot suitable for his
preferences.”

Picturing that helped Rowdy find a smile. “Your dog does like
to smell every blade of grass.”

“Yes.”

The impatience he heard was
almost
funny. “Good luck, Reese. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

“Go fuck yourself.” But then, being the fair sort, Reese added,
“I appreciate this, Rowdy. All of it. If she’d been on her own today and
something had happened—”

“She escaped unscathed.” How, Rowdy still didn’t know. Dumb
luck, or...skill? “By the way, Alice is from the area. She was living here when
she got kidnapped and moved back after she got away. I didn’t find out much, but
apparently she was rescued by some mysterious vigilante with inconceivable
connections.”

“It just gets better and better,” Reese growled.

“That’s all I have for now, but if I find out anything else,
you’ll be the first to know.” After hanging up, Rowdy turned and found the
brunette still waiting. She wouldn’t be a challenge.

She wasn’t Avery.

But she was better than sleeping alone on this disturbing
night, with only his disquiet for company.

* * *

R
EESE
STEWED
IN
turbulent silence. An early evening breeze blew over his face and bare
chest, but it did little to cool his escalating temper.

What the hell had she been thinking?

Did he even know Alice? Did he know what she was capable of?
How far she’d go?

What if she’d shot someone? Rowdy had said she’d been carrying
her gun, but supposedly only Tasered the thug.

A fucking thug.
Supposedly a man
capable of coercing a woman. A woman Alice had “rescued.”

His eyes burned, and his heart punched against his ribs.

What if the guy had overpowered her? She could be locked in a
room right now, at the mercy of a brutal goon, and how would Reese have found
her?

He’d stupidly thought she was shopping! His biggest concern had
been Pepper’s influence.

Cash finally came loping back, his tongue hanging out, his tail
wagging. Anxious to talk to Alice, to say God-knew-what, Reese decided to head
in. Somehow he’d get to the truth, all of it, every second of her past and
whatever she had planned for the future.

He turned with a long stride—and almost collided with
Nikki.

“Hey there, Reese.” Dressed in heels, a tight miniskirt and a
halter, Nikki looked dressed to kill. Smiling at him, she flipped back her long
blond hair.

“Evening.” He tried to keep walking.

She blocked his way. “I haven’t seen you jog lately.” She
stared at his slacks. Or more specifically, the fly of his slacks.

“I’ve been busy.” He was busy
now.

Moving closer, she touched his right biceps. Voice throaty,
breath tinged with alcohol, she whispered, “It’s a nice night, isn’t it?”

With his current mood? No, it was a piss-poor night. “Pleasant
enough.” Locking his jaw, Reese tried to step around her.

Cash came up alongside him, sniffed at the hem of Nikki’s
skirt, and she reacted as if a skunk climbed her leg. “Oh, my God, shoo! Get
away.” She swatted at the dog’s face. Yelping, Cash cowered away in fear.

Furious, Reese knelt down to the dog. “It’s okay, buddy. She
won’t hurt you.” Tail tucked, his body curled tight and his brown eyes sad and
watchful, Cash huddled as close as he could get to Reese’s side.

Reese stroked his back, kissed the top of his head. “Shhh. It’s
okay now.”

Nikki realized what she’d done. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him,”
she explained. “It’s just...I don’t want dog hair on my clothes.”

Reese barely managed a nod.

“What’s wrong with him, anyway?” Nikki gave a nervous laugh.
“The way he’s carrying on, you’d think I beat him or something.”

Regaining his feet, keeping one hand on Cash’s head, Reese
stared down at Nikki. “He’s a rescue.” Repressed fury had him talking through
his teeth. “Someone had left him for dead, so no telling what he suffered before
that. Probably abuse.”

Again she chuckled nervously. “I’m sorry. Really.”

“If being near the dog is that big of a problem for you, avoid
me when I have him out.” Preferably she could avoid him
always.
But he wasn’t quite rude enough to say that. “Now, if you’ll
excuse me.”

“Reese, wait.” She put one hand on his bare chest, the other at
his side right above the waistband of his slacks. “Really, I am sorry. I’ve
never been around animals much, and I can’t say I’m a fan. But I would never
deliberately hurt an animal. I’m not a monster.”

Reese believed her. Taking his bad mood out on Nikki wouldn’t
accomplish anything. “Thanks.”

“Maybe I could...” She looked at Cash with loathing as her
fingers stroked through Reese’s chest hair. “I could probably try to get used to
him.”

“There’s no point.” Beyond common courtesy and social civility,
he had no interest in Nikki.

“But Reese...” Her thumb touched his right nipple. “Let me make
it up to you.”

“Yeah,” he said, catching her wrist with his free hand. “Let’s
not do that.”

“Please.” She licked her bottom lip—and went after his nipple
again.

How she thought that was going to help matters, he couldn’t
guess. He looked down at Cash and found the dog watching with a wealth of
expression. “I should get Cash inside.”

“But I want us to get along. You know I do.”

She wanted more than that, but it wouldn’t happen. “You’re on
your way out, and you’ve been drinking.”

“Only a little.” She leaned into him, her breasts to his chest,
his hand holding her wrist caught between them. “And I was just heading to the
club. I’m happy to stay in if you’re...free.”

“I’m not,” he said as gently as he could. He suspected she
operated under liquid courage. Sometimes two drinks could take away a lot of
inhibitions or demolish good judgment. “And you shouldn’t be driving.”

“See.” Now she pressed her pelvis against him, too. “I should
stay home with you instead.”

“Reese, there you are.”

Alice’s high voice startled him and Nikki both. They turned as
one, and there she stood...barely dressed, her hair a little wild, her face
pinched with antagonism.

Cash leaped toward her—and despite her obvious irritation,
Alice knelt to receive him with a generous amount of petting.

Knowing how she felt about the dog, Reese was thankful she
hadn’t been out during Nikki’s mishap.

Nikki looked at Alice, looked at Reese and turned back to
Alice. “Well, well, Alice. You’re all out of sorts tonight.”

Standing with Cash at her side, Alice pushed her hair back.
She’d pulled on a T-shirt, no bra, shorts and no shoes. “I’m fine.” She zeroed
in on Reese, her gaze telling. “Are you coming in?”

If he went in now, he just might shout. Alice wasn’t a woman he
wanted to shout at. At the moment, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with
her.

Walking away wasn’t an option.

Reporting her antics to the authorities didn’t sit right
either.

Making love to her until she moaned again... But, no. He had to
deal with her recklessness first. He had to find a way to rein her in, to get to
the truth, to uncover her every secret.

To keep her from getting into more trouble.

Nikki still clung to him—peeling her away wouldn’t be easy.
Hopefully Alice would understand the circumstances.

He wanted everything from Alice, except jealousy or doubt.

“Why don’t you take Cash in with you?” He held out the leash.
“I’ll be right there.”

She stood her ground with her narrow bare feet planted, the
breeze ruffling her tangled hair.

She didn’t look at Nikki, and she didn’t take the proffered
leash. In a chilly voice laced with steel, she stated, “I’ll wait with you.”

Great. Jealous regardless, and apparently ready for battle.
Just what the situation didn’t need.

Nikki bounced her gaze back and forth from Reese’s frustration
to Alice’s bold antagonism. Antagonism won.

Alice smiled, but it was not a friendly sight.

“Ooookay.” Twittering a laugh, Nikki eased away. “I think I’ll
just excuse myself from this volatile domestic dispute.” She patted Reese on the
chest—and Alice’s jaw ticked.

It fascinated him, this new aspect of Alice’s personality.
Possessive. Forceful.

But then, sounding like her usual reasonable, kind self, she
said, “Why don’t I call you a cab, Nikki? You probably shouldn’t be
driving.”

“No need.” A car swung into the parking lot, and a horn beeped.
“My ride is here.”

Reese turned to see a young man put the car in Park. He opened
his door and poked his head out. “Sorry I’m late,” he called to Nikki.
“Traffic.”

Tilting in against Reese, Nikki whispered, “Second best, but
tonight, I’ll take it.” And with that, she strutted to the car, much to the
delighted anticipation of her date.

“I think she’s drunk,” Alice said on a sigh, “so I suppose I
shouldn’t take umbrage.”

Given the stunt she’d pulled today, what she’d gotten involved
in, umbrage over a pushy neighbor should have been the last thing on her mind.
“I can see your nipples.”

Alice looked down at herself with a distinct lack of concern.
“I dressed in a hurry.”

Taking her arm in a gentle but firm hold, Reese started them
toward the apartment. Cash trotted along behind, his trauma with Nikki
temporarily forgotten.

He’d gotten them halfway up the stairs when Alice said, “I
grabbed the first T-shirt and shorts I saw. No time for underwear.”

He tripped over his own feet.

“Besides,” Alice said, peeking up at him. “I was hoping I could
talk you back to bed. No reason to get dressed for that.”

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Reese took the key from her and unlocked
the door. “You will not distract me again. We have some serious talking to
do.”

“About Nikki?”

Anger started boiling to the surface again. “No, not about
Nikki.” After relocking the door, he went into the kitchen and fetched a treat
for Cash. If this kept up, Cash would end up overweight. He’d have to get back
to running—and maybe take Cash with him.

With the dog settled, Reese squared off with Alice.

She scowled up at him. “If I disappointed you, just say
so.”

“Disappointed?”

“In how I did—” she gestured “—you know, in bed.”

Reese stared at her, distracted after all.

“You don’t have to drag it out,” she said. “Just tell me what I
should do differently.”

Reese shook his head to clear it. Oh, he was definitely
disappointed. At her lack of trust, at her irresponsible disregard for
safety.

At whatever illegal caper she’d blundered into.

“That was one hell of a turnaround, Alice. One minute we need
to wait because you aren’t ready, and then suddenly you’re insisting we go
straight to bed.”

Confusion showed in her big dark eyes. “My boldness displeased
you?”

“Hell, no. I loved it.” He’d fallen for it hook, line and
sinker, not a single suspicion aroused. “The sex was amazing.
You
are amazing.”

Pleasure flushed her face, and she beamed at him. “Thank
you.”

“But you shouldn’t have used it against me.”

Going blank, she asked, “Used it...?”

Reese crossed his arms over his chest. “I talked with Rowdy.”
The words fell like a sledgehammer between them.

A silent gasp parted Alice’s lips.

A sick churning of regret and maybe hurt brought Reese within
an inch of her, towering above her, crowding her with his size. “And now I know
why you suddenly had to have me.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Y
OU
’
RE
DERANGED
.” How in the world could Reese think anything had motivated
her other than his awesome appeal?

His eyes widened a little at her insult.

Using both hands, she shoved him back a little. Or at least,
she tried to. But since he was six and a half feet tall, every inch of him
carved with strength, she only managed to surprise him.

“Look at you!” She cupped a hand at his jaw, rasped her thumb
over his bristly beard stubble. Even that small touch set butterflies rioting
inside her. Softer now, her voice an awed whisper, she said again, “Look at
you.”

“Alice.”

Disregarding the warning tone in his voice, she ran both hands
over his broad chest, those sculpted biceps, down to his incredible abs—which
tightened more beneath her gentle touch. “You want the truth, Reese? You want to
know why I was suddenly so—” she couldn’t force the word
horny
out of her mouth, so she settled on “—ready?”

Green eyes narrowed again, showing his disagreeable mood. “The
truth would be nice.”

No way could she miss that insinuation. She gasped so hard she
nearly choked herself. “I have not lied to you!”

“Lies of omission count, Alice.” He settled both hands atop her
shoulders, close to her throat. “And I have a feeling you’ve omitted a lot.”

She should probably feel threatened. She’d had some pretty
awful experiences with big, powerful angry men. Reese was bigger and more
powerful than most, and right now he was all but incandescent with anger.

But she didn’t feel fear.

Not ever with Reese.

That did scare her a little because it felt so incredibly right
to lean on him, to rely on him. She’d worked long and hard to find her
independence again, to regain her self-worth.

And now, all she could think about was Reese...and how she
wanted to share it all with him.

Knowing she had to confess, she let out a breath—and wrapped
her arms around him. “You’re right.”

Surprised again, Reese held still...for three beats of time.
Then he gathered her close. “Convince me I haven’t been used.”

“I can’t.” She tilted her head back to see him and gave him the
truth he claimed to want. “I did use you. After what happened today, I was so
shaken I didn’t know what to do. I felt like crying, or shouting, or just
curling up tight and hiding somewhere. I haven’t felt like that for a while now.
But then I realized you’d be home soon, and instead of falling apart, I wanted
to get closer to you. I...” She pressed her cheek to his chest. “I wanted you to
make me feel better.”

Broad, warm hands coasted up and down her back. She felt the
beat of his heart against her cheek, the expansion of his hard chest as he drew
in slow, deep breaths. “And did I?”

Alice nodded. “I was going to tell you everything. Rowdy
insisted. I knew if I didn’t, he would.”

Reese stiffened. “And if Rowdy hadn’t been involved?”

“I’m sorry, but I honestly don’t know. You’re a cop,” she said
quickly, hoping he’d understand. “You naturally feel an obligation to do things
the legal way.”

“That’s not a bad thing, honey. The legal way works when you
let it.”

“No, it doesn’t, not always.” Time to stop stalling. Alice gave
up the comfort of his big solid body, but as she stepped away, Reese caught her
hand.

She saw the questions in his eyes, the doubt he still felt
about her motives. She couldn’t blame him.

“Let’s sit down.” She gave him a gentle tug toward the couch.
“It’s a long story.”

“Rowdy told me much of it.”

Rowdy knew only the tiniest bit. Alice waited until they were
both seated. As usual, Cash rushed over to sit with them. She patted her thighs,
and he climbed into her lap, rolling to his back so he could stretch his head
out to Reese’s thigh.

Smiling, Alice scratched his belly—and avoided looking at
Reese. “Today, I saved a woman.”

Reese said nothing.

“Even if it upsets you, I feel good about it.” A quick glance
showed the seriousness of his expression, both somber and acutely focused.
“There were so many times I prayed for someone to save me.”

“Someone did.” Reese rubbed under Cash’s chin. “Rowdy says the
guy is a wraith, but that he has incredible influence with the law.”

In doggy heaven, Cash dozed off.

Alice loved the dog with all her heart.

She realized now that she loved Reese, too, and that was a
whole lot trickier. It meant she couldn’t hide anymore. He’d have to know the
truth.

And she’d have to accept the consequences.

“It surprises me, the things Rowdy can uncover.” She licked dry
lips. “He didn’t get a name? Any details?”

“No.” Scooping up the dog, Reese moved him to his opposite side
so that he could sit nearer to Alice. With two pats, he resettled Cash, who was
just as content to doze nearby.

Reese turned to her with all his considerable concentration.
“I’m hoping you’ll share those with me.”

She would tell him what she could and hope it was enough, but
not too much.

Stretching out one arm along the back of the couch, Reese more
or less caged her in. “Logan also did some checking for me.”

Wow, he’d been busy. Surveillance of her shopping trip,
background checks on her past. Did all that curiosity mean that Reese cared—or
that he suspected her of something?

Trying to sound curious instead of wary, Alice asked, “Did
Logan uncover anything?”

“A little.”

Her heart beat faster. She wished he hadn’t moved Cash; being
near the dog helped relax her. “For instance...?”

“I know what you told the cops when you were recovered, what
you told the papers when you showed up again. And I know you have permits for
your guns.” He stared at her a moment. “Now I want to know the rest. Who took
you, how you got away, why you’re still so afraid—”

“I’m cautious, not afraid.”
Liar.
So many times, fear overtook her. “Not as much, anyway.”

He dismissed her protests. “And I want to know what happened
today, and why.”

The why was easy. “That young lady needed my help.”

“No, Alice. There’s more to it than that. I think maybe you’re
trying to make amends for something. I think you’re still hiding a lot. But it’s
time to stop hiding.”

Alice closed her eyes. Reese had no idea—and she’d really
wanted to keep it that way.

Touching her chin, he brought her face up, waiting until she
opened her eyes. “It’s time to let me in, Alice.”

She nodded, but she couldn’t decide how to start. Fear. So much
awful fear. “I don’t want things to change,” she finally admitted.

“Between us?”

“Yes.” Once he knew it all, how could he possibly still be
interested?

“You have to tell me sooner or later.”

“I know.” Dread smothered her, tightened her chest and made her
stomach churn. “I think I’ve known that since the day I met you.”

“Then let’s get it all out in the open and deal with the
consequences. The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be.”

Knowing he was right, Alice fell back on an old tactic, forcing
herself to relax her muscles, to compose her expression.

Hide emotion.

Hide fear.

Hide everything, so that she didn’t really exist. That made it
easier to get through—

“No.”
Reese turned her, his gaze
bright with furious determination. He kissed her hard, pressing her head back.
“Don’t do that, damn it. Not with me.”

She blinked in surprise, shaken and thrown off.

Appearing pained, Reese put his forehead to hers. Voice
guttural, his hands tight on her shoulders, he said again, “Not with me,
Alice.”

* * *

R
EESE
FELT
THE
pounding of her heartbeat, but he couldn’t make himself pull back.

He wouldn’t let her hide, not anymore, not from him.

How many times had she had to do that during the year of her
captivity? How many times had she faded to a quiet little mouse, hoping not to
be noticed? Hoping to survive?

How many times had she been singled out, anyway?

God, it killed him to think about it, and Alice had lived
it.

He kissed her again, more gently this time, moving his lips
over hers, taking relief from the fact that she was here now, with him. “I need
to know, Alice.”

She nodded—and surprised him by offering comfort. It was there
in the way
she
kissed
him,
so tenderly, on his chin, his jaw.

She rested her head on his shoulder. “He had me taken right
after work.”

The emptiness in her voice sent chills down Reese’s spine. He
smoothed back her tangled hair. “Can you tell me who?”

“His name was Murray Coburn. He’s dead now.”

Sometimes it’s better when they’re
dead.
Reese had to agree.

“I was locked away at night.” One breath, two. “I’m not sure
where he kept most of the women—the women he sold. But I stayed in his home.
Wherever he went, I went. Always.”

For a year. For an entire fucking year. Rage burned Reese’s
eyes, made his muscles twitchy with the need to find and kill a man beyond his
thirst for vengeance.

“At first, for the longest time, I assumed he was going to
murder me,” Alice whispered. “But after a while, when that didn’t happen, I
didn’t know what to think. Then he told me I needed to be his secretary. He said
he had studied my background, my history of employment, and that I was just the
conscientious, attentive assistant he needed for his business dealings. He said
he couldn’t just hire someone because he needed someone he could trust. He
said—” she swallowed hard “—he said knowing I’d die if I didn’t do a good job
would be all the incentive I’d get.”

Reese found it near impossible to fathom such a thing. But he
believed her. “You did what you had to do.”

“I’m sorry, Reese, but you don’t understand how it was.
What
I had to do...”

Reese stroked her, encouraging, wanting for her to get it out
there so they could deal with it.

“I told you he was a human trafficker?”

“Yes, you told me.” And Reese feared where this would go.

“I was complicit in it all.”

“No.” Never would he believe that.

She nodded sadly. “In so many ways, I’m as guilty as he
is.”

“No.”
After he got all the facts,
he’d find a way to convince her.

“I set up his meetings, arranged for pickups. For...sales.”

The words choked her, and when Reese brushed a thumb over her
cheek, he found it damp with tears that continued to fall.

His heart felt trampled. “You were forced, Alice.”

“But I knew what he was doing. He made sure of that. Everyone
knew. Everyone in the office, that is. So many immoral people, all of them as
ugly and evil as him.”

“The police?”

“Couldn’t touch him,” she said simply, stating it as a fact.
“He always covered his tracks, and he had corrupt friends in high places.
Whenever necessary, he had an alibi. He taunted me with it. And he told me if I
ever tried to leave he’d steal my little sister and sell her, too, and then he’d
rape me. He said he didn’t want to.” Her hands knotted against his chest. She
pressed closer, her voice raw, broken. “Even when he made me be naked around
him, he said that I repulsed him, but that he’d rape me anyway if I gave him
trouble.”

Dear God. Reese hauled her into his lap, trying to wrap himself
around her, wanting to somehow protect her from a past already buried deep in
her soul.

“I still waited and prayed, but I never had a chance to get
away, not once. I couldn’t stop things, couldn’t risk my sister. If it had only
been my life...”

“Your life is very important, Alice.”

She swallowed hard. “The things he threatened, what I knew he
did to others, that would have been worse than death.”

Needing her to understand, he tunneled his fingers through her
hair, cupped his hand around her skull, pressed a warm kiss to her forehead.
“I’m very, very glad that you survived.”

Tucking her face under his chin, she said against his throat,
“I feel so guilty.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.” But knowing Alice, he accepted that
she’d take that guilt to her grave.

“When Murray hired a new bodyguard, I knew right away that he
was different.”

Ah, the wraith. Thank God. “Who was he?”

“I can’t tell you that. No, please, Reese.” She struggled back
to see him, those big brown eyes liquid with tears, her nose pink. “He saved me.
He saved
everyone.
”

There was that.
But who was he?
“You said he hired on as a bodyguard?”

“Only undercover as one.” She chewed her bottom lip, and more
tears tracked down her cheeks. Impatiently, she used the back of her hand to
swipe them away. “I’d been such a coward, worse than useless to all the
injustice. But he gave me hope. And then he gave me freedom.”

Leaning in close to her, his voice barely above a whisper,
Reese said, “I’d like to thank him.”

“I’m sorry, but you can’t.”

Unacceptable, yet how could he push it right now with her
shaking uncontrollably, waiting, he knew, for criticism and censure?

More than his insistence on legality, she needed reassurance.
Reese was more than happy to give it to her. “I think you’re the bravest woman I
know, Alice. Not many would be able to survive what you did and come out of it
so caring and sweet.”

She choked on disbelief. “I’m not sweet.”

Using two fingers, Reese lifted her chin and kissed the tears
from her cheeks. “Yes, you are. Sweet and wonderful, and I don’t ever want you
to forget it.”

She searched his face and must have seen the sincerity there.
On a small sob, she launched herself against him, squeezing him as tight as a
slight, sad woman could.