Bare It All

Alice looked up at him. “You’re opposed to the wedding?”

“No.” He started to pace. “Logan’s a good man. I like him.”

“You trust him.”

“Of course I do. What’s with the psychobabble? Are you a shrink now?”

Her smile held understanding. “Can you pick a lock, Rowdy?”

A show of nonchalance couldn’t hide his antagonism. “Yeah, sure.”

“And yet, you’re not a locksmith.”

“I learned on the street.” He took a single step toward her. “Picking locks, along with a boatload of other talents, was a skill I acquired out of necessity.”

Exactly how she’d learned to read people—out of necessity. Given the shift in his expression, now more concerned than combative, he must have come to the same conclusion.

To head off any intrusive questions, Alice tried to steer the conversation. “Does it reassure you to know that Pepper will be well protected?”

Rather than the idea sidetracking him, he jumped on it. “What makes you think she needs protection?”

How to answer? How to explain that she’d made many assumptions in a very short time? Stalling, Alice gave Cash a pat before she, too, stood. “You could call it a hunch if you want.”

Rowdy planted his big feet apart and crossed his thick arms over his chest. “Here’s the thing, honey. You’re not the only one with hunches. And that’s why I’m here.” He chucked her under the chin. “I have a hunch you’re running scared. It’ll be easier on you if you just settle down and tell me why.”

* * *

SHE DIDN’T SCARE EASY, he’d give her that. Even though he pressured her, he couldn’t crack Alice’s calm facade.

When she’d first started digging into his head, into his motives, Rowdy had told himself to take off. If Alice didn’t want to share, then to hell with it. Let her be Reese’s problem. God knew that one enjoyed doubting everyone and everything...but, yeah, that wasn’t entirely fair. He’d given Reese, the astute bastard, good reason for doubt.

As if she’d read his mind, Alice asked, “Does Reese know you’re here?”

He laughed. “No.”

“You don’t trust him?”

“Other way around, honey.” It still burned his ass, but what the hell? Why not tell her? “What do you know about Reese?”

Without hesitation, right to the point, she said, “He’s a good man.”

“Yeah, I suppose he is. Not that I always believed it.”

“You must not know him well.”

Because if he did, he’d nominate him for sainthood? Rowdy bit back a snort. “Nope. Hardly at all, in fact.” He grinned at her. “We had this little case of mistaken identity. Logan and Reese thought I’d witnessed a murder two years past, but it was actually my sister....” Sickness burned his stomach, sent acid into his throat.

Playing cavalier became more difficult.

Not that Miss Alice Appleton was easy to fool, anyway. He rubbed at an ache in his temple. “Scratch all that, okay? The bastard is dead now, and good riddance.”

Voice soft, strangely comforting, she said, “So the murderer was the man who died in Reese’s apartment.”

A statement, not a question, but Rowdy confirmed it, anyway. “Yeah. Because of him, because of what he would’ve done if he’d known Pepper was a witness, we lived off the grid.” He couldn’t quite look at her, because damn it, she’d probably see too much, far more than she’d already surmised. “We managed to lay low for those two years, but after Logan and Reese exposed us, we became instant loose ends.”

“So you would have been killed?”

He lifted one shoulder, hoping to shake off the tension that clung to every muscle. “Reese and Logan, and others, too.”

“Everyone—except for your sister.” In deep thought, Alice whispered, “He would have kept her alive so he could sell her.”

Rage ignited, so bright Rowdy couldn’t speak, couldn’t answer. He gave a barely perceptible nod.

Attuned to him in a way that he wasn’t used to, Alice touched his arm. “It’s a very good thing that he’s dead.”

And therein lay the crux of the matter: her easy approval of such things, a mind-set that death could be the answer to a problem.

He decided to focus on Alice and tune out everything else.

Glad that she’d helped him with that, he covered her hand with his own. “Hell of an outlook, honey.” With alacrity he moved on to the purpose for his visit. “How does a buttoned-up gal like you get that indifferent about death?”

She tipped her head. “Buttoned-up?”

“Prim. Proper.” At her look of confusion, he gave her a nudge. “Come on, Alice. You’re a shrewd woman. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know.”

Distracted, maybe even a little insulted, she moved away from him to sit.

When Rowdy joined her, Cash crawled over to rest between them and gave a lusty sigh of contentment. She pushed her fingers into the dog’s fur in a gentle stroke that could mesmerize.

“I’m worried for you, Alice.”

Lost in thought, she said absently, “Don’t be.”

Not good enough. Yesterday, when she’d walked into the middle of the chaos, the death and the blood, he’d perceived something damaged in her persona, the same type of hopeless acceptance he’d seen in his sister—before she’d hooked up with Logan.

It bothered him because, almost instantly, he’d recognized Alice as a woman with dark secrets and a fair store of fear. How could any man turn a blind eye to that?

Measuring his words, hoping to reach her, Rowdy said with utmost seriousness, “The thing is, Alice, I know women, so I know—

She laughed. At him.

A little irate, he waited for her humor to subside. “That’s funny?”

“Absolutely.” Her smile was teasing—and made her look really pretty. “You’re so incorrigible and untamed.”

“Untamed, huh?” What the hell did that mean? She made him sound like a wild animal.

“Definitely.” Leaning closer, looking into his eyes, she pretended to share a secret. “You’re also incredibly big and undeniably handsome.”