Run the Risk

“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.”

“I know.”

“Killer legs.”

Logan tensed. “I know.”

“And the rest of her—”

Throwing the dish towel onto the rack, Logan considered throttling his brother. “Do you have a point, Dash?”