Recognizing that as less volatile bluster, Logan asked, “He’ll live?”
“Unfortunately.”
It was easy enough to understand Rowdy’s rage. Any good man would feel the same. Any man who’d ever loved a woman would be especially outraged at the idea of trafficking.
Glancing over at Pepper, Logan found her on her knees, her hands resting on her thighs, her blond hair curled down and around her br**sts. Jesus, she twisted him up inside.
He turned his back on her and dropped his voice. “You know I’m not going to let anything happen to her, right?”
“So you’ve said.”
“You have my word.” He’d die before he let anyone, especially anyone as corrupt as Morton Andrews or a flesh peddler, get anywhere near Pepper.
“Some things are out of your control.”
“No, not this. Not ever.”
Rowdy took that in, then murmured, “I appreciate that.”
“The same goes for you, Rowdy.”
“Whoa. What the f**k does that mean?”
Turning back to Pepper, staring into her beautiful light brown eyes, he said, “I don’t want there to be any fallback on you, either.”
“Forget that shit.” He snorted. “I don’t need a damned babysitter. Just concentrate on keeping my sister in the clear.”
No, Rowdy didn’t need a babysitter—but he needed a friend. And he needed a real life. “Everything your sister deserves, you deserve, as well.” Before Rowdy could get insulted over a perceived slight on his ability, Logan added, “Think how happy it’d make your sister to know you were safely settled somewhere, with no reason to look over your shoulder.”
It amazed Logan, but big tears filled her eyes. They didn’t fall. She didn’t sniff or make a big deal of the emotional vulnerability.
The tiniest, most endearing smile lifted the corners of her mouth.
Logan knew he was in it for the long haul, and he knew how important Rowdy was to her. But even if he’d never met Pepper, he’d feel the same. Rowdy was a good man who’d never been given a break.
In another whisper, Rowdy said, “I hate it that she worries about me.”
“Let’s stop giving her reason to, okay?” Logan walked over and stroked Pepper’s hair. Before it all ended, he’d make it right for them both.
“First things first. You’re getting ahead of yourself.”
Right. He had to determine if Andrews was dead or alive, and now he had traffickers to deal with, as well. He needed to take Rowdy out of the equation—which wouldn’t be easy while Rowdy kept a bludgeoned perp on hand.
Logan gave it quick thought and came up with a viable solution. “Here’s what we’ll do.”
* * *
PEPPER LISTENED as Logan made note of the information against Morton. Not once did he question the facts Rowdy gave him.
He trusted her brother.
That made him smart and intuitive—on top of being hot in the sack.
“Does he know who you are? Good. You haven’t used any names, either, so he can’t connect any of us to this. Do you think you can leave him tied up somewhere secure so no one else will find him? Not for good, but until we give the cops an anonymous tip about where he’s at. No, not just any cop. Reese.” Wonderfully naked, Logan continued to pace the limited space in the bedroom. “I know how you feel about him, but he’s the only cop I trust to do this. Once Reese takes the guy in, it shouldn’t be difficult to link him to the dead trafficker, especially with the info we’ll share in the tip. That’ll give us reason enough to hold him.”
A little awed, Pepper realized that Logan wanted to protect Rowdy. Other than her, who had ever done that?
No one.
Her brother would be the first to say he didn’t need protection. In fact, he’d deny it with his dying breath.
But for so long now, he’d stood alone against the world, a barrier between her and every bad thing that could ever have happened. He slept around a lot, and even though she harassed him about it, she understood.
It was the only comfort he ever got.
More tears burned her eyes; her heartfelt sigh drew Logan’s attention. Frowning in concentration, he listened to Rowdy while studying her.
Her body, but also her face. Especially her eyes. She had the feeling Logan wanted to decipher her, her moods and her vendetta against him and…everything that concerned her. She hadn’t made it easy on him. But maybe that should change.
By championing her brother, he’d just stolen a small piece of her heart.
“Yeah,” Logan said while watching her. “Reese will have to take him in, but Peterson will oversee things. No, she won’t have him killed.” He rolled his eyes. “No, she won’t. Even if she was inclined to do that, and I’m not convinced she would be, there are still too many loose ends for her to try it.” He listened a moment, then shook his head. “No, you can’t just kill him yourself.”
That outrageous statement made her grin. So Rowdy blustered, and Logan bought into it? Or was that just men being men, letting each other save face?
Not that she cared much what happened to the snitch. He’d been in on selling women, working with Morton, and he’d tried to gang up with others to hurt her brother. Far as she was concerned, he had three major strikes against him.
But as she’d told Logan, Rowdy wasn’t a murderer.
“Look at it this way. The guy will probably try to bargain, and he’ll give up his boss.”