She half turned in the seat toward him. “You made me feel like a stupid fool.”
His guts clenched in remorse. “That was never my intent.”
“No, your intent was to use me however you wanted so that you could get your hands on my brother.”
There’d be no point in denying it; never again would he lie to her. “Yes.” With one clarification. “That was before I really knew you, though.”
“You knew me when you had Rowdy arrested.”
He wouldn’t let her get away with that accusation. “I knew Sue Meeks, an uptight, mousy neighbor who liked sex.”
“You knew that wasn’t my real name!”
“Names have nothing to do with it. Sure, I realized you were Pepper Yates using an alias, but I didn’t know you. Parts of you, yes. Important parts.” She wouldn’t like it, but he spoke the truth anyway. “Like your vulnerability.”
“You’re deluded,” she said with a lack of steam.
“At first I was determined to get closer just so I could find Rowdy. You’re right about that. But after we talked a few times, I felt equally drawn to you, and…sympathetic.”
“You—”
“It was tricky,” he interrupted, “how you handled it, how you handled me. But you’re a natural-born sensualist—”
“And you used that to your advantage!”
He accepted that accusation. “Just as you’ve used it to your advantage since then.”
“Complaining?” she asked with a sneer.
Logan understood her. Whenever she worried, she got more sarcastic, almost as a cover to her real thoughts. “The sex is amazing, so, no, you won’t hear any complaints from me.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“But if I wanted only sex, I could have that without you.”
She drew in a sharp breath.
Rushing so that she wouldn’t misunderstand, he said, “I wanted shy, withdrawn Sue Meeks. I sure as hell want Pepper Yates. You’re stronger than I ever realized. More independent. Loyal and funny.”
“I haven’t denied you, Logan. You don’t need to pour on the compliments.”
“Only speaking the truth.” He desperately wanted her to understand. “The thing is, last night, holding you while you slept, waking with you tucked close this morning…that is and always will be special to me. I’ll never take it for granted.”
Anger deflating, she eyed him. “Never?”
Emotion left his voice gravelly. “Even before I saw the real you, I had regrets and reservations. I’d wanted Morton Andrews for so damned long. I wanted to avenge my friend Jack. That need drove me. Hell, it almost consumed me.” He glanced at her. “But then there was you, and I hated that you were involved…”
“You involved me,” she whispered.
“No, Andrews did that. But I brought it all back out in the open, and I’m sorry for that, too.” He pawed the steering wheel. “For a while there, I wished that I’d done things differently. The thing is…” He felt the beating of his own heart, and he sensed her suspended breathing. “Now I know you, Pepper, the real you, and I wouldn’t want to give that up, no matter what.”
After a small eternity, she reached out a hand to him.
Acceptance—of his explanation, or…of him? Praying for the latter, Logan squeezed her fingers. “I need you to trust me, honey,” he stated again.
She gave one small nod. “Okay.”
He was glad to have that settled, but he couldn’t relax yet. “We’re going to Reese’s apartment first.”
Confused, she looked out the window. “I heard you tell my brother to meet us at Dash’s house.”
“Yes, and we’ll get there eventually. But I want to double-check on things first, and if I’m not satisfied, I want a safe place to stash you until I can work it out. My house is probably being watched, so we’re going to Reese’s apartment.”
“And my brother?”
It wouldn’t be easy, because they both knew that, regardless of the danger involved, Rowdy would put his life on the line for her. Logan knew what Rowdy meant to her, and because he now accepted that he loved her, too, he wanted her happy.
“You have my word, honey. I’ll do whatever I can to keep him safe.”
More than a little displeased with his promise, she gave him a disgruntled frown, murmured an insincere “Thanks,” and looked away.
* * *
MORTON RAN A HAND over his new, darker hair, cut in a ridiculously shabby way. He didn’t like it; it made him look average, when he was anything but. The beard shadow, sunglasses and bulkier clothes helped conceal his identity.
He missed his fine wardrobe, as he missed his caravan of cars and toadies. But it wouldn’t be for much longer. The cops thought him dead. Business associates discounted him as a continued threat.
As always, he had the upper hand.
He only had a few loose ends to tie up, and thanks to his plebian pretense, he’d have that handled very shortly.
Sitting alone in a compact car under a shade tree, the irony struck him: so many masquerades at work. Rowdy Yates had dodged him by disguising his sister, and now he’d use that knowledge to kill them both.
Rowdy had cost him a great deal, but today he would pay up—with nothing less than his life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ROWDY CHECKED HIS WATCH. Very shortly, Logan and Pepper would be at Dash’s home. He didn’t have much time, but before he allowed his sister to be taken into police custody—even for her own protection—he wanted to check out Reese Bareden. The easiest, most expedient way to do that was to go through his apartment.