Logan made a rude sound. When Pepper glared at him, he took a big bite of a doughnut.

“But he’s also a really, really good guy. He likes to hang in the gray areas, and he just loves to fling around his bad boy rep for all the world to see. But for anyone who actually knows him, he’s golden through and through.”

From behind them, Rowdy said, “Jesus, are you writing my eulogy? Did I die and not notice?”

Pepper jumped up. “What took you so long? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” His gaze cut to Avery. “She makes an adequate nurse.”

Avery noticed that he wore a loose flannel shirt. He needed the ointment and bandages reapplied, but he wouldn’t want it mentioned in front of Pepper.

“Sit,” she told him. “Logan brought coffee and doughnuts. We saved you a cup.”

Both Logan and Pepper stared at her with wide eyes.

Rowdy sat. “Thanks.” He tasted the coffee and sighed. “Perfect. Just what I needed.” He leaned forward in his seat, but Logan said nothing about it and Pepper was too busy pulling a chair up alongside him to notice.

“Tell me everything,” his sister demanded. “Who is the guy? Where is the guy?”

Rowdy took great satisfaction in saying, “Logan has him and his buddy in lockup—out of your reach.”

“Traitor,” Logan mumbled. And then to Pepper, “They’re not going anywhere. And, no, you can’t talk to either of them, so don’t get any harebrained ideas about defending your brother. He can handle his own defense.”

“He’s right, Pepper.” Rowdy rested both forearms on the tabletop. “I need you to stay out of it.”

Surely they weren’t serious? Avery looked at Pepper and realized they were. What did they think she could do?

Pepper clued her in by asking, “Do they have cohorts who might be out for revenge?”

Oh, no. Avery blanched over the possibility. “I hadn’t even thought of that.” Of course they probably did. Those type of bullies hung in packs like wild animals. “What if more men show up?”

Rowdy dismissed any threat. “Don’t worry about it.”

Logan agreed. “We’ve got it covered.”

“How?” It was bad enough that someone was after her. Avery wasn’t sure she could take it if Rowdy got hurt again.

“I can put the word out on the street, get some names, some addresses,” Rowdy said. “The fact that I have a cop for a brother-in-law ought to be good for something.”

Pepper said, “He’s good for all kinds of things.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Logan’s grin got him poked by Pepper’s pointy elbow.

“One of the many things I’m good at is questioning perps.” Logan picked up another doughnut. “We’ll find out what we need to know.”

Pepper scowled. “Don’t you dare make a deal with that son of a—”

“Pepper.” Logan pulled her out of her chair and into his lap. “That wouldn’t be up to me, but I don’t think they’re high-level enough to warrant it anyway.”

“Tell me about Marcus,” Rowdy said, deftly changing the subject.

“You already know the social worker came to the bar last night. He saw how taken Marcus was with Alice right off. For now, they have temporary custody. There’ll be an emergency court hearing in family court within seventy-two hours. Marcus will get a guardian ad litem. That’s like a kid’s lawyer, a legal voice to act in Marcus’s best interest.”

Avery watched Rowdy. Sadly, she could read his thoughts all too clearly: he didn’t trust that anyone would act in the boy’s best interest because experience had taught him differently.

Logan went on. “I see no reason why the social worker and guardian ad litem wouldn’t recommend the continued placement with Reese and Alice. They usually go with any strong, but safe, attachment that makes the kid feel more secure.” He went quiet, turning his coffee cup, introspective. He hugged his wife closer. “It’s possible Marcus might have information. He’s probably seen things... The court will want him in a safe place, and what’s safer than with a good cop?”

Avery assumed Logan knew about Pepper and Rowdy’s upbringing. And like her, the knowing probably cut him deep.

“Trust doesn’t come easy to abused kids.” Logan met Rowdy’s gaze. “But he trusts Alice. If you visit with him today, you’ll see what I mean.”

“How’s this going to work long-term?” Rowdy shifted. Avery knew he was as uncomfortable with the idea of Marcus’s future as he was with his many stitches. “What if the dad gets out of jail? You guys screw up all the time.”

“Not this time. But even if he did, now that we know about the abuse, the judge will find that continued removal is necessary for Marcus’s protection. In order to get the court back on his side, good old dad would have to work a case plan with social services. That means maintaining housing, getting and staying legitimately employed, and he’d have to complete a substance abuse assessment with counseling, then pass the subsequent drug screens.”

“It’ll never happen.”

“For most, that’s true. For dicks like Darrell? He’ll fail the drug screens if he bothers to show up for them, and no way will he go to counseling—which guarantees Marcus won’t return home.”