“I take it you do trust Dash?”

Other than Pepper, Rowdy didn’t completely trust anyone, but… “He’s your brother.”

“And that says it all?”

“No, but being a brother myself, I assume he cares for you.” Dysfunctional families existed, but in his gut, he sensed that Dash and Logan were close.

“Yes.”

“And you care for her.” More volatile by the second, Rowdy waited for confirmation.

He didn’t have to wait long.

With a gruff edge to his tone, Logan admitted, “I care.”

“Good.” Now that he was away from the club, Rowdy moved on to other matters. “Speaking of my sister, how is she really?”

A long pause.

“I’m guessing she’s still there with you?” Listening in, drawing conclusions and maybe mooning over Logan—though she’d never admit it.

“No. She went in for more coffee.”

Ah. That made Rowdy smile. Pepper did love her coffee in the morning. “Then why the suspense?”

As if goaded, Logan groused in reply, “You already know there are personal issues between us.”

Personal? Rowdy winced. He really didn’t want to think about that too much. “All right, I’ll let that one go.” After all, they had company in the house, so he didn’t have to worry about Logan using her. “Just know that she’s a lot more sensitive than you might imagine.”

“She hides it well,” Logan said, “but, yes, she’s plenty sensitive.”

And if Pepper heard that, she’d annihilate them both. “I know some people who were dealing with Morton on drugs and guns. I’m going to track them down for a little chat.”

“Meet someplace neutral. Don’t get drawn into a trap by going to—”

“Save the advice, Logan. This isn’t my first rodeo.” In many ways, he and Logan were alike—both take-charge and proactive. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”

“Fine, but remember that you’re to touch base with me before acting.”

Yeah, right. He’d been on his own far too long to start asking permission before doing what he considered right. “If possible—maybe.” Rowdy disconnected the call before Logan could get up in arms about that.

He didn’t bother to tell Logan that after he talked to his sources, he intended to do a little investigation into Lieutenant Peterson and Detective Reese Bareden.

For the foreseeable future, they were both on his do-not-trust list. Until he felt confident that they were honorable, he’d keep digging for the truth.

Someone was running a game; eventually, he’d find out who, and then he’d handle it. It was time to put the past to rest—once and for all.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE SECOND HE STEPPED back into the house, Logan zeroed in on Pepper in the kitchen talking with Dash. By the concentrated look on her face and the pained look on Dash’s, he knew she was interrogating his brother.

It made Logan nuts that she wore only that damned revealing, sexy T-shirt—but he could just imagine how it’d go over if he tried to dictate modesty to her.

He thought of himself as a perceptive man, but she’d really pulled one over on him. He’d bought her shy maiden act hook, line and sinker. Hell, he’d fallen for the shy maiden.

But this persona, the independent and volatile hellcat…yeah, that was even more tempting. With her body, face and “screw you” attitude, Pepper Yates personified every male fantasy. She was a woman comfortable in her own skin, a woman unconcerned with decorum.

His brother and Reese were both honorable guys. That didn’t stop them from being affected by her in-your-face sex appeal, but it did stop them from acting on it.

Speaking of affected…

The chillier morning air left her ni**les pebble-hard, noticeable beneath the soft cotton tee. Dash went nearly cross-eyed with the effort to keep from eyeballing her body.

Reese, being less discerning, didn’t bother with any effort: he openly studied her chest and her every on-display curve.

Not that Pepper seemed to care, or even notice. Her dislike and mistrust of Reese was even more pronounced than Rowdy’s.

How could he dismiss that? They weren’t fools; they’d survived by being sharp, by noticing things that others might not.

Logan set his coffee cup on the table. “Dash?”

Grateful for an excuse to escape, Dash pulled his attention away from Pepper. “Yeah?”

“I need you for a minute.”

“Yeah, sure thing, Logan. No problem.” After one last unwilling peek at Pepper, Dash skirted her and the table and came to Logan with a mixed expression of relief and guilt. “What’s up?”

“In private.” Logan caught Reese’s eye, and Reese, the ass, said, “Never fear. I’m nothing if not vigilant. Not that I expect her to attempt an escape in that getup.” He smiled. “At the very least, she’d need…shoes.”

That set off Pepper enough that she left them all, going into the bathroom and shutting the door.

As if that had been his end goal all along, Reese smiled with satisfaction and lifted his coffee cup in a salute. “There you go.”

Logan couldn’t really say anything to Reese without Pepper overhearing, but he shared a look of warning. “I’ll be ready to get out of here in ten minutes.”

“Good.” Reese ran a palm along his jaw. “I need to go to my apartment to shave and change clothes before heading into the station.”