“What is troubling you?” Alfonse asked.

“There are things we’ve never talked about that I need you to know,” Rica said. “Things about me.”

“If there is something that concerns you,” Alfonse said, “then I want to know.”

“I’ve never wanted to hurt you.”

“And you haven’t.”

“If I do, it’s only because I need you to know how I feel. Because I want you to understand.” Rica realized she’d forgotten the logical things she’d planned to say, and simply said what was in her heart. “I am never going to be any part of your business. I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“I understand that such matters do not interest you,” Alfonse said quietly. “But you are my daughter, and that is a powerful tie that will always be important. Your husband…”

“Papa, there isn’t going to be a husband. I am never going to marry a man. I’m a lesbian.”

Alfonse continued to smoke and slowly swung the garden swing with a foot against the flagstone. “We are all complicated people. Love…desire…it is never simple. There are many reasons to marry, and not all of them are about what we feel.”

“I’m not going to marry someone I don’t love, and I’m never going to love a man. Not like that.”

“What about children?”

“I don’t need a husband for that.”

Alfonse smiled faintly. “No, but it is easier. Would it be so difficult to take a husband who would want children as well, and have the other things you need with someone else?”

“It would be a lie, Papa. I can’t live that way for the rest of my life.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

It was a fair question and one that Rica had thought about for hours…no, for weeks. Ever since meeting Carter. “Because I don’t want secrets between us. And because Enzo needs to understand once and for all that I will never marry him.”

“Enzo. Yes, he thought…we both thought…that would be the natural course of things.”

Rica detected an edge to her father’s voice that hadn’t been there before, even when she’d said she was a lesbian. It surprised her that he hadn’t had more of a reaction then, but now she could sense his anger. “I never gave him cause to believe that, but he always has considered me his.”

“I admit, I gave him cause to believe I supported that idea. I had believed he would make a worthy son-in-law.” Alfonse’s face in the moonlight was as immobile as the statues scattered throughout his gardens. “I realize now that was a mistake.”

“I should have said something much sooner…”

“There’s a bruise on your cheek, cara. Were there other times he struck you and you hid the marks from me?”

Rica’s hand flew to her face. Before leaving Provincetown, she had carefully applied her makeup and had been certain that he would not notice the bruises. They had already faded considerably, and she was shocked that he had detected them, especially in the subdued light. “No. I…I would have told you, but how…”

“A messenger arrived early this evening and brought me an envelope. Inside was a photograph of you…not a very good one, but it was clear enough for me to see that someone had struck you in the face. Your cheek was still swollen and discolored.” Alfonse regarded her steadily. “I do not know who sent it, but you may tell whoever did that I am in their debt.”

“I…I don’t know who…” Rica tried to make sense of what her father had just told her. No one had taken her photograph. No one even knew what had happened except Carter and the doctor. Then she remembered waking up the morning after Carter had brought her home to discover that Carter was already up. She’d had no memory of Carter getting out of bed or moving around the room, but Carter could easily have photographed her then. “I might know who took it. A woman.” She held her father’s inquiring gaze. “A woman who loves me.”

“I believe that, if she is the one who sent the photo. And you. Do you love her?”

“Yes,” Rica whispered.

“I want you to do something for me without asking any questions, because I’m your father.”

Rica waited.

“I’ve arranged for you and Angela to take a cruise. Just a week of relaxing in the sun because you’ve both been working hard.”

“When?” Rica asked, wondering why he wanted her far away from Boston.

“In the morning. We’ve already contacted Angela and she’ll meet you at the airport. The tickets will be waiting there for you.”

“I can’t,” Rica said softly. “I can’t without knowing why.”

Alfonse drew on his cigar, then turned it between his fingers, apparently studying the bright red tip as it flared in the darkness. “All I can tell you is that you are in danger and until I have corrected my part in placing you in jeopardy, I want you somewhere safe.”

“I need your word on something, Papa, or I won’t go.”

“Tell me.”

“The women I’ve fallen in love with. I don’t want her harmed, no matter what you might learn about her. Promise me that.”

“If she means you no harm, Rica, then she will have none from me. What is her name?”

“Carter Wayne.”

Alfonse Pareto grunted softly. “The lawyer friend of Rizzo’s. I remember meeting her. Are you quite sure of her feelings for you?”

“Yes. More than that, I trust her, Papa.”

“Then I will trust you. You have my word, cara.”

“I’ll be ready to leave in the morning.”

“Reese, there’s someone at the door,” Tory called as she hurried past Reggie’s bedroom on her way to the stairs. Reggie was standing up in her crib and demanding to be free in no uncertain terms. “I’ll see who it is. Just keep an eye on her but don’t lift her.”

“Okay, I’ve got it,” Reese replied.

Tory finished buttoning her blouse on the way downstairs and hurried to the door. It could only be Bri at eight in the morning. When she opened the door, she stared in surprise at Carter Wayne, noting absently that the bruises were improved.

“Sorry to bother you, Doctor,” Carter said quietly. “I was wondering if I might speak to Sheriff Conlon.”

“Reese is on a leave of absence,” Tory snapped. At the sound of her own anger, she closed her eyes for a second. “I’m sorry. She’s not working just now. If there’s something you need, you should probably check with Chief Parker.”

“This is on the personal side, ma’am. I won’t take up much of her time.”

“How did you even know she was here?”

“I had breakfast at the diner in town. It came up in conversation.”

“Of course.” Tory sighed. The whole town was probably talking about Reese’s precipitous return. “It’s eight in the morning, Detective.”

Carter reddened. “Sorry. I’m still on cop time. I’ll come back.”

“No, wait,” Tory said as Carter turned to leave. “Come inside and have some coffee. I’ll get Reese.” Tory directed Carter to the kitchen. “Help yourself. The mugs are in the first cabinet above the sink.”

“Thanks. Can I pour any for you?”

“Make that two.”

Five minutes later, Reese appeared in blue jeans, a short-sleeve khaki shirt, and loafers without socks. She regarded Carter pensively as she picked up a cup of coffee and sipped. “I don’t usually do business in my home.”

“I don’t blame you, and I apologize. I didn’t want to go to the station.” Carter shrugged. “And it’s mostly personal.”

“Just the same, let’s take it outside.” Reese indicated the deck, and she and Carter carried their coffee outside and closed the sliding glass doors. “Looks like somebody kicked the hell out of you.”

Carter fingered her sore jaw. “Kick’s the word for it. Your wife was nice enough to patch me up.”

Reese smiled. “That would explain why she’s pissed at you.”

“I don’t follow.”

“She doesn’t like patching up cops. Figures we take too many chances and overestimate our own skills.”

Carter grinned. “She’s right.”

“Almost all the time.” Reese tensed as a shadow flickered in the corner of her vision, and then she relaxed again when Tory passed through the living room carrying Reggie on her way into the kitchen. “What’s the problem? Something to do with that undercover case you were telling the chief and me about a couple of months ago?”

“Yeah.” Carter wished she could sit down. Her back still bothered her when she stood for long, but the sheriff looked just as bad as she felt, and if she was standing, Carter would too. “My assignment was to get close to the daughter of a Boston crime boss. The daughter has a place here. Turns out, she’s clean, and now I think she might be in trouble. I need your help with that.”

“Who is it?”

Carter hesitated. It went against her every instinct to share information, but she had no choice, and after thinking about it all night, she decided that if she were ever going to trust anyone with this information, it would be Reese Conlon. “Ricarda Grechi. She owns a gallery in town and lives on Pilgrim Heights.”

“I don’t recognize the name.”

“Her father is Alfonse Pareto.”

Reese whistled. “It would’ve been nice for us to know this earlier.”

“Rica is not part of her father’s business.”

“You’re sure?” Reese studied Carter’s face as she took another sip of coffee.

“Positive. But I’m afraid the guys who tuned me up might go after her next.” Carter jammed her hands in the pockets of her khaki pants. Admitting she couldn’t protect Rica was eating holes in her. “I was hoping you’d look after her.”

“I don’t know when I’ll get back to active duty. Someone else is going to need to know about this.”

“But they don’t need to know all of it. If you just ask your people to do ride-bys on her house and the gallery. Tell them she’s got a crazy boyfriend or something, and you just want to keep an eye on her.” Carter grimaced. “Christ, that’s practically true.”

“Why are these guys coming after her if she’s not part of the business?”

Carter flushed but kept her eyes level with Reese’s. “Because of me. I got in between her and a guy who thought she was his property.”

“You got personally involved with the subject you were investigating?” Reese asked mildly.

“Not exactly.” Carter looked out over the harbor, imagining how this must sound to a by-the-book cop like Conlon. “I fell in love with her. She doesn’t feel the same.”

“Christ.” Reese turned to face the water and their shoulders touched very lightly. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You went undercover to get evidence on the daughter of one of the most powerful men in organized crime. Instead, you ended up involved with her and managed to piss off some other guy who considered her his. He sent a couple of enforcers to work you over, and now he might be coming after her.”

“That’s about right.”

“What’s his name?”

“Lorenzo Brassi.”

“Not small-time either.” Reese shook her head. “I see your problem, but why don’t you have some of your people keep an eye on her?”

“One of the task force leaders is convinced Rica is dirty. I can’t trust any of them to see what’s really going on. My partner backs me, but he’s only one guy.”

“So there’s two of you who believe she’s clean.”

Carter gripped the rail hard with the hand that wasn’t holding her coffee cup. “Not anymore. I turned in my shield.”

“You quit,” Reese said flatly.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Carter faced Reese. “Because I crossed a line.”

“Do you think you’re the first cop who ever did that?”

“Maybe not. But I’m still on the other side of the line, and I don’t think I’m coming back.”

“Because of her.”

Carter nodded. “Yeah. Because of Rica.”

“Even if she doesn’t love you.”

“That doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Reese shook her head. “No. It doesn’t.” She thought about Tory and the Marine Corps and the war and her daughter. She thought about her responsibility to all of them and understood that some choices were made just because they were right. “What are you going to do now?”

“I’m not sure. I own a place here in town, but I don’t think Rica is going to want me around. It’s too small a community for us not to bump into each other.”

“Maybe you’ll want to go back on the job after things settle down a bit.”

Carter smiled. “I think I burned my bridges there. I’ll figure something out.”

“I’ll do what I can to see that Ms. Grechi is safe. I don’t want you trying to do it yourself. You’re not a cop in this town.”

“It’s mostly my fault she’s in this situation.”

“Nothing is ever that simple. You know that.”

“Maybe it is, and we just don’t want to admit it.” Carter picked up her coffee cup and gestured toward the house. “I should go. I’ve bothered you and your family enough.”

“Let me have a number where I can reach you…and keep me informed of developments.”