“You in trouble with the boss?”

Bri shook her head.

“You want me to go?”

Bri hesitated. “No. Stay. Reese will probably brief you this morning anyhow.” She grimaced. “Hell, everyone will hear about it sooner or later.”

“Hear about what?” Allie rubbed Bri’s leg just above her knee.

Bri’s muscles tensed and jumped. She was really wired. “Bri? Honey?

What’s going on?”

Bri tried to figure out how to tell her what she’d never talked about to anyone except Caroline, and Reese and Tory. She’d been a lot younger when it had happened, and not as strong. William Everly had only been a few years older, but he’d been twice her size. She didn’t think about it much anymore, and it rattled her that just the mention of his name could throw her. She thought she was stronger than that. She had to be stronger than that. She was a cop now. And Caroline needed her to be strong.

“When Caroline and I were in high school, a guy stalked Caroline.

• 87 •

RAdCLY fFe

Stalked us both, sort of. He figured she should be with him instead of me.” Bri laughed bitterly. “Most people did.”

“Not Caroline,” Allie whispered. “Smart girl.”

Bri laughed, a little of the tension draining away. “Crazy girl, maybe.”

Allie nudged her shoulder. “What happened?”

“He came after her one night, but he got me instead. He put me in the hospital.”

Allie fought down a wave of fury and steeled herself to the pain that instantly settled around her heart. She hurt for Bri, but her pain was far less then Bri’s. Bri needed to talk, and wouldn’t if she knew Allie was hurting. So Allie said with as much cool as she could fake, “How bad was it?”

“Could’ve been worse.” Bri gave Allie a fleeting smile, a shadow of her usual cocky grin. “He broke my jaw. Few ribs. Pretty much beat the crap out of me.”

“Motherfucker.” Allie hesitated, wondering if she should ask the obvious question. With another girl, she might not have, but this was Bri. If she didn’t ask, Bri would figure Allie didn’t think she could handle it. Crazy turned-around thinking, but that was Bri. Allie had recognized the first day they were together in the academy that Bri’s tough-guy attitude was all about needing to prove to other people that she was strong. That she could handle herself. The only way Bri would ever let anyone take care of her was if she believed they believed in her. Somehow, Caroline figured that out about Bri years ago, and that was the big reason why Caroline was the right girl for Bri. But Bri was Allie’s friend, and Allie loved her, so she didn’t shy away from the hard stuff. “Did he rape you?”

Bri jerked, then straightened her shoulders. “No. He tried. I fought, but he was bigger. God, he was strong. But when he got on top of me, I broke his nose. And then I guess he just got pissed and beat me some more. But not that.”

“Did they get him?”

“Reese did.”

“Good,” Allie said through gritted teeth. “I hope she kicked the shit out of him.”

“He resisted a little and she took care of him.” Bri sighed.

“Anyhow, he’s out and he’s in the wind. He’s local, so he might turn up back here. Reese will fill you in.”

• 88 •

RetuRning tides

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay, I guess. I just didn’t expect it. I don’t know why not.

Nobody goes away for very long for that kind of thing. Because he resisted, and probably because I was a cop’s kid, he got the maximum.

Better than I could have hoped.”

“Do you think he’ll bother you again?”

“I don’t know. A lot of times these guys do. You know that. They get fixated on a girl, or they blame her for going to jail.” Bri turned on the bench, her blue eyes dark and cloudy. “I’m worried about Carre.

She’s the one he wanted, and she’s not going back to school until the spring semester. She’s going to be home alone while I’m working.”

“Look, we’ll find this guy. And until we do, all of us will keep an eye on her.” Allie put her arm around Bri’s shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“And as far as people knowing about what happened? You stood up. You hurt him. You’re a hero, baby.” Allie ruffled Bri’s hair. “Now go home and let your girl take care of you.”

Bri laughed. “You think sex cures everything.”

“Don’t you?”

“Yeah, most of the time.” Bri stood, opened her locker, and unbuttoned her uniform shirt. “So how did things go with Flynn last night?”

“Oh God, she is so fucking hot.”

Bri rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you said that before.”

“Seriously, she just kissed me and I almost came in my pants.”

“For real?”

“Believe it,” Allie said, her face flushing. “And I never do that.”

Almost never. She squashed the memory of the last time she had—when she’d been making out with Ash and Ash had played with her nipples so long and so hard she’d climaxed. Not going there. Not. Not. Not.

“Okay—major stud points,” Bri said, impressed. “So I take it your dry spell is over?”

Allie looked away. “Not exactly.”

Bri rolled up her shirt, tossed it into the laundry hamper, and pulled on her T-shirt. As she unbuckled her belt, she cut Allie a look. She’d heard something in Allie’s voice she’d never heard before. Regret.

Longing. More than a little sadness. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, really,” Allie said with forced brightness. “Hey, just

• 89 •

RAdCLY fFe

because I don’t put out for every girl who looks my way doesn’t mean there’s something wrong.”

“Yeah yeah. This is me you’re talking to. I saw her cruising you the first time she saw you. And you were already sizing her up before you even went out. Now you tell me she’s so hot you’re losing your stuff just kissing. So—if you didn’t get it on with her, why not?”

“She’s nice, Bri,” Allie said softly. “She’s somebody I might like to have as a friend, you know? Sometimes sex messes things up.”

Bri pulled on her jeans and her boots, closed her locker door, and leaned back against it. “What the fuck, Al? You’ve never minded fucking friends, and you’ve never had any trouble being friends with women you’ve have sex with—look at Deo.”

“Yeah. Look at Walker,” Allie said bitterly.

“Oh.”

“Oh what?”

“Are you still hung up on her?”

“No!” Allie glared. “It’s got nothing to do with her. She’s ancient history. I just didn’t feel like fucking Flynn last night!”

“Okay.” Bri held her hands up in surrender. “Okay. So take things slow with Flynn if that makes you feel better.” She tapped her boot against Allie’s foot. “But Jesus, don’t wait too long. I can’t stand it when you’re horny. You get bitchy.”

“Fuck you, Parker.”

Bri grinned. “See? Proves my point.”

“Oh, go home already.” Allie rose. “About that other thing. If anything breaks, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks.”

Allie walked Bri to the side door, waved good-bye, and headed back into the bullpen.

“Well, fuck me,” she muttered to herself. Ash Walker was sitting at her desk.

v

Ash stood up quickly as Allie, doing a pretty decent impression of a thundercloud, stomped toward her. Allie obviously wasn’t looking forward to seeing her, not that she expected anything different.

“I just stopped by to go through those files,” Ash said.

• 90 •

RetuRning tides

Allie pointed to a stack on the corner of her desk. “Those are all open—mostly alleged vandalism, breakins, or arsons. We still have to sort out what’s storm damage and what isn’t. The ones with the red stickers have not yet been cleared to enter by the fire marshal. Those you can’t investigate yet.”

“I am certified for fire investigation, Allie,” Ash said quietly.

“Oh, I know your qualifications. You were evaluating a fire claim the first time you blew in.”

“If you’ve got a spare desk somewhere, I’ll go through these files and cross-reference them with my list.” Ash was too tired and too queasy for a fight. She’d only been partially right the night before. When she got home, she’d stripped and immediately climbed into the shower to wash away the sex sweat and try to clear some of the alcohol from her brain. With the hot water beating down on her neck and shoulders, she’d closed her eyes and tried to blank her mind. No luck. All she’d been able to see was Allie—not Allie in a bar with a stranger’s hands all over her, but Allie lying under her, teasing her with light kisses and taunting her with whispered dares. I dare you not to come while you’re fucking me. I dare you not to come when I go down on you. I dare you not to come when I fuck you. I dare you, baby. I dare you.

The pressure in her pelvis got so bad she’d tried to get off, picturing Allie’s teasing smile, hearing Allie dare her not to come in her mouth while she sucked her. She wanted to come, but she couldn’t.

She got close a couple times, so close she kept trying, but she couldn’t hold on to the feel of Allie’s lips long enough to push herself over. She worked at it until the water ran cold and her legs wouldn’t hold her up anymore, and then she stumbled into the kitchen, found the bottle of Johnny Walker, and took a slug. Thirty minutes later she was still awake, tossing and turning and working up another kind of sweat.

Fatigue and frustration and futility. She drank a bit more and finally her body just quit on her, and she slept. When she woke a few hours later, she felt like crap. Another shower, a cold one this time, cleared her head some but didn’t do much for her stomach.

Allie cocked her hip and folded her arms beneath her breasts. “You look like total shit, Walker. And you’ve got fucking teeth marks all over your neck. Did you even get to sleep or did you come here straight from spending the whole night fucking that blonde with the big tits?”

“Don’t, Allie,” Ash whispered.

• 91 •

RAdCLY fFe

“You know what? You’re right. It doesn’t matter at all,” Allie said coldly. “Give me your list. I’ll do the cross checks. You’re not fit to work. Go home and get some sleep.”

Ash stiffened. “I’m fine.”

“I’ll come by and pick you up at noon.” Allie held out her hand.

“Give me your goddamned list.”

Ash would have argued, but Reese stood in the doorway of her office watching them. If she put up a fight, Allie would get caught in the middle and she didn’t want that. She opened her briefcase, found the folder with the local cases, and handed it to Allie. The papers shook in her trembling hand. “I’d like to start in the West End where the damage is the worst. It will help me set up an assessment scale for the area.”

“Fine. I’ll see you at noon.”

“Okay.” Ash turned, nodded to Reese, and quickly left.

Allie watched her go, thinking now she knew where Ash had been the night before. She’d gotten it on with the blonde she was pawing on the dance floor at the Pied. From the looks of her neck, they’d been going at it hard. While she hadn’t even been able to let a sweet, hot, sexy woman make love to her, Ash had spent the night fucking her brains out. Nice.

And stupid for you to care, she muttered . Really stupid, Allie.

v

“Nita,” Tory said when Nita came out of one of the examining rooms. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Nita finished making a note in the chart and left it in the file holder next to the door. “Sure.”

Tory led the way back to her office and closed the door behind them. She gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk and took the other one. Facing Nita, she said, “Reese is on her way over. I’d like you to examine her for me.”

“Of course. What’s the problem?”

“That’s just the thing. I’m not sure there’s anything wrong.”

Tory told Nita about Reese’s episode the night before. “She looked disoriented. Her eyes were unfocused. She said she had trouble seeing.

It was all very quick. Anyone else might not even have noticed.” Tory

• 92 •

RetuRning tides

sighed. “The thing that bothers me is that it’s happened more than once.”

“What exactly were the extent of her combat injuries?” Nita asked quietly.

“She was in a firefight. Their convoy was hit in the middle of the night with rocket fire. Several of the trucks exploded. She doesn’t remember all of the details, but she had a forehead laceration from being struck with a rifle butt. Shrapnel in her leg. Her clavicle was broken. Burns to her…” Tory stopped, her throat closing.

“I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”

Tory shook her head. “No. It’s necessary. I keep thinking I’m past it. She’s home. She’s fine. But when I think of what happened, how close she came to not coming home…” Tory smiled unsteadily.