“Protect you?” KT turned, her expression wary, “From what?”

Pia rested her hand on KT’s leg just above her knee. “From you.”

“How do you know I’m not trying to protect myself from you?”

“Are you afraid of me?”

Solemnly, KT nodded. “Oh yeah.”

“I thought you might be,” Pia said contemplatively. “I haven’t figured out why yet. Until I do, I can’t know if you have any reason to be.” She leaned forward and gently kissed KT’s mouth. “But I don’t think you do.”

“It’s complicated,” KT murmured.

“I know. For me too.”

“Are you afraid of me?” KT asked softly.

“No,” Pia answered immediately.

“Why not?” The question was asked with genuine seriousness.

“Because you’ve never given me any reason to be.”

KT found Pia’s hand and threaded her fingers through Pia’s. “You tie me up in knots.”

Pia smiled. “Good. Want to walk me home?”

“Yeah. I do.”

Fifteen minutes later, KT stopped on the sidewalk in front of Pia’s porch and kissed her softly. “Good night, Pia. Thank you for tonight.”

Gently, Pia brushed her palm over KT’s chest before turning to ascend the stairs. “Good night. I’ll see you at 9 a.m. for your session.”

KT laughed softly and watched until Pia disappeared into the cottage, aware of something she hadn’t felt in so long that she almost didn’t recognize it. Happiness.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“If there was any place lower than traffic I could bust you down to, I’d do it,” Nelson Parker growled as he stood, legs spread and hands fisted on his hips, glaring at his two youngest officers.

Wisely, neither Bri nor Allie commented, but both remained at rigid attention, staring straight ahead. Reese stood behind them and slightly to one side, her hands lightly clasped behind her back.

“The answer is no. I’ve a good mind to put you both on probation for that little stunt you pulled.” Nelson glanced at Reese. “Did you know anything about this before this morning?”

“No, sir.”

Nelson stared at his daughter, “What the hell’s gotten into you?”

Bri’s posture grew even stiffer, and she answered in a clipped, formal tone of voice. “In my opinion, it was a reasonable investigative”

“Oh, horseshit. Just what do you know about investigations? And your sidekick here,” he snapped, giving Allie a blistering glare, “knows even less.”

“Actually, sir,” Allie replied with a hint of indignation, “it was my idea, not Bri’s. And it worked.”

“That remains to be seen,” Nelson shot back. “And neither one of you is going to see anything but the intersection at Commercial and Standish for the next six months.” He turned his back and stalked across the room to the window.

Reese turned to the pale young officers, “You two step outside.”

“Yes, ma’am,” came their very subdued replies.

After waiting until they were alone in the room, Reese said quietly, “You have to give them credit for devising and executing an excellent plan.”

Nelson didn’t turn around. “I don’t have to give them credit for anything. It was a damn fool idea, and we’re just lucky the two of them didn’t end up out there in the dunes somewhere like that girl.” His shoulders shuddered as he took a breath, apparently searching for control. “Just because these are white-collar criminals with lots of money doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous. When you’re moving 10 or 20K worth of drugs in an evening, you don’t take kindly to having your operation, interrupted.”

“I agree.” Reese crossed the room to join him and looked out the same window at the unremarkable view of the rear corner of the parking lot and a huge sand dune. “We’re going to have more dead bodies if we don’t shut down this operation. If not here in Provincetown, then in Truro or Wellfleet or Eastham or Chatham. It’s only going to get worse.”

“Are you saying you support their crazy plan?” Nelson eyed her angrily. “They’re goddamned rookies.” His expression grew even more fierce. “They’re kids.”

“No sir,” Reese said quietly. “They’re officers of the law, and they’ve been well trained, and they’re eager to do their jobs. I’m proud of them.”

Nelson said nothing, his eyes focused on something far beyond the mundane panorama, Reese wondered if he was remembering the night they had found Bri in the dunes, and she was grateful once again that she had not called him until they had transported his daughter to the clinic. He wouldn’t have to live with the memory of finding her battered and bruised and half naked as Reese had.

“Of course,” Reese mused, “I don’t intend to tell them that. I intend to kick their metaphorical asses. Sir.”

Despite himself, Nelson laughed. “Good. Coming from you, it will probably mean something.”

“So does your opinion, Chief. It means a lot to them,” Reese considered her next words carefully. “Especially Bri, What you think of her as her commanding officer’s one thing. What you think of her as her father is something far more critical.”

“Your father’s a general or something, right?”

“Yes sir. He is.”

Nelson turned and leaned his shoulder against the window frame, contemplating his second in command. He’d worked with her for years and still felt that he barely knew her. She was calm, controlled, steady under any circumstances. He’d never seen her rattled, not unless it had something to do with Tory. When Tory’s pregnancy had gotten difficult, he’d thought that Reese might just crack. But she’d held steady steadier than he would have. “Can you separate the commander from the father?”

Reese blinked. “No, sir. There’s never been any difference for me. But that’s not true for Bri.”

“Damn.” He ran his hand through his thick hair, tugging at it as if the pain would clear his mind. “I don’t think about something happening to any of my people when I send them out on the street. I can’t think about that and command.”

“I understand, Chief.”

“I know you do,” Nelson agreed readily. He met Reese’s eyes, and his were troubled. “But I can’t do it with Bri. I can’t send her out there knowing the risks.”

“That’s why you have me,” Reese said quietly. “I’ll give the order, and I’ll see that they’re both all right.”

Silence descended as they held one another’s gaze. Finally, Nelson spoke.

“Do it.”

“How much danger are they likely to be in?” Tory asked. Reese had come home later than usual from work and had been unusually quiet during dinner. When she’d said that she had to go back to the station house at 8:30 p.m., Tory had asked why. And now she knew. Allie was to call the number on the card at 9 p.m. to receive information about the drug party.

“Danger tonight? Probably none.” Reese scrubbed her hands over her face and rolled her shoulders to ease some of her tension. “I expect they’ll just be given an address or maybe even another phone number to call closer to the weekend to get the final location of the party. It’s the middle of the week, and I doubt there’s going to be a big party anywhere tonight.”

“And what about when they’re at the party?”

“They’re both going to be wired. We’ll be able to hear everything.” Reese shifted on the couch and curved her arm around Tory’s shoulders. “These parties aren’t known for violence, and all Bri and Allie are going to do is verify that there are drugs in quantity on the premises, make a buy, and give us a reason to go through the door.”

“What if someone suspects who they really are?”

Reese shrugged. “There’s no reason to think that they do or will. Why would they invite Bri and Allie to the party thinking that they were law enforcement officers? They just look like a couple of kids with too much money in their pockets, which is what got them the invitation in the first place.”

“Do you trust them to do this?”

“Yes. They’re both bright and resourceful. And when the time comes, they’ll follow orders.”

Tory looked slightly doubtful. “Are you sure? Sounds like they haven’t followed orders very well so far.”

“No, they didn’t,” Reese agreed. “But we’ve discussed that, and I expect they’ll exercise better judgment in the future.”

“Ah,” Tory said with a ghost of a smile. “Was your ‘discussion’ followed by them cleaning large areas with toothbrushes?”

Reese looked affronted. “You’ve been watching too many movies.” Then she grinned. “But every cruiser in the department has been washed and hand waxed, right down to the gleaming wheel wells.”

“It’s not as if I don’t know that any of the ordinary calls that you take during the day might be dangerous. Most of the time, I try not to think about it.” Tory picked up Reese’s hand and cradled it in her palm, running her thumb over the long, strong fingers. “But knowing that you’re going to be involved in something that’s potentially dangerous makes it impossible not to worry and imagine the worst.”

“Tor,” Reese said gently, moving closer on the sofa. “We’ll be well prepared. This is likely to be nothing more than a few hours of surveillance, a quick roundup of a few midlevel dealers, and a long night of paperwork.”

“I don’t imagine that Nelson’s very happy about Bri and Allie’s part in it.”

“No, but he’s behind the operation.”

Tory sighed. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to defend your professional decisions to me.”

“Hey,” Reese protested, “you have every right to ask about my work, and if it makes you feel better for me to explain, then I will.” She kissed Tory’s temple and then her mouth. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sheriff,” Tory murmured, turning to tuck her head beneath Reese’s chin and holding her close with an arm wrapped around her waist. “Promise you’ll wear your vest.”

“I will.” Reese kissed Tory’s hair and smoothed a hand up and down her back comfortingly. She’d wear the Kevlar, but she wouldn’t be the one who’d really need it. And Bri and Allie, who might, wouldn’t be able to. They’d be lucky to get inside wired up without blowing their cover.