“Wow. You look hot,” Allie said as she sidled up next to Flynn.

Grinning, Flynn ducked her head and kissed Allie’s cheek. Her gaze drifted down Allie’s body, taking in the rich fall of ebony hair, the full breasts straining against the stretchy top, and the hiphugger jeans accentuating a tight round butt. “And you look gorgeous.”

“Thank you.” Allie smiled and waved at the bartender. “Sammy!

Draft?”

“Got ya covered, baby,” the husky dyke called back. “One minute.”

“So how was the rest of your night?” Flynn asked.

“Quiet.” Allie paid for her beer and took a sip. “You?”

“A couple of minor callouts. Nothing serious.”

Allie liked the way Flynn leaned with one elbow on the bar, her eyes fixed on Allie’s face, as if they were alone together and not in the middle of a packed bar. “Where are you from?”

Flynn looked momentarily taken aback, as if the question had thrown her somehow. Then she quickly said, “Chicago.”

“This place must seem like a big change,” Allie said lightly, having noticed Flynn’s hesitation. Okay, so she didn’t want to talk about her past. Fair enough.

“Yeah.” A look of relief tinged with sadness passed over Flynn’s handsome features. “I’ve only been here a few weeks, but it already feels like home.”

“I know what you mean.” Allie ran her fingers down Flynn’s arm and squeezed her hand. “I hope that means you’ll be staying.”

“Don’t worry,” Flynn replied, the mischievous light returning to her eyes. “Now that I’ve gotten your attention, you won’t get rid of me so easily.”

Allie laughed, enjoying the flirtation. “Believe me, you’ve had my attention all along.”

• 66 •

RetuRning tides

Flynn eased a little closer and settled one hand on Allie’s hip. She ducked her head and whispered in Allie’s ear, “Well then, I want to be sure to keep it.”

“You’re doing pretty good so far.” The pressure of Flynn’s hand on her hip, the tease of warm breath in her ear, stirred a tingle of excitement low in Allie’s belly. She tilted her head just a little to bare her neck to Flynn’s mouth. Flynn’s lips were so close she could almost feel the kiss about to drop onto her skin. Enjoying the pleasant anticipation, she let her gaze drift over Flynn’s shoulder out to the dance floor, and thought she glimpsed a familiar face. She blinked, not quite believing, as Ash’s face came into sharp focus.

Flynn kissed her neck and murmured, “How about now? Still good?”

Allie wanted to look away but she couldn’t. Ash stared into Allie’s eyes, her mouth twisting sardonically. Then Ash buried her face in the neck of the slinky blonde who was plastered against her body, her hands sliding down to cup the woman’s ass.

“Even better,” Allie said, her voice sounding flat to her own ears.

She tugged on Flynn’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

Flynn lifted her head, clearly surprised, but she smiled and let Allie pull her hurriedly through the crowd and out into the street.

v

“There she is!” Carter pointed to Rica standing next to her Lexus, parked halfway down the outer row of cars. The huge parking lot was separated from the street by a thicket of trees. Despite the late hour, the lot was still half full, but the attendant’s booth was at the far end, around a bend. The section where Rica had parked was isolated, and the street lamps, mounted on poles every thirty feet or so, left substantial areas in darkness.

“Man, this place is a setup for robberies and assaults,” Carter said, bolting from the cruiser before Bri had even pulled to a stop. She reached Rica in three long strides and slipped an arm around Rica’s waist. Hustling her back to the cruiser, she pulled open the rear door.

“Wait inside, babe.”

“Carter,” Rica began, but Carter just shook her head, guided her into the vehicle, and closed the door.

• 67 •

RAdCLY fFe

Bri came around the front of the cruiser and together they approached Rica’s car. Carter scanned the lot but saw no sign of anyone else. The driver’s side window of the Lexus was smashed, glass littering the ground.

“The perp was most likely gone by the time she got here,” Carter said, her mouth dry and her stomach twisting. “Christ, if she’d walked up on him—”

“It was probably a smash and grab,” Bri said, shining her Maglite into the front seat. “Radio’s still there. We’ll need to find out if she left something in the car.”

“Maybe, but Rica is usually careful.” Carter took a breath, clearing her head. “We should walk around, see if any of the other cars have been broken into.”

“You take the back half, I’ll canvass up here,” Bri said. “Check back with me in five.”

“Got it.”

They separated, slowly wending their way up and down the rows of cars.

v

He’d checked his watch when she’d discovered her car and made a call on her cell phone. Less than three minutes passed before the police had arrived. He could accomplish a lot in three minutes. There was plenty of light for him to make a body shot. Even a head shot, although he didn’t think they were wearing vests. Not in this town, not for routine patrols. And of course, she was completely unprotected.

Vulnerable to anything he wanted. Just like all of them. He slid his fingers over the smooth length of the knife in his pocket. Of course, if he got close to her, he could get much more personal. Much more.

• 68 •

RetuRning tides

chapteR seven

When the music switched to a faster tempo, Ash started to pull back, but Lisa tightened her arms around Ash’s neck and murmured, “No, I like your hands on my ass.”

“Sorry,” Ash murmured, realizing she’d been blatantly feeling Lisa up on the dance floor. And the reason she’d done it had nothing to do with Lisa. She’d been dancing with Lisa but watching Allie. Watching Allie flirt and play with a good-looking butch her own age. Just exactly what Ash had told her she should do. Except when Allie had tilted her head back so the woman could kiss her neck, Ash had tried to block the hard pain by fondling the woman in her arms. Not a response she was proud of. She jerked her hands back up to the center of Lisa’s back and repeated, “Sorry.”

“Baby, I just told you I liked it.” Lisa undulated seductively. “You can put your hands anywhere you want.”

Ash tried to lose herself in the kind of mindless arousal that didn’t really work for her even when she wasn’t thinking of Allie. Now she couldn’t think of anything else. Lisa was a few inches shorter than Allie and fuller breasted, and although her body was tantalizing, she didn’t fit in Ash’s arms the way Allie had. Allie. Allie apparently didn’t have any problems fitting into someone else’s embrace. Ash could still see the way Allie offered her neck, that smooth ivory column that was so responsive to a kiss or the scrape of teeth, to the stranger. The stranger who’d left the bar with Allie. The stranger who was probably kissing that neck right now, sliding her hands under the tight skimpy top that had displayed Allie’s ripe young breasts so teasingly. Caressing her,

• 69 •

RAdCLY fFe

making her whimper softly, plaintively, the way she did when she was getting excited…

“Fuck,” Ash whispered, not intending to speak out loud.

“I was thinking the same thing.” Lisa leaned back in Ash’s arms and rolled her pelvis against Ash’s. Her eyes were liquid, her lids heavy, as her gaze drifted over Ash’s face and came to rest on her mouth. “Are you as ready as I am?”

Ash gripped her ass again and, under cover of the darkened dance floor, pumped her crotch once, hard, into Lisa’s. “What do you think?”

“Oh yeah.” Lisa flicked her tongue over her full lower lip. “I think you’re ready. I think you’d love to put your mouth on my—”

“Come on,” Ash said gruffly. “Where are you staying?”

“With two other girls at the Boatslip.” Lisa grabbed her purse from the chair at their table while Ash downed the rest of her beer.

“Are they going to be home?” Ash held Lisa’s drink out to her, and when Lisa shook her head, she finished that too. She could tell from the hungry look in Lisa’s eyes it was going to be a long night.

“They won’t be back for quite a while, and I’ve got the single bedroom.” She smiled and tugged on Ash’s fly. “But I don’t mind a crowd if you don’t.”

Ash grinned grimly. “Maybe some other night.”

Right now, all she wanted was to get rid of the movie playing inexorably in her head, one starring Allie. First she saw herself making Allie scream with pleasure, only to be replaced by an image of the muscular blonde, her mouth at Allie’s breast, her hand between Allie’s legs. A sharp pain shot through Ash’s head and she gritted her teeth.

Swiftly, she grabbed Lisa’s arm, jerked her close and kissed her, willing the heat of Lisa’s mouth and the lush pliancy of her body to burn the unwanted pictures from her brain.

v

“We’ll follow you home,” Carter said to Rica after she and Bri had checked the parking lot and found nothing else amiss. She wasn’t sure how to interpret the absence of any other breakins. In crimes of opportunity, the perpetrators wanted to get as much merchandise as they could, so more than one vehicle was usually targeted. But only

• 70 •

RetuRning tides

Rica’s Lexus appeared to have been vandalized, and Carter wondered uneasily if her car had been singled out intentionally.

“You don’t need to do that,” Rica said quietly. “I’m fine. It’s only a mile.”

Carter shook her head. “No. I want to be sure there’s no further problem.”

What she didn’t say was she wanted to check the house. There was no reason at all to think that Rica was in danger, but Rica was not an ordinary woman. She was the daughter of one of the most powerful organized crime figures in the country, and even though Rica steadfastly repudiated her heritage, she could not deny it. She was her father’s daughter, and as such she was a potential target for men who might want to influence or retaliate against him. Pareto had pulled back Rica’s bodyguards at Rica’s insistence, and although Carter was glad, right now she wished one of them were around.