Caroline laughed and shook her head. “You are so full of it.”

She patted the bed next to her. “Come here and hold me for a few minutes.”

Bri covered the distance in one second flat. She stretched out on top of their platform bed and pulled Carre into her arms. “It’s going to be okay, babe. Reese will find him, if he’s here.”

Caroline rubbed her hand back and forth over Bri’s chest. “You’ll be careful too, right? Even if you are a big tough cop?”

“Count on it.”

“And like you said, he might not be here at all, right?”

“Right.” Bri tightened her hold, wishing she could stay there for the rest of the night. She felt him. He was out there somewhere, she knew it.

• 129 •

• 130 •

RetuRning tides

chapteR fOuRteen

Turn here,” Allie told Flynn, pointing to a narrow one-way street near the center of town that ran between Commercial and Bradford. “I’m about halfway up on the right. I used to rent a place in Wellfleet, but I can walk to work from here.”

“I know what you mean. One of the perks of small-town living.”

Flynn pulled her Jeep Wrangler into the small three-car parking lot in front of a six-foot wooden privacy fence. She’d hitched a ride with one of the EMTs at the clinic to pick up her Jeep earlier so she could take Allie home.

“I’ve got the apartment in the back.” Allie led Flynn through the gate into a postage-stamp-sized yard. One of the things she loved about her apartment was that she had her own entrance and didn’t have to see anyone coming or going. If she brought women home, she wasn’t broadcasting her business. Not that there’d been very many. Come to think of it, there hadn’t been any for the six months she’d lived there.

During the summer she’d always gone to Deo’s condo, and before Deo, she’d mostly been trysting with pickups in their rooms. Now she was bringing Flynn home, and she was nervous. She never got nervous with women. She unlocked the door that opened on her kitchen and held it open.

Flynn looked around after Allie turned on the light. “This is nice.”

She slid her hands in the back pockets of her navy blue uniform pants.

“So can I fix you anything? Tea? A drink, maybe?”

“You know what?” Allie said. “I’m filthy and I could really use a

• 131 •

RAdCLY fFe

shower. After that, a beer, I think. Do you mind helping yourself?” She pointed to the door opposite the one they came in. “Living room is right through there. It will only take me a few minutes.”

“Hey. Take your time.”

“Thanks.” Allie kissed her cheek. “Be right back.”

Allie showered and washed her hair, then dressed in loose tan drawstring pants and a white long-sleeved ribbed pullover. Barefoot, she padded into the living room. Flynn had stretched out on the couch and had a Victoria’s Secret catalog propped on her chest. Allie laughed.

“Looking for underwear?”

Flynn turned toward her, balancing her beer bottle on her thigh and marking her place in the catalog with a finger. She grinned lazily.

“Just looking at the girls.”

Allie sat on the edge of the sofa, her hip against Flynn’s. She could see herself stretching out beside her, curling up into her. She could see herself unbuttoning Flynn’s shirt with the EMT logo on the sleeve and slipping her hand inside. She could see herself doing a lot of things.

The pictures in her mind made her body warm and liquid. But she didn’t move. “How come you don’t have a girlfriend? You’re prime real estate, you know.”

Flynn’s grin flickered and disappeared.

“Sorry,” Allie said instantly. “I didn’t mean to get personal.”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” Flynn said quietly. “Getting personal?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’m doing tonight.” She laughed shakily and pushed damp hair away from her face. “But I was serious about you being special.”

Flynn sat up and patted the sofa next to her. “Lean back and relax.

You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

Allie made a face, but she settled back and curled her legs up under her. Flynn put her arm around her. It was comfortable. She was tired and sore and Flynn felt good. She rubbed Flynn’s thigh, remembering how it felt to have those hard muscles pressed tight between her legs.

“I don’t have anything against girls who play the field, you know. I’ve pretty much always been that way myself.”

“I haven’t had a lot of time to get a girlfriend, not seriously,” Flynn said after a while. “Before I became a paramedic, I went to school in Cambridge.”

• 132 •

RetuRning tides

“What? They don’t have girls at Harvard?” Allie teased.

Flynn smiled. “They had a few girls. None of them were interested in me, though.”

Allie snorted. “I find that hard to believe.”

“I didn’t go to Harvard, I went to a place called EDS. Episcopal Divinity School. I’m a priest.”

“Holy shit,” Allie whispered, then clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said—”

Flynn grasped Allie’s wrist and pulled it away from her face. “You can see why I don’t talk about it that much. It’s kind of a mood killer on a date.”

“Then what are you doing here? Why aren’t you—in a church or something?”

“It’s a long story. I am ordained, but I’ve never ministered. I realized that I didn’t have the calling, and I think you need to. So I went another direction.”

“Wow.”

“I guess you don’t think I’m so hot anymore,” Flynn said softly.

Allie shifted on the sofa and grasped both of Flynn’s hands.

“Wrong. Totally wrong. In a perverted kind of way, I think you’re even sexier now.”

Flynn’s face relaxed and she laughed. Carefully, she pulled Allie onto her lap and wrapped her arms around her. She kissed her neck.

“You’re not freaked out?”

“I’m not very religious, so no. I’m curious, though.”

“I meant it when I said it’s a long story. Some other time, maybe.”

Flynn lightly nibbled a spot below her ear.

“Okay,” Allie agreed. She would have probed but Flynn didn’t seem anxious to talk about it, and Flynn’s mouth was doing dangerous things to her brain. Like melting it. Flynn’s kisses turned to gentle bites, and Allie’s nipples started to tingle. The next thing to start would be her clit, and she didn’t want to go there. Not tonight. But she didn’t want Flynn to think it was because of what she’d just told her. “In fact, I’m not religious at all. I’m not sure I get it, completely. Does that freak you out?”

“Uh-uh,” Flynn murmured.

“You’re not a virgin, are you?”

Flynn tilted her head back and stared into Allie’s eyes. “Episcopal

• 133 •

RAdCLY fFe

priests don’t take a vow of celibacy. And I’ve had a few years to catch up to what I missed while I was in seminary.”

“Oh good,” Allie whispered, squirming in Flynn’s lap as Flynn rubbed her cheek over Allie’s breast, making her nipple harden beneath the thin cotton. “Oh fuck, that feels good. Sorry—sorry, I can’t think when you do that.”

“Don’t apologize. Swearing doesn’t bother me.”

Flynn’s warm breath teased her breast through her shirt. Her breasts were a huge trigger and she couldn’t stop herself from pressing her nipple against Flynn’s mouth. When Flynn obediently bit down, Allie whimpered softly. “God, Flynn, that turns me on so much.”

With a groan, Flynn released Allie’s nipple and let her head fall back against the couch. “All I have to do is kiss you and I totally forget everything. Like the fact that you’re bruised and sore and I’m trying to maul you. I’m sorry.”

“Any other time, believe me, maul away.” Allie leaned down and kissed her, slowly and thoroughly. When she pulled back, she was panting and Flynn’s eyes were glazed. “I hate to say this, but I really do think I need to go to bed. I’m just—I’m just a little strung out over everything, you know?”

“I know, and I’m good with that, really.” Flynn hesitated. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention anything about what I told you.”

“I won’t. Promise.” Allie sighed.

Flynn helped Allie get to her feet, then put her arms around her and whispered, “Anything I can do before I go?”

“Oh, you’ve done plenty. Gold star, Flynn.” Allie walked Flynn to the door and gave her another serious good-night kiss. Flynn held her close, caressing her back and her ass, but not pushing for anything more than the kiss. Just the same, Allie throbbed in all the danger zones by the time she broke it off. “And I don’t just think you’re hot. I think you’re blazing.”

v

“You need to get out of here,” Nita said, leaning in the doorway of Tory’s office. “You were only supposed to work half a day, remember?”

• 134 •

RetuRning tides

“Did Ash Walker get taken care of?” Tory asked wearily.

“Yes. One of Reese’s officers came by to drive her home. Really, you look beat. I’ll take care of the chart work.”

“I appreciate it. Reese picked the baby up a little while ago, and I’d really like to get home before she goes to sleep. It’s been a long couple of weeks without her.”

“Go, go.”

“Can you come in for a minute and close the door?” Tory dreaded asking, but she’d pushed everything out of her mind during the last few chaotic hours, taking care of two injured friends. She couldn’t hold her worry off any longer. “What do you think about Reese?”

“You know the party line,” Nita said gently, settling into one of the chairs in front of Tory’s desk. She crossed her legs and draped one arm over her knee, leaning forward, her face serious and compassionate. “I told her I wanted to get a CAT scan just to be sure we aren’t dealing with some small area of cortical scarring that’s acting as a seizure focus.