Rica sat on the side of the bed and watched Carter pull a polo shirt and jeans out of the closet. “Do you think it’s something personal—

with Marilyn and the other agent? Payback of some kind?”

Carter tucked her shirt in and buttoned up her fly. “What do you mean?”

• 222 •

RetuRning tides

“Two federal agents in two days? Where’s the gain? Anyone would know that kind of assault only brings dozens more agents into the picture. Why risk that kind of attention unless you’re sending a message?”

Sending a message. Interesting phrase. Carter never forgot who Rica was, but sometimes she forgot that Rica had been groomed since childhood to assume her father’s business. Rica might have turned her back on her father’s legacy, but she couldn’t undo the instincts he had instilled in her. And she was right. Marilyn Allen had been investigating the organized crime syndicate for months, probably years, and her quarry had to know that. The last thing anyone in the syndicate wanted was more federal eyes on them. And if the attacks on Marilyn Allen and her agent weren’t mob related, then what the hell were they? “You’ve got a point.”

“What is she doing here, Carter? Do you think it’s me?”

“If she’s still interested in you,” Carter said, “and I’m not saying she isn’t, I’d think the last place she’d want to be is here. Why telegraph her intentions?”

Rica rose and walked to the double glass doors that led out to the bedroom balcony. “Do you think one of her agents had something to do with my car?” She spun around, her arms folded beneath her breasts as if warding off the chill. “And the breakin here at the house?”

Carter strode to Rica and pulled her into her arms. “No. If they wanted to plant a bug or a camera in the house or the car, they wouldn’t make it obvious. They wouldn’t break the car window. They might be heavy-handed, but they’re not that dumb.”

“You’re right.” Rica laid her head against Carter’s shoulder. “Just the same, I’m going to call my father. He might know something. Are you all right with that?”

“There’s nothing you can tell him that he probably won’t already know by the time you talk to him. The feds will try to cover this up, but you can bet he’s got eyes and ears on them, just as they do on him.”

She tilted Rica’s face up and kissed her. “But I’d rather you not get involved. It’s not about not trusting you. It’s about wanting to keep you far away from this.”

“I would never do anything to compromise you professionally,”

Rica said. “Or put you in any kind of danger. But he’s still my father.

• 223 •

RAdCLY fFe

If his business dealings eventually land him in legal difficulties, that’s one thing. But these attacks—they’re crazy. I don’t want him to be ambushed, Carter.”

“I know. Which is why if you do talk to him, it’s okay. Like I said, there’s no way to keep any of this quiet.”

“Caroline went home after Bri called and said Everly had been picked up. Do you think she’ll be all right by herself?”

“Everly says he wasn’t the one who tried to break into her apartment, but he’s the most likely suspect.” Carter kissed her again, then went back to the dresser to gather her badge and gun. “I can’t see any reason why she should be a target now.”

“When will you be home?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to arrange a meet with Kevin tonight.

See if I can get some information on the feds through the back door.”

“Will he talk to you?” Rica asked, referring to Kevin Shaughnessy, Carter’s old partner in the state police. Kevin had been one of the few people who had stood up for Carter when Marilyn Allen had accused Carter of changing sides and joining the mob. Still, Rica knew that Carter’s association with her, and by extension, with her father, had seriously strained all Carter’s relationships with her former law enforcement colleagues.

“I don’t know,” Carter said quietly. “I don’t want to jam him up, so if he turns me down, I won’t push.”

“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” Rica knew it was a senseless question, because Carter would do whatever her duty required. But she had to say it. On some irrational level, she believed that by wishing Carter to be safe, to be careful, she could help make it come true. A wave of foreboding washed through her, and she put her arms around Carter’s neck, holding on to her tightly. “I love you. Please be careful.”

“I will. I promise.” Carter kissed her. “I love you too. I’ll be home soon.”

Rica walked her to the door, then turned back to the silent house and the long night ahead.

v

Reese hung up the phone and swiveled on the stool at the breakfast bar to watch Tory finish reading a story to Reggie. Reggie had a favorite

• 224 •

RetuRning tides

book now, one with a plethora of farm animals and buttons that she could push to make the book crow, or moo, or oink. When Tory got to the end, Reggie bounced on her lap and said story in a clear and demanding voice while banging on the cover. Reese laughed.

“Want me to take a turn?”

Tory raised an eyebrow. “I’d love it, but don’t you have to go back to work?”

“That was Carter. She’s got a meet set up with Kevin Shaughnessy in Yarmouth tonight. If she gets any kind of lead, we’re going to want to move on it. Until then, we’re in a holding pattern. I can’t get anything about Marilyn or what she and her team were doing here from the FBI.

Maybe in the morning I’ll be able to call in some favors.”

“I’ll never understand why different branches of law enforcement can’t get along. It doesn’t make any sense. You’re on the same side.”

Reese joined Tory on the couch and lifted Reggie into her lap. “We would be on the same side, if upholding the law were our only goal. But law enforcement is politics too. And these days, it’s also bureaucracy.

If I knock on the right doors, I might get someone to talk to me. Right now, everyone is playing deaf, dumb, and blind.”

“And if Marilyn Allen dies?” Tory asked quietly.

“We’ll be in the midst of a deep freeze that won’t thaw this century.” Reese slid her arm around Tory’s shoulders and pulled her close. “How about I give Reggie a bath and put her to bed before I read her the story. You might want to take a little nap while I do that.”

Tory circled her palm over Reese’s stomach, murmuring appreciatively when Reese sucked in a breath and her muscles tightened.

“You have something in mind?”

“Several somethings,” Reese whispered in Tory’s ear. “Several times.”

“Maybe we should put the monitor back on you if you’re going to get fancy.”

“It won’t show anything. Nothing triggered out there today when we apprehended Everly.”

“I know.” Tory nipped at the edge of Reese’s jaw. “When I heard what had happened, I asked Nita to check the telemetry readouts that downloaded to her computer. If I didn’t know any better, and only had your pulse and blood pressure readings to go by, I would have thought you were sitting at your desk filling out reports.”

• 225 •

RAdCLY fFe

“I won’t pretend you don’t make my heart race,” Reese said with a grin, “but you haven’t given me a panic attack. Yet.”

“Is that what you think you experienced?” Tory leaned back to study her intently. “Panic attacks?”

“That may not be the right medical term for it, but I think so, yes.” Reese rescued her tie from Reggie’s clutches and handed her a toy to divert her for a few minutes. “I think I got what happened over there, losing some of my troops, mixed up with losing you. I just have to remind myself that the two are different.” She tightened her hold on Tory and kissed her on the mouth, a long, slow, possessive kiss.

“You’re here and you’re mine and I won’t lose you.”

“Oh God, Reese,” Tory whispered. “I need you and those several things you have planned. Soon.”

Reese got a hot, demanding glint in her eyes. “I’ll meet you in our room in thirty minutes. Go close your eyes.” She skimmed her mouth over Tory’s ear. “If you can’t sleep, you can start without me. Just don’t finish without me.”

Tory’s lips parted and her eyes grew glassy. “I’ll wait. I’ll wait, but God, hurry.”

Reese stood and settled Reggie on her shoulder. “Come on, Champ, time for bed.”

Tory watched them until they disappeared out of sight upstairs.

Then she closed her eyes and waited for her breathing to settle. Thirty minutes had never sounded so long.

v

From the shadows just beyond the circle of light emanating from the window, he watched the woman on the sofa. He knew she would fight him, even with a knife at her throat. When he pinned her down, she would struggle. He would have to hurt her, cut her just a little, to prove he was in charge. His gaze drifted over her breasts and he imagined them pressed against his chest, imagined himself between her legs. He wondered what it would take to put that look in her eyes, the look that Marilyn Allen had had in hers when the knife struck home. He needed to put that look in her eyes, and he was done waiting.

• 226 •

RetuRning tides

chapteR twenty-six

Carter pulled off Route 6 and into the parking lot of the Seaside Diner a few minutes before ten p.m. The parking lot was full, as were most of the counter stools and booths when she walked in.

The place smelled like fish and chips and a mouthwatering hint of hot apple pie. She scanned the length of the long narrow room and caught sight of a broad-shouldered redhead whose close-cropped hair was sprinkled with gray sitting in a far booth. She made her way down the aisle, dodging waitresses and customers, until she could slide in across from her old partner, Kevin Shaughnessy. When she’d been undercover, Kevin had been her contact in the state investigator’s office, feeding her information, relaying her verbal reports, and pretty much keeping her tethered to the real world when there were times she thought she might go under from the pressure of maintaining all the lies in her life. Ten years her senior, Kevin hid a sharp intelligence and fierce loyalty to the badge behind his florid, open face. She trusted him and hoped he still trusted her, even though she’d walked away from her career and the battle they had fought side by side for more than a decade.