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been worthy of love.
    Then.
    But now?
    She desperately wanted to explore the expanding emotions he
inspired. Did she dare?
    She would never again be a coward.
    Clearing the constricting uncertainty from her throat, she
forced herself to meet his gaze. He watched her so closely that she felt it
right down to her heart. “When can you move back to your apartment?”
    The seconds ticked by. “In a hurry to get rid of me?”
    “Not at all.” Alice admitted the truth. “I’m hoping you still
need a place to stay. That is, I hope you’ll want to stay here again.” And just
in case he wasn’t getting it, she added, “With me.”
    He dropped back in his seat, his eyes closed, his expression
frustrated. “You don’t pull your punches, do you?”
    When she’d so generously been offered a new lease on life,
she’d vowed to be clear and concise in all things. She wanted Reese. For how
much, she didn’t yet know, but she wanted to find out. “I didn’t mean to put you
on the spot.”
    He half laughed and opened his eyes to watch her again.
    “You shouldn’t feel obligated to...do anything.” That sounded
terrible. “I mean, you’re welcome to sleep here. On the couch.” Worse and worse, Alice. She screwed up her flagging
courage and put on a serious face. “I wasn’t hitting on you, as Pam and Nikki
do.”
    “I can tell the difference.”
    Of course he could. She felt like a fool.
    Reese smiled at her. “I would have asked, you know.”
    Tension eased from her shoulders. “You want to stay?”
    “For several reasons. First and foremost, after the excitement
last night, you shouldn’t be alone. Yes, you’re coping well. And now that I know
a hint of your past, I suppose being well-armed makes...sense.”
    Was he trying not to insult her? “You think I’m overdoing
it.”
    “I think you’re doing what you need to in order to feel
safer.”
    Safer, but not safe. Reese
understood the difference. Now that she knew how easy it was to become the
victim, never again would she feel entirely safe. “Yes.”
    He toyed with his empty glass, turning it on the table. “I can
only imagine how you were affected by the shooting and the death—”
    She lifted her chin. “I would have helped.”
    “You did help. You sent Logan in with full knowledge of what
was happening. Without you, he might have ended up in the same boat as the
lieutenant and me.”
    She still didn’t know everything that had happened, how or why.
“Handcuffed to a bed?”
    “Or dead.” Reese pushed back from his chair and carried his
empty plate to the sink.
    Were all men so comfortable in a kitchen? So tidy?
    Not that she could remember. Her dad was wonderful, but he’d
left household chores to her mother.
    The few relationships she’d had never went beyond casual
dating, so she had no idea how those men had been in a kitchen.
    As if merely curious, Reese asked, “You would have used that
gun yesterday?”
    “If necessary.” That was one thing she’d proven to herself. She could pull the trigger. “I gave my other gun to
your friend, since he’d left his with his brother—”
    “Other gun?” He turned to face her again. “You have more? ”
    “Another revolver. Logan didn’t tell you it was mine?”
    “He got shot, and he was bleeding all over....” Reese looked at
her face and cursed low. “So damn much confusion, and too many people involved.”
He cleared his plate and put it in the dishwasher. “The CST has your gun, so I
hope you’re right about that permit.”
    “I am.” Curiosity got the better of her. “CST? Is that Crime
Scene Tech?”
    “Yes. They’re responsible for taking photos of the scene and
collecting evidence.”
    She scowled. “When will I get it back?” The idea of being short
a gun didn’t sit right. She’d gotten used to knowing exactly where to find each
weapon.
    “If everything checks out, it won’t be long.” He took her plate
to the dishwasher, too, then came to stand right in front of