Bare It All by Lori Foster

Author:Lori Foster [Foster, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Romance, Fiction, Fiction / Romance, Suspense
ISBN: 9780373777617
Google: X4bWVn1b3rcC
Amazon: 0373777612
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-04-29T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ALICE BIT INTO the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and thought it tasted better than anything she’d eaten in years. Her world felt...brighter, an enormous weight lifted off her shoulders.

She’d shared her biggest shame, and yet Reese hadn’t turned away. He was such a good man, a detective even, and yet he didn’t blame her.

It meant so much, more than she’d realized was possible. “Before I go to bed, I think I’ll email my mom and dad.”

“I’m sure they’d love that.” He set a glass of milk in front of her. “But why not a phone call?”

“It’s late and I don’t want to wake them.” They’d been apart so long now, she’d prefer to ease into things. An email, a request to visit...

Maybe even a reunion, this time without all the barriers of her shame and their regret.

Reese filled his own glass with milk, took his seat next to her and gave her such a severe, serious look that she almost squirmed.

He lifted his sandwich. “You’re okay now?”

“I won’t sob on you anymore.” How humiliating that she’d left his chest wet with her tears. “I’m sorry about falling apart.”

“Don’t be.” He ate half the sandwich in a single bite. “I’m glad you told me.”

She was glad, too. It felt better not to carry the burden alone. “Thank you for letting me.”

Because he’d more or less insisted, he shook his head.

“I’m not really much of a crier.” She pulled at the crust on her bread. “There never seemed to be much point.”

“Everyone gets emotional now and then, and you certainly had reason.”

“I bet you don’t cry when you get emotional.”

His smile went crooked. “No, but I hit up the gym and lift weights until my entire body aches.”

Eyeing that awesome body, Alice could believe it. “That helps you to get things back in balance?”

Shrugging one boulder shoulder, Reese said, “It expends energy. Sometimes I run, too, but usually I do that just because I enjoy it. It’s a good time to think about things, to put them in perspective.”

“Things with your job?” she asked, and then digging a bit more, added, “Or with personal relationships?”

“Usually the job.” He turned his milk glass just a little, his thoughts hidden from her. “Rapes, missing teens... Those cases get to me more than murder sometimes.” His gaze met hers. “Many of the murders we see are between creeps. Bad deals that got out of hand. That sort of thing.”

Alice’s heart pounded. “So...you’re saying when a really bad guys dies, it’s hard to mourn him.”

“Impossible, actually. I do my job. I follow all the leads. I uphold justice. But I’m not going to lose sleep over it.”

Would he feel that way if he ever knew the extent of what she’d done?

Reese’s eyes narrowed as he studied her. “But a kid alone on the streets, or a woman who’s been brutalized, yeah, that plagues me.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Once is too often, you know? We get domestic abuse calls all the time. Usually it’s drinking that got out of hand, and the one who called us regrets it later.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.