Allie walked in the back door and heard voices, but they didn’t belong to Ollie and Jim.
“—know for sure.”
“I don’t want to hear maybes, Razio.” Ollie’s voice was so cold he sounded like a stranger.
“Well, maybes are all I got right now. The guy wasn’t a big player. No one gossips about the little fish.”
Ollie paused, and Allie suspected he’d heard her coming down the hall.
“Hey, babe.”
Babe?
She emerged from the dark hallway to see Ollie sitting at a table with a burly biker slumped across from him. Ollie’s face was blank, and he had a notebook in front of him that he was scribbling in, but he held a hand out to her.
“Hey,” she said, walking toward the table. “I don’t want to interrupt. I just—”
Without warning, Ollie pulled her onto his lap and perched her there, wrapping an arm around her waist and laying a hand possessively over one thigh. She tried not to gasp.
The man Ollie had called Razio smirked. “Didn’t you know you had an old lady, Campbell.”
“Apparently there’s a lot you don’t know.”
The smirk fell. “Give me another week. We’re riding down to Palm Desert to meet with some guys on Tuesday. I’ll see what they’ve heard.”
“Call me.” Ollie never looked up, still making scratches in that notebook. He didn’t look at Razio as he left the bar. Didn’t look at Allie when she tried to wriggle free. He only relaxed the grip on her thigh when the sound of the motorcycle faded away.
“Who was that?”
“I didn’t know you were coming by,” he growled.
“I didn’t know I was coming by until I talked to Old Quinn today.”
He dropped the pencil and tried to turn her, but Allie took the opportunity to slide off his lap.
“And what was that about? ‘Babe?’ Your old lady?”
Ollie glared at her. “That guy doesn’t need to know who you are. I’d rather he thought you were my girl than anyone he was allowed to pay attention to. Why did you go talk to Old Quinn?”
“Because there was a rosy boa curled up under my house last night. Quinn told me everything. You were going to tell me about that game, right?”
A cheek muscle jumping under his beard told Allie that no, Oliver Campbell probably had no plans to share what her ex-husband was getting into. He’d planned on sheltering her and softening things like everything else.
“You were going to tell me, right, Ollie? I asked you to look into things, not hide them from me. This was my ex-husband, and you don’t get to shield me from his shit.”
He stood up. “I get to shield you from whatever the hell I want. You’re a mom, Allie, but you’re not my mom. Stop trying to boss me around.”
“Stop trying to keep me in the dark.”
“Stop trying to take on every damn thing in the world, then!” Ollie threw out his hand. “You’ve got the kids, two jobs, dealing with all of Joe’s shit, which I know has been stressing you out. You asked me to look into this, so let me look into it.”
“I need to know what’s happening.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s my house that’s getting broken into! It’s my kids whose mattresses got ripped apart!” She felt the tears in her eyes and hated them. “It’s my life, Ollie. It’s my messed-up disaster of a life, and I’m the one who has to pick up the pieces when things fall apart. I’m the one who takes care of things, so I need to know when the next disaster is going to hit. At least give me that.”
His mouth was a hard line. “What’s wrong with letting me take care of this? What’s wrong with—”
“Because it’s not your mess. This. Is not. Your problem. And you’re not going to be there every time things fall apart, so you need to let me—”
“I’m not going to be there?” A low growl rose from his chest. “Allie, I have been here for twenty years. I have stood by and watched you take on more and more until I didn’t know how you stayed standing under the weight of it. I have been here…” He stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders. “Right here.”
Allie closed her eyes and felt the guilt eating her. He’d help. He’d take on her problems, and eventually, when it all became too much, he’d start resenting her. Resenting her kids. And she couldn’t…
She couldn’t bear the thought of Ollie looking at her with bitterness in his eyes.
“Allie-girl?” A warm thumb brushed over her cheek. “Don’t cry, darlin’. I can’t handle seeing you cry.”
“I’m not sad, I’m mad.”
“I know you’re mad. And overwhelmed. But I’m trying to help.”
“Why? We’ve already taken over your house.”
He wrapped his big arms around her. “It survived me and my cousins. The house’ll be fine.”
Allie put her arms around his waist and let herself lean. “If you want me to not stress so much, you need to tell me what’s going on. Not knowing stresses me out more than anything.”
He paused to think. “Okay. That makes sense. How much time do you have this afternoon?”
“None.” She let out a cynical laugh. “I need to get back to the house and sort through all the mess. Jena was going to do the kitchen, but then she had to go work at the resort. She and Alex are ordering stuff for the restaurant.”
“Why don’t you let me send Vicky over to the house? She’s always looking for extra work.”
“I can’t pay her for that.”
“I’ll pay her,” Ollie said.
“You can’t—”
He put a quick hand over her mouth. “Yes, I can.”
Allie glared at him until he removed his hand. “You’re awfully presumptuous, Oliver Campbell.”
“Keep watching.” His mouth twitched. “I’m about to get a lot worse.”
WITH three quick phone calls, Ollie had Vicky cleaning at her house, his cousins picking up the younger kids from the bus while Kevin did his shift at the feed store, and Jim covering the bar until Ollie and Allie could get there at six. Then he’d piled her in the truck and headed toward the Blackbird Diner.
“I’m guessing you haven’t eaten today.”
“I’ve had coffee.”
“Coffee is not a meal, Allison.”
“Now who’s acting like a mom?”
He smiled. “Don’t pout. Or do. It’s kinda cute.”
Allie couldn’t help that her body heated—she just hoped he didn’t notice. “You need to stop. Talking like that is just going to fuel the rumors that are probably already flying.”
He shrugged. “Let ’em fly. I don’t care.”
“Men never do.”
“And women care too much.” He parked at the diner and turned to her with a gleam of mischief in his eyes. “Tell the truth: are you ashamed of me, Allie? Is it my… rough reputation?”
“Oh please…” She reached for the door handle, only to have Ollie grab her hand. “Ollie, what—”
He’d leaned across the cab of the Bronco, reaching one tattooed arm to the door while he grabbed her other hand and held it between them. She was trapped against him, her mouth inches from his and his chest pressed up against her racing heart.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“You should let me open the door for you.”
Breathe, breathe, breathe, Allie. Do not tackle the giant grizzly and wrestle him into the backseat to have your way with him.
“Why? I can open my own door.”
“Because it’s nice. I like being nice to you,” he said a moment before he brushed a featherlight kiss over the corner of her mouth. “And that door can stick.”
With a hard shove that pressed their bodies even closer, he opened the passenger door.
But he didn’t move away.
“Ollie,” she said, glancing at a couple walking into the diner that had stopped to watch the show.
“Yeah,” he whispered, “you definitely care too much what other people think.”
r />
“We can’t all be big bad grizzly bears like you.”
The corner of his mouth curled up. “Who said I was bad?”
“I did.”
“And I haven’t even done anything to earn it.” He leaned back to his side of the truck. “Yet.”
Allie escaped the cab of the Bronco and leaned against the side, trying to calm her heart.
Calm. So he’s flirting with you. Or something. Sean flirts with you too. It doesn’t mean—
She almost yelped when he grabbed her hand.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go ambush Ted.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I heard an interesting rumor today, and I’m hoping Ted can explain it. She’s family, and I’d really hate to maul her. You wanted me to keep you informed? You’re informed.”
“I’m gonna say my job might also be keeping you from mauling your cousin and one of my best friends.”
“Yep.” He held the door open. “That’s probably a good idea too.”
Still clasping her hand, Ollie walked them down the middle of the diner, having already spotted Ted at her usual booth in the corner.
“Hey, Mr. Crowe,” Ollie said. “Can Allie and I get two hamburgers to go?”
“Sure thing, son.” Thomas Crowe, Jena’s father and adopted grandparent to Allie’s kids, watched them with narrowed eyes. “Hey there, Allie.”
“Hi, Tom.”
“Finally cooling off out there, huh?”
“Yep!” Had it gotten cooler? Allie hadn’t noticed.
Ollie pushed through the whispering lunchtime crowd and walked to Ted’s corner.
“Hey, cuz,” he said, gently pushing Allie into the booth before he slid in. “How’s lunch?”
“The pot roast sandwich is good.” Ted was eyeing their joined hands with definite interest. “But maybe I should be asking you the questions.”
“You could.” Ollie lowered his voice. “Or maybe you can explain why there’s a group of bikers who transport weed for the Di Stefano crew who told me they don’t have to worry about getting shot anymore, because isn’t it nice they have a doctor right here in Cambio Springs?”
Ted muttered, “Shit.”
Allie was blinking, trying to catch up. “Wait, what? Who are the… who’s selling weed? Someone was shot?”
“No one’s been shot,” Ted said. “Yet.”
“But if they do?” Ollie’s face was like granite.
Ted leaned back and set the rest of her sandwich down. “Why don’t we wait for your lunch? Then we can head over to my office for a more… private chat.”
“Yeah,” Ollie said. “That sounds like a really good idea.”
Chapter Twelve
OLLIE HAD FORGOTTEN HIS HAMBURGER about three justifications ago.
“Cam already knew something was different about the town. I figured… if he had a vested interest in keeping people away—”
“Except the criminals he’d be giving your name to,” Ollie said. “Keep everyone away except for them, right, Ted?”
Ted turned to Alex. The wolf alpha had driven over from the building site of the new Cambio Springs Resort and Spa. The resort that was promising to bring hundreds of jobs to the small town and possibly save it from ruin. The resort that was also threatening to expose the one place in the world where their people had been safe.
“Listen, Ollie.” Alex sat down next to Ted, still clad in dusty work clothes. “I wasn’t thrilled about it, either. But Ted’s right. With the resort going in, the town will be under scrutiny.”
“Right,” he bit out. “That tiny little private resort that was going to be so exclusive that barely anything was going to change at all, right Alex? That resort? The resort that’s already led to two murders?”
Alex’s face paled, but his eyes narrowed and he did not look away from his old friend.
Ted hissed, “That’s not fair. Alex is not responsible for those deaths.”
The resentment that had been simmering for months between Ollie and Alex finally boiled over.
“Don’t ever think,” Ollie told him, “that you have my approval in this idiocy. I held my tongue because my grandfather abstained from the vote. But my silence does not mean approval. This hotel will change everything.”
“The town was dying.”
“So you say.”
“It was.” Alex glanced at Allie, who was sitting next to the angry bear. “How many times did Joe ask you to move your kids, Allie? Because he couldn’t find work.”
“Joe’s dead,” Allie said quietly. “Our problems started way before he lost his job. Don’t bring him into this.”
“He’s one example,” Ted said. “I see them every day. This town was dying. The resort gave it a future. We had to do something.”
“Maybe,” Ollie said. “But we didn’t have to invite the damn mafia in, Ted.”
“Cam isn’t the mafia,” she mumbled.
“Oh yeah! I’m sure he’s the kinder, gentler gang leader. Who only runs illegal gambling and drugs and not human trafficking and weapons. Let’s invite him over for coffee with Yaya.”
Alex squeezed Ted’s hand. “Careful, bear. I’ll give you some latitude because you’re family, but watch your tone when you’re talking to my mate.”
“She invited them in!” he exploded. “The Campbells have worked for a hundred and fifty years to keep this town safe, and she invited them in and offered them sanctuary.”
He felt Allie’s hand on his shoulder, but he could barely think past his rage. All he could think of were hardened criminals driving to Ted’s clinic in the middle of the night, eyeing the sleepy town and its citizens. People he was responsible for. People who were family and friends. Vulnerable people he loved.
“I will never understand why you would do this,” Ollie said. “Stop trying to justify it.”
Ted, an apex predator herself, didn’t give an inch. “We needed an ally. And I’m not offering sanctuary. I’m offering medical care. Nothing less than I’d offer a wounded person who showed up at my door right now. It doesn’t matter who they are, I’d treat them because I made a promise when I became a doctor. I serve this town, but I don’t belong to it.”
Ollie lowered his voice. “You’re impulsive as shit, and you did not think this through. You don’t know these people.”
“And you do?” Ted asked. “Cam is Alex’s friend.”
“Yeah, I know these people. And not from the country club. I see the bruises and the busted knuckles and the guns. These are not people you mess with. Not people you make friendly agreements with.”
“Like you don’t have agreements with people?” Alex asked. “That’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think?”
“If things get messy at the bar, they don’t come into town. And if I have to get dirty to keep people safe, that’s one thing. But Ted is a doctor. And you’re the leader of the most powerful clan in the Springs. How could you back her up on this, Alex?”
“Don’t act like he owns me,” Ted said. “You know better.”
“Ollie,” Allie whispered into his shoulder. “It’s done. Arguing about it isn’t going to do anything. Cam’s people aren’t going to let them renege on the deal, are they?”
“No.” He took a deep breath.
“Then it’s done.” She squeezed his hand. “We make the best of it. That’s all we can do.”
He squeezed her hand back and held it, unwilling to let go of the softness she offered. It calmed the predatory instincts in him like nothing ever had.
And if the Di Stefano family was going to use the Springs, then he was going to use the Di Stefanos.
“Since you and Cameron Di Stefano are such great buddies now,” Ollie said, “then I want you to ask him for some information.”
Alex’s hard eyes flicked to Allie and softened. “About Joe?”
Ollie nodded. “There was a private poker game in Palm Springs last year. Happened just after Joe left. The Quinns backed him, but we don’t know
who was there or what happened.”
“What kind of stakes?” Alex asked.
“According to Maggie Quinn, the winner would have taken two hundred grand home.”
“Holy shit,” Ted said. “And someone let Joe enter that?”
Alex and Ollie exchanged glances, but it was Allie who spoke.
“Oh, he might have taken it,” she said. “Joe was damn good. I’d never play with him. Neither would my dad.”
“So why all the gambling debt?” Ted asked.
“Because he drank,” Allie said. “And the more he drank, the stupider he got. But the more he won, the more he drank. I’m sure the casinos loved him.”
Ollie looked down at Allie’s hand in his and thought what a monumental idiot Joe Russell had been. To have this woman and risk her respect because of cards disgusted him.
“I’ll ask Cam,” Alex said. “With stakes like that, he’d know who hosted it or know who to ask.”
“And what will he want in exchange for the information?”
“Nothing. We’re friends.”
“Wrong,” Ollie said. “You may be friends, but he’ll want something. If nothing else, it’s a mark that’s gonna sit in his ledger. But don’t ever think he’ll forget.”
Alex was still pissed. “He’s trying to go straight. Make his whole family legitimate. You think that happens overnight? Happens without effort?”
“Don’t know,” Ollie said. “And I don’t care. That’s not my problem. This town is my problem. Feel free to worry about Cameron Di Stefano and his ethical dilemmas, Alex. But don’t expect me to care. If he’s a threat to this town, you know what my clan will do. And the Elder Council won’t say a word.”
ALLIE sat silent in the truck while he drove her back to the Cave where her van was parked. That car was on its last legs. He needed to take a look at it and make sure it wasn’t going to fall apart while she was driving the kids, but he’d probably have to argue with her about paying him.