Love to Hate You: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

As it turned out, Charlie had been safe. She’d been asleep in her bed when Dalton let himself into her house and all but threw her ass in his truck and drove her to Alpha Omega where the rest of us were waiting.

  You wouldn’t have known it by looking at her—what with her petite frame, long dark blonde hair, button nose, and pixie features—but this girl could be hard as stone when she was in the mood to be, and judging from the way she burst into the conference room in Lincoln’s offices, she was in the mood.

  “What the hell?” she snapped the minute her eyes landed on Leo and me. “You know, cops or not, having your boy break into my place in the middle of the night and take me against my will is still illegal. And a felony!”

  “Sit down,” I grated, curling my fingers into the arms of the chair I was sitting in.

  “Screw that! Are you trying to blow my cover? Cormack could’ve had one of his goons watching my house!”

  “And they wouldn’t have seen a thing,” Dalton gritted out.

  She shot him a scathing look. “Yeah? You and Harry Potter tight? He let you borrow his invisibility cloak or something?”

  One of the most annoying things about Charlie Belmont was her ability to be funny while still pissing you off. I wanted to laugh at the same time I wanted to cuff her to the table so she couldn’t get away.

  “Lose the attitude, Thumbelina,” Dalton clipped.

  “Eat me, man bun,” she fired back.

  I finally snapped when the two of them started going at each other. “Enough!” I bellowed, shooting up and slamming my hands down on the table. She clamped her mouth shut instantly, giving me wide eyes. “Sit the fuck down and listen, Charlie.”

  To my complete and utter shock, she yanked out a chair and plopped down in it with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and sulking petulantly.

  Leo spoke while I took a few much-needed seconds to calm the hell down. “Some shit went down tonight and it’s changed the state of play.”

  “What happened?”

  “Evan Webb was shot at point blank range in the back of his head while he was down on his knees,” I growled. “That’s what happened.”

  Her whole frame jerked back while the color slowly leeched from her face and her chest heaved with rapid breaths. “What?”

  “I take it you didn’t know.”

  “Of course I didn’t know!” she cried. “Oh my God. He was asking questions. I didn’t know what he was doing, and I wasn’t gonna ask. I’ve been keeping my head down, trying not to draw too much attention, but I wondered what the hell he was up to.”

  “So it’s like we suspected,” Leo said on a low grunt. “The kid showed his hand and got himself caught. Now he’s dead.”

  “You’re out, starting now,” I demanded.

  “What? You can’t do that,” she cried, slapping her palm onto the table.

  I sat back down and leaned back in my chair, faking a calm I most certainly wasn’t feeling. “It’s already done.”

  “This is bullshit!” she argued. “Now that Evan’s dead, I’m the only eyes you have on the inside. I’m not quitting now.”

  “That’s not your call,” I replied flatly. “As of an hour and a half ago, it stopped being your decision to make, mainly because you were making all the wrong ones by not getting yourself safe.”

  Giving up on me, she looked to Leo imploringly. “Leo, please. You can’t—”

  “You’re out,” Dalton snarled. “Don’t fuckin’ test me on this. If I have to tie you up and lock you in my basement, I will.”

  She ignored him and shifted her focus back to me. “Micah, come on. I can do this. I know I can.”

  “People are dying, Charlie,” I stressed. “This motherfucker didn’t just kill a fellow police officer, he murdered his partner. You think he’d hesitate for even a moment to squeeze the trigger if he thought you were a threat to him? Not a chance. He’d put a bullet in your head without losing any sleep. I can’t let that happen. You might not care what happens to you, but I sure as fuck do. And so does Leo. We can’t sit back and watch you put yourself at risk like this. Not anymore.”

  She surprised me again, and not in a good way, when she lowered her head on a sniffle.

  “Sweetheart—” Leo started.

  Then she looked back up at us, her chin trembling and her eyes glassy with unshed tears. I’d never seen this kind of emotion from Charlie before. I’d always pictured her too hard, too tough to cry, but clearly, I’d been very wrong.

  “I haven’t done a lot of good in my life,” she said in a wobbly voice. “I put my trust in the wrong people over and over, and when they finally showed their true colors, instead of doing the hard thing or the right thing, I ran. I always ran.”

  “Darlin’ this isn’t—” I tried, but she wasn’t finished.

  “As long as I wasn’t the one being hurt, it wasn’t my problem these assholes were out there, breathing free and clear, able to do whatever the hell they wanted. It didn’t affect me, so it wasn’t my business, right?” She let out a self-deprecating laugh and shook her head in disgust. “The only person I’ve ever looked out for my whole life was me. Then I saw Darrin Callo’s girls.” All the air whooshed from my lungs, but she kept going. “If they’d had a mom as worthless as the one I’d been born to, more than likely, they’d end up on the very same path I’ve spent most of my life on. I saw them and I decided I was done running. I was done looking out for only myself. Greg Cormack took a good and decent man from this earth. He doesn’t get to breathe free and clear.”

  Jesus, she was killing me. “You’ve done enough,” I told her, my voice low and gentle. “You don’t need to risk your life for anything else.”

  “Better my life than someone who’d leave people behind,” she replied vehemently. “Micah, I’ve got no one. If something were to happen to me, it wouldn’t be any great loss. There’s no one to care if I’m not around anymore.”

  “Jesus Christ,” I rasped, my chest feeling like it had been sliced open as I stared across the length of the table in bewilderment. “You really think that, don’t you?”

  She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Just saying it like it is.”

  “You think it wouldn’t fuckin’ torment me if something were to happen to you? You think Leo wouldn’t care? Or any of the goddamn men sitting at this table right now?”

  “You might feel guilty for a little while ’cause I was your informant, but it wouldn’t—”

  “Bullshit!” I thundered. “It wouldn’t have a fuckin’ thing to do with guilt or responsibility or any of that other fucked-up shit floating around in your head right now. It would just be loss, plain and goddamn simple, Charlie. You think just ’cause you started this as a CI we don’t care about you? We got to know you, and what we came to know, we grew to care about simply because you’re you. That means, informant or not, you get hurt, or God forbid, worse, it’s gonna fuckin’ destroy me. And I’m not the only one. You’re family, Charlie. And if something happened to you, you’d be leaving all of us with that pain.”

  Her lips parted on a broken exhale as her eyes went wide in shock. I didn’t know if it was because she’d been stunned speechless or what, but she didn’t say a word in response.

  “Same goes for me,” Leo grunted, and when I looked over, I could see how pissed he was that she’d be dumb enough to think she didn’t matter to him or any of us sitting in that room. “And you can call it selfish if that’ll make you feel better, I don’t give a damn. But that’s why you’re out.”

  I looked across the room to where Dalton was standing, his back pressed against the wall, the sole of one booted foot propped on it, and his arms crossed over his chest. His stance might have appeared casual, but the rage rolled off his body in big, heavy waves. Out of everyone in this room, he might be the one most affected if something happened to her.

  “It’s not as easy as just walking away,” she finally said in a small voice after a long, silent pause. “Cormack will know somethi
ng’s up if I just up and quit taking his calls.”

  “Then you’ve got two choices,” Lincoln stated, speaking for the first time since she entered the room. “The first one, we take you somewhere and keep you hidden ’til this shit’s over and done with. You’ll be safe, and no one’ll be able to find you.”

  Her gaze shot to his and she gave her head a jerky shake. “That’s the same as running. If I disappear, he’ll freak. He freaks, other people could get hurt. What’s the second option.”

  “You aren’t gonna like it,” I informed her.

  “As long as it doesn’t involve running, I’ll be fine.”

  “You and Dalt are gonna get close,” I explained. “We’ll make it look like it happened naturally, but you two are gonna be seen spendin’ more and more time together. Cormack knows he’s part of Linc’s crew, so if he’s smart he’ll start putting some distance between him and you without getting suspicious.” I was right, I could tell by the pinched look on her face she wasn’t happy with that, so I added more, hoping to keep her head from exploding. “This way, you might be able to keep your finger on the pulse without getting any deeper, and you’ll have a reasonable excuse to have Dalton at your back if anything goes down. But we’re gonna make damn sure nothing goes down. That work for you?”

  “It’s that or a safehouse in the mountains with no cable or internet,” Linc grunted.

  Charlie’s nostrils flared like an angry bull as her eyes skittered around the men at the table before finally turning to look at the one standing behind her. “Fine,” she grumbled as she faced forward in her chair. “Option two it is.” She threw her arm out and pointed behind her. “But if he pisses me off, I can’t be held responsible for shooting him.”

  With that said, everything was as settled as it could possibly get, given the shitstorm swirling around all of us.

  We ended the meeting shortly after that, with Dalton driving a fuming Charlie back to her house to make sure it was clear.

  I stood from the conference table and started toward the doors when Leo called my name. “Look, brother, I hate to pile more on your plate after the night we just had, but there’s something you gotta know.”

  I watched the rest of the men clear out of the room before looking back to my partner. “What is it?”

  “You know Dani knows what’s goin’ down to a certain extent.” I nodded. It was something he and I had talked about when we discovered we had at least one dirty cop in the department. We agreed he could talk to Danika about the case because she was his woman, and we both knew we could trust her. As far as I was aware, she hadn’t breathed a word of what she knew to anyone else. “Well, she was at Divine Flora earlier today, visiting Hayden, and Cormack came in.” My back went straight. Unfortunately, he wasn’t finished. “Your little showdown at The Tap Room last weekend didn’t do a damn thing to get him off her scent. He made his move right there in front of her aunt and her girl, as well as Sage and Dani.”

  “He what?”

  “Asked her out in front of an audience. He’s got her in his sights and he’s not shiftin’ target."

  “God damnit,” I snapped. “I told her to stay away from that son of a bitch.”

  “Well, the way Dani says she saw it, Hayden didn’t look too excited to have his attention. My woman did her best to warn her away from the prick without lettin’ anything slip, but Dani’s still worried. Hayden’s part of their crew now, and she wants to make sure her new friend’s got someone lookin’ out for her.”

  “I’m on it,” I grunted, heading for the door. Greg Cormack wasn’t going to get within fifty feet of Hayden again. I’d make goddamn sure of it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Hayden

  I thought my aunt had been exaggerating when she said nearly the whole town was coming to the party she’d decided to throw on a whim. That just went to show what I knew, because it felt like every single resident in Hope Valley was currently standing in our backyard.

  I’d woken up this morning frantic that nothing had been done in preparation. I’d hightailed it out to Sylvia’s to find out what I could do, only to be told “Everything will work itself out, my precious girl. Just relax.” I hadn’t bought it, but sure enough, she’d been right.

  Everything was running like a well-oiled machine. Other than making a big helping of potato salad and two apple pies—my contribution to the potluck aspect of the whole thing—there’d been nothing else for me to do. There was no setting anything up ahead of time, no preparing for our “guests”.

  People showed, some with folding tables, some with chairs, others with yard games, and they set stuff up wherever there was an empty space. Each person came with at least one dish, so the spread was more impressive than the catering at my wedding. There were a few kegs off to the side, and coolers full of drinks had appeared out of nowhere.

  And people milling about everywhere. Micah had dragged a grill over earlier and spent the past hour standing around it with a bunch of other men, talking and drinking beers while grilling up hamburgers and hot dogs.

  I didn’t recognize three quarters of the people, yet they all seemed to know exactly who I was, giving ‘hellos’ or waves, some even stopping to chat with me for a bit. There wasn’t a single stranger in sight. Everyone had made themselves right at home, kicking back and enjoying a beautiful fall day before the weather got too cold, hanging out with good friends, good food, and lots of laughs.

  Eden sidled up to me, a clear plastic cup with what looked like lemonade clutched between her hands and propped on her baby bump. “Hey, babe. You having a good time?”

  I let out a small laugh. “This is certainly not what I was expecting. The last time I hosted a barbecue, it had been planned weeks in advance, there were no kids allowed, and everyone came dressed in ‘garden party chic’.”

  She turned her face to me, her brows raised in confusion. “I’m not even sure what that means.”

  “Lightweight dresses and heels for the women. Sport coats and chinos for the men.”

  “That sounds . . .” she scrunched her nose up adorably.

  “Awful?” I added on a giggle. “Yeah. It really was. It was an event for Alex’s clients and work associates. I was bored out of my mind.”

  “And now?”

  I looked out at the sprawling yard. My baby girl was easy to spot with her long, wild hair and the purple tutu and T-shirt sporting a sequined Eiffel Tower she’d paired with her combat boots. She was in the middle of a Frisbee game with a group of kids of all ages. She looked like she was having the time of her life.

  A smile slowly stretching across my lips. “Now I’m having the best time,” I admitted in a quiet voice. “Everybody knows everybody. There’s a comfort in that I’ve never experienced before. There are no pretenses, no one’s trying to show anyone else up. The only thing anyone cares about is that the person next to them is having fun.”

  Eden grinned big. “Welcome to small-town living, honey.”

  “It really is the best.”

  A woman who looked to be around Sylvia’s age shuffled her way in front of Eden and me. Her short, gray hair was tinted blue and, while she was far less spry than my aunt, there was a shrewdness in her eyes telling me this woman still had her wits about her, and then some.

  “So, this is the new one, huh?”

  My chin jerked back at her bluntness while Eden let out a giggle before introducing us. “Ms. McClintock, this is Hayden Young. Sylvia’s niece. Hayden, this is Ms. M. Don’t let her fool you, she’s actually sweet as pie. You’ll love her.”

  The old woman harrumphed before stating flatly, “What are you tryin’ to do, Eden Sheppard? Scare the girl off? Of course she’ll like me. Everyone likes me. I’m a ray of freakin’ sunshine.”

  My attempt to swallow my laughter resulted in a loud, indelicate snort. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. M.”

  She looked me up and down, mumbling, “Mmmhmm,” and giving me the impression she was still waiting to see what I had to
offer before casting judgment. “So, you’re a pretty thing,” she stated in the same tone someone might use to announce they had food poisoning, almost accusingly.

  “Um . . .” I looked to Eden for direction, getting only a shrug in return. “Thank you?”

  “I’m assumin’, seein’ as you’re pretty and this town’s full of good lookin’ men, you’ve got your sights set on one already.” She looked out toward the yard like she was weighing the options. “So who’s it gonna be?”

  “Oh, uh . . .” I cast big eyes to my friend, silently begging her to save me from whatever the hell this was, but I got nothing. “Actually, I’m not really—”

  “Don’t gimme that BS about not lookin’ for a man. Every single woman’s lookin’ for a man. Hell, I’d be lookin’ for a man if they weren’t already beatin’ down my door.”

  My head fell back on a deep belly laugh. “You know what, Ms. M? Eden was right. I do like you.”

  “Of course you do,” she said snidely. “Now stop avoiding the question.”

  “Ms. M—” Eden started, but the old woman waved her hand, silencing her. “You got yours, and he already popped a bun into that oven, so you know. Don’t act like your friend doesn’t need a man of her own. At the very least, she should find someone to sleep with. I read somewhere that orgasms actually extend a woman’s life. It’s science! It also means I’m gonna live forever,” she added with a cheeky wink that had Eden choking on the sip she’d just taken.

  “For the love of Pete,” Sylvia decreed, coming to a stop next to Ms. McClintock and grabbing hold of the woman shoulders. “Will you leave the youngins alone already, Pearl? They don’t need you scarin’ the life outta them. Come on. I’m trying to get enough people to start a game of bingo.”

  Ms. McClintock gave my aunt a scathing glare. “I’m old, not dead. Bingo is for people who don’t have a life.”

  “Not how I play it. Each time a person yells bingo, you have to take a shot. And I got a bottle of Maker’s Mark just for you.”

  “Well why the hell didn’t you start with that?”