Had they? Had she really allowed herself to be friends with someone like him?

“We’re not friends and I don’t work for you. In fact, I don’t want to have anything to do with you ever again. So leave your business where it is. I’m sure you and Lyle will be very happy together—you’re both exactly the same.”

She pushed through the metal doors back into the now-empty meeting room and walked out. Why had it taken her so long to see the truth about Rudy? Worse, he was already in the town and in her aunt’s life. However was she going to get him out?

“I’M SORRY TO BE RIGHT, but there we are,” Hollis said as he laced his fingers together and rested his hands on his desk.

Mac had to gather every single ounce of self-control to stay calmly seated in his chair.

“I’m not sure what the sequence is,” Hollis continued. “Do violent men with short tempers get drawn to law enforcement, or does the profession change them once they’re ensconced?” He paused expectantly.

“I’m the last guy to have an opinion,” Mac said dryly.

“Yes, of course. You served in the military first, didn’t you?”

“Let me guess. You think they breed violence and abuse, as well.”

“Military institutions don’t help.”

Mac looked Hollis over. He took in the slight build, the glasses, the air of prissy nerdishness that practically screamed “come bully me.”

“You had a hell of a time when you were a kid, didn’t you?” Mac asked. “I’ll bet you couldn’t go twenty-four hours without someone beating the crap out of you.”

Hollis stiffened. “You couldn’t be more wrong. I had a very supportive and loving childhood.”

“Probably at home, but school was another story. You’re the guy I spent my high school years beating up and that’s what really pisses you off.”

Hollis pushed up his glasses. “I find it interesting that your history of violence started so young.”

“I’m sure you do.” Mac leaned forward and put his hands flat on the other man’s desk. “Here’s the thing, Hollis. I don’t care what you think of me. I do care about my daughter and I will fight you to the ends of the earth to keep her.”

“You should have thought of that before you assaulted Mr. Murphy.”

“You’re right,” Mac said. “I should have. And while we’re assigning blame, where the hell were you?”

Hollis blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. Where were you? Where was the social services department while Andy Murphy used his wife as a punching bag? Why aren’t you out there lecturing to him on the pitfalls of violence? How dare you sit in your office while that man breaks bones in his pregnant wife?”

“We can’t—”

“You can’t what?” Mac asked, interrupting. “Get involved? Care? When does it become your job? Because we both know what’s going to happen. Andy shows a clear pattern of escalation, which means this is going to get worse until someone gets killed. What are the odds of it being him? I’m going with less than ten percent. I think it’s going to be his wife or his kid in the morgue. You’re going to sit here with your rules and regulations and do nothing. How does that make you right?”

Hollis stared at him for several seconds, then pulled out a file. “After your preliminary hearing, I’ll be sending a letter to the judge in the custody case. Should you be charged, you will, of course, lose custody of Emily.”

Mac stood. “As always, your understanding is what keeps me going.”

He turned and left the room.

Anger bubbled inside of him. There had to be a solution. There had to be a way out. Dammit all to hell. Yet even as he searched for an answer, he knew he’d brought this on himself and he only had one person to blame. There had to be—

Mac stepped out of the building only to find Rudy Casaccio standing next to the patrol car.

“Afternoon, Mac,” he said. “How did your meeting go?”

“You don’t want to talk to me right now.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Rudy said easily. “I do want to talk to you and I think you want to listen.”

Mac started to unlock his car door, but Rudy stepped in the way.

“Hear me out. You have something I want and I have something you want.”

For one horrifying second, Mac thought Rudy had taken Em. All the blood rushed from his head. Fury turned the world red.

“You’re making life difficult for me,” Rudy said, as if he were unaware of Mac’s reaction. “I’d like you to get off my back. In return, I can make Hollis Bass disappear.” He chuckled. “Not literally, of course.”

Rational thought returned. This wasn’t about his daughter—at least not directly. He realized he’d automatically grabbed for his gun. Now he relaxed his hand and let it fall back to his side.

Mac tossed his keys into the air, then caught them. “Let me get this straight. You want the freedom to bring organized crime to Los Lobos and in return you’ll make sure the social worker gets off my back.”

“We’re talking about a little gambling, some number running, nothing big. No drugs. I don’t approve of drugs.”

Mac supposed that everyone needed standards.

“You’re in trouble, Mac,” Rudy said. “Hollis doesn’t approve of you.”

Mac didn’t ask how he knew. Rudy’s business was all about having the right information at the right time.

“No deal,” he said as he unlocked his patrol car.

“You’re in a tough place. You have to know that.”

Mac knew exactly where he was. He could lose Emily forever.

“Aren’t you even a little tempted?” Rudy asked.

More than a little, Mac thought honestly. He would do just about anything to prevent that from happening, but he wouldn’t sell his soul.

“I’m not interested in anything you have to offer,” Mac said, and closed the door.

“SO HOW ARE THINGS?”

Jill clutched the phone tighter and wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. “To be honest, Dad, I don’t have a clue as to how to answer the question.”

“Just start at the beginning and go slow. I’m getting old and I’m not as sharp as I used to be.”

That made her laugh. “Yeah, right. That’s why you’re running everyone’s life from three thousand miles away.”

“Whose life am I running?”

“Mine. Mac’s.” She was sure there were more but she didn’t know their names.

“Okay, so I’ve offered a little input now and then.”

Jill thought about how her dad had twice saved Mac. “You’re a good man and I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetie. Now what’s going on?”

She drew in a deep breath. “My secretary, Tina, used to hate me but now she’s taken down all the fish so that’s cool, but some of my cases are hideous. I mean dog sperm? What’s up with that? And I have Lyle’s car and I’m trying to get someone to dent it, but nothing is happening to it. I swear it’s been protected by Gypsies or something. Then there’s Bev, who is dating a guy. I really like that because the gift thing was never real, except the guy is a former client of mine and while I al ways knew he was sort of in organized crime, I never dealt with any of that and somehow I convinced myself he was one of the good guys only he’s not. And now I have to tell her and I don’t want to. Plus Mac’s in trouble. He pounded this guy who totally deserved it—Andy beats his wife and she’s pregnant and it’s horrible—but now Mac’s going to be charged and as soon as that happens he’ll lose Emily. And I’ve been going on job interviews and I have a great offer from a firm in San Diego and I should take it because that’s what I want to do with my life, but I can’t seem to pick up the phone and say yes and what’s up with that. Oh, and the pier centennial is next week.”

“Sounds like a good time for a visit,” her father said calmly.

“You want to come here now?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JILL WAS SURPRISED to see the front door open when she pulled up at Bev’s house. As she climbed the stairs, her aunt appeared in the doorway and pushed open the screen.

“Hi. I’m back. We had the most amazing time. San Francisco is beautiful. I can certainly see why you’ve enjoyed living there.”

As Bev spoke, she stepped back to let Jill into the house. Jill followed, not sure how she was going to keep her mouth from falling open. Bev wore tailored white slacks and a trim lightweight sleeveless turquoise sweater. Delicate gold earrings hung from her ears. Gone were the gaudy dangling beads, gone was the ever-present floral-print dress, the multiple bangles and ankle bracelet. Most shocking of all, her long wild red hair had been cut short and styled in such a way as to emphasize her pretty features.

“You look great,” Jill said, not quite able to believe the transformation.

“Not so bohemian?”

“Not even close. What happened?”

Bev smiled. “I decided it was time to grow up.”

Jill’s delight evaporated like water in the Sahara. “This is all because of Rudy,” she said flatly. “You’re in love with him.”

Bev beamed. “I know it’s very fast and you probably think I’m too old, but I have fallen for him completely. He’s funny and charming and he makes me feel so incredibly special and feminine. We had the most wonderful time.”

Jill felt as if she were about to kick a very cheerful puppy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her aunt this happy. To think she’d finally found the right guy, only he wasn’t right. He was a criminal, possibly a murderer, and there was no way Jill could let this hap pen.

“We have to talk,” she said, taking her aunt by the hand and leading her to the sofa in the living room.

When they were seated next to each other, Jill drew in a deep breath. “You know that I love you. I barely remember my mother. You were always there for me, including a few weeks ago when I had nowhere to go.”

Bev smiled. “Jill, honey, this isn’t necessary. Of course I know how you feel. You mean the world to me.”

“Then please believe me when I tell you I’m so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this. Rudy really is in the Mafia. It’s not a game or an affectation. He’s bringing organized crime to town and he has to be stopped.”

Bev stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

Jill explained about the gambling.

Bev dismissed the information with the flick of hand. “He told me about that. It wasn’t him at all. There are some other people responsible.”

Jill sprang to her feet. “You can’t believe that. He’s the one. He claims to like the town, but he’s only interested in making trouble. I’ve told him I won’t have any thing to do with him anymore.”

Bev stood as well. “Then we have a serious problem, because I intend to marry him. If you can’t accept the man I love, then you’re not the person I thought you were.”

This couldn’t be happening. “You have to see—”

Her aunt cut her off. “I see a lot of things, including a young woman who is too stubborn for her own good. I’m sorry your marriage didn’t work out, but that’s no reason to be bitter about my happiness. I thought you were a better person than that.”

Jill winced at the accusation. “I’m not bitter. I want you to be happy, just not with Rudy.”

Bev walked out of the room. In the hallway, she glanced over her shoulder. “I’ve been waiting for Rudy all my life. No one is going to stand in the way of that, not even you.”