11. Allie
Allie
S tepping into the hospital in the bright light of day felt different.
It was busier than it had been last night, with more people racing around, but it had the same smell of antiseptic. I turned into the corridor, carrying a bunch of flowers. I wanted to check on Mellody, and make sure she was okay.
But all I could think about was a certain dark and broody man.
One who’d kissed me like I was everything, made me come fast and hard, and then had pushed me away.
My belly tied itself into hot, little knots.
I’d never been kissed like that before. I’d never had a man touch me with such blatant possession.
Then he’d pushed me away. Twice .
Clearly, I was a sucker for punishment.
I lifted my chin. I didn’t need Caden Castro.
Hell, I had no room for kisses and orgasms that rocked my world and shook my foundation.
I needed to be strong and independent. It wasn’t just me I had to worry about anymore.
I knew that when you leaned on someone, it hurt too much when they were yanked away.
It left you stumbling and unsteady and ready to fall.
I’d barely survived losing Sean. I didn’t want to do that again.
I had Ollie now, so I couldn’t fall.
“Aunt Allie. You’re walking too fast.”
I jerked to a halt and spun. Ollie powered up beside me.
It was cold today, so he was in a jacket and a different woolly hat.
It was vibrant green with white dino spikes along the top and a dino face on the front.
Sylvie had an entire collection of winter hats for him.
A pang hit me. I wished she was here to see him.
“Sorry, buddy.”
He reached out and touched my hand, then pulled back. My heart ached. I’d give anything for him to hold my hand.
“I’m sorry your friend got hurt.”
He was so sweet. “Me too, Ol-ster. Let’s give her the flowers, then get you to school.” I handed the bouquet to him.
We’d come early before school to visit Mellody, plus I had an early shift today at the hotel. I was pretty sure the bags under my eyes had their own suitcases. I’d only had a few fitful hours. Between thoughts of Mellody and Caden, my sleep was nonexistent.
We found her room and knocked.
She was sitting up in the bed, a frown on her face. She still looked pale, her blonde hair lank and brushed back from her face, but all in all, much better.
“Hi, Mellody. My name’s Allie?—”
“You helped me.” She swallowed. “Last night is a big haze with a lot of blank spots, but I remember you. You got me safe and got me to the hospital.”
I nodded.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“These are for you.” Ollie held up the bouquet of roses. “Aunt Allie let me pick. I picked yellow because she told me you got hurt and needed something to cheer you up.”
“Oh, thanks.” Mellody took the flowers. “These are beautiful.”
“My mom liked daisies.”
I pressed my hand to his shoulder. “This is my nephew, Ollie.”
Mellody smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Ollie. I really appreciate the flowers.”
“You already have a huge bouquet.” I nodded at the beautiful flowers in a vase by her bed.
“From the hotel.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “It was really nice of them to send it.”
“Are you feeling better?” I asked.
She nodded. “Much better and not groggy. My parents are flying in today.”
“I’m so sorry your trip ended like this.”
“It could have been a lot worse. It wasn’t, thanks to you.”
“Do you know who did this?”
She shook her head, her hands clenching on the white sheets.
“I don’t want to think it was the guys I was with.
They were so nice and fun. They didn’t seem like creeps.
” She pressed a hand to her chest. “The super intense hotel security guy was here earlier. He asked me a bunch of questions, and he promised to find who did this.”
“He’s a man who keeps his promises. We’ll let you rest. Ollie needs to get to school.”
Mellody reached out and grabbed my hand. Squeezed. “Thank you, Allie.”
“You’re welcome.”
After I dropped Ollie at school, I headed to the Langston. I had butterflies in my stomach at the thought of seeing Caden again.
“Get a grip, Allie,” I muttered under my breath. “You’re an adult.”
I thought of Mellody. Of what could’ve happened to her, if we hadn’t collided in the ladies’ room. My jaw tightened. It was the ESG. They were not good guys, and it seemed that their idea of fun included drugging young women.
Assholes .
They could target someone else. They had to be stopped.
After I’d parked my car and headed toward the staff entrance, my determination solidified. Soon, I was changed into my uniform, and went to meet with my team.
“Morning, everyone.”
“Allie, is it true you saved a girl in the bar last night?” Marcy asked.
I should’ve known word would’ve gotten around. No one gossiped more than staff in a hotel.
“Yes. She’s fine. I want all of you to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Hotel security will be investigating.”
“Oh, Mr. Dark and Dangerous can interrogate me anytime ,” Sarah Marie said.
There were titters and laughter from the crew.
God, they were talking about Caden. I waved my clipboard. “Okay, off to work. Go. We have rooms to clean.”
Once I’d finished my paperwork, I headed into the lobby. I waved at the reception staff, who were already getting busy checking out guests. I headed toward the office area and held my ID card to the reader.
As I passed the first office, I heard Tessa’s voice inside, talking with Jazz. I turned toward the conference room, which was acting as the temporary security room.
And saw Caden.
My heart gave a hard knock against my ribs and my belly clenched.
He was standing, staring at a computer monitor, and I was barely in the doorway for a second before his head whipped around.
His face was blank and composed. His eyes unreadable. Like we were strangers.
“Hi,” I said.
He nodded. “Good morning.”
“Any luck with the security footage from last night?”
He eyed me. “No. Whoever did it was very careful.”
My nose wrinkled. “That probably means he’s done it before, right?” I felt a hot lick of anger.
“I’ll find him. The important thing is that Ms. Evans is all right.”
“I know. I visited her before I came in.”
There was a flicker in his eyes, but he was still standing there like a damn cyborg, encased in a block of ice. There was no sign of the man who’d kissed me with such scorching passion.
“I want to help.”
His dark brows drew together and he cocked his head. “Help?”
“We both know who is behind this.” I stepped closer. “It’s one of those guys. I want to help stop them.”
“No.”
The word was harsh and cutting.
I straightened. “I’m not going to stand around while those guys hurt more women. They have date-rape drugs, Caden.”
He grabbed my arm, yanked me inside the room, then slammed the door closed behind me. “You aren’t going anywhere near them.”
My gaze narrowed. “Haven’t you learned yet that I don’t follow your orders?”
“ Allie ,” he growled.
I poked him in the chest. Unsurprisingly his pecs were rock hard. “I won’t let another woman go through what Mellody did, or worse?—”
“They’re drug dealers.”
I jolted. “What?”
“It’s not just date-rape drugs. They’re dealing out of the hotel. Cocaine, Ecstasy, Fentanyl.”
I pressed a hand to my chest and tried to process. “The entire time? All the trips? They’ve been dealing drugs?”
“We suspect so. After what happened to Ms. Evans, I spent the night doing some digging. They haven’t left much of a trail, but I found a few crumbs and connected the dots. There were no reports of date rapes previously. That seems to be new…” He paused. “Or perhaps not reported.”
I felt sick.
“I’m investigating them.”
I met his dark gaze. “You knew something was off about them right from the beginning.”
“Stay away from them, Allie.”
I couldn’t make that promise. I realized he was so close. He shifted, and I pressed a hand to his chest. I felt his heartbeat.
Memories inundated me. The taste of him, his forceful kiss, the thrust of his hand between my thighs. He’d wanted me. More than anyone ever had before. And I wanted him. I wanted to see that chest bare. Touch it. Stroke it.
My gaze fell on a faint smudge on his neck. My belly tightened. It wasn’t big, but I’d managed to leave a bruise on his neck when I’d bitten him.
“Caden—”
He abruptly stepped back, and my hand dropped to my side. I could practically see him shutting down.
“I don’t need your help, Allie. I don’t need you.”
The words cut deep.
He didn’t need me.
“Right,” I whispered. “I think you’ve made that pretty clear.”
Something moved across his face. “Allie?—”
“No, I got it.” A harsh laugh escaped me. “Loud and clear. I’ll let you get back to your work.”
He stared at me with that blank, emotionless face.
I gave him a stiff nod and left as fast as I could.
I lifted my tablet, tapped, and updated some stock levels. I made a note to talk to the laundry. The level of the linen sent back for re-cleaning was too high. Whatever new cleaning products they were using were not up to scratch.
Setting the tablet away, I pushed my cart out into the corridor. I’d told Marcy that I’d clean the ESG’s rooms.
I wanted to have a little look around.
Caden the cyborg could go screw himself.
I don’t need your help, Allie. I don’t need you.
Message received. It seemed any time I was near him, the temptation was too great. I was sick of getting burned.
I needed to stay far away from Caden Castro.
Rubbing my chest, I tried to ignore the ache there. Pain hurt, but it didn’t kill you.
“Hey, you.”
I turned and saw Sierra waving at me. Tessa and Jazz were with her.
“Hi.”
“We heard about last night.” Worry was stamped all over Tessa’s face. “The young woman who was drugged.”
“It was horrible, but she’s okay. Ollie and I took her flowers this morning.”
“That’s so sweet,” Jazz said.
Sierra set her hands on her hips. “It’s not like you to stop in at the bar.”
I shrugged. “Ollie was with Mrs. Jenkins. I was thirsty.”