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“You know what, Dr. Boyd? I’ll take my chances with this complaint.”
“I see.” He added a patronizing frown and a nod. “Except here’s the problem, Ms. Mowak. Those chances are not for you to take.”
“What do you mean?”
“The complaint isn’t against you. It’s against your grandfather.”
The blood drained from her head and Ally heard an odd sound inside her skull like the low echoing snarl of a wolf. Breathe, Ally. Think… Why was he doing this?
“See these?” He lifted some papers from the desktop before him and dangled them aloft. “This is a list of endorsements and contributions from businesses, organizations and medical professionals, all slated to go to Tag James. Without these, the election is virtually impossible for him to win. It would be a shame to be the reason he didn’t win, wouldn’t it? You, Ms. Mowak, hold the keys to the futures of the two men you care most about.”
“I’d like to see this complaint.”
“I’m sure you would. And you will, if you choose to disregard what I’m offering.”
“What you’re saying is if I quit, then you bury the complaint against my grandfather and Tag gets elected? But if I don’t quit you’ll file the complaint and do your best to see that Tag loses the election?”
“That’s it precisely. You are intelligent—I’ll give you that. Too bad you’re as misguided and conceited as your grandfather. Now, do we have a deal?”
* * *
WHEN THE DOORBELL RANG, Tag couldn’t squelch the burst of hope that it was Ally. He didn’t bother to hide his disappointment when he opened the door and found Flynn standing on his porch along with Bering and Emily.
Flynn said, “We need to talk to you.”
Waving them in, Tag said, “Ramsey, if you’re here to lecture me about Ally, my sisters have beaten you to it.”
Tag led the way to the kitchen, where Iris and Hannah were now seated at his table drinking all his coffee. Greetings were exchanged, and then Iris said, “Flynn, just like you suspected, Tag didn’t know about the hearing. Ally didn’t tell him.”
Flynn nodded. “Well, things are even worse than I thought.”
“What do you mean?” Shay asked.
“Boyd has given her an ultimatum.”
“What kind of ultimatum?” Tag asked, even as his stomach dropped.
“The kind where she quits her job to save you.”
“Flynn, what are you talking about?” Iris asked.
He went on to explain how Dr. Boyd had threatened to sabotage the election if she didn’t resign.
“Can he do that?” Shay asked.
“Yes, he probably could,” Bering said. “He can make it very difficult if not impossible for Tag to win. We were already prepared to take some heat over his association with Ally, but he has a lot of clout in the medical community. Who knows what he might say, or make up and who he’ll say it to? Espcially if he tried to make her look like a fraud and—”
“Bering, I know you could crush my windpipe with one hand, but if you talk about her like that again, I swear I will—”
“Tag, calm down.” Emily stepped forward. “Bering doesn’t think that. He’s just explaining how it might happen.”
A voice sounded from the doorway. “I don’t want either of those things to happen.”
Tag stared at the woman he loved and wondered how he could have ever believed her to be cold and detached. There was so much emotion flickering in her eyes, they looked as hot and bright as a bonfire. He wished he could identify them—anger, disappointment, fear? He wasn’t sure, but he deserved all of those and more, and it took every ounce of self-control not to go to her and beg for forgiveness.
“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. The door was open.” Her gaze traveled around the room before landing on Flynn. “Flynn, did you tell them?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. Tag, I need to talk to you. All of you, probably.”
“What do we do now?” Shay asked helplessly.
Bering answered, “I don’t know, but we can’t lose this election. Tag has to win this.”
