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Something she doesn’t want me to see.
And I can’t help but wonder what’ll happen to Libby’s secrets when the bank takes this land away from her and hands it over to the county tax man.
I move Plath up closer to her, then settle back down into an easy pace once we’re moving neck and neck.
I clear my throat. “I have this thing about not mixing business with pleasure, but since we’re not doing business anymore—”
“No,” she says flatly, without even looking at me. Her cheeks blossom hellfire-red.
Big mistake.
That just makes me grin.
She might drive my brain crazy, but my dick is a different kind of nuts, knowing my charms don’t work on her.
It’s nice for a change.
Fun that she sees me as something more than the devil to tame; the bad boy every woman wants to try riding and see if they can break him enough to keep him for themselves.
I never wanted to be broken.
Though maybe I wouldn’t mind being tamed a bit by her capable hands.
* * *
Later, it’s hard to keep Libby off my mind, especially when I’ve got a steaming bowl of hell no laid out in front of me.
I don’t want to be meeting with Declan and Sierra.
Particularly Declan.
The sleazeball excels at handing out the creeps like Halloween candy.
But since Sierra’s the one who contacted me as a potential buyer for the land, and since I’m not following through, I need to close this out and send them packing.
I can’t do anything to stop Sierra from raising hell over the ranch, but I can at least honor my agreements. Tell her I’m not working with her anymore.
She sits across from my desk in my mobile trailer office with her legs crossed, wearing a leopard print mini dress that went out of style ages ago.
Declan’s more reserved in a suit that could’ve come right out of my own closet.
He’s slick, sharp-eyed, and sharkish.
There’s something about him I recognize, from one big city playboy to another.
For me, it was always about charming people into seeing things my way. If I had a few bedmates here and there as a result of it…no harm, no foul.
Declan strikes me as the type who’ll double deal someone openly with his cold, flinty way of looking you in the eye. His smile says he’ll shiv you in the back the second you turn away.
I know his type too well.
He’s looking at me that way right now as I fold my hands on my desk and say, “I’m sorry, but our business relationship can’t move forward.”
“Um, what?” Sierra makes a flustered noise. “How can it be over if it’s barely begun?”
“I can’t help you,” I say firmly. “Libby won’t sell to me. Or to you, if she can help it. There’s nothing I can do but complicate matters more, and it’d be unethical for me to mislead you, making you think I can force a sale.”
“Unethical?” Sierra flares, her blue eyes snapping. They’re not the same shade as Libby’s, though. Darker. Less fire, more twilight, and they just don’t have the searing burn that gets to me. “What’s unethical is you abandoning us, Silverton. You stand to profit quite handsomely, but you—”
“Sierra,” Declan snaps. He’s got this slow, forceful way of speaking that’s like standing in front of a grinding steamroller—he might mow you over, but he’ll take his sweet time. “If the man doesn’t want to play ball, he doesn’t want to. We’ll just have to take the more punitive route.”
My eyes narrow.
Adrenaline shoots through my blood.
Punitive? I don’t like the sound of that one fucking bit.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my hands clenching with instinctive need to do something.
To protect Libby, even if she’s not here.
Declan turns his slow, cold smile on me. I feel defiled.
He knows I’m on edge, and he’s enjoying it.
“Whether Liberty Potter likes it or not,” Declan says, “half that land rightfully belongs to Sierra. It’s her inheritance by law, same for a fifty percent stake in the house. If we take Liberty to court, Sierra wins—and Liberty will just be shit out of luck.”
My teeth pinch together.
Sad to say, the prick isn’t done.
“The court will force a division of assets,” he drawls in this accent I can’t quite place. “Sierra gets her half of the land plus more for damages for her sister dragging this thing out. They’ll make Liberty sell off her remaining land simply to cover her legal fees without ending up in the poorhouse. It’s a regrettable situation, but since she won’t cooperate and you won’t work with us…regrettable, it is.”
I go cold inside.
Is he really trying to threaten Libby to get me to do his dirty work?
“Look, I can’t force Libby to do anything,” I grind out slowly, making my words very clear, very precise. “And frankly, it won’t look good for you or the bank you work for if you’re caught trying to muscle her around.” I narrow my eyes. “Isn’t this entire deal a conflict of interest for you, anyway? All you have to do is stand back and let the bank foreclose when the time’s up.”
