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polished and wealthy, he had no trouble attracting
women.
    “It was a little hard for me to come around
with Carter ranting like a madman. Now that he’s where he belongs,
I hope to get on with my life.”
    “I’m very pleased to hear you say that.” He
took her by the hand. “Come, sit down. Would you like something to
drink?”
    “Do you have any cold cola?” She arched her
brows and pouted her lips, knowing her puppy-dog expression always
warmed his heart.
    “I always keep some in here just for you,
darling.” He handed her a cold can and a crystal tumbler filled
with ice. “Tell me, what have you been doing since you’ve been
home?”
    “Spending time with my parents and checking
in on the farm.”
    Gage sat down across from her in his office
chair. “Really? What’s going on with the farm?”
    “I guess you really didn’t know.” She sighed
with relief. “Carter was using it to sell drugs. He hired some
half-breed thug to chase me down then tried to set me up to take
the fall.”
    “Yes, I read all about Carter’s drug
dealings. Shocking, isn’t it? I’m sorry you got involved.”
    “I know you were mixed up with him somehow,
but I thought maybe he was holding something over you, like your
mortgage or other money issues. Everyone knows if you owed that man
money that he’d use it against you.”
    Gage rested a bent elbow on his desk and
propped his chin on one hand. “What would make you think I was
involved with Mike other than legal business?”
    She wanted to believe that Trip was wrong
about Gage, that her longtime friend had been blackmailed into
using his office as a front while selling drugs out the back
door.
    “I heard some things,” she replied.
    “Ah, well, you can’t believe everything you
hear in this town. After all, you should know. Hell, just a few
days ago the entire town thought you had been robbing he bank when
all this time Carter was just trying to set you up.”
    “Why would he do such an evil thing?” She
swallowed some cola to hydrate her suddenly dry throat. “He’s the
one who stole my land. I did nothing to him.”
    “Well, it’s true that I did do some things
for Carter in the past that were probably not very ethical. But I
couldn’t help with this one. He really went too far.”
    “So you’re done with him now?”
    “Yes. I try to avoid the wrong side of the
law. But you didn’t come here to chat about Carter. What’s really
on your mind?”
    “I thought maybe you could help me get my
parents’ land back. With that no good rat in prison, surely there’s
going to be a sale of his estate. He’ll need a lot of money to pay
restitution for blowing up a federal building and to post bail,
don’t you think?”
    Gage nodded with a glimmer in his eyes. “He
most certainly will. And he’s looking at serious jail time,
too.”
    “So do you know if the farm is going up for
sale?” Her hope began to rise.
    “Shye…we had this conversation, remember? Why
can’t you just let it go? That property is way too much for you to
handle alone.”
    “I won’t be alone.”
    His brows shot up. “Oh?”
    “ Ina and Ate …they will be with
me. They are sad, Gage. They long to return home and spend their
last years on the land of their forefathers. Life on the
reservation is suffocating for them.”
    “But they are too old to help you run the
plantation. Think sensibly, darling.”
    “I’ll hire someone to help me. Can you help
me?”
    “What about your biker boyfriend?” His
expression shifted from warm to cold in one blink. “Do you think
he’s the type to settle into farm life?”
    Suddenly the air became thick, making her
gasp in shock. The glass slipped from her hand before she realized
it and spilled on the floor. “I-I’m sorry…” She reached down to
pick it up, barely able to breathe.
    He pushed off his chair and came around
toward her. Their hands met on the floor. He took hold of her wrist
and pulled her up. His eyes flashed with sheer spite.