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He would have to tell the brothers about his property, too, Sky realized It shouldn’t be a big surprise, since they knew Bull had left hi in the will But he’d hoped to keep it secret until he decided what to do with the land No doubt they’d have plenty of suggestions

Glancing down at the dashboard clock, he saw that it was after ht Had the red Maserati delivered Lauren back to her doorstep, or was she still “thanking” Josh Hardesty for his contribution to her father’s can?

Sky cursed the rage that crackled like suh his veins Jealousy was a waste of tihter wanted to go out with an old cabrón in a fancy car, that was her business He had h to drive a sane man crazy Lauren Prescott was just one more distraction—one he didn’t need

He would ith her horse because he’d proood horse deserved better than to live in fear But if she expected any more than a friendly fist bump from him, the lady was in for a letdown

If he told hi Theinto that tight, hot silk while her voice urged him on, would burn him alive if he let it But he was a man, with a man’s pride and a ames with somebody else

Marie dragged her feet up the wooden stairs, bone weary after her grueling eight-hour shift The dark stairwell sarette smoke and stale urine God, how she hated this place But never mind that She’d come here for a reason, with a plan she’d already set in motion

Getting Sky’s sympathy had been part of that plan It was easily done Sky had always been generous to a fault, too willing to see the good in people even where there was no good to be found He’d believed in that duht, he would believe in her

Not that she ood to her She wasn’t ungrateful But she wasn’t above using his influence and his protection to her advantage Tonight she’d fed hi the part about the recorder’s office The lies—and there’d been a feould need fixing before she saw hiain

She’d neverCoy to Texas with her But he anted in Oklaho So far his presence had been a disaster If she hadn’t been hauling his lazy ass back from town on the bike, they would never have run into that old man and Marie wouldn’t have had to shoot hiet the she could afford right now

From the upstairs hallway, she opened the door to her roo odors of stale sex that rose from the mattress on the rusty metal bed Marie hated that ss she wasn’t proud of, but she’d never been a whore

Ste

pping inside, she opened the onlyWith no cross-ventilation it didn’t let inThe room above the Blue Coyote was a shitty place to live—there was no better word for it The only bathroo it now, she took her key and went down the hall to the inside stairway

Nobody else was in the bar at night Stella and her brother lived in an apartment across town—probably a palace compared to this dump Marie used the toilet and bent over the sink to wash The single 40-watt bulb gleamed on the mirror that reflected her scarred face Soet that scar res as well—a hot car, pretty clothes, and her own condo Lute had wanted those things, too He’d died trying to get them But she was a lot smarter than Lute She had a plan—one she was about to take to the next level

She’d figured there was no hurry But now that Sky was involved, tiht

“You’re hon” Garn Prescott set his bourbon glass on the coffee table and rose as his daughter walked in through the front entry