Jose grabbed another tissue for his nose. Changing the subject, he asked, “What are we going to do about Matt? Guy’s married and still sniffing around Maria.”
Sky didn’t know how much to reveal, but he figured Jose might as well hear it all. “He’s not married. The reason he’s been hanging out in Dallas is because he has a daughter.”
“A daughter?” When Sky nodded, Jose let out a big whoosh of air. “Maria loves him, doesn’t she?”
Sky shrugged. “I think so, but hell, what do I know about relationships? I’m just as screwed up as the rest of you. Probably more.”
“You mean you and Shala?”
Sky started to deny it, but then said, “Yeah.”
“She’s hot,” Jose remarked.
“Yeah, that she is.” Sky was remembering how she’d looked that morning, wrapped in only that sheet.
Jose grabbed another tissue. “I hope I didn’t ruin it for you.”
“Ruin it for me?” Sky asked.
“Yeah, her seeing me naked.” Jose chuckled. “Once she’s seen the best, and knows how a real man looks…”
Sky laughed. He and Jose might not have completely understood each other over the years, but they had bonded. “I’m not worried. I saw you naked, too. The pink robe was a nice touch.”
“Sorry about being an ass the other morning,” Jose said.
Sky shrugged. “From what I gather, you had a rough night.”
“I have had a rough three nights.”
“You do look like hammered shit,” Sky said, studying him.
Jose chuckled. “I feel like hammered shit. Did Dad tell you that I fell through a wall? My head went right through the Sheetrock. You can see the shape of my nose and everything.”
“Really?” Sky couldn’t help laughing.
“Yeah, and then this morning Maria spilled hot coffee all down the front of me. Burnt the shit out of my junk.”
Sky laughed harder. “Ahh, that explains the mustard.”
Jose shook his head. All humor had left him. “I screwed up.”
“How’s that?”
“With Maria. I should have snapped her up when I had a chance.” He sighed. “Whatever you do, Sky, if you care about this Shala woman, don’t let her walk away. You’ll regret it.”
“It’s not like that,” Sky said, but the words sounded and felt like a lie.
Jose stood. “Thanks for…hearing me out.”
“Anytime,” Sky said. As his brother started to leave, he added, “You know, Redfoot told me all about those buildings you designed. The one in Vegas and the one in New York. He’s proud of you.”
Surprise filled Jose’s eyes. “He told you about it?”
“All about it. Said you took him on a tour of the one in New York when he visited. He brought those magazines back that had the article about you, and he passed them out everywhere.”
The look on Jose’s face told Sky that Maria was right: Jose and Redfoot needed to talk.
“Hey.” Martha popped her head inside the office. “I’ve set Phillip and Ms. Winters up in the interview room.” Her gaze shot to Jose. “You look as if you ran into Mr. Ugly and he attached himself to your face.”
Jose smiled at Martha, who used to be his school nurse. For some reason, they’d always given each other a bit of hell. “Gosh, I was just about to say the same about you.”
Martha snickered and gave his arm a pat. “You always had a smart mouth.”
“Thanks, Martha.” Sky left the pair talking and went to find Shala.
Redfoot knocked on Veronica’s door. He had to talk to her, damn it! Ramon had called and insisted they go meet with the tribal council, but first he needed to talk to the man’s mother.
He wouldn’t put it past the old farts of the council to recommend he make the union legal between himself and Veronica. Frankly, considering his dream, he had assumed that was supposed to happen. After Veronica’s temper tantrum, he wasn’t so sure.
“Go away!” came a voice from behind the door.
“Not until you talk to me. I swear, I’ll pitch a tent and sleep here tonight if you don’t open up.”
He meant it, and Veronica knew he didn’t lie. The back door swung open. She stood there, her beautiful face red and puffy from what looked like hours of crying. Guilt speared Redfoot’s heart. His goal had been to convince Veronica to marry him. He’d assumed she might waver, but if he thought she really didn’t want this…
He reached for her, but she jumped back. It hurt. “What do you want me to do?” he asked. “Tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”
Tears welled up in her brown eyes. “What I wanted was to not climb into that hospital bed with you. What I wanted was to simply see you a couple of nights a week, to share a small part of myself with you. Now you’ve ruined everything.”
“Nothing is ruined,” he argued.
“Ramon plans to go to the council. You know what they’ll say. They’ll insist you do right by me. They could kick you out of their group.”
Redfoot gritted his teeth. “I don’t care. They can take that council position and shove it up their asses.”
Veronica swiped at her tears. “That won’t change anything. You don’t have to look into your son’s face knowing you’re a whore.”
“Don’t you dare call yourself that!” Redfoot growled. “What we shared was not ugly.” He slapped his chest. “I care about you. I want you to share my life. I want to get older with you.”
“Is that why you did it? You set out to make me marry you, so I would belong to you. So I would have to take care of you.”
He felt another wave of guilt, because he had indeed set out to make this happen. “You would never belong to me, Veronica. And caring is a two-way street.”
Her face was stony. “I’m no fool, Redfoot. I lived this once.”
“So it’s true, isn’t it? That bastard hurt you. And you judge me to be the same type of man.”
“You’re all alike.” Fury brightened her eyes.
“No. We are not.” Redfoot took a step closer, but the pain in her eyes halted him. “I will fix this.”
She shook her head. “It’s too late. Ramon is going to talk to the council, and he’s going to think less of me if I don’t marry you. I won’t have my son think bad things about me. But don’t you ever think that I will forgive you for this.”
“It’s never too late.” He wanted so badly to touch her, to hold her, to spend the last years of his life proving to her that all men weren’t bad. But if setting her free made her happy, that’s what he would do. All he had to do was figure out how.
Shala twisted in her chair, frowning as the back of her thong climbed up between her butt cheeks. The door opened, and her heart made a leap of joy that bordered on pain. Sky! She had assumed he would be here, and when he hadn’t come at the beginning, her nervousness had grown by leaps and bounds. Who liked to be interrogated by a Texas Ranger?
Okay, she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, but the man’s direct question about her involvement in anything illegal gave her the heebie-jeebies. His mere presence demanded a confession, and she’d been about to admit cheating on her sixth-grade history test. Hey, he wanted a confession? He would get one.
“Sorry, I had someone in my office.” Sky studied her. Sitting, he slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. It reminded her of how he’d held her hand at the hospital, how he’d naturally sensed her discomfort. Warmth and strength washed through her.
Leaning back in his chair, Sky looked at Phillip. “Have you already introduced yourselves?”
“Yes, we’ve gotten that far,” the ranger said. “I was just asking Miss Winters if she’s ever been connected to anything illegal.”
“So, you’re scaring her, huh?”
“Only if she’s hiding something,” the ranger replied.
Sky scowled. He gave her hand another squeeze.
Sensing his anger, Shala said, “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” Sky
snapped. “She’s the victim, Phillip. I thought I made that clear.”
“And some victims know more than they’re letting on.”
“Bullshit,” Sky interrupted. “She’s been nothing but cooperative. Just because you’ve got a high-ranking job with some fancy badge doesn’t mean you can go around intimidating people. And unless you can pull your head out of your ass and be a gentleman, this interview is over!”
Shala stared at the two men, imagining them next throwing fists. “It’s really okay,” she repeated.
Phillip burst out laughing. “I’ll be damned. Protective, aren’t you?”
Sky didn’t appear to appreciate the other man’s mirth. He growled, “Play nice or she doesn’t play at all.”
The ranger leaned back in his chair and faced Shala, a smile still pulling at his lips. “Ms. Winters, if I came on too strong, I’m sorry. I’ve had a rough day. Murder does that to me, and the fact is, this case just keeps getting bigger and we don’t have a clue where to start.” He looked to Sky and then back at her. “But Sky’s right, I might have taken my frustration out on you. So how about let’s start over? My name’s Phillip, and I’ve known Sky Gomez here for about seven years. I play poker with him three times a year, and any friend of his is a friend of mine.” His gaze shifted back to Sky. “Better?”
“It’s a start,” Sky replied.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The chat went on for forty-five minutes. Sky felt pleased that his Texas Ranger friend hadn’t asked any questions that he himself hadn’t.
“Did you look at the images I told Sky about?” Shala asked.
“You mean the ones of Charlie Rainmaker and the man you think was driving the black sedan?” Phillip asked.
Shala nodded.
“Yeah. We’re trying to get an identity on the driver.”
“Do we know when we might get that?” Sky asked.
“These things take forever,” Phillip said.
“What about the other image?” Shala asked. “The one of the couple…uh, getting busy in the car? Like I told Sky, maybe one of them is married and they think I’m a PI.”
Phillip shrugged. “With what we know about Rainmaker forming the petition, the pictures he had of you on his phone, and his talk about getting you scared out of town, we’re leaning toward the theory that he hired some muscle to scare you off, and maybe when Rainmaker didn’t pay up, or complained about the fact that you were still here, the guy turned on him.”
Sky knew Phillip’s theory had merit, but he still had his doubts.
“I guess it would appear that way,” Shala admitted.
They were about to call the meeting done when the door popped open and Martha leaned her head inside. “Sky,” she said frowning. “There’s…You…I think you’d better come out here.”
Sky stood up, almost scared to find out what was next. “Excuse me,” he said. But he hadn’t gotten out the door before Candy Peterson stormed up to him.
“I’ve decided not to press charges,” she said.
Taking in her face, he couldn’t remember her ever looking so bruised. Sky led her into his office and, gritting his teeth, forced calm into his voice. He shut the door. “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror, Candy?”
“He was drunk.”
“Oh, does that make it okay? You should have told me that last night, and I’d have let him keep beating the shit out of you.”
“He says your threat to take Amy from me is bullshit. You can’t do that.”
So she was already talking to the asshole. Sky remembered the look on the little girl’s face last night. It made him want to explode. Even worse, it made him want to lie and say he’d witnessed Peterson beating her. But he hadn’t. And his lying wouldn’t stop Candy. She had to want to put a stop to this.
“You should know, Candy, I don’t make idle threats. One more time…one more time, and I swear to God, I’ll have Child Protective Services on your ass so fast your head will spin.”
“I’m a good mother!” she snapped. “He’s never hurt her!”
“Never hurt her? Did you see her last night? Didn’t you see the pain in her eyes? You think that doesn’t hurt her? Have you ever seen your mother get the crap beat out of her? Have you? I have, Candy! So, don’t tell me it doesn’t hurt!” Realizing he’d lost his cool, he pointed to the door. “Go! If you’re not going to press charges, get the hell out of my office. But hear me loud and clear: this was your last chance.”
He opened the door and waited for her to leave. Feeling the rage boiling inside him, he stormed to his desk and ran his hand across it, knocking everything to the floor. He was still staring at the mess he’d made when he heard someone behind him.
He swung around. “I told you to leave, Candy!” It wasn’t Candy. “Sorry,” he said.
Shala stepped closer. “That was the emergency you went to last night, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” She must have heard him through the door.
She put her hand on his chest. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“That you had to deal with that.”
“It’s my job.”
She glanced down for a few moments before looking back at him. “I…When I was looking for my camera, I found—”
He put his finger over her lips. “I know.”
“How?” she asked.
“You left the closet light on.” He frowned. “I didn’t appreciate it.”
“Didn’t appreciate me leaving the light on?” she asked, a little teasingly. When he frowned again, in no mood for humor, she continued. “I know it was wrong, but I didn’t mean to—”
Realizing he was taking his mood out on her, afraid she was going to start jabbering, he put his finger over her lips again. “Just shut up and kiss me,” he said.
She smiled. “Okay.”
Her lips were sweet and soft. He slipped his tongue inside her mouth, and her breasts pressed against his chest. Losing himself in the moment, he moved his hand down to cup her bottom. The kiss got hotter, fast.
She shifted closer, and he pressed one thigh between hers. Her pelvis brushed him ever so slightly. She tugged his shirttail out of his jeans and slid her hand up under his shirt. That soft palm caressed his chest. He went instantly hard. Opening his eyes, he spotted his clean desk and decided clearing it off hadn’t been a bad thing after all.
After he took one step, however, sanity broke through his lust. His gaze shot to his open office door. “Shit. Where’s Lucas?”
Shala blushed as if she’d just realized how far the kiss had gone. “Waiting to see if you want him to bring me home.”
“Phillip?”
“He left.” She buried her head on his chest as if embarrassed.
Sky released her and went to the door. “Lucas,” he called. “I got Shala. I’ll bring her home.”
“Okay,” his friend called back. “I’ll see you at the cabin.”
“Yeah. We’ll be there…shortly. Did you pick up those items from the grocery store that I told you to get?”
“Got ’em,” the man replied.
“Good. I’ll cook us supper tonight. And, Martha?” Sky called. “You can head out.”
He waited until he heard the tap of Martha’s heels leaving before he shut his office door. When he looked back, Shala still wore embarrassment on her cheeks. But he had a feeling he could make it disappear. Or at least he hoped he could.
His gaze moved down her body, from her blue-jean skirt to the red button-down short-sleeved shirt that so perfectly accentuated her lush curves. He’d been so distracted at seeing her upset by Phillip that he hadn’t noticed what she was wearing. Or that she looked so damn hot.
“Where did you get those clothes?” he asked.
“Lucas took me shopping.”
Sky frowned. “I was supposed to do that.”
“You were busy.”
He moved in and wrapped his arm around her waist. When she leaned into him willingly, softly, he let his h
and slide lower. “Are you at least wearing the underwear I bought?”
“Afraid so.”
“Afraid so?” he repeated, puzzled.
She shrugged guiltily. “They kept sliding up places they shouldn’t the whole time I was talking to Phillip. Thongs. Talk about uncomfortable.”
He laughed. “You told me you wore them.”
“I lied. I hate the stupid things.”
“But you wore one anyway. For me?” His glaze slid downward, and he imagined her panties—and slipping into places he shouldn’t. His jeans felt too tight.
“I forgot to buy any at the store. So it was wear the thong, wear dirty underwear, or go pantyless.”
“We wouldn’t want you wearing dirty underwear. But pantyless might work.” He kissed her and, reaching down, found the zipper of her skirt. She didn’t stop him as he slowly lowered it, but she did look up with a hesitant expression.
“Should we really…? Here?”
“Not if you don’t want you to,” he said, prepared to call himself into check.
“No, I’m fine.” She looked around. “But where are you planning to…have this event take place?”
He finished with her zipper. “Well, the most logical place would be my desk.”
She looked over at it. He dropped her skirt, which fluttered to the floor. Her red panties had his heart racing. That little triangle of silky material barely covered her patch of blonde hair. The adjoining thin red straps hugged her hips.
Sky raised his gaze to her face and fought the need to adjust his pants. “Or we could use the chair. The rug?”
Her gaze shifted. “I’m not sure we’d both fit in the chair.”
“We could manage.” Still enjoying the view of her thong, he walked around her to get the whole picture. “Very nice.” He ran his finger down the thin band, brushing her shapely ass. “Are you wearing the red bra?”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s a matched set. You have to wear them together. It’s a rule.”
“Nice.” He pursed his lips and moved his hand. “Do you think I could get a peek at this…matched set?”
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