Austin - Piper Stone Page 0,18

to be a pattern. You know that everything that happens in my state concerns me, especially when it happens in Missoula.”

“Of course, Senator Montgomery. I’ll see what I can find.”

When she left my office, closing the door behind her, I took a deep breath. Why did I have the distinct feeling that I’d jumped into the middle of a nightmare? Four suspicious fires and all commercial buildings could mean insurance fraud, but I had a nagging suspicion that the arsonists had burned them to the ground for another reason. Maybe I was just feeling guilty for being there in the first place.

With Vader.

The most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on.

I pressed my hand across my lips, still able to feel his rough kisses, the way he devoured my mouth more exciting than anything I’d ever experienced. My legs began to tremble, my mind foggy as it had been the night before. God, I’d acted like a teenage girl and nothing more.

I forced myself to walk toward the window, staring out at the beautiful mountains. Who the hell was the guy?

Would it be so wrong if I actually saw him again?

What are you thinking?

Now I rolled my eyes. That had been the point. I hadn’t been thinking at all, just reacting to hungers that hadn’t been satisfied in one hell of a long time. I leaned my head against the glass, goosebumps popping along my arms, wiggling until the material of my skirt shifted back and forth across my bottom.

Staring at the reflection, I noticed the envelope on the corner of my desk and made a distorted face. If the number of threats equated to dollars, I’d be one wealthy woman.

As I pulled the folded note into the light, I was surprised someone hadn’t used childish block letters.

Your days are numbered, Senator Montgomery.

“Yeah, yeah. Take a number.” I tossed it into my drawer along with the other fifty or so. Maybe I’d use them for wallpaper one day.

The buzz of my intercom dragged me back to my ugly life.

“Senator Montgomery? Congressman Johnson is on the line for you.”

Wonderful. Another political jerk who wanted to discuss grazing rights as well as taxes. “Thank you, Janine.”

Just another day in paradise.

Anger.

I’d never felt so much anger in my entire political career. I was sick to death of men who thought their power and influence was far more important than following the law. I stormed into my office, trying to keep my cool, my employees watching me as I took long strides toward my private office. I didn’t have to ask Janine to follow. She knew me far too well.

“That bad, huh?” she asked as she leaned against the doorway.

“Let’s just put it this way. If a single member of the Montana Ranch Association has the gall to reach out to me, tell them I’ve gone hunting for big game and they’re next on the list.”

“Ouch. It was that bad.”

“They just didn’t want to listen to me, reminding me that I would be up for reelection soon. Not until next year, assholes.” The day had been arduous, more so given I hadn’t been able to sit comfortably on the hard wooden chair the group of five pontificating men had provided. Meanwhile, they’d sat in comfy and very plush leather chairs.

Bastards.

Chuckling, she walked closer. “I do have some news about the fires.”

I tried to act nonchalant as I gazed at her. “That was fast.”

“You know me. Besides, I know a very sexy deputy at the sheriff’s office,” Janine said, grinning more than I was used to seeing.

“My, my. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were one naughty girl.” Why did visions of being tied to a headboard suddenly float into my mind?

She blushed, her entire face shimmering. “I do have a life, you know.”

A life, something I’d lost a long time before. “What did you find out?”

“The initial report came in about last night’s fire. There’s still little to go on but it would appear that there was a gas leak. That’s what was behind the initial explosion.”

“A gas leak?”

She shook her head. “Think about it. The buildings are old and some of the gas lines haven’t been replaced. The gas company has received significant criticism about their slowness in switching the lines. It’s feasible.”

“So what they’re trying to say, this wasn’t arson but four separate accidents?” I was just in a piss poor mood at this point.

Janine frowned. “I guess. I’m just telling you what I was able to find out.”

I wasn’t