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I didn’t offer my name, figuring Harlon had mentioned that too.
Which was just plain creepy — the idea that a warlock and a vampire had been discussing me.
Angelina looked around a moment longer, then took the chair opposite mine. “Well, seeing as I’ve bumped into you, we might as well talk business.”
Bumped into? I doubted it. And as for business…
Alarms rang through my mind.
“Business?”
Placing her purse on the seat beside her, she rested her elbows on the table and folded her gloved hands. “Yes, business. Apparently, you own the Painted Rock property.”
My throat went dry, but I managed to shrug. “One of the properties out there.”
Angelina’s hawk eyes said,The only one that matters.
“Have you considered Harlon’s offer?” she snipped.
Ha. I’d considered it plenty, though not in the way she meant.
I shook my head slowly. “Not really. It’s not for sale.”
With her lips pursed that tightly, Angelina looked like a fish. The really pale, creepy kind that lived in the deepest parts of the ocean.
“No? Well, Harlon asked me to remind you of his offer. Twenty-five million dollars.”
My eyes nearly bugged out, and I squeaked, “Twenty-five million?”
She nodded, amused, the way one might with a child content with a trifle, like a lollipop or a balloon. “Twenty-five million.”
My mind spun. The ranch wasn’t worth anywhere near that. Was Harlon desperate to close the deal before anyone else could? Or did the price reflect what he thought he could gain from harnessing the power of the vortex?
I gulped and checked the door to the food court.
Angelina lifted one eyebrow, following my gaze. “Are you expecting someone?”
I laughed as if to say,Of course not. Especially not a former agent of the BSDM — er, ADMSA.
“Just checking the time,” I bluffed.
“You should be checking with the co-owners of the property. Your two half sisters, I mean.”
Crap. She’d done her homework.
“Oh, and that adorable niece of yours…” she added.
My gut lurched. She knew about Claire, Abby’s eight-year-old daughter?
Angelina leaned in like we were besties. “I like you, Miss Sattler. I really do.”
Ha. More like,I despise you. The feeling was mutual.
“So much, it would pain me to find myself at odds with you,” she continued.
Her tone told me the consequences would pain me too.
I did my best to keep cool. “I’m not at odds with you or Harlon. It’s just that I’m not interested in selling. The ranch goes way back in the family, and we promised to keep it that way.”
