“The only reason I’d have problems with it is that I can’t afford to have you dead if you can produce the results I need in that race in two weeks.” He tilted his head. “So tomorrow you’re going to go down to the stables with me and show me you deserve to live another day.”

“Two weeks?” she repeated. “I can’t believe that you’d arrange a race to take place in two weeks when you were still in the middle of Szarnar Jungle.”

“I didn’t, it was set up for two months from now. But the minute I arrived back here, I called and changed it to two weeks.” His face was flushed with anger again. “Everyone was laughing at me. I needed a chance to save face.” He growled. “And there were financial considerations.”

“Why? I’ve heard nothing but you muttering about this race you want me to win, but I really know nothing about it. How many horses are in this race?”

“Two.”

“What?”

“That’s all that’s necessary.” He shrugged. “Reardon and I are very competitive. Seven years ago we decided it would be amusing to have a race to see which one of our horses is the fastest thoroughbred from our respective stables. So I set up a festival of sorts every year and invite thirty or forty guests with very deep pockets to come here to bet on the race and make it more interesting. Of course, the biggest bets are between Reardon and me. They became larger and larger, and the stakes are not always cash.”

“And who won?”

“I won the first two years. Reardon won the third and I came back and took the fourth. Then the son of a bitch managed to buy Nightshade, a Triple Crown winner, and he’s won the last two races. I couldn’t let him do that to me.”

“How long is the race?”

“A mile and a half. The same as Belmont, the longest race in the Triple Crown. We had to make it interesting. I wanted to make sure everyone knew I was better than Reardon.”

“Until you weren’t. How terrible for you,” she said sarcastically. “So you decided you’d pick up a few new thoroughbreds yourself by raiding St. Eldon’s? You must have been desperate.”

He got to his feet. “I’m never desperate. I just look for opportunities.” His grasp bit painfully into her shoulders. “You were an opportunity, and I thought I might find a horse fast enough to beat Nightshade.” His voice lowered to silken softness. “And I got lucky, didn’t I? I found you, and I found Chaos. So you’re going to make certain I win this next bet with Reardon. Because I’m going to need to get a new start after Korgan and your friend Alisa robbed me of those little bitches I was going to ransom.”