“My uncle was, of course, down at the bar. But when he got home, he had exactly what I had. Nothing.”

She sucked in a breath; the retelling had taken a toll on her emotionally, and he hated seeing the pain written all over her face. “I got to see his face before the police hauled me away. That was the most satisfying moment of my life. Three years later when he died of a heart attack, I was the only living relative, so the land came to me. He actually had a life insurance policy and I was able to use the money I received to pay off the debt. I still own it,” she said, matter-of-fact. “It’s actually not far from here.”

She shrugged again and her eyes narrowed. “So now you know. I’m a spiteful bitch. I take everything the men in my life have. I took my uncle’s ranch and I took Sean’s company. Feel better having all those stories about me confirmed?”

He didn’t believe that one damn bit.

And something else disturbed him even more. “How long were you with the man who bought you?” Just saying those unbelievable words filled him with fury.

“A couple of days.”

Days! The thoughts that ran through his head made him sick. “Did he hurt you?”

The far-off look that came over her told him yes—deeply.

“He didn’t rape me. But there are lots of ways to hurt someone. Don’t ask, because I’m not going there with you.”

He didn’t really want to know. He wished he could erase it from her mind, heart, and life.

His heart ached and his fury flared. He wanted to find the guy and beat him half to death just so he’d know how it felt to be in that much pain.

Just like the pain vibrating around her, consuming the joy he’d seen in her.

“There’s nothing about any of that in the police report.”

She gave him a very insincere smile. “You can’t be that naive. The cops had their criminal in custody.” She used that word to remind him he’d called her that not even a half hour ago. “My uncle denied it ever happened, the guy who bought the horses denied it happened, and I was the one who burned down the ranch. I didn’t have any proof. My word against theirs, and I was just a dumb kid. If you were a cop, who would you believe?”

Her. Because she didn’t seem to have a problem admitting what she’d done. “So what happened? Did you go to juvenile detention? Jail?”

“I spent several days behind bars while I waited for the system to do its thing without any concern for me. Then someone unexpected showed up. He saved me from the fate I deserved.”

Luke represented people who deserved what they got, but Sarah wasn’t anything like them. Yes, she’d done something wrong, but the system had failed her for so long she didn’t believe anyone would ever help her. Even the cops didn’t believe her story. They only cared that they’d gotten her for the arson. “Who saved you? Your father?”