UlteriorMotives by Chandra Ryan Page A

racketeering,
fraud and extortion. In the background a man in a suit covered his face as he
made a dash for a nearby transport. The massive skyscrapers and fancy
transports whizzing by meant that the report was unfolding on one of the major
commerce worlds but Kat couldn’t place which one. She didn’t make it off her
world often enough. She was about to turn to Jasper and demand an explanation
when the man’s name flashed on the screen.
    “That’s…” Her voice faltered as understanding filled her.
    “Representative Loase.”
    “You did this?”
    He nodded. “With some help.”
    “From your father?”
    “He had the connections. I had the access codes.”
    Her heart seized as she continued to watch the news feed.
“But if they find out—”
    “Oh I’m sure they already know. They log access to
classified documents. My digital fingerprints are all over this.”
    “No! You shouldn’t have. They’re going to arrest you. You’re
going to go to prison because of me.” She rested her head on her palm as her
stomach turned. She was going to be sick.
    His chuckle did nothing to set her at ease. It actually made
her angry. “What kind of lawyer would I be if I didn’t know my way around a
crime?” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m not going to jail. I exposed a
credible threat. The whistleblower laws will protect me. But you’re missing the
important part. They can’t touch you now. If anyone makes a move on your land,
every news agency in the system will know why and report it. You get to keep
your ranch. Forever.”
    She got to continue living her dream. It was beyond anything
she expected. And yet she could only think about everything he gave up to make
it happen. “But what about you? Maybe you won’t go to jail, but they won’t let
you keep your job. Not after this. What are you going to do?” This was her
fault. Every last bit of it. She had to find a way to fix it.
    “I’m not sure and, to be honest, I don’t really care right
now.” He looked around the room as he spoke. His demeanor became one of
discomfort. “Maybe I’ll take up something new.”
    He couldn’t take up something new. He loved helping people
as much as she loved ranching. She might have been miserable had she moved, but
that would’ve been unavoidable. If he gave up what he loved he would eventually
blame her. “But you need to help people.”
    He wouldn’t look at her now. This was probably not going how
he anticipated. “Maybe I can work with my father. He’s been trying to get me on
his side for, well, forever.”
    “But you wanted to help from within the system,” she pointed
out.
    “I think we’ve both seen how futile that is. It’s time for
me to admit that my father is right. The people need someone in their corner
and his way is the only way to ensure that.”
    That would take him light-years away from her. There had to
be another way. “Or,” she said as she stared at the news coverage. “Or. Maybe
you were just in the wrong place in the system?”
    “What?”
    “You said you planned on running for office once you’d
worked for a couple years.”
    “Yeah, I needed to build a name and get backers.”
    The reader replayed the scene of Representative Loase leaving
in disgrace. “I think you have the name recognition now. Or, at least, you will
have as soon as they get this settled out. And I’m sure your father could help
you with the backers.” She turned the reader around so it faced him. “And I can
think of at least one elected position that’s going to need to be filled soon.”
    His jaw dropped as he looked at the screen. He stared at it
for a minute before asking, “Do you really think I could do it?”
    “You risked everything and took on the government in order
to protect citizens’ rights.” She smiled as the campaign took shape in her
head. “And you won. If you could do that as a lawyer, imagine what you could do
as an actual politician.”
    He ran a hand over his face.