Page 18 of Tempting the Bounty Hunter

“Anyone else have drugs on them?”

“No.” I smother a rush of anger over the sheer injustice of it all. “At least, no one they arrested. Eddie put on this big show for the cops…telling me he didn’t tolerate drugs in his establishment and that I was fired. He threw me under the bus, not that I was surprised. So I ended up in jail, and he’s still free to run his club. The only blessing was that my mother wasn’t at the club, so she didn’t even know anything had happened until I called her from jail.”

I can sense the wheels turning in Dane’s mind, snapping and clicking together.

“You couldn’t afford bail,” he says.

“No. Neither could my mother.” I lift my hands. “That’s why I contacted Benny. I also couldn’t go to court. Like I told you, I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“What did you think you’d do when you skipped?”

“Find a way to prove the drugs weren’t mine.” I make a self-derisive noise. “Easy, right? I figured I’d have to go back to Zodiac at some point, but I needed to get out of the city until I devised a plan. I didn’t want to get my mother involved in the whole mess. The trailer was the only place I could think of to go.”

Dane folds his arms over his broad chest. “You’re on your own.”

I shrug. “It’s nothing new. I’ve been either taking care of my mother or alone most of my life.”

“You’re not alone anymore.” He straightens, his gaze so fixed on mine it’s like he’s arrowing in on a target. “You’ve got me.”

ChapterNine

Hannah

“I…I’ve got you?”I stammer. “What does that mean?”

“It means”—Dane taps his fingers on his biceps, his expression implacable—“I’m on your side now.”

“But what about the police?”

He shakes his head slowly. “I was never going to take you in, Hannah. I told myself I would because it’s my job, but one look at your photo…I was done. I couldn’t have handed you over if my life depended on it. Iwouldn’thave. I needed to find you to keep you safe from everyone else, not to give you back to the cops.”

I can’t move. I’m not even sure I can breathe.

He gives a short laugh and runs a hand over his jaw. “But in addition to being a good bounty hunter, I’m also a stubborn ass. I told myself over and over I had to do my job. I was determined to make us both think I was sending you straight back to court.”

My heart kicks into gear, jolting me with a rush of warmth.

“But you never were,” I whisper.

“Never.”

“And you believe me?” The shadows darkening my world for so long begin to lighten and lift.

“Of course.” His gaze is unwavering. “I believed you the second I saw your photo.”

I can’t help laughing. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know, but it’s true. Whatever your story was, I knew I’d believe it. I believe you. I believeinyou.”

Tears sting my eyes. Despite Dane’s job, I’ve been falling for him inch by inch—ever since he bandaged my cut with such care. Maybe even before that, when he held me in his fortress of strength and safety.

Then I fell a little more when he called meperfectand got so angry at the idea that anyone would make me feel like I was less.And even more when he kissed me, whispered dirty words in my ear that sent my arousal into overdrive, bought me the dessert I secretly wanted, and practically ordered me to go after my dreams.

And now?

You’ve got me. I’m on your side.

This powerful, word-unjumbling bounty hunter with his penetrating eyes, carved features, rough hands, and granite-fortress body that I want to melt and dissolve into…

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