Dangerously Irresistible. Kristin Gabriel

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СКАЧАТЬ Lynette out of every penny in her savings account, then left her high and dry. He’d been arrested soon after, then jumped bail and disappeared.

      Gus Griffin had never forgiven Lynette for jilting him. He’d also vowed to bring the notorious Kissing Bandit to justice. But despite his diligence, the Bandit was still on the loose. And Maddie was still paying the price for Lynette’s weakness.

      “Maddie, I’m sorry to say that this magazine is proof that you’re not ready to hire on as a bounty hunter. It shows poor judgment. You’re obviously more interested in romance than recovering fugitives.”

      “That’s not fair! Ben and Tate spend every weekend with a different woman, and you never say a word.”

      “That’s because Ben and Tate have already proven themselves in the field. They’re not going to let a pretty face distract them at a crucial moment.”

      “So give me a chance to prove myself, too. That’s all I ask, Dad. One chance.”

      He hesitated, and for one brief moment she let herself hope.

      “Madeline…” he began.

      She closed her eyes, knowing the answer even before he said it. Her father never used her full name unless he was about to deliver bad news. He’d called her Madeline when he’d told her about her mother’s death in a traffic accident all those years ago. And then again a few months later, when he’d announced that she’d be attending a boarding school in Boston, instead of staying with the family in Chicago.

      Madeline had never boded well.

      “It’s time to put this silly idea out of your head,” Gus said gruffly. “You’re not going to work for me as a bounty hunter, and you’re not going to work for the competition, either. Everybody in this city knows better than to cross Gus Griffin.”

      “Then I’ll open my own business,” she said, mortified to feel her lower lip quiver.

      “Nobody in their right mind would ever hire a woman to bring in a fugitive, especially a woman who refuses to carry a gun.” He stood up and awkwardly thrust a tissue in her direction. Gus Griffin could face an armed felon without blinking an eye, but a woman in tears terrified him.

      She grabbed the tissue and wiped her nose, aware of the office door closing behind her. She was alone. Again. Despite the tightness in her throat, her eyes were dry and hot. He wouldn’t even give her chance. After all these years, he still wouldn’t let her be part of the family.

      She’d grown up trying to knock down the emotional wall that kept her separated from her father and brothers. They loved her and tried to protect her, but they didn’t understand her. And they didn’t want to let her into their world.

      She reached across the desk for another tissue, her elbow bumping the magazine onto the floor. With an irritated sigh, she picked it up and scowled at the sexy cowboy who grinned up at her.

      “It’s all your fault,” she muttered, though she knew her father would have used any excuse to keep her safely behind a desk instead of out in the field.

      She flipped through the magazine, half tempted to place an order just to irritate her father. She knew it was immature and irrational, but so far acting mature and rational hadn’t gotten her very far.

      She dropped the magazine into her lap, the pages falling open to the special insert called Grooms-to-Go. She’d never looked at this section before, having no interest in a man desperate enough to advertise himself for marriage. Then she blinked at the picture in front of her. And for one brief, terrifying moment her heart fluttered in her chest.

      She held her breath as she looked up at the wanted poster in the center of the bulletin board. The one that had been there for so many months. The one with the picture of the Kissing Bandit. Then she looked back at the magazine.

      It was him.

      Maddie gulped, trying to breathe normally again. She’d found him. The man her father and brothers had been fruitlessly searching for was right here in black and white. His hair was a little shorter, and dark instead of blond, and he’d shaved off his mustache. But he still had the same square jaw, the same sexy dimple in his chin. She quickly scanned the brief description. Height: Six feet two inches. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Blue. Name: Tanner Blackburn.

      Maddie stood up, too excited to remain still. Tanner Blackburn was one of the aliases of the Kissing Bandit. His name and hair color might change, but his m.o. was always the same. He’d dupe lonely women into falling in love with him, then he’d bleed them dry.

      Now the Kissing Bandit was here, right in front of her. Or rather, in Texas. And obviously up to his old tricks. If she could bring him in….

      If? When she brought him in. Then she’d finally have everything she’d always wanted. The love and respect of her father. The approval of her brothers. The satisfaction of finally proving herself as a full-fledged member of the Griffin family.

      She smiled at the photo of the handsome man in the magazine. He’d soon learn that a Griffin always gets her man.

      1

      “BREATHE,” TANNER BLACKBURN ordered the man standing next to him. “It’s just the wedding rehearsal. You don’t need to start panicking until tomorrow.”

      “I’m not panicking,” Cabe White said, his voice husky with emotion. “I just can’t get over how damn beautiful she is.”

      They stood in the center of an old barn located on the outskirts of Abilene, Texas. The open doors did little to assuage the oppressive June heat. Flies buzzed around them and the air was ripe with the odors of hay and manure.

      Tanner watched as the bride-to-be stood in the doorway. She wore a long pink denim skirt and a pale pink western blouse with pearl buttons. Her fine, silky blond hair was tucked beneath a straw cowboy hat adorned with a pink satin band.

      Despite the heat and the flies and the way his new cowboy boots were pinching his toes, Tanner felt a twinge of envy deep inside of him. Cabe and Hannah were meant for each other, even though he’d seen her first. Hell, he’d dated her first. After reluctantly allowing his kid sister to place his picture in the Texas Mail-Order Men magazine, he’d finally met a woman who had stirred his interest. He’d thought it was fate.

      Until she’d fallen in love with his cousin.

      Tanner hadn’t even seen Cabe for almost five years. As teenagers, Cabe, Tanner and Tanner’s twin brother, Ronnie, had all been hell-raisers together, breaking curfew and female hearts on a regular basis. They’d all had the same dark hair, deep blue eyes, and square Blackburn jaw that the ladies seemed to love. And they had all loved the ladies.

      But Tanner had given up his playboy ways after his parents divorced when he was twenty-four years old. He’d even agreed to take custody of his kid sister, Lauren, who at fourteen, had been well on her way to becoming the most notorious hell-raiser of all.

      Cabe and Ronnie hadn’t grown up as much as drifted away. Except for a card at Christmas, they rarely kept in touch. They hadn’t even attended their maternal grandmother’s funeral. Tanner had been named executor of the estate and contacted each of them about their inheritance. He, Ronnie and Lauren had been given eighty acres of Iowa farmland that had been in the family for СКАЧАТЬ