by Addison Fox
Max shoved his gun into his back pocket and moved in to break them up, his body straining as he pulled the two men apart.
The sound of sirens grew even louder, drowning out the grunts of all the men. Police streamed into the shop, guns drawn, just as Max pulled Tucker free of Robert’s struggling form.
The police screamed out orders and everyone put their hands up as the officers got caught up on the situation. Despite Robert’s screaming protest of his innocence and the continued threat of Tucker’s dark stares at the man, Violet and Max managed to calm the situation, Violet’s arrival with video footage putting the matter fully to rest.
Heart in her throat, Cassidy hugged Violet and Lilah, nodding under their repeated need for assurance that she was unharmed. From their arms, she watched Tucker struggle to stand still as he waited for the police to let him move.
His gaze locked on hers the moment the officers gave him leave to go to her.
“I thought I wouldn’t get to you.” Hard, tortured breaths ripped from his throat as he dragged her against him. “I thought we’d be too late.”
“I’m fine. It’s okay.”
“I knew better. And I don’t know why I went along with this asinine plan to—”
“Tucker. Shh.” She hugged him tighter and knew he had a point. “When Detective Graystone gets here we’ll tell him everything. We’ll put this behind us.”
They stood like that for a few moments, heads bent, emotionally miles away from the swirling chaos that surrounded them.
Robert continued screaming, his belligerent tone directed at anyone who would listen. Although she tried to muster up any sort of sympathy for his horrible choices, she couldn’t find a drop.
She only cared about her immense good fortune that Tucker Buchanan had found her.
On a smile, she lifted her head. “What are we going to do with each other now that our lives are going to go back to normal?”
“I’m going to love you. Every single day of my life, Cassidy Tate.”
“When can we get started?”
His lips came down on hers, full of the only chaos she was interested in. The crazy, messy madness of love.
And she was going to spend every single day for the rest of her life enjoying every single minute of it.
Epilogue
The Duke kicked the dead man lying in the grass, his serene backyard now marred once again by blood. Robert Barrington’s sightless eyes stared up at him and he kicked the body out of sheer anger.
While he’d had low expectations for the society boy, he’d had equally low expectations of the women.
They baked cakes and sewed dresses and planned weddings. And they’d bested him.
With one more swift kick to the body out of sheer frustration, he stalked off across his yard, anxious to get some distance.
He’d tally the man’s bail money against his investment in this operation and move on.
He always moved on.
The manila envelope that had been among Robert’s possessions when the police combed through the crime scene lay in his hands. His contact at the courthouse had been more than obliging with the file, his overwhelming gratitude that his daughter had been released from a local prostitute ring ensuring his discretion.
The fact the ring of whores was his own was the Duke’s business.
He opened the envelope to reveal several eight-by-ten photographs. Something akin to arousal coursed through his blood as anger and triumph mixed together. Three enormous rubies reflected back at him from the photos.
One photo showed a row of three, numbers beside each gem. Three individual photos followed, close-ups of each ruby. Their corresponding numbers lay next to each, with a strawberry beside for perspective. The rubies were as large as the fruit.
The women had no idea what they’d given him. They might assume the jewels were safe, but he didn’t need to go after the gems.
He only needed to go after the women.
As long as he got his hands on one, he’d have the rest.
And then he’d have it all.
*****
The
DANGEROUS IN DALLAS
series continues soon with
TEMPTING TARGET
If you loved this novel, don’t miss these other
suspenseful stories from Addison Fox:
THE MANHATTAN ENCOUNTER
THE ROME AFFAIR
THE LONDON DECEPTION
THE PARIS ASSIGNMENT
Available now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense!
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SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
When a masked intruder appears in her son’s window, Nicolette Kendall needs help from guarded cowboy Lucas Taylor. But even as his guarded heart begins to crack, they must unravel secrets to save her child...
Read on for a sneak peek of A REAL COWBOY, the first book in the COWBOYS OF HOLIDAY RANCH series by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy, coming March 2015 from Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
He stepped outside and looked around. “What are you doing out here all by yourself in the dark?”
“You told my son that cowboys only bathe once a week, and now Sammy won’t get into the bathtub.”
By the light of the room spilling out where they stood, she saw his amusement curve his lips upward. “Is that a fact?” he replied. “Sounds like a personal problem to me.”
“It’s all your fault,” she said, at the same time trying not to notice the wonder of his broad shoulders, the slim hips that wore his jeans so well.
He raised a dark eyebrow. “The way I see it, you started it.”
This time the heat that filled her cheeks was a new wave of pure embarrassment. “Look, I’m sorry. When I told my son those things, I’d never really met a cowboy before. The only cowboy I’ve ever even seen in my entire life is the naked singing cowboy in Times Square. I now have a little boy who refuses to take a bath. Can you please come back to the house with me and tell him differently?”
Amusement once again danced in his eyes as he gave her a smile that made her feel just a little bit breathless. “Basically you’ve come to say you’re sorry about your preconceived notions about cowboys, because I think it would be nice if you apologized before asking for my help about anything.”
“You’re right. I am sorry,” she replied, wondering if he wanted her to get down on her knees before him and grovel, as well.
“Okay then, let’s go.” He pulled the door of his unit closed behind him and fell into step next to her.
“A naked singing cowboy…and you New Yorkers think we’re strange.” He laughed, a low, deep rumble that she found far too pleasant.
She realized at that moment that she wasn’t afraid of cows or horses, that she wasn’t worried about falling into the mud or getting her hands dirty.
The real danger came from the attraction she felt for the man who walked next to her, a man whose laughter warmed her and who smelled like spring wind and leather.
Don’t miss A REAL COWBOY by Carla Cassidy,
available March 2015 from Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
www.Harlequin.com
Copyr
ight © 2015 by Carla Bracale
ISBN-13: 9781460375846
Silken Threats
Copyright © 2015 by Frances Karkosak
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