I didn’t know, but I didn’t like it. I didn’t have any friends in this world, anyone I trusted, aside from Race Hartman.
“Tell Novak to back off. I’ll see what I can do to get a pulse on him, but if Novak had something to do with Race going AWOL, he will regret it.”
“Pretty brave making threats when you haven’t even been out of lockup for a full twenty-four hours.”
I snorted and stepped around Benny like he wasn’t worth my time, which he wasn’t.
“Five years is a long time to go without; it’s also a long time to work on a grudge and grow the fuck up. You don’t know me, Benny. Novak doesn’t know me, and I don’t care what kind of muscle or firepower he wants to throw at me, if he had anything to do with Race going missing, I’ll make him pay. Tell Roxie thanks for ratting me out.”
“You get what you pay for.” I wasn’t sure if that was a dig at me or at her.
“I don’t know about you and your ugly mug, but I’ve never had to pay for it in my life.”
I saw him scowl and took advantage of his distraction to lunge forward and slam the hardest part of my forehead right into the bridge of his nose. I heard a satisfying crunch, and then his scream of pain as his cronies hurried forward to keep him from folding to his knees in the dirty alley. I gave my head a shake to clear my vision, because the move hadn’t done a thing for my headache. I stepped around my now howling and blood-gushing adversary, tossing over my shoulder as I made my way to the mouth of the alley:
“You might not want to underestimate me, Benny. That was always your downfall.”
My name is Shane Baxter, Bax to most people, and I’m a thief.
THIS SPRING, DON’T MISS THE
EXTRAORDINARY CLOSE TO JAY
CROWNOVER’S NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING
MARKED MEN SERIES . . .
Asa
Starting over in Denver with a whole new circle of friends and family, Asa Cross struggles with being the man he knows everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn’t change its spots and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn’t want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it’s easy to hit bottom when it’s the place you know best.
Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner’s life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she’s trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can’t stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs, but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career, and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.
A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JAY CROWNOVER is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men and Welcome to the Point series. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her three dogs.
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BY JAY CROWNOVER
The Welcome to the Point Series
Better When He’s Bold
Better When He’s Bad
The Marked Men Series
Rowdy
Nash
Rome
Jet
Rule
CREDITS
Cover design by Richard L. Aquan
Cover photographs: man © by George Kerrigan; wall © by Goldmund Lukic/iStockphoto
Author photograph by Sassymonkey.net
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
BETTER WHEN HE’S BOLD. Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer M. Voorhees. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 978-0-06-235191-3
EPub Edition FEBRUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780062351920
15 16 17 18 19 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Table of Contents
Dedication
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Brysen
Chapter 2: Race
Chapter 3: Brysen
Chapter 4: Race
Chapter 5: Brysen
Chapter 6: Race
Chapter 7: Brysen
Chapter 8: Race
Chapter 9: Brysen
Chapter 10: Race
Chapter 11: Brysen
Chapter 12: Race
Chapter 13: Brysen
Chapter 14: Race
Chapter 15: Brysen
Chapter 16: Race
Chapter 17: Brysen
Chapter 18: Race
Chapter 19: Brysen
Chapter 20: Race
Acknowledgments
Better When He's Brave
Better When He's Bad
Excerpt
Asa
About the Author
By Jay Crownover
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher