Bounty’s Song
by Mandy Colton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Gage Knight is a Texas
bounty hunter and just doing a tough job when he’s sent to Nashville to pick up
a grifting high-dollar fugitive. He arrives at the right place at almost the
right time, but he makes a big mistake when he leaves.
Once a debutante,
Danica Chastain is now a struggling songwriter with a dream of landing a job in
the music business. On the day when her hard work seems to be heading in the
right direction, a gruff man with a dark presence and wolfish eyes arrives at
her door.
Although their
immediate chemistry is off the charts, the two clash—for good reason. Danica is
not who he thinks she is, and he’s not listening...
Excerpt
“Open the damn door, Gage, or I’m walking in whether you are
flagrante delicto or not!”
Groaning, he rolled out of bed, holding his aching head,
shuffled to the door, and wrenched it open. “What the hell, Cheryl? And speak
English!”
She snickered, reaching up and stuck her pointer finger to
the tip of his nose. “Right back atcha, big boy. You’re gettin’ the Tara Morgan
file back. Get it together, and get your primo ass moving.” She wrinkled her
nose and backed up a step, waving her hand. “Dude, you are ripe. Are you
drunk?”
“Yes! And I would like to sleep it off in peace. I just
delivered Morgan.”
“No. You delivered one Danica Chastain, and the boss ain’t
happy. You would not believe the God-awful twist he’s got his boxers in over
this one. He’s embarrassed, all kinds of pissed, and was holding a nut cracker
in one hand when I left. You know what that means.”
Fuck. The woman had been telling the truth. “I have no idea
where to find the real Tara Morgan. She evidently left Nashville before I
picked up the Chastain girl. Their IDs must have been switched.”
“Gage, this kind of shoddy work is not like you. What the
hell happened?”
He ran his hand through his hair, and it hurt. “Where is
she? Danica?”
“Dad compensated her, which will come out of your next
check, and bought her a bus ticket back to Nashville.”
Shit! He should be taking her home. He owed her that much,
and he needed to talk to her. He wanted to...
“Gage?” She snapped her fingers in his face. “Gage!”
“Will you stop yelling, girly? My head is already pounding
like a bass drum and ready to explode.”
Cheryl was just staring at him now with her head cocked.
“How come you got drunk?”
He ignored her.
She pulled a wry grin. “I saw that girl... She was pretty.
You sweet on her? Huh? Is that what happened? She get under your skin and twist
your gonads all up into a love knot?”
This girl and the boss both had an obsession with balls. The
wile little snippet of a girl swung a set of truck nuts off the front of her
little Jeep. Big black ones. Gage just stared at her a minute and continued his
shuffle to the medicine cabinet for some aspirin.
Cheryl followed, hot on his heels. “Oh my freakin’ gawd, I’m
right. A woman finally got to you. Gage, the eternal bachelor. Did you do the
taboo and pork a skip?”
He stopped and turned. Cheryl was Gavin’s daughter, a
professional meddler. Gavin was one of his bosses, a bail bondsman. He worked
for a couple of guys who kept him plenty busy. Cheryl just happened to be the
go-to girl if you needed information. She could find a third of their skips
just through her own contact mill. Everybody liked her, including cops,
lawyers, judges, and even some political types. She knew somebody in every
neighborhood and precinct in Houston and then a bunch of key people across the
state. Shit. Across at least three states. A perpetual-talking, networking,
goldmine she was. Friendly as hell, instantly likable, cute as a button with
her short-spiky hair like his own, and a cute little pixie face. She was the
closest thing to an annoying little sister he’d ever had and currently working
up to being a pain in his ass today.
“Girl, will you please stop talkin’. I need to take an
aspirin and a piss,” he grumbled.
She leaned against the doorframe, shit-grinning from ear to
ear. “I don’t mind. It’s been a while since I saw it. If you’re too weak this
mornin’, I could hold it for ya.”
He shook his head and shut the door. Little shit.
He had just started to trickle when Cheryl started talking
again through the door and his stream halted. “You know, chances are, that
Morgan girl didn’t go far. We got lucky findin’ her in Tennessee, and I don’t
think she ever planned to stay long. I think she was just unloading stolen
goods and holing up for a while. She likes casinos but not the boats so much
that are around there. They’re mainly hangouts for the senior citizens and
tourist crowd. Only good for a little pickpocket action. Not her usual gig. She
mostly hangs out where she can latch on to somebody, likes the horse and dog
tracks. The big question is, which way did she go? I already marked the tracks
around Nashville on a map for you. Kentucky, Florida, Louisiana, or Texas,
baby. I think the last two. I betcha dollars ta donuts, she didn’t go to
Louisville and is probably in Bossier City, Louisiana, right now. More
racetracks comin’ back this way toward Texas.”
Gage washed his hands while looking in the mirror. Man, he
looked like shit. After downing two aspirin, he opened the door and headed to
the kitchen to put some coffee on. Again, with Cheryl following close behind.
“Dad gave me another file. Said to pick this guy up before
you leave. He said some other stuff too, but I...uh...don’t need to repeat the
rest.”
No doubt. “Your dad is not the only guy I work for. I gotta
check in with Tanner too.”
“News travels fast. Tanner called to rub in your mistake
just before Dad said all that other stuff I didn’t repeat.” She then quipped,
“What you gotta do is fix this Morgan thing. Dad’ll be really pissed at you if
this bond runs out and he takes a really embarrassing double hit. He’s out a
groveling apology, a chunk of spare change, bus ticket, and some reputation
skin off his ass. And you’re out plenty of dough too, aren’t ya?”
He closed his eyes and rolled his neck to get the kinks out.
He could give a fuck less about the money. What he needed to do was fix his
wrong with Danica. He loaded the coffee pot and flicked it on, then headed to the
shower with Cheryl chattering right behind.
“I gotta go. I’ll put the files on the table along with the
map I marked. I’ll even call security at the race tracks in Bossier City and
Vinton and ask about any reports of theft.”
He turned and kissed her on the cheek. “Appreciate it.”
She smiled and gave him a wink. “I do what I can. After you
find that Morgan chick, you can go do your own groveling to that Danica girl.”
“Good-bye, Cheryl. Unless you want to shower with me?” He
ended with a mischievous grin.
“Yikes! With you and that big snake? I’m outta here, pal.”
She said as she went, throwing an eyebrow waggle back at him, “You’re pretty
hot and all, but I don’t think Dad would appreciate me boinkin’ the help. I
could hurt ya.”
About The Author
Mandy Colton is from Louisville, KY, and lives a very
quiet life with her husband and teenage son. A fan of romance, fun adventure,
drama, humor, and on occasion, sci-fi stories. Her first book, Way to Go, and
the continuing series came from her years, own adventures and experiences
working in the travel industry.
Although she’s a great fan of the human imagination,
she is also of the opinion that there are just no better stories than those
that involve a bit of true life.
If you like my books, please review on Amazon or
Goodreads. Subscribe for notifications on future new releases!
Giveaway
$15 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
$15 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
Thanks for having me here. For the readers, Bounty's Song is a free download until Dec. 2 on Amazon. Enjoy!
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