The Bounty Hunter's Forbidden Desire
A desperate search through Alaska leads to danger–and undeniable passion!Bounty hunter Chase McKinley will do anything to locate his missing brother–even kidnap the man's girlfriend. But Haley Adams has no leads on her ex…other than a mysterious package that brings murder in its wake. Handcuffed to the sexy tracker, she's stunned when her outrage turns to attraction…With only an Alaska postmark, Chase follows the trail–with Haley. He put her in danger; only he can protect her. But who'll protect him from the woman he desires and can never have? With every step, they get closer to his brother…and to a killer who sets the perfect trap–with them as bait.
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A desperate search through Alaska leads to dangerâand undeniable passion!
Bounty hunter Chase McKinley will do anything to locate his missing brotherâeven kidnap the manâs girlfriend. But Haley Adams has no leads on her exâ¦other than a mysterious package that brings murder in its wake. Handcuffed to the sexy tracker, sheâs stunned when her outrage turns to attractionâ¦
With only an Alaska postmark, Chase follows the trailâwith Haley. He put her in danger; only he can protect her. But whoâll protect him from the woman he desires and can never have? With every step, they get closer to his brotherâ¦and to a killer who sets the perfect trapâwith them as bait.
âTouch me. Please.â
She pressed his hands to her and Chase ignited. If he didnât stop now, there would be no stopping. And he had to.
âI canât do this, Haley. Not when you belong to someone else.â
He saw the wounded expression in her eyes. âItâs not me your brother owns. Itâs you, Chase.â
It didnât make sense. No one owned him.
âHaleyââ
âJust go back to your room.â
He did as she asked. But he didnât sleep. He had to admit snatching Haley without any authority and forcing her to go with him to find his missing brother had been reckless.
Now it was too late. As long as there was any risk to her, he had to remain at her side. Which was a big problem when she was a walking temptation. And now it looked as if she was also attracted to him.
So, what the hell were they going to do about it?
***
Have you ever heard of Svalbard? I hadnât either until a few years ago when I learned itâs an archipelago halfway between Norway and the North Pole. There, on an uninhabited island, is located what may well be mankindâs most important structureâa state-of-the-art storage facility built inside a frozen mountain. To store what? Seeds. Millions of varieties of seeds collected from around the world. If a monumental disaster, natural or man-made, should ever occur to our crops, here are preserved in this Global Seed Vault the seeds to begin anew.
The more I read about Svalbard, the more intrigued I became. Those who have read my romantic suspense books know that I like to build my stories around unique subjects. The Bounty Hunterâs Forbidden Desire is one of those stories. It concerns a man and a woman who race to save an international seed vault threatened with destruction by a megalomaniacâa seed vault that in my novel is situated in Alaska, not Norway. As fast-paced as the plot is, this is not its major theme. That deals with a guilt-ridden hero searching for his missing brother and the romance that was never supposed to happen. Hereâs a hint before you take this journey with Haley and Chase. You wonât need a dogsled. It can be quite warm in Alaska in the summer. And with Haley and Chase heating up the environmentâ¦well, you get the idea.
Jean Thomas
Jean Thomas, aka Jean Barrett, lives in Wisconsin in an English-style cottage on a Lake Michigan shore bluff. The view from her office window would be a magnificent one if it werenât blocked by a big fat computer that keeps demanding her attention.
This author of twenty-six romances was a teacher before she left the classroom to write full-time. A longtime member of Romance Writers of America, Jean is a proud winner of three national awards and has appeared on several bestseller lists. When she isnât at the keyboard, she likes to take long walks that churn up new story ideas or work in the garden, which never seems to churn up anything but dirt. Of course, there are always books to be read. Romantic suspense stories are her favorite. No surprise there. Visit Jean at jeanthomas-author.com.
To my good friends
Bobbie Finn and Kathy Mueller for their loyal support
Contents
Chase McKinley sat behind the wheel of his black SUV, watching the couple in the gray Chevy. The sedan was parked diagonally across the street from him, its position allowing him to observe the occupants without giving them a reason to be suspicious of his presence. In any case, they were too engrossed in what appeared to be an intense dialogue to be aware of him.
There was no way for Chase to hear what they were saying. Nor did he worry about that. What the woman looked like was his only real concern at the moment. At this angle, and with the width of the street between them, that was hard to tell.
The PI whom Chase regularly used had emailed a photo of the brunette, but it had been a blurry, disappointing result. Far more interesting was the investigatorâs description in his report. Heâd referred to her simply as âa hot number.â An exaggeration? Maybe. Chase looked forward to finding out.
