The Hitman Next Door: A Texas Bounty Novel Read online

  He hadn’t told Duchess the real reason why he wanted to take on the job, because he was pretty sure Duchess would tell him to back off. And fair enough. As conflict of interests went, it was pretty major and he honestly didn’t know if he’d actually manage to restrain himself from blowing the prick’s head off when he finally caught him. Then again, Duchess would have an aneurysm if he went to jail for murder and she certainly didn’t need that shit on her plate as well as whatever else she was dealing with.

  No, he was keeping his real reasons for wanting this skip under wraps. Yet another reason why he didn’t much want bouncy little Rose Hammond getting in the way. And most especially not given Jenkin’s predilections for pretty young things.

  Rather like yours right now,. if you think about it.

  No. He was not going to think about it.

  “While I’m on the subject, any particular reason you’re so set on doing this by yourself?” Duchess lifted one pale brow.

  Aw, shit.

  A muscle in West’s jaw ticked. Protesting too much always looked suspicious and he really didn’t want her asking questions about his motivations for this job. He also didn’t want to refuse her when she needed help.

  Christ, he’d still be drinking away his sorrows along with the contents of his wallet if it hadn’t been for her, so really, it was the least he could do.

  How are you going to handle little Miss Panty Status Update then?

  He had no fucking idea. Right now, though, if Duchess needed him to help then help he would.

  “Okay,” he said after a moment. “I’ll take her.”

  The set of Duchess’s shoulders relaxed, which in anyone else would have been a full-on sigh of relief. “Thanks West. I’ll owe you.”

  “No, you won’t.” He pushed himself up from the chair, ignoring the coil of what felt horribly like anticipation that settled inside him. “I guess her paperwork’s all in order?”

  “Yes. Got the license last week.”

  “Equipment?”

  “Come on, she’s had the equipment for months already. If not years.”

  That didn’t surprise him. Rose had been eager to start her career as a fugitive recovery agent since the day Duchess had first opened the doors. Unfortunately for Rose – though fortunately for everyone else – the legal age to become an agent was twenty one, so Duchess had given her the delicate and complicated task of skip tracing – which involved tracking bail jumpers via digital records – instead. Luckily for the agency, Rose was crazy good with a computer and she’d proved a natural.

  “Going to be one hell of a long drive,” he muttered, because there was no way they could fly, not if he wanted to bring his weapons with him. “Hope she’s up for that.”

  “She can cope,” Duchess said.

  Yeah, he was pretty sure Rose could. Whether he would was another story altogether.

  * * *

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  About Jackie

  Jackie Ashenden lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband, the inimitable Dr. Jax, two kids, one dog, and one cat. When she’s not torturing alpha males and their kick-ass heroines, she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, posting random crap on social media, or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband.

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  www.jackieashenden.com

  Also by Jackie Ashenden

  Standalones

  * * *

  Falling For Finn (Ebook only)

  One Night With The Master (formerly Black Knight, White Queen) (Ebook only)

  * * *

  Demanding His Hidden Heir (Harlequin Presents)

  Out July 2019

  Claiming His One Night Child (Harlequin Presents)

  Out August 2019

  * * *

  The Debt (Harlequin Dare)

  (Out September 2019)

  * * *

  Series

  * * *

  The Lies We Tell

  Taking Him

  Having Her

  * * *

  Forbidden Desires

  Living In Shadow

  Living In Sin

  Living In Secret

  * * *

  Talking Dirty (Ebook/audio only)

  Talking Dirty With The CEO

  Talking Dirty With The Player

  Talking Dirty With The Boss

  * * *

  The Nine Circles

  Mine To Take

  Make You Mine

  You Are Mine

  Kidnapped By The Billionaire

  In Bed With The Billionaire

  * * *

  Motor City Royals

  Dirty For Me

  Wrong For Me

  Sin For Me

  * * *

  Bad Boy Sheikhs (Ebook only)

  Never Seduce A Sheikh

  Never Refuse A Sheikh

  Never Resist A Sheikh

  * * *

  Texas Bounty (Ebook only)

  Cold Hearted Sniper (formerly Take Me Deeper)

  Make It Hurt

  Take Me Harder

  The Hit Man Next Door

  Big Bad Marine (out 24th July 2019)

  Black Sheep Bounty Hunter (out 7th August 2019)

  * * *

  Tate Brothers (Billionaire Navy SEALS)

  The Dangerous Billionaire

  The Wicked Billionaire

  The Undercover Billionaire

  * * *

  11th Hour

  Raw Power

  Total Control

  Hard Night

  * * *

  Knights of Ruin (Harlequin Dare)

  Ruined

  Destroyed

  * * *

  Kings of Sydney (Harlequin Dare)

  King’s Price

  King’s Rule

  King’s Ransom

  * * *

  Novellas

  * * *

  Series

  Billionaire’s Club NYC (Ebook only)

  The Billion Dollar Bachelor

  The Billion Dollar Bad Boy

  The Billionaire Biker

  * * *

  Boxed set of above: 100 Shades Hotter edition

  * * *

  Billionaire Fairy Tales (Ebook only)

  The Billionaire’s Virgin

  The Billionaire Beast

  The Billionaire’s Intern

  The Big Bad Billionaire

  * * *

  Multi-author series (Ebook only)

  Hollywood Blackmail (Seacliff Medical series)

  Hold Me Down (Deacons of Bourbon Street biker series)

  Frankie (Secret Confessions: Down and Dusty)