Title: Hunter
Series: The Bang Shift #2
Author: Mandy Harbin
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publish Date: March 24, 2015
ISBN: 9781941467138
ASIN: B00SNTLD4W
Retail Price: $3.99 USD
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After finally getting out of her disastrous relationship, Maya Carmichael has sworn
off all bad boys. Sure they’re hot. The attitude? No thanks. But when her car is
vandalized while on a night out with her roommate, she realizes her ex is truly
sadistic. Her friend insists they lay low for a few days while the cops do their thing.
Unfortunately her temporary haven will throw her in the path of another bad boy.
Oh, she’s heard stories about her roommate’s brother, Hunter, and he’s just the type
she wants to avoid. Until she sees him … and all good intentions fly out of her busted
windshield.
Hunter Anderson might be the easygoing jokester within the Bang Shift crew—the
small Arkansas town’s mechanics and the government’s secret mercenaries—but
underneath his lighthearted exterior lurks demons of a past he’d love nothing more
than to forget. Working on cars and taking the occasional contracted mission help,
but he fears nothing will stop his past from coming back to haunt him. No one has
tried penetrating the façade to get to the real person below. No one, until
Maya.
The attraction is undeniable, but there’s more to Hunter than he can ever let on, and
for Maya, this hot distraction makes it easy to forget the real danger she’s in. It has
nothing to do with losing her heart to him.
When really it has everything to do with just that.
Excerpt
Excerpt
Hunter’s phone vibrated, so he dug it out as Bear said something that made the guys chuckle again. When he looked at the screen, he bit back a curse, knowing he couldn’t ignore the call. He stood, accepted it, and made his way out of the room for some privacy.
“Hello?”
“Bubba?”
“Yeah, Heather, what’s up?” he asked as he stepped around the door and
closed it.
“Oh, thank god. I’ve tried calling you all morning.”
Huh? He hadn’t had any missed calls from her, had he? Then again, one missed call from her might as well be a dozen. Good thing she couldn’t see him rolling his eyes. “Is everything okay?” he asked, knowing it wouldn’t sound anything but concerned.
“No. Everything is not okay. Maya’s ex-boyfriend like totally vandalized her car. She’s been saying he’s stalking her, but I’ve been telling her she’s nuts—sorry, but I thought you were,” she said away from the phone, which meant she wasn’t alone. “Then we went out to Starlight last night, but while we were in there he trashed her ride. I mean beat it the hell up. Wrote hateful things on it. Even left a used condom on it, Hunter. How sick is that?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to make sense of her words.
“Who?”
“Jake.”
“No, I mean who are you with? Who’s this Maya?”
“Oh my god, do you never listen to me? She’s my roommate. Practically my best friend. We had to call the cops. They came out, and we told them about Jake, but they said they have to investigate it. I don’t think they believed us.”
“Slight right turn in two miles,” a monotone voice announced in the background.
“Don’t let me miss the exit,” Heather said, and Hunter knew she wasn’t talking to him.
“What’s going on? Where are you going?”
“Home. To your house, I mean.”
He stood straighter. What the…? “You’re coming here? You can’t miss class, Heather.”
“He threatened her,” she said softly. “He knows where we live. We’ve left a message with the dorm monitor—”
“He’s been to your room?” he asked, a chill creeping down his spine. And only partially because of what she was telling him. His baby sister let boys into her room? At night? He didn’t like the thought of that at all. And now some jerk who’d been that close to her was causing problems? Hell, if the asshole had the nuts to take a bat to someone’s car, what was stopping him from doing the same to someone’s face? Like his sister’s. How the hell did she get in the middle of something like this? “Where are you?”
“Arkansas,” she said slowly. So she was already over halfway to Mayflower.
“Get your ass here. Now.”
She sighed. “We’re trying. We left a few hours ago. Should be there sometime after lunch.”
“Go to the house. I’ll be there.”
“Hunter—”
“No, Heather. We’ll talk when you get here. I take it Maya’s with you. Go straight to the house. Nowhere else. I know how long the drive takes. I’ll head your way if you’re not here by one.”
“Fine.” It almost sounded as if she called him a name as she hung up, but he was too focused on this new development to care about his sister’s petty behavior.Someone had taken out a car she’d been in? The perp knew where she lived? How well did she know this man? And was she blowing this way out of proportion? Sometimes he didn’t know when it came to her and her dramatic personality.
He pocketed the phone and went back into the meeting room. The guys were talking about some Shelby restore but quickly quieted and looked to him.
“My sister’s on her way. She might be in trouble,” he hedged.
He’d take care of her. He always would. But whoever this Maya chick was wasn’t his responsibility. Heather knew a little about his other job. She wasn’t completely in the dark about his present life. His past? Yes, but not his current jobs. Which meant she sure as hell knew he had to keep that side of his life private. An unknown houseguest, no matter how short the duration, was unacceptable. If they were in real trouble, he’d help the girl get home, but that would be the extent of his generosity toward her. He had too much at stake.
“What do you need from us?” Bear asked, his stern expression matching the rest of the group. Men who’d grown to be brothers to him. Well, all except Roc. He was a prick.
“Don’t know. She’ll be here in a few hours. I’ll assess what’s going on and get back to you.”
“You do that,” Brody said, clenching his jaw. Hunter knew he was worried just as much about Hunter’s sister as he was any danger she could be bringing with her … and to Xan’s doorstep. Brody was overprotective of his little bunch.
Rightly so.
“No worries.” But with his sister, nothing was ever easy. He just hoped this threat wasn’t as serious as she was making it out to be.
Maybe one day he’d finally be able to read her.
Today was not that day.
“Hello?”
“Bubba?”
“Yeah, Heather, what’s up?” he asked as he stepped around the door and
closed it.
“Oh, thank god. I’ve tried calling you all morning.”
Huh? He hadn’t had any missed calls from her, had he? Then again, one missed call from her might as well be a dozen. Good thing she couldn’t see him rolling his eyes. “Is everything okay?” he asked, knowing it wouldn’t sound anything but concerned.
“No. Everything is not okay. Maya’s ex-boyfriend like totally vandalized her car. She’s been saying he’s stalking her, but I’ve been telling her she’s nuts—sorry, but I thought you were,” she said away from the phone, which meant she wasn’t alone. “Then we went out to Starlight last night, but while we were in there he trashed her ride. I mean beat it the hell up. Wrote hateful things on it. Even left a used condom on it, Hunter. How sick is that?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to make sense of her words.
“Who?”
“Jake.”
“No, I mean who are you with? Who’s this Maya?”
“Oh my god, do you never listen to me? She’s my roommate. Practically my best friend. We had to call the cops. They came out, and we told them about Jake, but they said they have to investigate it. I don’t think they believed us.”
“Slight right turn in two miles,” a monotone voice announced in the background.
“Don’t let me miss the exit,” Heather said, and Hunter knew she wasn’t talking to him.
“What’s going on? Where are you going?”
“Home. To your house, I mean.”
He stood straighter. What the…? “You’re coming here? You can’t miss class, Heather.”
“He threatened her,” she said softly. “He knows where we live. We’ve left a message with the dorm monitor—”
“He’s been to your room?” he asked, a chill creeping down his spine. And only partially because of what she was telling him. His baby sister let boys into her room? At night? He didn’t like the thought of that at all. And now some jerk who’d been that close to her was causing problems? Hell, if the asshole had the nuts to take a bat to someone’s car, what was stopping him from doing the same to someone’s face? Like his sister’s. How the hell did she get in the middle of something like this? “Where are you?”
“Arkansas,” she said slowly. So she was already over halfway to Mayflower.
“Get your ass here. Now.”
She sighed. “We’re trying. We left a few hours ago. Should be there sometime after lunch.”
“Go to the house. I’ll be there.”
“Hunter—”
“No, Heather. We’ll talk when you get here. I take it Maya’s with you. Go straight to the house. Nowhere else. I know how long the drive takes. I’ll head your way if you’re not here by one.”
“Fine.” It almost sounded as if she called him a name as she hung up, but he was too focused on this new development to care about his sister’s petty behavior.Someone had taken out a car she’d been in? The perp knew where she lived? How well did she know this man? And was she blowing this way out of proportion? Sometimes he didn’t know when it came to her and her dramatic personality.
He pocketed the phone and went back into the meeting room. The guys were talking about some Shelby restore but quickly quieted and looked to him.
“My sister’s on her way. She might be in trouble,” he hedged.
He’d take care of her. He always would. But whoever this Maya chick was wasn’t his responsibility. Heather knew a little about his other job. She wasn’t completely in the dark about his present life. His past? Yes, but not his current jobs. Which meant she sure as hell knew he had to keep that side of his life private. An unknown houseguest, no matter how short the duration, was unacceptable. If they were in real trouble, he’d help the girl get home, but that would be the extent of his generosity toward her. He had too much at stake.
“What do you need from us?” Bear asked, his stern expression matching the rest of the group. Men who’d grown to be brothers to him. Well, all except Roc. He was a prick.
“Don’t know. She’ll be here in a few hours. I’ll assess what’s going on and get back to you.”
“You do that,” Brody said, clenching his jaw. Hunter knew he was worried just as much about Hunter’s sister as he was any danger she could be bringing with her … and to Xan’s doorstep. Brody was overprotective of his little bunch.
Rightly so.
“No worries.” But with his sister, nothing was ever easy. He just hoped this threat wasn’t as serious as she was making it out to be.
Maybe one day he’d finally be able to read her.
Today was not that day.
About the Author
Mandy Harbin is an award-winning, bestselling author of several books across
multiple romance genres ranging from contemporary to paranormal erotic
romance. She is also the number one bestselling author in teen romance under the
pen name M.W. Muse with her popular Goddess Series. She is a Superstar Award
recipient, Reader's Crown and RWA Passionate Plume finalist, and has received
Night Owl Reviews Top Pick distinction many times. She studied writing at the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, earned several degrees, and even pursued an
MBA until she realized becoming an author did not have to remain an unfulfilled
dream. Mandy is a PAN member of the RWA and lives in a small Arkansas town with
her non-traditional family, and although she is a direct descendant of British royalty,
they refuse to call her princess. When she's not penning her latest book, you can find
her hanging out online where she loves to connect with fellow readers or stalking
Mickey Mouse at Disney World.
Connect with the Mandy
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