Cowboy Justice 12-Pack Read online

  COWBOY JUSTICE 12-PACK

  JUSTICE FOR LAINE

  Susan Stoker

  *

  JUSTICE BURNING

  Elle James

  *

  LAYING DOWN THE LAW

  Becky McGraw

  *

  TEXAS JUSTICE

  Cynthia D’Alba

  *

  TEXAS LONE STAR

  Sable Hunter

  *

  CAIN’S LAW

  Delilah Devlin

  *

  COWBOY LAWE

  Donna Michaels

  *

  COWBOY’S BEST SHOT

  Lexi Post

  *

  PROTECT AND SERVE

  Sabrina York

  *

  BADGE AND SADDLE

  Randi Alexander

  *

  BLIND SIDED

  Lindsay McKenna

  *

  LAZARUS

  Beth Williamson

  COWBOY JUSTICE 12-PACK

  JUSTICE FOR LAINE – Susan Stoker

  When her best friend can’t attend the photo shoot for a celebrity calendar featuring sexy cops, Laine agrees to go without her. What began as a favor may turn out to be fate when Laine meets sexy Texas Ranger Wes and falls for him…literally.

  JUSTICE BURNING – Elle James

  Hard-nosed sheriff’s deputy, Nash Grayson, places his family and hometown in danger when he rescues, Phoebe Sinclair, Dallas debutante and desperate runaway bride with a secret hiding in the trunk of her stolen car.

  LAYING DOWN THE LAW – Becky McGraw

  Former bad boy, now sheriff, Brock Cooper finally has his life together, which includes being over Melanie Fox. But when her mother’s mysterious fall brings the beautiful doctor back to town, it’s like she’s only been gone a minute. Brock is sure she can help heal her mother, but can she patch up the pieces of him she left behind too?

  TEXAS JUSTICE – Cynthia D’Alba

  Following an auto accident and a death during surgery, Sheriff Kyle Monroe is pulled between professional responsibilities and his personal life. He’s ready to stand by Dr. Tess Sweeney to fight bogus medical malpractice charges, even under pressure from his doctor brother and the county District Attorney to distance himself from her. He has to clear her of the charges to keep their new found love going.

  TEXAS LONE STAR – Sable Hunter

  Dallas McClain is a Texas Ranger with an ironclad plan to further his career and buy a ranch someday. He loves women, but there’s just no time for a relationship or a family. His plan goes up in smoke when he is called upon to save sexy Haley Richards. Abandoned by her husband, someone is trying to take her land. And when her little girl decides Dallas is her new daddy… Well… plans have been known to change.

  CAIN’S LAW – Delilah Devlin

  Lawman Cain Whitfield discovers the shy brunette he’s been flirting with is a former mob boss’s girlfriend when her cabin goes up in flames. Now, he’s got to keep her alive and under wraps long enough for her to testify–then he can wipe his hands of her. Carina Black’s hurt pride prods her to seduce the proud lawman into breaking his rigid code.

  COWBOY LAWE – Donna Michaels

  In order to keep close to an alpha cowboy her boss wants protected, Knight agent Tara Lynch draws on her acting skills to play a scared schoolteacher who witnessed the murder of a hitman. Former SEAL Callahan ‘Rooke’ Lawe agrees to help his old commander, but with his hands already full investigating accidents on his training ranch that put his brother in the hospital, his attraction to the beautiful woman is a distraction he doesn’t need.

  COWBOY’S BEST SHOT – Lexi Post

  Cowboy Hunter McKade returned from his service overseas only to find he’d lost everything. Bartender, Adriana Perez, never had anything to begin with. Is this their best shot for happiness?

  PROTECT AND SERVE – Sabrina York

  The last thing officer Charlie Dunham expects when he returns to his hometown is to tangle with his high school crush, Claire Silver, right off the bat. He’d planned to ignore her entirely—the way she’d always ignored him. But when a mysterious threat puts her in danger, he must step in and save her. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that he’s been lying to himself about his feelings for Claire. He wants her…no matter the cost.

  BADGE AND A SADDLE – Randi Alexander

  When the missing person he’s been searching for strolls right into his house, Detective Rex Tarrow’s investigation takes a wild U-turn. Astronomer Mina Cooper’s reappearance triggers a dangerous game of hide-and-seek as Rex discovers no one can be trusted, not even the sexy, seductive, and completely irresistible Dr. Mina. He’s sworn to protect her, but will she get them both killed?

  BLIND SIDED – Lindsay McKenna

  It seems Kara Knight has been targeted by the Mexican drug cartel, Deputy Sheriff Cade Patterson leaps into action to protect the woman he loves and find out who is behind the threats before it’s too late. Dark family secrets stand between him and the woman he loves from afar. Can Cade expose the treachery? Win Kara’s hand?

  LAZARUS – Beth Williamson

  Lazarus Graham has always been the black sheep of his family. Leaving behind the ranch his family had owned for nearly 200 years, he lives life as a Texas Ranger. Tough, hard and inflexible, he has no time for life’s fripperies. Beatrice Cartwright never expected to run into her childhood nemesis again. Yet Laz Graham sauntered into her store to investigate a crime nearby. Then the man had the nerve to not remember her. Being a Graham isn’t easy, and it’s about to get a lot harder for one stubborn lawman and an equally stubborn woman.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to place of purchase and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system—except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the web—without permission in writing from the author.

  Kindle Edition

  Justice for Laine

  Badge of Honor

  Texas Heroes

  Book 4

  Susan Stoker

  ‡

  Reluctantly taking her best friend’s place at a photo shoot, realtor Laine Parker expects to assist the photographer for the day . . . not drool over the volunteer model, Westin King. The Texas Ranger and real-life cowboy is hot-on-hot sexy, from the tips of his boots to the top of his Stetson. Despite her visceral reaction to the man, the last thing Laine expects is a whirlwind romance—but that’s exactly what she gets.

  Wes has been around the block enough to know what he wants, and he wants Laine. He wastes no time showing her how he feels . . . but he may never get the chance to tell her. Laine has disappeared, and it will take every
connection Wes has—and a little help from a mangy stray—to get her back in his arms.

  * Justice for Laine is book 4 in the Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliffhanger endings.

  To sign up for Susan’s Newsletter go to:

  http://bit.ly/SusanStokerNewsletter

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 by Susan Stoker

  No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Edited by Kelli Collins and Missy Borucki

  Cover Design by Chris Mackey, AURA Design Group

  Manufactured in the United States

  Chapter One

  ‡

  “No. Absolutely not,” Laine told Mackenzie emphatically.

  “Please?”

  Laine Parker sighed in exasperation. Mack was her best friend, but sometimes she thought they shouldn’t be friends at all. Mackenzie was curvy and outgoing and somehow seemed to light up a room the second she walked in. Laine was almost the exact opposite. She was tall and slender and would rather spend the night at home in her sweats than go out . . . but it was hard to meet a guy that way. Still, they were thick as thieves, went together like peanut butter and jelly, and were like blood sisters.

  “I only said I’d come because you were going. I have no desire to go out to some random guy’s ranch, watch as he takes his shirt off and poses for your charity calendar,” Laine told Mack in an irritated tone of voice.

  “I know,” Mack whined, obviously stressed out. “But my new boss asked me to go with her today to check out the venue for our annual charity ball. I wouldn’t normally agree, because it’s not like she can’t go and look at a ballroom herself, but I’m trying to make sure I stay in her good graces. After Nancy left, we floundered a bit before Loretta got here. I don’t want to do anything to make her reconsider her employment choice. And, Laine, this isn’t a random guy. Wes works with Daxton. He’s a Texas Ranger. It’s not like I’m sending you to a Chippendale club or something. Besides, Jack will be there.”

  Laine took a big gulp of her iced tea, wishing it was something stronger. Mackenzie had asked her to lunch today, and she’d thought it was so her friend could grill her on her lack of a love life. Ever since Mack had fallen in love with her hunky Texas Ranger, she’d been trying extra hard to find Laine a man as well.

  “Jack being there isn’t a positive in my book. I don’t really know him either. I know I’ve met him a few times, but you were always with us. Look, you know I love you, but why do I need to go at all?”

  “Seriously?” Mack asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “Yeah, seriously.”

  “Okay, here’s the thing. Jack is a great photographer. He’s one of the best. We were lucky to get him to take the pictures for the calendar. But you know the kind of men Daxton and his friends are . . . they’re manly-men. Alphas. Cops. They’re not comfortable stripping and having their picture taken . . . especially for another man.” She held up her hand to hold off Laine’s protestation. “I know, I know, Jack isn’t gay, but it doesn’t matter. It’s weird for them. Daxton told me straight out that if I wasn’t there, he wouldn’t have done it. So I need you to go so it’s not just Wes and Jack. Please? Wes is the last model I need to finish this calendar. I don’t have a backup guy, he’s it.”

  Laine put her head on the table in front of her in defeat. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have the time. As a realtor, she had the luxury of setting her own schedule. She’d cleared her calendar so she could be there with Mack for the shoot. The Petersons had gladly moved the tour of the house they wanted to see until the next day, and the Whispersons had no issue moving their showing up. So she had the time blocked off to spend with her best friend.

  Picking up her head, she acquiesced. “Okay, but you owe me, Mackenzie.”

  “Yay!” Mack clapped her hands softly in glee. “It’ll be fun. I know how much you love seeing the old ranches. Wes’s ranch has been in his family for at least a hundred years. Daxton said every second he’s not working a case, he’s out there doing what he loves. He’s a true cowboy in every sense of the word. In high school and college, he was on the rodeo team. He did that roping thing.”

  “What roping thing?”

  “You know, where they let a cow go and they ride out behind it on a horse and lasso it with a rope . . . mm hmm . . . that’s next on our agenda,” Mack exclaimed. “We need to go and check out a rodeo.”

  “We’ve been to a rodeo. We went to one last year,” Laine reminded her friend.

  “Oh, but we weren’t really trying to understand anything, we were just there for the eye candy and so we had an excuse to wear our new boots. We need to go and check out what all the events are.”

  Laine shook her head. Mack was a goof. She tended to ramble too much and was clumsy as all get-out, but they’d been best friends since middle school. Laine would move heaven and earth for her if she asked, especially after almost losing her to a psycho serial killer. Knowing Mack had found the love of her life made Laine happy, even if she was a bit sad at the same time that she herself hadn’t found someone yet.

  For so long it’d been just the two of them. They’d make spur-of-the-moment plans, hang out all night at each other’s houses, and they were confidants. But Laine could see the writing on the wall. Now that Mack had Dax, he was the center of her life . . . as it should be. They’d tried to find the right man for themselves all of their lives, and now that Mack had, Laine felt as though she was being left behind. It was a difficult thing to get used to.

  “What time do I need to be out at his place?” Laine asked Mack, trying to get her back on track.

  “Ten. I’m not sure what Jack has planned for the shoot, but he said he’d like to use a barn in a shot, if it works out when he gets there. He’s been very good at being able to put the other guys at ease. He can figure out the best place to pose them for the shots that show off their assets. Seriously, Laine, you should see some of the pictures so far. Daxton, of course, is hot, but you’d never guess that under his lab coat, Calder is totally ripped. And Quint? Hot damn. Seriously, they could all quit tomorrow, start their own strip club and make millions.”

  “What about Hayden?”

  Mackenzie smiled an evil smile. “Oh, she didn’t want to do it, but I bribed her.”

  “With what?”

  “I promised I wouldn’t ask her to go shopping with me for at least six months.”

  Laine giggled. “No wonder she agreed. The last time you dragged her out, she was traumatized for life.”

  “That’s not true!” Mack protested. “Just because I thought she’d look good in that corset thing and the zipper broke and the manager of the store had to come in and cut her out of it, doesn’t mean she was traumatized.”

  “Uh. Yeah. It does.”

  “Whatever.” Mack waved off the incident.

  Laine had heard all about the shopping trip from Hayden one night at the bar. The men had thought it was hysterical, but Hayden had glared daggers at everyone for the rest of the night. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Laine would’ve paid big bucks to be a fly on the wall during that incident.

  “Anyway, I swear you’d think Hayden was a model by looking at the pictures Jack took of her. They went to the shooting range and h
e somehow convinced her to take off her deputy’s jacket, and the picture I think we’re using of her is a profile shot where she’s aiming downrange. She’s wearing a white tank top and her red hair against it is absolutely beautiful. She wanted to keep it up in the bun she always wears it in, but Jack convinced her to take it down. It’s a bit curly and the wind blew at exactly the right time for the shot. It’s as if she had a fan in front of her, wafting her hair back perfectly. Seriously, I was jealous as all get-out of her hair. Even though she’s the only woman in the calendar, I’m so glad we convinced her to do it. The rest of the guys are gonna crap their pants when they see her. She’s usually so . . . mannish. Even I had no idea she was so beautiful. She hides it well.”

  Laine suddenly looked at her watch. “Crap, I gotta get going. I have an appointment in twenty minutes.”

  “You going to look at another ranch?” Mackenzie asked, knowing how much her friend loved showing the properties on the outskirts of San Antonio.

  Laine wrinkled her nose. “Nope, this one is a plain ol’ suburban three bedroom, two bath.”

  “Poor thing.”

  “I know, right?”

  Mackenzie stood up with Laine and hugged her. “Thank you so much for doing this for me. I swear I wouldn’t ask you to go if I didn’t think it was important.”

  “Have you met this Wes guy?” Laine asked Mack, putting her purse strap over her shoulder.

  “No, but Daxton says he’s easy to work with and he respects him. I guess they’re pretty close work friends.”

  Laine shrugged. “I guess that’s as good of a recommendation as the man’ll get.”

  “Damn straight.”

  They hugged again. “Be safe. I’ll call you tomorrow night and you can tell me all about it,” Mack said.

  “I will. Love you.”

  “Love you too. Bye.”

  As Laine headed out to her car, she wondered just what in the world Mackenzie had gotten her into now.