Free Guns 'N' Tulips by Kristine Cayne Page A

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
     
     
    As always, to my wonderful husband for your
amazing support of my writing, for cooking supper when my fingers
are attached to the keyboard, and for making sure I have everything
I need to be the best writer I can be.
     
    To my children who are always complaining that they
aren’t allowed to read my books. This is one you CAN read.
     
    To Dana Delamar for your super-human editing
skills, and for keeping me on track, even when all I want is to
bury my nose in a book and read.
     
    To Sherri Shaftic for creating a fabulous
cover that reflects the story so perfectly!
     
    To all my readers, both current and new, I
can’t thank you enough for taking a chance on me and my stories.
May this be the beginning of a lifelong friendship!

 
     
     
ALSO BY KRISTINE CAYNE
     
     
    Six-Alarm Sexy Series
     
    “ Aftershocks,” in Romance in the Rain (Prequel)
    Under His Command (Book One)
     
     
    Deadly Vices Series
     
    Deadly Obsession (Book One)
    Deadly Addiction (Book Two)
     
     
    Novelettes
     
    Un-Valentine’s Day
     
    For more
information, visit: www.kristinecayne.com

 
     
     
A NOTE TO READERS
     
     
    This book
contains my novelette, Guns ‘N’ Tulips . As a special bonus, I’ve included the beginning of my
romantic suspense novel, Deadly Obsession . Please note that the bonus material begins
around the 80% mark on your ereader.
     
    Guns ‘N’ Tulips was originally released as part of The WG2E All-for-Indies Anthologies:
Spring Hop Edition .

Chapter 1
     
     
    Connor Kavanagh crinkled his nose against the
stench of sweat and stale cigarette smoke permeating the interior
of the getaway van. He made a show of checking his shoulder rig,
then pretending he had an itch, slid a hand along his calf to
confirm that his Glock 27 was safely tucked into his ankle holster.
He wanted to put the Bank Bandits in jail, but he didn’t want to
die doing it. He had a life to get back to. A life that hinged on
the success of his mission today. And on Lily forgiving him.
    The van stopped. Rourke Walsh, the leader of
this band of deadly misfits, cleared his throat. “Ready,
ladies?”
    Connor
looked around. The van had pulled into a parking spot just in front
of a Bank of America. What the hell? He eyed his partners in crime. None appeared concerned.
“Aren’t we supposed to hit the CitiBank on Jackson?”
    He glanced at Owen, looking for confirmation,
but his friend kept staring at the back of the driver’s head.
Something was going on, something bad.
    Rourke grinned. “You know what they say, once
a conman always a conman. Think of this as a test. I got a buddy
scoping out the CitiBank. Cops show up there, I’ll know we can’t
trust you.”
    Christ! As soon as Rourke’s informant caught
sight of Captain Morris and his team, Connor was a dead man. He’d
have lost four months of his life, his reputation as a cop, even
his fiancée, for fucking nothing. He glanced at Neil sitting beside
Rourke. Maybe he could use what he knew about Neil to drive a wedge
between them. Keeping his face blank, Connor swallowed and shook
his head. “Bad move, boss. You better hope they have the same type
of safe as our original target.”
    “You’re the big expert. According to Owen you
can get into anything.” And Owen would know. They’d grown up in
Mount Greenwood, a predominantly Irish-Catholic neighborhood on the
southwest side of Chicago. Both their fathers had died young and
they’d felt honor bound to help their struggling mothers put food
on the table anyway they could. Stealing the occasional gallon of
milk from the convenience store had led to bigger jobs and put them
in the eye of men like Rourke. Connor’s reputation as a top-notch
safecracker and