Undercover cop Dan Hudson is framed for blackmail and kicked off the NOPD force. Enraged about that, and the fact that his lover refuses to stand by him, Dan moves to Denver, where he becomes Dirk Steele. He finds a job working for the Powells, who are pawnbrokers ... and fences. When he proposes to them that he put together a team to steal on demand for the Powells’ less than legitimate clients, a deal is struck and the team is formed. The team consists of Maverick, a thief; Tripp, a street kid who shoplifts to survive; and Fey, another street kid who is an excellent pickpocket and petty thief. Now the question becomes, will the team succeed? And, equally important, will the attraction between Dirk, who has sworn off love, and Maverick -- whose credo is only down and dirty sex -- grow into something more? Or will they remain just 'friends with benefits'? Time will tell as the team takes on increasingly difficult jobs and a man from Dirk's past shows up who could possibly throw a monkey wrench into the works.

Wrong Side of the Law

She checked a few more cars and then shrugged and left the lot, heading down Downing in the direction of the creek. Dirk, Maverick, and Tripp followed, staying a good half block or more behind her. When she got to Speer, she dashed across to the ramp leading down to the bike path.


“Twenty-to-one she crashes somewhere along here,” Maverick said when the trio got to the top of the ramp.


“Finding out where could be difficult though,” Dirk muttered when they got down to the creek and he realized the girl was nowhere in sight.


“If you wait here, I think I can find her,” Tripp said.


“Go,” Dirk told him. He watched while Tripp went down the path, wondering if the kid had a destination in mind or if he was just checking under every bush.


“What’s taking him so long?” Maverick grumbled a few minutes later.


Chapter 16