Lean Stroud is wanted for robbery and a murder he didn't commit. On the run to California with his partner-in-crime, Kenneth, he spots the relentless bounty hunter, Thomas Grady, on the train. The only way to protect Kenneth is to create a distraction, and that's what he does when he flees the train at the top of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He forces Thomas to chase him, but nothing can prepare him for what it means to be caught.<br><br>Thomas Grady always gets his man, and Leon Stroud is no exception to that rule. But almost from the moment Thomas touches Leon, he wants the outlaw for something besides his bounty. Driven by desire he doesn't understand, he repeatedly claims Leon's body on the long journey from Soda Springs to San Francisco -- and Leon only begs for more. An even bigger threat, with a larger bounty, could be the very thing they need to drive them together. Or tear them apart.

Stealing West

“Sounds like a plan.” He turned back out to watch the bay, a smile returning. “Even a good one.”


“You going to go catch up with your partner?”


The question surprised him, though he kept his reaction neutral. The issue had never been brought up since Leon had asserted he was dead, but obviously, Thomas hadn’t believed him. Still, Leon couldn’t give Kenneth up now, even if he trusted Thomas in that particular moment.


But he couldn’t lie to Thomas, either.


“I don’t know what I’m going to do.” There. That wasn’t a lie, and it protected Kenneth. That was as good as Leon could do right now.


“Five hundred is a fair amount. Enough to start a new life somewhere.” Thomas glanced at him from the corner of his eye. “Enough to stay out of trouble.”


“Oh, but trouble’s so much fun. Besides, I have to give you some kind of reason to come looking for me, don’t I? Might as well make it a good one.”


“You’d really want me to find you again? You do enjoy taking risks, don’t you?”


Chapter 30