Maverick / The Playboy's Passionate Pursuit. Emilie Rose

laughter.

      “I don’t think so,” he said when his laughter subsided. “I’m not babysitting a rich man’s daughter in stilettos as she traipses around those mountains.”

      Tapping the toe of one stiletto-clad foot, Brianna smiled serenely. “Mr. Wolfe, I don’t need a babysitter, thank you. I can take care of myself.”

      “Yeah, right,” he mocked her. “In a fine restaurant or an upscale dress shop. Go home to Daddy, baby,” he advised. “I hunt alone.”

      “I don’t think so,” she shot back at him. “This time there’ll be two hunters in the mountains.”

      Tanner laughed again.

      He should’ve kept his mouth shut.

      Brianna sat ramrod straight across from Tanner Wolfe, her coffee and scone cooling, her gaze meeting his stare for glaring stare. There was no way he’d keep her from going hunting with him. Not when her sister’s life and happiness depended on capturing her offender.

      Brianna wasn’t about to sit idly by and leave that to someone else. She had to take action, be a part of the hunt. It was the way she had been raised and the way she lived her life. One put family above all else. Besides, back in Pennsylvania, at the university, that was the way she ran her research library. Always in charge.

      It didn’t matter that this wasn’t as routine as finding obscure facts for a student’s thesis or a professor’s lecture. This was a life-or-death situation—and it could very well be her own death.

      But she was doing it for Dani.

      She gave Tanner her iciest stare and waited for his reply.

      “I said no, Ms. Stewart.” His eyes had narrowed to glittering dark stones. “I won’t be responsible for anyone else. I always hunt alone.”

      “Why?” Deliberately, with a show of nonchalance, she raised her mug and took a deep swallow. “I would think two hunters would be better than one.”

      “Why? Because you’re a woman, that’s why.”

      A woman indeed. Brianna fought back a sneer. The man’s arrogant, superior tone was getting to her. “I’ve heard there are women bounty hunters.”

      “There are,” he said, raising his own mug and draining it. “But they’re tough, not sleek and pampered daddy’s darlings.” His smile was no longer gentle. “Even so, I won’t hunt with any one of them, either.”

      Now Brianna was getting more than annoyed. She set down the mug to keep from flinging it at his thick head. She detested a condescending male attitude. She drew a deep breath before educating him.

      “Mr. Wolfe, I don’t know about women bounty hunters, but this ‘daddy’s darling’ knows how to take care of herself. My father, an avid hunter, began teaching me about firearms when I was twelve. I’ve followed him up one mountain and down another. I’ve trekked beside him in Africa. And, although I hunt with a camera, I’m an expert shot with both a rifle and a handgun.”

      “I’m impressed.”

      He sounded bored.

      Damn him, Bri thought, gritting her teeth to keep from screaming at him. “I’m not finished,” she said, her voice tight. “I’ve also had training in the martial arts and Krav Maga. I know how to defend myself.”

      “I’m glad to hear it.” He didn’t sound at all glad; his voice carried a thread of impatience. “A woman should be trained to protect herself. But that changes nothing. I still hunt alone.”

      He was a Wolfe, all right, spelled wolf, pure alpha male, self-contained and confident. That was certain despite his appearance.

      Not that there was anything wrong with the way he looked. It was just that he didn’t seem to fit the rest of the Wolfe clan.

      Her friends Lisa and Matt were twins, blonde and gorgeous. Bri had never met their parents, but she had met their father’s brother, the Sprucewood chief of police, and she had seen pictures of several of the other Wolfes, uncles and cousins. They were all tall, blond and handsome. She had not seen a picture of this particular Wolfe cousin.

      Tanner Wolfe was different from the rest. For one thing, he didn’t have the same blond hair as the others. While he was every inch as tall as the rest of his family, that’s where the resemblance ended. The other Wolfe males, while handsome, looked the role of tough law-enforcement officers.

      The only descriptive word for this Wolfe that had flashed through her mind when he’d opened the door was saint. Tanner Wolfe had the face of a saint, with soft brown eyes and a gentle, if possibly deceptive, smile. His hair was wavy and shoulder-length, light brown with red-gold highlights, very clean and shiny.

      When she’d first seen him, he had literally taken her breath away. Her immediate thought was that she had rung the wrong doorbell. This saintly-looking soft-eyed man could not be a tough bounty hunter.

      But he was. In spades.

      Tanner Wolfe was believed by many to be one of the very best criminal hunters in the business.

      Incredible.

      “Did you fall asleep?”

      His softly voiced question drew Bri from introspection. Blinking, feeling foolish, she naturally bristled.

      “No, of course not,” she denied too strongly, but she sure wasn’t about to tell him she’d been doing an inventory of his attractive male attributes. Nor that she’d felt an immediate physical attraction to him.

      “Then what were you doing?” Amusement now tinged his soft voice, irritating Bri enough to blurt out the truth—or at least the partial truth.

      “I was wondering how someone who looks as nice as you could be so intractable.”

      “Intractable?” He laughed.

      The sound did funny things to her insides, making them kind of quiver. She didn’t like the sensation.

      “Yes, intractable,” she said. “You know, you’re being unreasonable by refusing to let me go with you.”

      “Unreasonable?” He was no longer laughing. In fact, he scowled at her. “Tracking a man is hard, dangerous work.”

      Bri heaved an impatient sigh. “So is tracking a wild boar or a rogue tiger. But I’ve tracked both. I’m not a fool, Mr. Wolfe. I’m fully aware of the danger.”

      “In that case, run along home to Daddy and let me do what I get paid to do.”

      “No.” Sliding back her chair, Bri stood up. “Let’s just forget it. I’ll find another hunter, one who will allow me to go with him.”

      “No.” Tanner literally sprang out of his chair. “I’m telling you it’s not safe.”

      “And I’m telling you I can take care of myself, possibly even help you.” Bri raised her chin, tilting it at a defiant angle. “And I’m telling you I am going—with you or without you. It’s up to you, Mr. Wolfe.”

      “You really are a spoiled brat, aren’t you?” he said, his soft voice sounding edgy with frustration and anger. His eyes and mouth were hard. The saintly appearance was gone now, replaced by the hunter.

      “No,” she calmly denied. “I’m really not. What I am is confident of my abilities and determined to help catch this monster.” She drew a deep breath, steeling herself for the blast of fury she expected him to hurl at her. “I’ll say it once more—I am going, either with you or with another hunter.”

      He didn’t speak for long seconds, staring at her with narrowed eyes, as if warning her to be careful. His look was absolutely deadly.

      Gritting her teeth, Bri managed to hold his gaze, her pulse racing, her heart thumping. She felt like running but stood firm, resolute.

      Bri