Eden and her Mercenary by Aquila Thorne

Ever since Eden Wade did her first dog run to Montreal, she was hooked on transporting canines from abusive situations to new lives in loving homes. But this transport isn’t going as smoothly as planned. A black SUV has been following her since the moment she left Vancouver, bound for Ontario. And when she gets a text message demanding a trade for one of her charges for five thousand dollars, she knows something is up and will do whatever it takes to keep the dogs safe.

It was a rainy night when Royal O’Toole was heading home, minding his own business, when some whack job in a van cut him off. He took it personally and chased them down to a seedy hotel on the edge of the nearest town. What he wasn’t expecting was to have a pistol pointed at his chest and a pint-sized wildcat whipping around. The steadiness of her hand told him she knew how to use it and wasn’t afraid to do so.

“Back off,” she warned, her voice steady despite the wild look in her eyes. “I don’t have time for this.”

That’s when he heard it, a soft whine coming from the back of the van. Fortunately for her, he’s a sucker for dogs, guns, and women in distress.