The Long Con Books

A true protector will guard your heart before his own. Hunter Rutledge saw one too many people die in his life as mercenary muscle to go back to the job, so he was conveniently at loose ends when Josh Salinger offered him a place in his altruistic den of thieves. Hunter is almost content having found a home with a group of people who want justice badly enough to steal it. If only one of them didn’t keep stealing his attention from the task at hand…. Superlative dancer and transcendent thief Dylan “Grace” Li lives in the moment. But when mobsters blackmail the people who gave him dance—and the means to save his own soul—Grace turns to Josh for help. Unfortunately, working with Josh’s crew means working with Hunter Rutledge, and for Grace, that’s more dangerous than any heist. Grace’s childhood left him thinking he was too difficult to love—so he’s better off not risking his love on anyone else. Avoiding commitment keeps him safe. But somehow Hunter’s solid, grounding presence makes him feel safer. Can Grace trust that letting down his guard to a former mercenary doesn’t mean he’ll get shot in the heart?

Hell-raiser, getaway driver, and occasional knight in tarnished armor Chuck Calder has never had any illusions about being a serious boyfriend. He may not be a good guy, but at least as part of Josh Salinger’s crew of upscale thieves and cons, he can feel good about his job. Right now, his job is Lucius Broadstone. Lucius is a blueblood with a brutal past. He uses his fortune and contacts to help people trying to escape abuse, but someone is doing everything they can to stop him. He needs the kind of help only the Salingers can provide. Besides, he hasn’t forgotten the last time he and Chuck Calder collided. The team’s good ol’ boy and good luck charm is a blue-collar handful, but he is genuinely kind. He takes Lucius’s mission seriously, and Lucius has never had that before. In spite of Chuck’s reluctance to admit he’s a nice guy, Lucius wants to know him better. Chuck’s a guaranteed good time, and Lucius is a forever guy. Can Chuck come to terms with his past and embrace the future Lucius is offering? Or is Good Luck Chuck destined to be driving off into the sunset alone forever?

Two and a half years ago, Michael Carmody made the biggest mistake of his life. Thanks to the Salinger crew, he has a second chance. Now he’s working as their mechanic and nursing a starry-eyed crush on the crew’s stoic suit, insurance investigator and spin doctor Carl Cox. Carl has always been an almost-ran, so Michael’s crush baffles him. When it comes to the Salingers, he’s the designated wet blanket. But watching Michael forge the life he wants instead of the one he fell into inspires him. In Michael’s eyes, he isn’t an almost-ran—he just hasn’t found the right person to run with. And while the mechanic and the suit shouldn’t have much to talk about, suddenly they’re seeking out each other’s company. Then the Salingers take a case from their past, and it’s all hands on deck. For once, behind-the-scenes guys Michael and Carl find themselves front and center. Between monster trucks, missing women, and murder birds, the case is a jigsaw puzzle with a lot of missing pieces—but confronting the unknown is a hell of a lot easier when they’re side by side.

Can two quiet con men who lost their childhoods find their places as a part of a family—and with each other? Ever since he watched his father die, Etienne Couvier has kept to himself. Under the tutelage of his adoptive family, the Salingers, Tienne grows into a gifted forger and artist. But no matter how hard they try to draw him into their midst—and despite the singular pull their friend Stirling Christopher has on his emotions—he resists. When computer tech Stirling lost his foster parents, he found shelter and love with the Salingers. Stirling knows firsthand what Tienne has been through, so when an attacker shatters Tienne's self-imposed isolation, Stirling urges him into the Salinger crew. Maybe they can finally explore the quiet attraction between them. Then the Salingers announce their next project: an inquest into the mysterious deaths of Stirling's adoptive parents. They descend on the Caribbean for answers, with Stirling and Tienne the quiet centers of the human justice-seeking hurricane. As they stretch out of their comfort zones, they learn that being family means someone always has your back. Hand in hand, they'll solve the mystery. They might even be able to live with the consequences—as long as they do it together. Amy Lane's Long Con series follows a crew of civic-minded thieves on their quests for justice, adventure, and love. Fans of Leverage , heist movies, and romantic suspense will love The Tech .

Torrance Grayson has forged a solid independent journalism career with help from his friend and mentor, Felix Salinger, and he's relished being the face of the Salinger crew, exposing the corruption of the powerful while keeping his friends safe in their anonymity. But being face to face with the worst in the world takes its toll, and when Tor has a moment of weakness, it's the Salingers who come to bail him out. During his recovery, Tor makes friends with the household's confident, charismatic young chef, Marco. Their quiet conversations make Marco more and more reluctant to confront Tor on the grave mistake the man is about to make in his current exposé—a mistake that can harm Marco's loud, boisterous family irrecoverably. Tor is more than willing to listen—and to correct any mistakes. He's seen graphic proof that he's not infallible, and he'll go to any lengths to avert tragedy. But as Tor works toward the truth of what's happening with Marco's family, Marco begins to develop deep suspicions about the people they both work for. Torrance Grayson is in deep with the Salingers, and Marco isn't sure he should know any more than necessary about people who seem to be great bosses but shady citizens. In order to help Marco, Tor needs to trust him—and that means to trust him with the truth of the Salinger Crew, as well as with his heart. But in a world of capers and crimefighting, trust, it appears, is worth more than gold and jewels. Tor can expose crime and injustice with impunity, but can he expose his heart to Marco, a man who desperately wants in?