Böcker av William W. Johnstone

Johnstone Country. Where it’s never quiet on the Western front.   Life on the straight and narrow is easier said than done for a pair of crooks like Jimmy “Slash” Braddock and Melvin “Pecos Kid” Baker. But these reprobates are doing their damnedest to make an honest go of it. They’ve managed to safely deliver a church organ to a mountain parish when their sometime employer—Chief U.S. Marshal Luther T. “Bleed-’m-So” Bledsoe—recruits them for a job only fools would take. Marshal Bledsoe wants them to pick up a shipment of gold in the mining town in the Sawatch Mountains. Here’s the catch: Slash and Pecos’s wagon is just a decoy. When a ruthless gang ambushes the real gold shipment, it’s up to Slash and Pecos to go after the trigger-happy bandits. And they won’t be alone. A lady Pinkerton, Hattie Friendly—who is anything but—survived the ambush and is hellbent on getting the gold back. Even if she has to team up with a pair of ornery old cutthroats like Slash and Pecos. . . . The Cutthroats are back. The bad guys are history. Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Justice. Double Barreled.   When a legendary frontiersman teams up with a legendary mountain man, the wild west will never be the same. But first they’ve got to live up to their legends—or die trying . . .   THEY CAME TO KILL   There are some things in this world that can’t be stopped. Like progress, a moving train, and the American Dream. When the bigwigs in Washington decide to build a transcontinental railroad to the West Coast, they need a man who’s just as unstoppable to clear a path through Mexican territory. That man is Jamie MacCallister.  Jamie knows it’s a tough job. The territory is overrun with Apaches. The Apaches are gunning for a fight. And the first patrol sent in by the President has already been ambushed, kidnapped, and most likely killed. Jamie knows he can’t take on the whole Apache nation by himself. He needs help. He needs back-up.   He needs a non-stop force of mountain-man fury who goes by the name of Preacher . . .Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. A New Legend in the Making. The bestselling Johnstones kick off their blazing new western series with a real bang-a fatal, fateful shootout that sends a man named Buck Trammel on the ride of his life . . . WHEN WYATT EARP TELLS YOU TO RUN, YOU RUN. Once upon a time in the Old West, Buck Trammel was a Pinkerton agent with a promising future. But after a tragic incident in a case gone wrong, he struck out for the wide-open spaces of Wichita, Kansas. Working as a bouncer at The Gilded Lily Saloon, he hopes to stay out of trouble. But soon enough, his gun skills are put to the test. The Bowman gang shows up, turning a friendly card game with a Wyoming cattleman into a killer-takes-all shooting match. Buck saves the cattleman's life, but at the cost of Bowman's two sons. That's when Deputy Wyatt Earp arrives. He warns Buck that he'd better get out of town, pronto, and take the cattle baron with him. The rest is history-if he lives long enough to tell it . . . This is the story of Buck Trammel. Hunted by outlaws. Fighting for justice. Marked for death. This is how legends are born . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Home at Last. When the Jensen family sends a new generation out into the world, they always keep the homefires burning-and rifles loaded-just in case they bring trouble back with them . . . SHOT THROUGH THE HEART Smoke Jensen's daughter Denny can outride, outrope, and outshoot any man who gets in her way. But being a pretty woman, Denny sometimes attracts the attention of unsavory suitors. Like the lecherous Count Malatesta. Denny met the seductive Sicilian on her trip to Europe-and almost fell head over heels for the swindler. What's he doing in America? Seems the heartbreaking hustler has huge gambling debts to pay off-and a deadly scheme to scam money out of the Jensens. But Denny's got a plan, too-to shake off this silver-tongued stalker no matter what it takes, from a ghost town shootout to a blood-soaked showdown at the Sugarloaf Ranch. Alert: Where there's Smoke, there's gunfire . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Outlaws Need Not Apply. U.S. Marshal Will Tanner is a man of the law, not a gun for hire. Except when a friend's in danger and needs the Tanner brand of help that comes out the barrel of a gun. PRAY FOR DEATH There's serious trouble brewing in the Choctaw nation, and it goes by the name of Tiny McCoy. This small-time cattle rustler is expanding his brand by brewing batches of whiskey in the Chocktaw territory of Muddy Boggy Creek. Tiny and his partner have also turned the illegal brewery into a robber's roost for outlaws, cutthroats, and killers of every bent. Local lawman Jim Little Eagle is under attack and out-gunned. But when he sends a wire to Fort Smith asking for backup-and the U.S. Deputy Marshal Tanner shows up, Little Eagle knows they're in for one hell of a bloodbath. If anyone can drive those murdering devils to their knees and saying their prayers, it's Will Tanner. Live Free. Read Hard.

The 11th book in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling series--a spinoff of William W. Johnstone's Mountain Man and Preacher series--featuring the legendary Matt Jensen, a man with survival and justice in his blood.On the lawless frontiers of the American West, there is one rule every outlaw should remember: Never cross a mountain man like Matt Jensen. Not if you want to keep breathing. No gun. No horse. No water or food. And worse yet: No idea how he ended up in the middle of a desert with a bullet in his leg and a bump on his head. That's the sorry situation Matt Jensen wakes up to--dazed and confused--until he slowly pieces together what happened. The last thing he remembers: He agreed to help out a friend of Duff MacCallister's. A pretty lady and her husband at a horse ranch. He also recalls their cross-country trip through hell to deliver the horses safely to market. That's when the outlaws showed up. That's when the shooting began. That's when everything went dark . . .But now Matt Jensen is alive and well and living for revenge. No time to lose. No holding back. And before it's all over, no trigger-happy horse thief will be left standing...

Johnstone Country. Come and Get It. Mac is back. Framed for a murder he didn't commit, Dewey "Mac" Mckenzie is a wanted man who ends up on a cattle drive heading west-as a chuckwagon cook. Though he's never even boiled an egg, Mckenzie has a natural gift for cobbling together good trail drive grub. Now, with two trail drives under his belt, Mckenzie has proven to be more than a good chuckwagon cook. He's good at serving up justice, too-with a side of hot lead . . . A HILL OF BEANS Mac Mckenzie has enough problems on his plate. He's got bounty hunters on his tail, no one on his side, and no place to hide. Just when he thinks it can't get any worse, he hears the rumbling of a cattle stampede-heading straight for his camp. Mac's got two choices: Get trampled like a weed or saddle up and help get the herd under control. At first, the traildrivers ain't too pleased to have a stranger help them out. But once they realize Mac's not a rustler, they ask him to join the team. Mac takes them up on the offer-especially after he meets the cowgirl Colleen-and quickly impresses everyone with his cooking skills. There's just a few more problems: Mac's new employers might be the real rustlers. And Mac's stepped out of the frying pan into the fire . . .

Johnstone Country. A Home Worth Fighting For. Scotsman-turned-cowboy Duff MacCallister traveled far and worked hard to start a new life in America. And anyone who tries to mess with his dream is in for some serious Highland justice . . . KILLER TAKE ALL The cattle town of Chugwater may not look like much to outsiders. But for Duff MacCallister and the determined settlers who've staked their futures here, it's a land of opportunity. That's why the whole town is fired up by the latest news. Young railroad developer Jacob Freemantle wants to run a rail line through Chugwater, making it easier to transport cattle. Everyone is on board with the plan-at first. Duff begins to suspect that Freemantle is only after the most valuable land, and he's using strongarm tactics to force reluctant ranchers to sell. Things only get worse when Freemantle's hired guns show up-and the violence really begins . . . But Duff's got a plan of his own. With a little help from some well-armed friends, he's going to flush this phony out of Chugwater-and run his hired killers out of town on a rail . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

FIRST RULE OF JOHNSTONE COUNTRY: TRUST NO ONENo one knows the dangers of driving a stagecoach better than Red Ryan. Especially when the passenger's a dead man, the payoff's a gold mine, and the last stop is death . . . SECOND RULE: WATCH YOUR BACK Red Ryan should've known this job would be trouble. The first stop is a ghost town-in a thunder storm-and the cargo is a coffin. But things start to look a little brighter when Red and his stage guard Buttons Muldoon deliver the corpse to a ranch run by the beautiful Luna Talbot-and her gorgeous crew of former saloon girls. Luna asks the boys to help them find the Lucky Cuss Gold Mine, using a map tucked inside the dead man's pocket. Buttons can't refuse a pretty lady-or the lure of gold. But Red has a feeling they're playing with fire. Especially when the map leads them straight into crossfire of a ferocious range war, a 400-pound load of pure evil known as Papa Mace Rathmore-and his backwoods clan of sadistic, kill-crazy hillbillies . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country.  Where Frontier Legends Are Born.   A legend among bounty hunters, Luke Jensen has tracked some of the deadliest outlaws in the West. But sometimes, the competition can be even deadlier . . .   GHOST TOWN MASSACRE   It’s the kind of job Luke Jensen hates. A millionaire mine owner is willing to pay $5,000 to the man who captures the half-breed outlaw Tom Eagle. Normally, Luke would turn down an offer like this—it smacks too much of being a hired gun. But when the millionaire tells him that Eagle is responsible for killing his son, Luke agrees to take on the job. Which means he’ll have to take the road to hell itself—aka Hard Rock, Montana . . .   Hard Rock is supposed to be a ghost town. But when Luke arrives, the ghosts are alive and well—and gunning for his hide. They’re a gang of actual hired guns—the kind of soulless killers Luke despises—and they’re trying to collect the bounty, too. Luke barely makes it out of town alive when he runs in to the only man who can save him. The man he’s been hired to hunt. The notorious Tom Eagle . . .   Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE THE GOOD DIE YOUNG. AND THE BAD DIE SOONER.   There are two kinds of traps in the Old West. One is the kind that Preacher and his buddy, Charlie, use to catch a mountain-load of fur pelts. The other is the kind that Charlie steps into—a trap set by a low-life gambler and his seductive partner in crime to swindle Charlie out of his fur money. Preacher hates to see a good friend get robbed. So he sets off after the grifters—on a riverboat bound for New Orleans. First, he infiltrates the criminal underworld of the French Quarter. Then, he’s enslaved on a pirate ship heading straight to hell. Now there’s only one way out for Preacher. Start a mutiny. Take over the ship. Then return to New Orleans to reunite Charlie with his money—and not to get butchered in the process.   The First Mountain Man PREACHER’S FRENZY   Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Try Not to Get Killed. In this explosive Hank Fallon thriller, the justice-seeking ex-con goes undercover and behind bars to expose a plot as big, as bold, and as deadly as the American Civil War . . . GET OUT OF JAIL FREE-OR DIE Doing time in Texas is no picnic. But getting sent to The Walls in Huntsville is a fate worse than hanging. If the guards don't kill you, the prisoners will. And if it weren't for the fact that the man who framed Hank Fallon and murdered his family could be inside The Walls, Hank would never step one foot in that heinous helltrap-let alone go undercover as an inmate. But this isn't just another assignment. This is his chance for revenge . . . Inside The Walls, Hank quickly discovers who's boss-as well as judge, jury, and executioner. The only relief from the gang fights and guard beatings is a prison work program that allows inmates to leave The Walls to work for plantation owner J.J. Justice. Hank figures it can't be any worse than jail. But it is. Seems that Justice is ordering the men to commit robberies and murders. He's stockpiling weapons. Building an army. And planning to restart the Civil War-all in the name of Justice . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone country. Patriots welcome. The Johnstone hero with the heavenly name-and the hellish task of living up to it-Perley Gates-takes on a gang of cold-blooded killers to save the soul of a small Western town . . . They say that home is where the heart is. And no one knows that better than Perley Gates. After helping the lovely Miss Emma Slocum reunite with her sister's family in Bison Gap, Perley can't wait to rejoin his own kin at the Triple-G Ranch. No sooner does Perley settle in when he receives an alarming telegram from Bison Gap. Emma's brother-in-law has been murdered. Her sister wants justice. And Perley is their only hope to get it . . . Perley can't refuse a family in need. So he saddles up with his salty cowhand Possum Smith and heads to Bison Gap. He notices that the town's new sheriff is acting suspicious-and likely in cahoots with the local gang of deadly outlaws. In no time at all there's a target on Perley's back-and the vicious gang leader is calling all the shots. Justice may be hard to find in a town this wicked. But vengeance is swift-straight out of the Gates . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE. WHERE IT’S NEVER QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. In this rollicking new series, the Johnstones cordially invite you to the biggest, baddest event of the season—one that gives a whole new meaning to “shotgun wedding” . . .   Here come the brides. And the bullets . . . Bo Creel and Scratch Morton are lifelong drifters who keep one eye on the horizon, one finger on the trigger, and one foot out the door. Roaming the West is what keeps them young, or so Scratch tells Bo. But when they save the life of Cyrus Keegan—the owner of a matrimonial agency—they receive an unexpected proposal that’s hard to resist. Keegan needs to deliver five mail order brides to a mining town in New Mexico Territory. All Scratch and Bo have to do is get these gals to the church on time—and alive, if possible . . . The job seems easy enough—and the brides-to-be are even easier on the eyes. Cecilia, Beth, Luella, Rose, and Jean all need good husbands. But their prospects look bad when the journey to the altar includes Mexican banditos, scheming silver robbers, and one overbearing rancher who won’t take no for an answer. Bo and Scratch promised to keep the ladies safe—and keep their hands to themselves—but it could be the last vow they’ll ever make . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

A new kind of hero in the Old West tradition, Perley Gates is as honest and good as his heavenly name. But don’t make him mad. Because when Perley Gates gets mad, people get hurt.    Once every year, Perley Gates and his brothers lead the Triple-G crew on its annual cattle drive. It’s a treacherous journey along the Great Western Trail, with a herd of two-thousand cows on one side and many opportunities for trouble on the other. This year, trouble shows up in the form of a beautiful young woman, her little baby, and her bizarre traveling companion—a colorful old cuss who goes by the name of Possom Smith. They’re heading to a settlement called Butcher Bottom, and risking their necks to get there. Perley—being the gentleman he is—offers to escort the trio to their destination. But there are a few minor details they “forgot” to tell Perley . . .   The woman is a widow whose husband had enemies. The old man is hiding a small fortune that might get them killed. And Perley is stuck in the middle trying to decide who’s good, who’s bad—and who deserves to die first . . .   Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Frontier Spirit Lives Here. America's greatest Western storytellers take you inside the dangerous world of undercover agents-and one man's mission to hell and back . . . BREAKOUT OF THE CENTURY Hank Fallon used to be one of the best deputy marshals in the country. Then he got framed for a crime he didn't commit. Got sentenced to ten years in a federal penitentiary. And got out early for saving the life of the captain of the guards during a riot. When Fallon is released, a private detective is waiting for him. He wants to put Hank behind bars again-but this time, as an undercover agent . . . The last thing Fallon wants is to return to jail. Especially a rat-infested hellhole like Yuma Territorial Prison. But if he wants to clear his name, he's got to take the job. Get himself arrested. Make friends with criminal mastermind Monk Quinn. Find out where he stashed a fortune in stolen money. And join Monk's gang for the biggest breakout in American history. If Hank succeeds, he'll be on the run with the deadliest cutthroats alive. That's when all hell will break loose . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Stay awhile. With their acclaimed novels of the Jensen family, bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone have captured the pioneering spirit of America itself. Now a new generation of Jensens prepares to take the reins-and live the dream their ancestors fought for . . . A JENSEN CELEBRATION. A JENSEN RECKONING. There's nothing like a wedding to bring families together. And there's no place like the Sugarloaf Ranch to throw a foot-stomping hoedown-even if it turns into a gun-blazing showdown. Smoke and Sally Jensen are delighted that their son Louis is marrying the lovely widow he met during a perilous stagecoach journey through the Donner Pass. The whole family welcomes the bride and her young son with open arms. In fact, everyone is invited to the party-even the handsome stranger who rescued Louis's twin sister Denise from a runaway mustang. Who is this mysterious hero? No one knows. But there's going to be a lot of gunshots along with the wedding bells when this stranger makes his deadly moves. Once more, the Jensens band together to fight for what's theirs. And it just might be till death do they part . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE THE BULLET IS LAW. Of all the Western series by William Johnstone, the epic saga of the mountain man known as Preacher may be the most beloved and enduring. This special edition includes two of Preacher's greatest adventures-Cheyenne Challenge and Preacher and the Mountain Caesar-featuring two of the legend's bloodiest showdowns . . . TO HELL AND BACK Ten years ago, Preacher taught a bad man from the east a violent lesson he'd never forget. Today, that man returns to even the score by igniting an all-out Indian war. The battle lines are drawn. The players are cutthroat. And Preacher's scalp is the ultimate prize . . . OF GODS AND MONSTERS In the mountains of Montana, Preacher stumbles upon the town of Nova Roma, aka New Rome. It's ruled by a ruthless tyrant straight out of ancient history. But Preacher refuses to bow down to a power-mad Caesar who thinks he's a god-not if he bleeds like a man . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE IT'S NEVER QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. Springfield Model 1880. Trapdoor rifle with bayonet. Vengeance optional. With a handful of murderous rogues, Captain Jed Foster has run off with four wagons containing new Springfield rifles, bayonets, and ammunition meant to resupply the troops at Fort Bowie in Arizona Territory. Foster plans to sell the weapons to the highest bidder-whether it's Apaches, Mexican revolutionaries, or Confederate veterans who still dream of destroying the Union. But that's the least of Foster's problems . . . His junior officer, Lieutenant Grat Holden, is coming after him. With the help of an ornery ex-sergeant known as "Hard Rock" Masterson and fiery guerilla fighter Soledad, the young lieutenant will face off with war chiefs, banditos, and cutthroat outlaws. That's just for starters. Then he's got to take down a man who has enough guns for a small army . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE OTHERS FEAR TO TREAD. From the masters of American frontier storytelling, another chapter in the Buckhorn saga-a blood-pounding tale of one man's sacred mission to bring justice to the American west, the only way he knows how . . . In all the horrific corners of the Civil War, there was no hell worse than Andersonville, the Yankee prison camp run by evil, sadistic General Thomas Wainwright. In the war's aftermath, a survivor of Andersonville summons Joe Buckhorn to New Orleans, and asks the gunslinger to kill the general-not simply for revenge, but to stop another atrocity. Wainwright has seized control of Wagontongue, a township on the edge of the Arizona desert, and he rules it as brutally as he once did Andersonville. With an iron grip on the town's only source of water, he keeps the locals cowering under his cruel heel. Buckhorn rides on Wagontongue to overthrow the merciless despot, and finds that Wainwright has plans for a bloody revolution, which Buckhorn will shoot through Hell and back to stop . . .

Johnstone. Keeping the west wild. FATE BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER. IT MAY ALSO SEND THEM STRAIGHT TO HELL. Alone, these justice fighters are dangerous enough. Together they're a wild bunch known as the Jackals. Now, national bestselling authors William W. and J.A. Johnstone are turning them loose . . . With Apaches on the prod, ex-cavalry sergeant Sean Keegan, bounty hunter Jed Breen, and ex-Texas Ranger Matt McCulloch take shelter in a West Texas way station-along with a hot-as-a-pistol female bound for the gallows, a spiteful newspaper editor, and a coward with $50,000 who promises them five grand if they'll deliver his blood-soaked stash to his wife. Turns out, Indians might be the least of the problems for the trio, soon to be known as the Jackals. The loot's stolen property of the vengeful Hawkin gang, and these prairie rats are merciless, stone-cold killers. And the brother of the man the woman killed wants to butcher her himself rather than watch her swing. McCulloch, Keegan, and Breen are ready for a showdown-but the Jackals may not live to spend that $5,000. Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Where others fear to tread. Descended from a long line of fighters, lovers, and dreamers, the MacCallister clan are legends in their homeland of Scotland. But when Duff MacCallister came to America, it seems he brought the legend-and the war-along with him . . . STRANGLEHOLD Here in America, life is full of surprises. Duff never expected to hear from his old friend Charles McGregor, his batallion commander from the Black Watch Regiment of Her Majesty's army. Turns out McGregor lives in New Mexico now. And he needs Duff's help. He's started a new life as the mayor of Antelope Wells-a mining town that's being targeted by a power-hungry madman Ebenezer Schofield, who wants to declare the whole area an independent principality-and himself as king. He's already squeezing taxes out of the local businesses and citizens. But no one has the guts to stop him. Because Schofield's got his own private army of fifty uniformed men, six Mexican revolution cannons-and a traitor working on his side in the heart of Antelope Wells . . . This is more than just a favor for a friend. This is justice. This is payback. This is war. And this is Duff MacCallister. Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE THE WILL DEFIES FEAR.  Stovepipe Stewart and Wilbur Coleman look like drifters, but don’t be fooled. In this blazing Western saga, these two undercover cowboys get paid to find trouble—and to risk their lives to stomp it out. By any means necessary.   Strangers. Killers. Spies.   Vance Brewster is a hardworking young cowboy. Stovepipe and Wilbur are two new ranch hands working at his side. And all three are caught up in a brewing, trigger-happy Montana range war between the Rafter M and Three Rivers. Then the fury suddenly explodes—in a hail of gunfire the three men must show their hands: they’re all hiding their true identities. With Vance falling in love with the daughter of the Three Rivers manager, and Stovepipe and Wilbur paid by a tycoon who needs the violence to stop, all three are in mortal danger. Their real enemies are hiding true identities of their own—and they’re not nice men. The body count is about to go sky high . . . and Stovepipe and Wilbur would prefer not be be on top of the pile.   Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE DEATH RIDES FASTER THAN THE WIND.   A blazing new series takes you back to the lawless frontier where every stagecoach was a moving target. Where every passenger needed protection. And where every hired gun who rides along better be fast on the draw—or be dead on arrival . . .RIDING SHOTGUN If anyone knows the road to purgatory, it’s Red Ryan. As a stagecoach guard, he’s faced holdups, ambushes, and all-out attacks from every kill-crazy outlaw, Indian, and prairie rat. But even he’s a bit reluctant to take on his next job: riding shotgun with his driver Buttons Muldoon on a stage bound from Fort Concho, Texas, to Fort Bliss. Word has it, the Apaches are on the warpath. They’re being led by the vicious war chief Ilesh, which means “Lord of the Earth.” And this lord means business, as in slaughtering every Texan from here to El Paso. Red wants to postpone the stage. But an army major’s beautiful but stubborn wife insists they leave—or she’ll go it alone. So Red has no choice . . . Thus begins a nightmare journey into 400 miles of harsh, unforgiving terrain, blood-drunk killers, and one scheming devil who plans to paint the town of El Paso red—starting with Red’s blood . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. THE LAW OF THE LAST MAN STANDING. His country burning with war, his family shattered, a young man strikes off on his own and builds a legend with his fists, a pistol, knife, and long gun. This collection includes the classic westerns Trail of the Mountain Man and Return of the Mountain Man, long unavailable and here together for the first time in one action-packed volume . . . Where There's Gold, There's Blood, Bullets, and Smoke When the Missouri farm boy named Jensen came west, he started fighting, surviving, and learning every brutal step of the way. He learned from a mountain man named Preacher. He learned from Indians. And from outlaws. And he learned that nothing burns the souls of men faster than the lure of glimmering gold. From one ramshackle frontier mountain town to another, Smoke sees gold strikes-and gold fever-drawing crooks and cold-blooded killers from across the nation. Faced with an explosion of horrifying violence-along with some demons from his past-Smoke has no choice but to lay down the law. Once he does, it doesn't matter how many men and guns the outlaws bring. Because if Smoke Jensen has learned anything, it's this: in a vast, savage land, you don't back down, don't give up, and don't stop shooting until the last bad man goes to his Maker.

Johnstone Country. Where Legends Fight or Die. Bounty hunter Luke Jensen has always relied on his guns, his brains, and his guts to bring in the deadliest outlaws in the West. But when a family needs his help, he'll have to use something else: his heart . . . BLOOD IS THICKER THAN SLAUGHTER Luke Jensen has seen some sorry looking bounties in his time, but this one takes the cake. A wanted poster is offering a reward of one dollar and forty-two cents-plus one busted harmonica-to capture Three-Fingered Jack McKinney. Turns out, McKinney's twelve-year-old son Aaron wants revenge on his daddy for abandoning him and his mom. The reward is all the money Aaron can scrape together. Luke can't say no to the poor boy-or his beautiful mother-so he agrees to go after McKinney and his bank-robbing gang. Good deeds, however, are like good intentions-the road to hell is paved with them. And when Aaron McKinney decides to tag along, it puts Luke in the middle of a father-and-son reunion that's life-or-death, blood-for-blood, and kill-or-be-killed. . . . Live Free. Read Hard.