Page 2 of Hard Bounty

His shoulders were broad. His arms powerful. Beneath the black hat he wore, she could see equally dark hair poking out, its color matching the hard stubble that shaded his angular jaw. He exuded confidence and strength. And, as strange as it seemed, decency.

Mary realized she didn’t know this man. He hadn’t even uttered a single word. Yet for some reason, she just felt in her soul that he was fundamentally good.

Or was she just so shaken by the presence of the clearly evil bounty hunters that she was willing to latch onto the first potential protector she came across?

There wasn’t time to figure all that out now. The energy in the room shifted and she braced herself, knowing there would be trouble, when the stranger made no effort to move.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was deep and commanding, ringing with an authoritativeness that matched his air of confidence.

“Release the lady. Then move on out.”

“Like hell!” the trio’s leader growled.

The stranger took his time, but he finally pushed off the doorway and stepped inside the stagecoach station.

And he looked as dangerous as a wolf sizing up his prey.

Chapter Two

John Hardin didn’t like violence, but he didn’t shy away from it when it became necessary.

He didn’t want to waste too much time or energy on these idiots, though, so it was best to settle this quickly and move on.

“I’ll say it one more time. Release the lady. Otherwise, things will get…exceedingly unpleasant…for you three.”

The man who gripped the woman’s wrist frowned. “What the hell doesexceedinglymean?”

“I think it means…well, I dunno,” one of his buddies responded. Confusion registered in his dull eyes.

John shook his head in exasperation. “It means I’m about to settle this score. Let her go. Now.”

The man did, but it was only so he could throw a haymaker right at John.

Ortryto throw a haymaker.

John saw it coming and easily dodged the blow. At the same time as he dipped his head low, feeling the swoosh of the bounty hunter’s fist above him, he buried his own fist in the man’s gut.

Then, springing up quickly, he reared back and brought his forehead down right on the ugly fella’s nose. With a screeching howl, the bounty hunter threw his hands over it, but there was no stopping the copious amount of blood that now flowed.

He was out of the fight, but John still reached into the man’s holster as he was falling, pulled out the gun, and tucked it in his own waistband. The last thing he needed was for someone to start shooting up the place in their rage. John had been involved in his fair share of gunplay over the years, but he didn’t relish it. And he sure didn’t want to kill anyone. It was best if bullets were kept out of the mix.

Thankfully, no one else seemed ready to draw and shoot…yet. They were still throwing punches, though, and with two men swinging angry fists at him, John was in danger of being knocked out.

Then luck and quick reflexes intervened.

He ducked at just the right moment. The two attackers on both of his sides had swung, expecting to connect with their target’s head just above the ears, but now connected with each other, instead. The impact of their fists smashing into one another was loud and John was pretty sure they both had broken hands.

This was helpful on several fronts. Not only would they be hindered in their fighting, but they’d most likely swung with their dominant hands, meaning their preferred gun hands were damaged.

Good, he thought with a wry smile.

Maybe he could end this quickly.

While he was still low, he drove a fist into the stomach of the guy on his left. The bounty hunter doubled over as a loud whoosh emitted from his throat, all the air clearly knocked out of him by the punch.

John instantly shifted his focus to the one on the right, but that guy saw what was coming and stepped backward, putting himself out of punching range.

So John just bolted forward, tackled the man at the legs, and yanked him down hard. The bounty hunter hit his head on a nearby table on his way down and was out cold by the time he landed on the floor with a loud thud.

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