New Release — Wary Partners by J. L. Guin

When Larry Creed shoots and kills a man in a saloon altercation, his father hires bounty hunters Judd Jacoby and Faye McJunkin to help prove his innocence. But with a saloon full of witnesses and Creed holding the smoking gun when the law arrives, the case seems to be open-and-shut.

Thomas Creed will not allow his son to go to prison—or hang—for something he knows he didn’t do. Larry is not a murderer. Can Thomas Creed convince Judd and Faye to take the case? There is one witness who has fled—a soiled dove, Lanie Brooks. She holds the key to Creed’s son being convicted of murder—or going free.

As Judd and Faye set off in search of Lanie, Creed tags along with them, determined to see his son gets a fair shake. Everything depends on Judd and Faye tracking Lanie down and convincing her to come with them to testify—or bringing her with them by force. Armed and desperate, Lanie could prove to be a bigger challenge than they ever expected.

Will Larry Creed hang for a crime he might not have committed? His life hangs in the balance, based on his father’s determination and the bounty hunters’ skill. How long can Lanie run from these WARY PARTNERS?

EXCERPT

The other man, also wearing a badge, stepped behind Larry and stuck the barrel of his six-gun into Larry’s kidneys, while the red-bearded man snatched Larry’s pistol from the surprised youth’s fist.

When Larry twisted to protest, the man behind him slammed the butt of his six-gun to the back of Larry’s head. Larry toppled to lie on the floor. A moment later, the officers cuffed his hands behind his back.

The beefy deputy then talked to the bartender and several of the bystander witnesses for a few minutes. No one mentioned Lanie Brooks by name, only that a girl, a soiled dove, was nearby when the shooting happened, but had now disappeared.

Each of the deputies grabbed Larry by a shoulder and dragged him out of the saloon, more or less carrying the youth to the jail, a half-block away.