The Bounty Hunter (The Fast Gun Series Book 7)

A Bounty Hunter’s Final Job May Cost Him Everything

Lachlan Maclean has spent his life surviving—first as a hardened boy in the wilderness, then as a soldier rising to the rank of Lieutenant during the Civil War. Now, all he wants is a quiet life and a ranch of his own. But in the unforgiving frontier of the Tularosa Basin, dreams require money, and money comes hard.

Bounty hunting offers a faster path. With expert tracking skills, deadly precision, and instincts shaped by years of hardship, Lachlan builds a reputation across New Mexico as a man who always gets his target. One last job stands between him and the life he’s been chasing.

That job is Finlay Murphy.

Branded an outlaw with a price on his head, Murphy seems like an easy final score—until Lachlan uncovers the truth. The bounty is a lie, driven by a ruthless cattle baron determined to seize land that isn’t his. What begins as a routine hunt turns into a fight against corruption, forcing Lachlan to choose between the fortune he’s earned and the principles he’s tried to hold onto.

Set against the stark, dusty landscapes of the American frontier, The Bounty Hunter delivers a gripping Western tale of justice, survival, and the cost of doing what’s right. As the seventh installment in Terence Newnes’ Fast Gun Series, it stands as a powerful story of a man caught between the life he wants and the man he’s become.

Start reading The Bounty Hunter today and follow Lachlan Maclean into his most dangerous decision yet.

Excerpt from the book

Lachlan Maclean rode into the Tularosa Basin in the fall after the end of the Civil War. He had fought in the war on the side of the Union, and he was a lieutenant when the war ended. It was his and his father’s plan to start a ranch in the Western lands, but then the war happened and father and son signed up for the Union. His father, Ewan Maclean, died in battle in 1863, and now Lachlan was making his way to Arizona. He had heard that there was land for the taking in Arizona, but settlers were hesitant because of the Apache threat. Lachlan was willing to take on the Apache, but he needed sufficient capital to start a ranch. He had decided to take on whatever work he could find and save his money, but he was also thinking about the gold strikes in Arizona.

He was in the Antler Saloon in Chaparral when he heard a man talking to the barkeep about mountain lions. The man said, “Vasquez is having trouble with some mountain lions and he don’t know what to do about it. He’s losing sheep and some cattle and he’s at his wit’s end.” The barkeep, Simon, asked, “Why don’t he hunt them down?” The man replied, “He tried, but I’ve been there, and it ain’t that easy. His place is right up against the Sacramento range, and there’s a heavily forested area along the foothills and on the slopes. Unless a man can track those lions, there’s no way you can hunt them down.” Lachlan suddenly asked, “This Vasquez willing to pay for a kill?”

The barkeep and the man turned and looked at him. They saw a lean, tall young man with wide shoulders, wearing a low-slung gun on his right thigh and a Bowie knife on his left. Lachlan was an inch over six feet and had blue eyes and light brown hair curling out from under his flat-brimmed black hat. His square-shaped face was clean-shaven, and he wore dull-colored clothing that was faded with use. He carried a Sharps buffalo gun in his left hand. He weighed around two hundred and twenty pounds, with most of it in his broad shoulders and deep chest. The man asked him, “You a hunter, Mister?” Lachlan shrugged and replied, “The name’s Lachlan, and I’m whatever it takes to get the coon.” He paused and then added, “If this here Vasquez is willing to pay, then I’ll get him his mountain lions.” The man looked him over and then said, “Better you than me. My name’s Ben and Vasquez asked me to hunt them down, but I didn’t take him up on the offer. That there is a dangerous place and I ain’t that good a tracker.” Lachlan asked him, “What did he offer?” Ben rubbed his jaw and replied, “He’s willing to pay up to a hundred dollars per hide, but only after the kill.”