The Warrior (Bailey Clan Westerns Book 14)

A Reckoning on the Frontier

Rowan Bailey was ready to build a life. Instead, he watched it shatter when Belle—the woman he was set to marry—was killed during a botched bank robbery in Silver Reef. Grief-stricken and furious, Rowan doesn’t wait for a funeral. He rides into the wilderness alone, determined to hunt down every man responsible.

What begins as a mission of vengeance becomes something deeper. Along the way, Rowan is forced into uneasy alliances, wrongly accused, and swept into a deadly pursuit involving rustlers, a kidnapped girl, and Apache warriors closing in under the Mogollon Rim. Memories of past losses weigh heavily, but in facing his pain head-on, Rowan is pulled toward a hard-won reckoning.

The Warrior, the fourteenth installment in the Bailey Clan Westerns, is a gritty and reflective tale of frontier justice, loyalty, and the cost of carrying loss through unforgiving lands.

Available now—ride with Rowan into the heart of the frontier.

Excerpt from the book

Rowan Bailey returned from the Raft River Mountains, tired but happy that he had met three Baileys. He told his fiancée, Belle Redding, “It was good to finally meet a Bailey, and in the end, I met three of them.” Belle hugged him and said, “I’m happy for you, Rowan. Now you know that you’re definitely a Bailey and you have a lot of kin out there. You will never be alone again.” But Rowan told her, “The reason I’m no longer alone is because of you. The day I met you was the day that changed my life. Knowing I have kin out there is good, but you’re a part of me, and that’s why I’m no longer alone.” She got him to tell her about the Baileys he had met and all that had happened in Utah, and then said, “You’re tired, Rowan, so go and sleep. You need a long rest after all that trouble and the long ride you made over the mountains to get back home.” Rowan told her, “I’m going to get that ranch up and running, and we’re going to marry in June. Declan and the others said that they’d be coming for our wedding.” Belle smiled, kissed him, and said, “I can’t wait for June to come, but right now you need to get some rest.”

Rowan slept for five hours and, when he got up, dusk was falling. He washed up, strapped on his gun and knife, and went to the kitchen. He looked in at the door and asked Cookie, “Any chance of some food?” Belle’s mother, Jane, came in from the dining room and said, “Rowan! Come into the dining room. There’s always food here, and Belle said that you’d be hungry when you woke up.” He followed her into the dining room and asked, “Where’s Belle?” Jane smiled and said, “She went to town to get some things. She’s buying a lot of material to make new outfits for her wedding.” Rowan suddenly felt a wave of apprehension flow through him and he said, “She should have told me. I would have gone with her.” But Jane told him, “She wanted you to rest, so she took Zane with her. The town is safe now since you took care of that Wade Bennett.” Rowan again felt a chill, but he thought it was because of the mention of Bennett’s name. He ate quickly and then got up and said, “I think I’ll ride to town and meet her there.” There was a look in his eyes that puzzled Jane, and she said, “She’ll be safe with Zane, but you’re worried.” Rowan shrugged and told her, “It’s nothing. I just feel uneasy. I’ll go to town, and when I see her, I’ll be all right.”

Rowan rode fast to the town of Silver Reef. He couldn’t explain the feeling of dread that clutched at his heart, but it was there, and he had learned long ago never to ignore his instincts. He rode into the town and the first person he saw was Zane standing in front of the doctor’s office. Rowan swung down from his saddle and demanded, “Belle! Where is she!” Zane’s eyes were moist as he said in a choking voice, “Some outlaws held up the bank and there was shooting as they rode away.”