ZANE GREY

Turnbaugh gave a dark chuckle. ''You lawdogs and your badges, '' he said, ''you're worse than priests with their crosses.'' He shook his head. ''I never could understand why a little ornament like that makes such a difference to yas.'' ''I don't expect you would, '' said Sam. He paused, took a breath and gave another glance at either end of the bar. Here goes, he said to himself, hoping he'd given Maria enough time to get into position near the empty window frame to back him up. But there was no time to wonder about it now. ''I'm taking you to Fort Smith, Turnbaugh, '' he said. Turnbaugh gave another dark chuckle. ''Are you now?'' he said in a cocky tone, as if it were all a joke. "Care to hear some numbers on how many two-bit lawmen like you has tried that same thing?'' ''The numbers don't matter, '' said Sam, barely shaking his head.

Ralph Cotton is a Best Selling Author with over seventy books to his credit and millions of books in print. Ralph’s books are top sellers in the Western and Civil War/Western genres, and in 2015 he debuted his new Gun Culture series with Friend of a Friend. Known for fast-paced narrative and wry dark humor, Ralph’s introduction to the Florida crime fiction genre has been well received Black Mesa is the 14th novel in the Ranger Sam Burrack (Big Iron) series, written in 2005 and reissued in 2016 in Ralph’s Western Classics group of books, as well as an ebook. Ralph lives on the Florida coast with his wife Mary Lynn. He writes prodigiously, but also enjoys painting, photography, sailing and playing guitar.