[EXCERPT] “Dark Horse” (The Quiet Horsemen #2) By: Maggie Rawdon

“Dark Horse,” the second book in Maggie Rawdon’s The Quiet Horsemen series release is just 9 days away, and today I’m so excited to share an excerpt from the book with you! I’m loving my ARC so far, and can’t wait to share my review – but for now, enjoy the excerpt, and make sure you’re all caught up with Maggie’s backlist in preparation for the “Dark Horse” release!

Keep scrolling to read the synopsis and excerpt!

What is Dark Horse by Maggie Rawdon about?

Grant Stockton is the devil incarnate. The cowboy turned casino-owning crime boss has been the bane of my existence for as long as I can remember—first as my older brother’s best friend, then as my guardian when my brother died at his side, and now as the rival bar owner and landlord running me into the red.

He might be the head of The Quiet Horsemen, the man everyone else in this town fears, but I’m not about to cede a single inch of ground to him.

If I have to lie, cheat, and steal to keep him from finding out my bar’s underwater—well, that’s exactly what I’ll do.

At least until he breaks into my apartment and discovers my secret. One that gives him all the leverage he needs to control my fate.

My only reprieve is that The Horsemen are in the middle of a war, one that’s been spilling blood for the better part of a decade, and his enemies are closing in on our small mountain town.

Which is why I’m taken off guard by the demand he makes in exchange for keeping my secret.

Apparently there are benefits to being at the mercy of the devil…

Excerpt of Dark Horse by Maggie Rawdon:

She continues doling out shots and ignoring me like I didn’t see her pick up her phone and read my message. I’m gripping the glass so tight I’m about to shatter it by the time she finally starts to saunter my way, a glass of whisky in hand. She was the one who summoned me here in the first place, complaining that there’s a maintenance issue in the apartment she lives in upstairs. I’d planned to have a drink while I waited for her to have a free moment, not watch a live show of her spitting down the throats of a half dozen college guys before she slapped and drenched them. I have work I need to return to at the Avarice.

“Your whisky.” She sets the drink down in front of me without any fanfare.

“Funny, I thought it was Speyside, not spit side,” I mutter, and she raises her eyebrow in return.

“Jealous? Because if you want it served that way, it can be arranged.” She’s always sassy, but it’s turned up a notch tonight.

“I think I might be too old to be impressed by that sort of thing.” I glance back at the college kids who are still shouting and cheering as one of their own chugs beer from a boot-shaped glass. Seven Sins and Dakota lean into all the kitsch of the country dive bar and then some.

“Oh, Cowboy, it’s okay. I know that big birthday’s just around the corner for you, but we don’t judge around here.” She speaks with a saccharine tone and points back at the glowing red neon sign behind the bar that says Sinners Welcome.

I narrow my eyes at her. I don’t need to be reminded that I’m closing in on forty; the gray hairs that keep popping up handle that daily reminder just fine.

“Not worried about my age as much as I’m worried about you not being able to handle the extra whiskey you’re swallowing and falling off this bar,” I taunt her. She nearly slipped the last time getting down, and I pictured her falling backward, a mess of limbs and shattered glass. I’d lose my fucking mind if I lost another Hartfield right in front of me.

“Hayley! Get me a water, please!” she calls over her shoulder before the false smile returns. “I think you’d be surprised what I can handle.” She looks me over in one slow rake before her blue-green eyes come back up to meet mine. “Unless you’re scared?”

“Scared of what?” I bluster because I’m fucking terrified when I watch her climb up on the bar in front of me. Not about her falling, at least not in this moment because she’s nimbly navigating the counter and already perched in front of me, but that this is only going to give the crowd and her more encouragement. I can’t back down though. I’ll look like I cower from a twenty-something woman simply teasing me a little, and it’ll be hard to get anyone to take me seriously after that.

“That you might like it.” Her lips pull up at the corners as she spreads her legs in front of me. She studies my face for a moment, the sly smile growing as she reaches forward and grabs my tie. She wraps it around her fist once and tugs. “Come closer. I won’t bite.”

“You always fucking bite,” I mutter.

***