Bullets. Booze. Bad luck. It's all here.

These tales - best devoured with a stiff pour of bourbon - delve into the dark underworld of drifters, gangsters, wannabe hoods, and small-town folks in slippery situations. Written in terse and urgent prose, these stories cling to the edge of reason and peer into the dark abyss that is human deviance.

Here's a taste of what you'll find in Tough Guys, an entertaining collection of thrilling stories:

"Apprentice": Ronnie might be a truck driver, but he's something else too - a hit man.

"Room Number Six": Frank just got out of prison, and he's not too happy to find his wife in bed with a prison guard. What's he gonna do?

"No Sé": Hector has been a gangster his whole life. He's rock hard. But this hard-hearted gangster just met his match - a six-year-old girl named Charlotte.

"Last Shift": Everybody has a breaking point. For Sandy, a waitress at an all-night diner, her breaking point might be tonight. A slick crook picks her up from work, but Sandy's luck means this guy is up to no good. Will Sandy, the thin, little blonde with three-inch heels, finally snap?

"You Ever Hear About War Dogs, Sam?": Hayes is a small-town kid who works at a discount store. What's his future? The US Marine Corps. But when Hayes gets back, he's a little bit different.