by B. B. Hamel
“What?” I asked him.
He glanced at me. “It’s nothing.”
“Just tell me.”
“We’re being followed.’
I turned around and looked out the back. “How can you tell?”
“They’ve been on us since we left this morning. I’m guessing it’s the mafia making sure we’re not running.”
“What do we do?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Relax. We’re there anyway.” Travis pulled the car over, parking across the street from my apartment.
“Shouldn’t we lose them?”
“No,” he said. “We want them to know we’re playing by the rules.”
I was quiet for a second, chewing my lip. “This sucks,” I said finally.
“Yeah,” he agreed, and then got out of the car. I followed him, not sure how he could be so calm. As we crossed the street, he smiled and waved at a little red truck with two guys sitting in it. They gave him a look but didn’t wave back, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Was that them?”
“Sure was,” he said.
“Why’d you do that?”
He shrugged and smirked at me. “Fun, I guess.”
I headed over to the door that led upstairs, unlocked it, and went in. He followed me up and watched as I unlocked my front door, pushing it open.
My apartment was pretty empty. I had never planned on staying in Knoxville, and so I had never really made this place my home. There was a tiny kitchen to the left, a small living room space immediately as we walked in, and the bedroom and bathroom to the right.
All in all, it was a cozy apartment, so long as you didn’t mind living above a dry cleaner. That only meant that I had to deal with the smell of chemicals once in a while, which wasn’t so bad.
Travis walked inside and looked around. “Nice place.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “Got the job done.” I tossed my bag onto the floor and headed into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Travis leaned up against the wall and watched as I drank it down. The water tasted fresh and cool. It really helped with the fuzzy feeling I had in my mind and the burning in my stomach from that stupid moonshine.
“What’s the plan now?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “Now we wait until Hoyt comes back and lets us know what’s up.”
“Fine. I’m taking a shower then.”
“Need a hand?”
“No thanks.”
He laughed, stepping nearer. “How long are you going to pretend like you don’t want to feel this cock between your legs?”
“As long as it takes,” I answered, moving past him.
He laughed that cocky, arrogant laugh. It drove me absolutely crazy, and I hated that he could so easily get a rise out of me. I knew I was soaking wet already just imagining what it would be like to have him join me in the shower.
I could practically see the water dripping down off his muscular body. I wouldn’t mind feeling him press against me in the warm water, kissing my skin, his fingers running down between my legs.
But that couldn’t happen, not with so much going on. He collapsed onto the couch as I went back into the bathroom and shut the door.
The shower felt incredible as I stood there under the water, letting the heat wash away the fear and the memories of the last day. What had happened in the parking lot seemed like it was weeks ago, but it hadn’t even been a full day yet. So much had happened in such a small amount of time that I was having trouble completely decompressing.
Of course, the moonshine wasn’t helping, though the shower made me feel sober. Which was good, since I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep resisting Travis if I remained a little tipsy. The man had a way about him that simply drove me wild and pushed every single one of my buttons.
I had to stop thinking about him that way. I couldn’t keep imagining what it would feel like to get that wild, dangerous Navy SEAL in my bed. I couldn’t keep wondering how his rough hands would feel on my hips as he pressed himself deep inside me.
I finished up the shower and got out, wrapping myself in a towel. I felt better, more awake and more human after cleaning myself off. I quickly brushed my teeth and then left the bathroom and holed myself up in my bedroom.
There wasn’t much in the apartment that reminded me of home. I’d left all of that back on the farm, back with my parents. I’d wanted this to be all about business, but as I sat on my bed and looked at my bare walls, I wished I had brought something with me. I scrolled through my phone absently, looking at old pictures.
Just then, there was a knock on the front door, loud and jarring. My heart skipped a beat.
The door to my bedroom flew open. Travis stood there, staring in at me with this intense expression. I was sitting on the bed still wearing nothing but my towel, and he didn’t even pretend like he wasn’t looking at my body. A small grin began to play on his lips.
“They’re here,” he said.
“Uh, okay. I heard. Do you mind?”
“No. I’ll wait.” He leaned up against the doorframe.
“Get out, Travis.”
“You sure? I can help you change. Or we can leave you naked. Might be a damn good distraction technique.”
“Travis,” I said, getting annoyed.
“Your loss,” he said, laughing. He walked away and I quickly closed the door behind him.
That man was so frustrating. He left me flustered and wild every time he looked at me, and he made no apologies for it. I shook my head as I quickly got dressed, throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt.
Travis was waiting out in the hall for me. “Ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
He nodded, suddenly back to business. “Good.” He walked over to the door and pulled it open.
Three men stood there. Hoyt stepped inside, follow by two men I didn’t recognize. They were large and broad and wore big jean jackets over dark denim pants.
“Hoyt,” Travis said.
“Good. You’re still here,” Hoyt said.
“Brought friends?”
Hoyt glanced at the two men. “Wait outside.”
The quickly filed out, and Travis shut the door behind them.
“I take it the news is good,” Travis said.
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, you wouldn’t be in this room alone if it weren’t.”
Hoyt grinned. “Yeah. You got me there.”
“Come on, sit.”
The two men sat down at the table and Travis gestured for me to join. I sat to his right, feeling a nervous knot in my stomach
Hoyt looked at the two of us. “You’re a real pain in my ass. You know that, Travis?”
“Sure I am,” he said slowly. “What do you have for me?”
“First, Hartley, I got to tell you how fucking lucky you are.” Hoyt stared at me seriously. “You know this guy is just about the only man in Knoxville who could possibly help you, right?”
“I’m lucky,” I said softly.
“You here to make the girl feel bad, or are you here to make a deal?” Travis asked, annoyed.
“A bit of both.” Hoyt leaned back in his chair. “You’re lucky as hell, too, Travis. If it were anyone else at that door last night, you’d be finished.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Travis said. “I know a few things.”
“I bet you do. Well, I talked to my damn boss about you. He’s interested in a little exchange.”
“I’m listening.”
“How much do you know about the Caldwell family?”
“Saw Markus earlier. He told me a bit about them.”
Hoyt scowled. “That old nut job still around? Anyway, so you know that the Caldwells have been pushing onto our turf, taking our customers.”
“Heard something about that.”
“A week ago, we had a big shipment go missing, mostly weed, but also some guns and shit like that. My boss wants you to find this shipment and bring it back to us.”<
br />
“That’s it?” Travis asked. “Seems too easy.”
“We think the Caldwells have it, and that’s not going to be easy to prove, Travis. This is a lot of weed and a lot of guns.” Hoyt looked at me. “Enough to pay down your debt.”
“If I do this, the girl is free? And her family?”
“Safe and free,” Hoyt said.
“Okay then,” Travis said. “You got a deal.”
Hoyt held out his hand and Travis shook it.
“One more thing,” Hoyt said. “It’s your job to keep the girl here. We can’t have her running off on us. If this job doesn’t work out, we want the girl.”
Travis paused. “I’ll keep her here, but I won’t give her to you if things go south.”
They released each other’s hands.
“I figured you’d say that,” Hoyt replied. “I can’t say I blame you. She’s real fucking pretty.”
“Enough,” Travis said, and I heard a dark edge in his tone.
“Easy there,” Hoyt said, standing. “Wouldn’t want to fuck this up before it even started.”
“I agree to keep her here,” Travis said. “You can tell your boss he’ll get his shit back.”
“Fine, fine.”
“How long do we have?”
“Two weeks.”
Travis nodded. “Done.”
“Well then, good doing business with you both. You don’t have to show me out. I’ll find the door.” Hoyt turned and left the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
I stared at Travis once he was gone. “Are you serious?” I asked him.
“I’m always serious,” he answered. “I’m serious when I tell you I could make you moan my name here and now if you just let me slide those shorts off that perfect ass.”
“Travis, come on. How are you going to steal all this stuff from a big gang?”
He shrugged. “I have no clue.”
“And are you even okay with doing this? I mean, you’d be helping a pretty awful gang.”
“True. I’d also be saving your ass.”
“I can’t ask this of you.”
“You’re not,” he said. “I’m telling you I’m doing it.”
“I can’t ask this of you. I barely even know you, and you’re risking your life for me.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You don’t get it, do you? I’m not risking my life here.”
“These guys aren’t joking around, Travis.”
He grinned hugely and leaned toward me. “Neither am I. Plus, I have nothing better to do.”
“Travis—”
“It’s too late anyway. The deal is done. We’re in this together now, Hartley. Better get used to it.”
I stared at him, not sure what to say. His gaze was so intense and expressive that for a second I forgot how much trouble we were in. For a second I imagined that it was just the two of us, alone in the apartment together, with nobody looking to kill us.
But that was just a fantasy of course. The truth was, I barely knew Travis, and we were getting thrown into this terrible situation together. I didn’t know why he insisted on staying around, but I knew I needed him. I didn’t know where I’d be if he hadn’t shown up, or if he decided to walk out on me.
I hated that I was in so much debt to him. I hated that I needed to rely on this handsome and cocky stranger. But there was no changing it.
Me and Travis, we were in this together, for better or for worse.
8
Travis
Hartley disappeared back into her bedroom after Hoyt left. I returned to my spot on the couch, realizing that I might be spending a lot of time on these cushions over the next few days.
I was in a fucking predicament. I wasn’t a lawman, but I was a SEAL. I was supposed to fight to protect my country. I wasn’t sure how I was meant to square that with my current task, but I couldn’t look too deeply into it.
At the end of the day, I was going to protect Hartley. All this bullshit between the mafia and the Caldwells was just a bunch of crap I had to deal with. They were going to get their weed and guns no matter what I did.
This just meant I was on my own. I couldn’t use any of the team’s resources, and I couldn’t call for backup. It was just Hartley and me in this, for better or for worse.
I knew Knoxville, and I knew these guys. I grew up with them, knew how they thought. I almost was one of them, if my life had gone down a different path. If my football superstar brother had survived, I might be in the Dixie Mafia right now, hassling girls just like Hartley.
Or maybe not. I never really got down with that sort of fucking thing. Still, I understood how these guys worked, and I knew I could make all this work out.
The Caldwells were the real problem. I knew Jane Caldwell, but I didn’t know her anymore. I didn’t know her family business or how much strength they had. As far as I could tell, I had no way of getting close to them, or at least not yet.
I gave the girl a few minutes of privacy before getting up and knocking on her door.
“Come in,” she called out.
I pushed it open. She was laying on her bed, scrolling through her phone.
“We should go out.”
“Where?”
“I want to see an old friend.”
“Another old friend?” She frowned at me. “Not another mafia guy?”
“Not exactly,” I said. “His name is Toad.”
She laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“Nah, or at least he used to be called Toad. Can’t say what he goes by now.”
“Why do we need to see a man named Toad?”
“As it happens, Toad has his ear to the underworld. We need to do a little reconnaissance around the Caldwells before we make any moves.”
“All right then,” she said, getting up. “One thing, though. Please keep me informed. No running off and doing things without me.”
I laughed. “Hartley, I’m going to be sleeping on your couch for the next couple weeks. You can keep tabs on me yourself if you want.”
She gaped at me for a second before getting herself together. “What do you mean, staying with me?”
“You heard the man. I’m meant to make sure you stay in town. That means we’re around each other all day long, every damn day.”
“No way,” she said. “No freaking way.”
“Sorry, girl. Those are the rules.”
She looked like she wanted to argue more, and I got a flash of that temper she had. But slowly that disappeared and she took a deep breath. I looked along her body, at her long, perfect legs, and imagined them wrapped around my face.
“Fine,” she said. “Okay. Let’s go see Toad.”
I smirked at her. “I knew you’d be excited to have me around.”
She didn’t say a word as she walked past me, and I let myself enjoy the view.
Toad lived with his family out on the edge of town, out near Markus. There were two distinct parts of Knoxville: downtown, where the richer people lived, and the hills. People with blue-collar jobs, or really no jobs at all, lived out in the hills. That was where the meth was worst, where the government regularly went to check if their dole checks were getting to the right people.
Toad came from an old family, a really old family. As far as I could tell, his family had been in Knoxville as long as Knoxville had been a thing. We drove down a long, winding road until we pulled up out front of the Toad family shack.
It was a rundown little house with a front porch wrapping around the front. Old broken-down cars, rotting firewood, trash, and other garbage littered the front lawn. I climbed out of the car and an old woman came to the front door.
“Who the heck are you?” she called out.
“Are you Mrs. Trap?”
“Yeah. That’s me. Who are you?”
“Hello, Mrs. Trap. I’m Travis Rock. I went to high school with your son.”
There was a pause, and then she flung the door open. “Travis Rock! My god!” She came out toward me, sm
iling big. Hartley was hanging over by the car still as I walked over to meet her.
Toad’s momma was short and fat. Her long, greasy hair had seen better days, and she had the skin of a life-long smoker. But she was a good woman, loyal to her family like everyone else out in the hills.
She threw her big arms around me and hugged me tightly. Toad and I had been friendly back in the day, and for some reason his momma had taken a liking to me. Never could explain that one. Maybe it was because I was the only one of his friends who pretended like I didn’t call him Toad when she was around.
“Michael is going to be so happy to see you,” she said.
“How’s he doing?”
“Oh you know,” she said, letting me go. “He’s working when he can. Michael is a good boy, but he wasn’t blessed with the smarts, you know? He’s trying his best, that boy.”
“Good to hear. Is he around?”
“Out back I think. Last I saw him at least.”
“All right then.”
“Well, whose your friend? Introduce me before you run off.”
“Mrs. Trap, this is Hartley.”
Hartley walked up to her, smiling that winning southern smile. “Good to meet you, ma’am.”
“Oh listen to you, all polite. Nice to meet you too, Hartley. Now you two run on off and find my son.” She turned and headed back toward the house. “Tea is inside if you want any. Don’t be shy.”
“Thanks,” I called after her.
Hartley looked at me. “You’re popular around here.”
I shrugged. “I come from a family just like this. Lived in a house not far from here, actually. These people know me.”
She just nodded and said nothing. I walked to the right of the house and Hartley followed, keeping pace.
There were a few more buildings out back, low and squat things, no more than big sheds. More cars littered the area, plus barrels for burning trash and leaves. As we got farther back there, the sound of country music came drifting up from one of the outhouses. We headed toward it, the music getting louder.
“Toad?” I called out. “That you, Toad?”
The music was coming from the biggest building, more like a garage than a shed. One of the large front doors slowly pushed open, and out stepped Toad in all his glory.
