by B. B. Hamel
He was fast. He reached for his gun and had it up almost as fast as I drew mine.
But instead of firing, I stepped back and grabbed Guff. He was surprised and stumbled off balance. When Culver fired his shots, they tore into Guff’s body.
Blood splattered onto the kitchen floor. I raised my gun and put two bullets into the gun thug standing behind the women. I grabbed Guff before he could fall, yanking him back toward me as Culver fired off a few more shots.
The bullets tore into Guff but didn’t hit me. I took aim over his shoulder and put a bullet right through Culver’s eyes. His head snapped back as blood splattered onto the window behind him. He tipped back and fell onto the floor.
I let Guff drop to the ground then. He stared up at me with shock in his eyes as he bled out on the floor.
It had happened in less than ten seconds. That was how it happened with close-quarters gunplay. Things went down quick, and you had to know what you were doing if you wanted to survive it.
Three men lay dead in that kitchen, blood sprayed across the clean surfaces. I quickly went over to Hartley.
Her eyes were wide with shock as I pulled off her gag. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” she said.
I took the gag from her mother. “And you?”
“Okay,” she said.
I untied the two of them. They stood and stared at the bodies, but they weren’t really seeing anything.
“Listen to me,” I said to her mother. “My name is Travis Rock. I’m working with your daughter to help clear your family of debt to the mafia. I’m sorry this happened.”
“Culver told me,” she said dully.
“Please, look at me.” She turned to me slowly, obviously in shock, but we didn’t have time. “I need you to bury these bodies. Are there people who can help?”
“My boys and my husband are coming home soon,” she said.
“Tell them what happened. Clean this up and bury the bodies.”
“What about us?” Hartley asked.
“We’re going back to Knoxville.”
“What?” She looked shocked. “After you just killed Culver?”
“Listen, that’s exactly why we have to go back. We need to enact our plan and we need to do it tonight. Otherwise, we’re fucked, and your family is dead. Do you understand me?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Okay. We’ll go back.” She looked at her mom. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry.”
“I know, honey. I know.” They hugged as I walked away.
Outside, I heard a car pull up into the driveway.
“Fuck,” I said. “What now?”
I went to the front door, gun ready, and slowly peeked out.
Gage and Flynn climbed out of a black truck and came walking toward me. I lowered my gun, feeling relieved. “You’re too late for the fun,” I called out.
Flynn laughed. “What’d you do, Travis?”
“Killed three guys. Nothing special.”
“Shit, really?” Gage asked. They stopped on the porch. “Mob guys?”
“Dixie Mafia,” I said.
“Need help with cleanup?” Flynn asked.
“The locals got it. I need you two to come back to Knoxville with us. We have some work to do.”
“Roger that,” Flynn said.
“Gage, can you take my car? I have the big rig parked out by the road.”
“I was wondering about that,” Gage said. “You drove that shit all the way here?”
“Trucking is in my blood,” I said.
“Of course it is. Sure. I’ll drive the car.”
“Okay. You two get going. We’ll be right behind.”
“Roger that.” The two guys stepped off the porch. I went inside, grabbed the car keys from Hartley, and then tossed them out to Gage. The two guys got into their cars and headed out.
That was done with. Now that I had backup, I was beginning to feel more confident. I went back inside. Hartley’s mom was sitting at the table, staring off into the distance.
“She’s not taking this well,” Hartley said softly to me.
“We can’t wait around,” I said. “When are your brothers coming back?”
“Any minute now.”
I walked past Hartley and stood in front of her mother. “Listen, Mrs. Baker.”
“Lucy. You might as well call me Lucy, after this.”
“Lucy. Can you go upstairs? You don’t need to sit down in this.”
She stood up and nodded. “Okay. I can do that.”
“Wait for your family to get back. Do not come downstairs for anything. Do you understand me?”
“Wait, Travis. We’re not leaving her,” Hartley said.
“I’m sorry, Lucy. We have to leave. We need to finish this, and we can’t waste a single second.”
“I understand,” she said, and looked at Hartley. “Go with him.”
“Mom—”
“Go with him,” she said again. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you’ve come this far. We’ll clean this mess up.”
“Mom,” Hartley said softly.
“This isn’t the first bit of death I’ve seen,” Lucy said. “I’ve been a farm girl my whole life. I’ve seen it all. You two go, do what needs doing.”
I was surprised by that little speech. I figured she was too shocked to say anything, but suddenly I saw where Hartley got her strength.
Hartley hugged her mom again before Lucy walked upstairs. I watched her go and then looked back at Hartley. “Come on.”
I walked out the front door and Hartley followed me. We walked down the drive and cut across the field. We walked in silence, though what had happened was hanging heavy between us.
I had never wanted her to see me do something like that. Death was my job, but Hartley didn’t need to see it. She knew enough on her own terms and didn’t need to see me pull the trigger and end a man’s life.
That hadn’t been my choice, though. Culver could have walked away, maybe forced us to act faster or something. Instead, he got greedy. Probably thought I was all talk.
But as he quickly learned, I was far from all talk.
As we climbed up onto the truck, I paused and looked out across the fields at Hartley’s farm.
It was a damn shame I had to meet her mother like this, and a damn shame this was how I was first seeing her farm.
Because the place was beautiful. Real fucking beautiful. I could see myself living on a farm like this one day.
I got into the driver’s seat, shut the door, and woke the big rig up.
23
Hartley
I knew what Travis could do. He showed me that first day we met. I knew he was deadly and had some skills.
But seeing it up close like that was something else. He moved so damn fast and seemed to just know what everyone else was about to do. He didn’t hesitate to kill those men, and he didn’t seem to mind letting that sick fuck Guff take a bunch of bullets for him.
I wasn’t going to mourn those deaths, but I was shocked by how Travis had handled it all. The man was a professional killer, and I shouldn’t forget it.
We drove in the big rig truck for a bit. I couldn’t say anything. I felt so damn stupid, so very stupid. I had put us all at risk, nearly gotten my mom killed. Her kitchen was full of blood and dead bodies now, all because I brought Culver down on them.
“It’s okay,” he finally said, breaking the long silence.
“It’s not okay,” I said. “I’m sorry, Travis. I should never have done that.”
“Yeah. You’re right,” he said, grinning at me. “But it’s still okay. We’re still going to win this.”
“How? They’re going to notice Culver is missing.”
“Eventually, but we’ll hit them before they realize it.”
“You should just leave me behind. Do this without me.”
He sighed. “Listen to me, Hartley. I get why you did what you did. It was stupid, but it was brave.”
“Doesn’t feel bra
ve.”
He shook his head. “It was. You knew you were running off into danger. You did it because you feared for your parents.”
“My parents were fine, though. Culver just scared me.”
“Yeah, he did, which was what he was trying to do from the start. He shouldn’t have been surprised when you actually believed him and ran off.”
“But he was.”
“Yeah, he was. That was his fault. You’re not used to men like this threatening your family.”
“And you are?”
“More than you, sure. My job is to try to kill men before they kill me. When you do that enough, you start to be able to read people.”
“What’s your read on me?”
He paused for a second as we slowly maneuvered onto the highway. From there, it was more or less a straight shot back to Knoxville, but we had a few hours to go.
“You really want to know?” he asked finally.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Okay then. You’re brave, but you grew up in a very small world. You’re smart and strong, but you’re afraid you’re not smart or strong enough.” He glanced at me. “You’re funny, and fucking sexy. I’ve never quite met anyone like you.”
I bit my lip and looked at him. All of those feelings I’d been repressing for him came flooding back, feelings I couldn’t quite name. His body was strong and hard, and I wanted to run my tongue down his abs. I wanted to feel his lips against my ear again as he whispered dirty things.
But I didn’t deserve any of that. I had fucked up big time, and now Travis was cleaning up after me. Actually, this whole thing was Travis cleaning up after me.
“You don’t have to say that,” I said finally.
“I fucking mean it, girl. Just listen to me for once in your life.”
“Okay,” I said, surprised.
“Damn right. You’re doing great, Hartley. You’re fucking holding on. That’s more than most people could say in your position, so own it.”
“Thanks, Travis. For everything.”
I surprised myself by reaching across the seats and putting my hand over the top of his. He surprised me more by taking my hand and squeezing it, and not letting go as he drove.
I still didn’t feel like I deserved the simple comfort of him holding my hand, but I needed it anyway. I was beginning to feel out of control, like I was spiraling and wouldn’t find the ground anytime soon. Touching him made me feel centered again, or at least less like I was stuck in a tornado.
He had that ability. He centered me, calmed me, made me better. He elevated me when I needed to be elevated, and he made me see that I had it in myself to become better than I was.
He brought out the best self in me, even in spite of my mistakes.
I needed that in this moment. After feeling like I had destroyed everything, I needed him to tell me that it was going to be okay. I needed him to take control, to fix things. I was way in over my head, and I knew that only Travis could do this.
And I was going to do it with him. I was going to get myself together and make it happen.
He squeezed my hand and grinned at me. I felt that thrill run through my body, the same one I always felt when he looked at me.
The ride back to Knoxville melted by. We drove straight through, and I must have fallen asleep, because at one point I closed my eyes and when I opened them we were home. Travis parked the big rig in an empty parking lot a few blocks away from the dry cleaners, and then we walked back together.
As we got closer, I noticed two men standing outside the apartment door. They were both tall and broad like Travis, both with dangerous looks in their eyes. One had dark short hair and bright green eyes, and he was grinning at me. The other had close-cropped brown hair and gray eyes, and he looked more serious.
Instantly I tensed up. It surprised me that the sight of strange men would do that, but it made sense after what I had seen. Travis put a comforting hand on my arm.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Hartley, these are my friends. This is Flynn and this is Gage.”
The man with the green eyes named Flynn smiled. “Good to meet you, Hartley.”
Gage nodded. “Hartley.”
“Hi, guys,” I said.
“They’re here to help us,” Travis added. “They have a pretty important role at the end of this.”
“Anything I do is pretty important,” Flynn said.
“Now I know that isn’t true,” Gage said. “Flynn here has a very high opinion of himself, though I have no clue why.”
“It’s because I’m incredibly handsome and smart,” Flynn said.
“Enough from you two,” Travis said, cutting them off. He opened the apartment door. “Let’s get inside.”
The two men grinned at me as we walked inside. Travis took the lead and the other two fell in behind me. I realized just from watching them move that they were both SEALs just like Travis. He must have called them in for backup.
Now I had three Navy SEALs involved in this, trying to save my life. I couldn’t decide if I felt horrible or grateful. Probably a mix of both.
We got into my apartment and instantly the men looked around like they were scouting for danger. Once they were satisfied, Travis leaned up against the kitchen counter while the two guys sat down at the table.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked them.
“I’m good,” Gage said.
“Whisky might be nice.”
Travis laughed. “Might be early for that. Plus, we have work to do tonight.”
“Don’t matter,” he said. “Whisky anyway.”
I got a glass and poured him a drink. Travis got three more glasses and poured everyone else a drink. He raised his glass.
“To defeating our enemies,” he said.
“Here, here,” Gage answered.
We toasted and drank.
I had to admit, the whisky felt good. I was exhausted, but I was also stressed close to my breaking point. Just getting a little alcohol in my stomach helped to calm me down a little bit, and when I noticed Travis giving me a look, I suspected that was exactly what he had intended.
“So,” Travis said finally, “we’re here for a reason.”
“We’re not just getting hammered?” Flynn asked.
“Unfortunately,” Gage said.
“Putting us to fucking work,” Flynn joked.
“That’s the only thing you’re good for, Flynn,” Travis said.
“What, working?”
He grinned. “No. Fighting.”
Flynn laughed. “Damn right.”
“Can we get down to it?” Gage cut in.
“Plan is simple. I’m setting up a meeting with the Dixie Mafia tonight. I’m going to make sure their leader is there, a guy named Merton Digger.”
“Merton?” Flynn asked, cutting in. “What kinda name is that?”
“Southern,” Gage answered. “Now shut up.”
“Anyway,” Travis went on, “Merton is the leader of the Dixie Mob in this area. The Dixie is spread out all over the south, but the Caldwells only care about drug rights in Knoxville. So if we take him out, the Dixie will be like a snake without a head. The Caldwells won’t have much trouble taking over.”
“Seems simple enough,” Flynn said. “But how are you going to get him at this meeting?”
“You let me worry about that. You two are playing support. Basically, hang back and keep an eye on things. If shit goes south, I’ll need you guys to pull me out.”
“Easy,” Gage said. “Just a little snatch and grab. I can do that in my sleep.”
“Yeah,” Flynn complained. “Can’t we get something a little more fun?”
Travis gave him a look. “This is fun enough, man. You’re not in fucking Pakistan. You can’t go all Rambo here.”
“Sure I can,” he grumbled.
“What about me?” I cut in suddenly.
The three men looked at me.
“You don’t have to do anything,” Travis said. “You saw enough v
iolence this morning, Hartley. You can sit this out.”
“No need for you to see anything else,” Flynn added soberly.
“No,” I said. “No. I know I messed up, but I can’t just let you guys take all the risk.”
“That’s what we’re here for,” Gage said. “We’re making sure that risk is damn tiny.”
“He’s right, Hartley. You don’t need to be anywhere near this,” Travis said. “We can handle it. Believe me.”
“Travis, please. I want to help finish this.”
He glanced over at Gage, who shrugged. Travis looked back at me. “It’s going to get violent. Men are going to die again. Hell, we may get shot at. Are you sure you want to put yourself in the middle of this?”
“I’m sure,” I said. “I’m completely sure.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “You’re with me then. No matter what, you stay by my side. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“When do we start?” Flynn asked.
“I start now. You two sit here and don’t fuck anything up.”
“Aye, aye, boss,” Gage said, smirking. He poured two more drinks.
“Stay here with them,” Travis said softly to me. “I’m going to make a call, and then we’ll head out.”
“Where?”
“We’re paying Janey one last visit.”
I nodded. “Okay.” Travis turned and left, heading downstairs.
Gage grinned at me. “Don’t worry. Travis is the best. You’re damn lucky you’re with him and not this asshole.” He gestured at Flynn.
“Hey,” Flynn said. “I’m pretty good at killing, you know.”
“Yeah. That’s pretty much it, though.”
Flynn knocked his drink back. “And drinking whisky.”
“You’re okay at that.” Gage knocked his drink back. “But I’m better.”
The two men started arguing about the finer points of drinking whisky, and I just leaned back against the counter and watched. I couldn’t help but smile at them, despite the fear growing inside me.
Travis was the best, and I knew it. He made me feel things I couldn’t explain and he took care of me, even when I didn’t deserve it. He had saved my mother and me from Culver, and he was going to save us from everyone else, too.