I woke up with a start, sweating. In my nightmare, I had been lighting off fireworks all over this huge field while Travis ran around, trying not to get blown up. Just as the dream ended, Travis stepped on one of the fireworks, and he disappeared into a red mist of blood.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. Last night had been insane, absolutely crazy. As soon as I heard that gun go off, I knew something had gone wrong. In my mind, Travis was dead on the ground somewhere. I freaked out and lit the fuses and then ran like hell back to the car.

The explosions had nearly knocked me flat on my face. I had stumbled and my ears had rung like crazy as I managed to get back to the car. While I waited for him, I’d heard the ATVs riding around in the distance and the sounds of shouting.

I’d been worried he wouldn’t show up, but he did. He materialized from the tree line wearing that mask and scared the hell out of me, but there he was, safe.

I couldn’t imagine what he did down there. I didn’t ask about the gunshot, because I was afraid to know the truth. He had probably killed someone down there, or something equally bad, and I didn’t want to know. I understood that the Caldwells were dangerous, and that he was doing this for me, but still. I couldn’t imagine killing someone.

That was what he did, though. He was a Navy SEAL, and he was trained to kill America’s enemies. That was different from killing gang members, though, or maybe it wasn’t. I just didn’t know how I felt about the whole thing, but the fear and the adrenaline still seemed to linger inside me.

I got up slowly and smelled coffee brewing in the other room. I was slightly surprised that he was up already and even more surprised that he was making coffee. But I wasn’t about to complain. I got some clothes on and stumbled out into the kitchen.

Travis was standing in front of the stove wearing nothing but black gym shorts. I stopped short and stared at his muscular back, at the tattoos that snaked along his skin. I kept forgetting in all of the excitement just how attractive he really was, how he made my body feel.

“Morning,” he said.

“Oh, uh, good morning,” I said.

“You gonna stand there and stare, or do you want some pancakes?”

I paused. “You made pancakes?”

“Sure as hell did.”

“Wow. You’re a SEAL and a chef. I’m impressed.”

“Cooking pancakes is my specialty, mainly because it’s easy and brainless.”

I laughed, the spell broken. I walked into the kitchen and got myself a mug of coffee while he flipped the pancakes, stacking the finished ones on a plate.

I watched him cook for a few minutes, fascinated. Travis just didn’t seem like the kind of man who would cook me breakfast. Frankly, he seemed like the type to kick me out in the morning and pretend like we’d never spoken to each other.

Then again, this wasn’t exactly a normal situation we were in. Not many men got involved in my mafia-related issues, and so he was already heads above the rest.

When he was finished, he put a plate in front of me, a plate in front of himself, and the plate of pancakes between us. He sat down and gestured.

“Get at it,” he said, serving himself.

I smiled and grabbed a small stack, drowning it in syrup. I took a big bite, and it was delicious.

“Okay, so what’s the reason for this?” I asked him.

“Rough night last night. Pancakes solve most problems.”

“I’m not sure that’s true.”

“Trust me. Global warming? Terrorists? Throw pancakes at it.”

“Seems like you’d be out of a job if terrorism were solved so easily.”

He grinned at me. “Great point. Fuck pancakes.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as we continued to eat.

“Listen,” he said finally, “I want to go see a friend today.”

“Okay,” I said, shrugging. “That’s fine with me.”

“Well, not really a friend, but someone who knew Janey back in the day.” He paused and swallowed a bite of pancake. “I have a plan.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you now?”

“Yeah, but I want to get more info on Janey before we go ahead with it. Can you trust me on this?”

I nodded once. “Okay.”

“Good. Don’t worry, there won’t be any explosions or gunshots today.”

“Darn. I was just starting to enjoy them.”

He smirked and leaned toward me. “We can get some fireworks going right now, if that’s what you really want.”

“Probably not the safest thing in the world, setting up explosions in my apartment.”

“Dangerous things are more fun though.”

I laughed and shook my head. “You might be right about that.”

He leaned back in his chair, grinning at me, as I finished off my stack of pancakes.

What a strange man. He had a point though. Despite all of the insanity and the danger, I felt more alive than I ever had before. I didn’t think it was because we were doing dangerous things, though.

It was probably because of him. Travis just made me feel alive, like I could do absolutely anything. The man was infectious and incredible.

That lingering nightmare was entirely forgotten by the time we finished eating. And all it took was some pancakes.

* * *

The car ride was shorter this time. Instead of heading out into the hills on the edge of town, Travis took us south.

The houses in this neighborhood were larger and nicer, with green, manicured lawns and nice paint jobs. There weren’t rusted-out trucks in the front yards, but instead expensive BMWs and SUVs.

“The rich part of town,” Travis commented as we pulled up outside a nice-looking house with a white picket fence.

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

He grinned at me. “I don’t have a lot of friends from this neighborhood, but this guy knew my brother and Janey pretty well.”

“How?” I asked.

“He was the running back of the football team. I guess he was Ray’s best friend back then.”

I nodded. “What’s his name?”

“Sam Gray.” Travis killed the engine. “Looks like he’s done pretty well for himself.”

“Not too bad,” I agreed.

Travis climbed out. “Let me do the talking.”

“You got it, boss.”

He gave me another smirk before heading up the walk toward the front door. I followed him, not at all nervous. Before I would have had butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of interviewing another person for information, but not anymore, not after everything that had happened.

Travis knocked and we waited.

“Is he expecting us?” I whispered.

“Nope.”

“Travis! We can’t just ambush people.”

He shrugged. “Too late for that.”

The door opened and a pretty woman stood there wearing white pants and a green sweater, her blond hair pulled back into a messy bun.

“Hi there. Can I help you?”

“Ma’am, I’m looking for Sam. Is he around?”

“Sure. Samwell is here. Who can I say is looking for him?”

“Travis Rock.”

“Right. Just a second.” She shut the door and disappeared back inside.

“Guess he’s married,” Travis mused. “Never would have figured that.”

“Why?”

“He was something of a man whore back in the day.”

I nudged him. “Are you judging?”

He laughed. “Not at all.”

“I don’t know. I think I hear some judgmental tones.”

He gave me a look, but before he could respond, the door opened again.

Sam Gray was about five foot nine and covered in muscle. He looked like a little tough pit bull. He was wearing jeans and a simple white T-shirt, and he was marveling at Travis like he was seeing a ghost.

“My god,” he said. “It’s really you.”

“Hey, Sam.”

“Holy shit. Travis Rock. You look way different, man.”

“Guess so. You haven’t changed.”

“Come in. Who’s this?”

“Hartley, Travis’s friend,” I said.

“Good to meet you, Hartley. Come inside, come on.”

We followed him into the house and I looked around as we walked down the hall. It was a pretty place, immaculately kept, not a speck of dust anywhere. The decorations were simple and tasteful, and everything looked like it was straight out of a magazine.

Including Sam’s wife standing in the kitchen with a pitcher of lemonade. “Drink anyone?” she asked.

“Sure,” Travis said.

I politely declined as she poured two glasses. We followed Sam and his wife out the back door and onto the back porch where we sat down at a little table. Sam’s wife put drinks down in front of the boys and quickly left without so much as a word.

She was like a Stepford wife. It was a little disconcerting, but I didn’t let it distract me.

“How long’s it been?” Sam asked.

“Too long,” Travis said.

“I heard you were in the military.”

“Sure am. I’ve been traveling a lot in the last five or so years. I’m back in town for the first time in a long time.”

“It’s good to see you, man.”

“You too. But listen, Sam, I’m actually here for a reason.”

Sam laughed. “I figured. It’s never just to catch up on old times.”

“I wanted to ask you about Janey Caldwell.”

Sam’s face fell for just a moment before he quickly caught himself. He picked up and sipped his drink to cover his reaction, but I saw it. The mere mention of Janey’s name made him serious, maybe even a little afraid.

“What can I say about Janey?” Sam finally said. “She was popular and pretty. Everyone liked her.”

“I’ve heard some things, man, stuff about the way she was after the accident.”

He shrugged. “Lots of rumors in this town. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do, but I think this one is true. Look, you saw her after the accident, right? What was she like?”

Sam glanced at the door to his house and then spoke softer. “I’m not supposed to talk about this.”

“I need to know. I might be going into business with her.”

Sam shook his head. “That’s a bad idea. She’s not the girl you remember.”

“What happened to her?”

He sighed. “It was gradual. After the accident, she blamed herself for Ray’s death. You can guess how that was.” He glanced at the door again before continuing.

“She got darker as the weeks passed. Couldn’t sleep, stopped coming to class. Her family has always been involved in some shit, but apparently Janey started throwing herself into the business. Scared her parents and her brothers.

“She wasn’t the same girl anymore. On the outside, maybe, but not on the inside. I didn’t recognize her anymore, Travis. Eventually she graduated high school and never looked back. I barely heard from her again until a couple years ago when she came to me looking to buy some land.”

“You’re a developer?”

“Real estate sales, actually, but I had some clients at the time with land around the old mines. She began buying it up, running those ATV tours and getting involved in some scary shit.”

“Why did she change?” Travis asked. “Is she just a completely different person now?”

“Can’t say why she changed. I guess when something like that accident happens to a person, they just can’t go back to normal after that. Janey turned to the dark to find herself again.”

I frowned. That hit home for me. I felt like I understood that idea, turning toward the dark to find yourself. Ever since I realized how deeply in debt my family was, I felt like I was turning toward the darkness. Maybe that was why I came to Knoxville, because I wanted to find and to face that darkness.

But maybe the difference between Janey and me was that I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t stay in that dark place, whereas Janey seemed like she embodied it. A good girl cheerleader turned leader of a local gang. I couldn’t even imagine how that happened.

“Why do you keep looking at the door, Sam?” Travis asked him.

“My wife, Sharon. She’s related to the Caldwells.”

“Shit.” Travis stood up. “Thanks for talking to us.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“Sure am. Hartley?”

I stood up and nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Thanks again, Sam.” Travis walked off the porch and I followed him. Sam just watched us go without saying a word.

We went around front and quickly got into the car. Travis started the engine and pulled away, not bothering to look back.

“Fucking related to the Caldwells,” Travis said as we got farther away. “What are the chances?”

“It’s a small town,” I offered. “Not that unlikely.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he said softly.

“Well, did that visit help with your plan?”

He grunted and shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

“That doesn’t make me feel very confident.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry. This plan or another one, we’ll get through this.”

I nodded and believed him.

“What is this plan anyway?” I asked.

He grinned and pulled his phone out. “Want to hear?”

“Sure,” I said, not sure what he was doing.

He tapped a few things and then held the phone up to his ear.

“Janey?” he asked. “It’s Travis. How’s it going?” Short pause. “Yeah, same. Listen, got any interest in meeting with me later this afternoon?” Another short pause. “How about Maud’s diner? Okay. See you at seven.” He hung up the phone.

I gaped at him, stunned. “Was that just her?”

He nodded. “We’ve got a little date.”

“Are you insane? We just broke into her compound last night.”

“She doesn’t know that. Plus, we’ll be somewhere very public.”

“Why are we meeting with her?”

He stared out at the road, his grin slowly widening. “We’re going to make a deal, Hartley.”

I didn’t know what the hell he meant or what he was thinking, but there was something there in his face and his words. I was going to have to trust him, and we both knew it.

My life was in his hands.