We made the familiar drive out to the Caldwell place. It was getting late in the day, and the sun was threatening to disappear down behind the hills. The area was bathed in a pink sunset, which was actually pretty beautiful.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the hills were a pretty gorgeous place to live. If I didn’t know what was lurking out there hidden in the mines, at least.

We pulled up front. The parking lot was mostly empty as we climbed out and headed up to the main building. I followed Travis inside.

King was standing behind the counter, and as soon as he saw Travis he reached for something.

“Stop,” Travis said. “You grab that gun and I’ll fucking kill you, King.”

“You have some nerve showing up here like this,” he said.

“I’m here for Janey, not you.”

“Motherfucker. I should gun you down.”

“I still have business with her. You really want to do this?”

Travis stared King down for a second, and slowly King brought his hands up to the top of the counter. “She’s around back,” he said. “Working with a group. Go make yourself known.”

“Thanks,” Travis grunted.

I smiled at King as we walked by. He just stared at us, a blank expression on his face.

We went out the back door and onto the back porch. Brock and Janey were working with a little ATV tour group, probably the last group of the day. They were giving them the quick safety rundown. We stood and watched, waiting for them to finish.

Once the speech was over and the group was heading out, Janey slowly walked over to us, smiling.

“There you are,” Janey said. “I was wondering when I’d see you again.”

“I need to steal from you tonight, Janey,” Travis said.

She laughed. “Uh oh. Not sure I like the sound of that.”

Travis grinned. “Listen, it’s on. We need to do it tonight.”

“That’s too soon,” she said. “We’re not ready.”

“It’s now or never. Something happened and now we need to rush.”

“Killed one of their boys? Fucked something up?”

“Something like that,” Travis said.

Janey looked at me. “What did you do?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I said, surprised.

Janey narrowed her eyes and then laughed again. “I’m just teasing.” She looked back at Travis. “Okay then. What’s the deal?”

“I have a big rig. You hide some men in the back. I made a deal with the mafia that I’ll only meet with their head guy. You all come out, kill the mafia people, and pay us our money. That’s it.”

She nodded slowly. “So you’re giving me the infamous Merton.”

“Best I can do.”

“You said you’d give me the whole Dixie Mafia.”

Travis clenched his jaw. “This is short notice, Janey. Without Merton, they’ll be disorganized, ready for the taking. Can you get some men together?”

“I can,” she admitted.

“Merton is worth fifty grand, plus whoever else he brings.”

She stared at Travis for a second, thinking hard. Slowly she nodded. “All right then, Travis. Fifty grand, but only if Merton is there and dead.”

“One more thing. You remember Hoyt?”

“Ray’s old friend?”

“That guy, yeah. He’ll be there tonight. I want you to spare him.”

She cocked her head. “Why the fuck would I do that?”

“Because he’ll flip for you. Use him to secure what you need.”

She nodded once. “I can see the value in that.”

“Good. So we have a deal?”

She held out her hand. “We do.”

Travis shook with her. She turned to me and held out her hand. I shook it. Her grip was firm and warm, though her eyes were cold and serious.

“Come on, Hartley,” Travis said.

“One more thing, Travis,” Janey called out over the sound of the ATV group pulling out. “Fuck me over and I’ll make sure this girl dies. You understand that? I know where she lives. I’ll burn her farm to the ground.”

“You wouldn’t be the only one,” I grumbled.

Travis grinned. “Sure thing, Janey. I’ll pick you guys up around one tonight. Then we’ll head over to the old shoe factory. Be ready.”

“Got it.”

We turned and left, skirting around the building to avoid having to go through that bullshit dance with King again.

That had gone surprisingly well. I didn’t know what I had expected, but Janey had seemed quick to agree. Travis said Janey was a businesswoman, and business always came first, but I couldn’t help but worry anyway. Something seemed so strange about her, so cold and uncaring. It was almost as if she didn’t give a shit one way or the other how this played out.

But I cared. I needed this to work. Travis was taking a huge risk by turning on the mafia like this, and he was gambling our lives. But I couldn’t help but trust him anyway.

We climbed into the car and pulled out slowly.“What do you think?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“About Janey. Think we can trust her?”

“We don’t have much choice.”

“No, we don’t, but I want to hear what you think anyway.”

I bit my lip. “It doesn’t matter what I think, Travis. I haven’t exactly made good decisions.”

“Damn it, Hartley,” he said, shaking his head. “I care about what you think. This isn’t just my life on the line here.”

That surprised me. “I know that.”

“You think you’re such a fuckup? So you made one fucking mistake. This isn’t exactly something you deal with all the time. You made a choice that you thought was best for your family, and I can’t fucking blame you. Culver was a creepy fucking shit.”

“I know,” I said. “But I’m sorry, Travis.”

Suddenly he pulled the car off the side of the road. We were on a back country road with no other cars in sight. He pulled the car down into the grass and stared at me, this intense expression in his eyes.

“We’re about to go do something pretty fucking dangerous,” he said. “I need you to be okay with yourself. I need you to have your head on right for this.” He reached out and took my hand, pulling me close. “You hear me, Hartley? You’re strong. You’re smart. I need you.”

I stared at him, not sure what to say. I’d wanted to hear those words from him, wanted to hear them so badly, because I felt it too.

Ever since this had started, we’d slowly gotten to know each other. I had learned so much about him and realized that we had way more in common than I had thought. He was strong, smart, cocky, and funny, all the things I needed in a man. Plus, he made my body feel things I’d never imagined, which was pretty damn good.

I stared back into his intense eyes and knew what I wanted to say. I’d wanted to say it for so long now, but events had been pulling us forward, never letting us stop.

But right here, alone in this car on the side of the road, we weren’t moving. We were on the precipice of something, about to drop over the cliff, but I felt something in the moment.

I opened my mouth to say the words.

He pulled me close and pressed his lips against mine, pushing it back with his intense and passionate kiss.

That was all I needed. I pressed myself against him across the seats and kissed him hard, letting my tongue run across his. He kissed me back, and we pressed close together like that, his hands in my hair, pulling me close.

That was all I needed. He didn’t need to hear the words, not right away, and I didn’t either. I knew what he was thinking and he knew what I wanted. I reached for his belt and fumbled with it, finally getting it unbuckled. I popped his button and unzipped his jeans, pushing my hand down along his cock.

He was hard as hell already. He grunted as I began to stroke him and his hands got harder on my hair. “Fuck, girl,” he said in my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “You’re fucking hungry for it, aren’t you?”

“Couldn’t help myself,” I said.

“How do you like that I was already fucking hard for you?”

“You know that I love it.”

“You do love that hard fucking cock.” He pushed me back and slipped his hand down the front of my jeans with ease. He found my soaking panties and skipped them completely.

“And I love your wet little cunt,” he whispered.

I bit my lip. I loved how dirty he was as he began to rub my pussy. Pleasure rocked through my body as he worked me, his fingers sliding along my skin, rolling and pressing. He kissed me again, his perfect taste entering my mouth as his fingers pressed inside me.

I spread my legs wide for him as he began to fuck my pussy like that. After a second he stopped and pulled my shorts off, sliding them down over my ass. I couldn’t believe how impatient I was for it, barely able to even wait the second it took to get my shorts off. He grinned as he kissed my neck, his fingers back inside me.

“I think about this all fucking day,” he whispered to me, stroking my pussy in and out. “I think about this tight pussy, how wet you are, how much I love the way you taste. I can’t get enough of you, Hartley.”

I kissed him hard, moaning, and then pushed him back onto his seat. I pulled his jeans off and slid his boxer briefs down, revealing his hard cock standing straight up.

I slowly stroked him, staring him in the eyes. “And I love this hard dick,” I said, “this thick, hard cock.” I slowly bent over and slid his cock between my lips.

He groaned as I began to suck him, my tongue working around his tip. I took as much of his big cock as I could into my mouth, starving for him, hungry to make him feel good.

“Fuck, Hartley,” he groaned. “Suck that fucking cock, girl. I love to feel your fucking throat.”

He pressed my head down, his hands in my hair. I took his big cock down my throat, loving the feel of him taking what he wanted. I was dripping wet from this as I sucked his cock faster, letting him press his cock deep into my mouth, sliding down my throat.

I worked him with my hand, using my spit to slide along his skin, sucking his cock wildly. I didn’t care about anything but sucking him off, making him feel good. As I worked him, he reached over and found my pussy, working my clit. I couldn’t help but moan as pleasure worked through me, his cock still in my mouth.

“Nothing sexier than you moaning with my cock in your mouth,” he groaned. “Fuck, Hartley. I want to feel that pussy sliding down my cock. I want to see you come while you slide that sweet cunt along my hard dick.”

I felt him move back and reach down to the floor, finding his pants. He grabbed something from a pocket as I kept sucking him, working his tip, jerking his shaft. I loved this cock and wanted it deep in my mouth. I was wild for it, losing my mind as I sucked him.

He pulled me back and I gasped, staring up at him. I watched as he slowly rolled a condom down his length.

When he was finished, he adjusted his seat all the way back, giving us room between the seat and the steering wheel. Then he grabbed my hips and pulled me over to him. I swung my leg over him and straddled his hips. He kissed my lips as I slowly, so incredibly slowly, slid myself down along his thick cock.

Pleasure burst through me as he slowly filled me up. I gasped, biting his lip as I pressed all the way down. I stayed there for a second, loving the feeling of his big cock deep inside me, filling my every single inch. He smirked at me and took my hair, tipping my head back. I gasped.

“You like to be a little fucking dirty, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I gasped. He began to move my hips with his other hand.

“You like to feel this cock deep between your legs.”

“Yes,” I moaned, working my hips with him, rolling his cock inside me.

“Then ride this dick, you bad fucking girl.”

He kissed me hard as I began to work his cock, rolling my hips, taking his every inch. I was out of my mind with desire. There was nothing but Travis and his hard cock deep between my legs. I wanted his lips, his hard body, his strong arms, his big cock, every inch of him. I didn’t want to hold back, couldn’t hold back.

I began to ride him like that, sliding up his length and down as he kissed my lips and my neck. I moaned as I worked him, rolling my hips, taking his cock. I pressed my forehead against his as he fucked me.

He used his hips to thrust deep inside my pussy. I moaned as he fucked me hard and deep, his cock pressing between my legs, taking me. Both of his hands held my hips as he fucked me like that, filling me up, sliding deep inside me.

I felt him slap my ass and moaned. I loved when he did that. He slapped me again and I rolled my hips, working him. I could feel him filling my every inch as he slapped my ass again.

I leaned back and knocked into the horn. He grinned and I laughed, but I quickly forgot all about that as he began to rub my clit with his thumb. I rolled my hips, working him, sliding along his length as he worked my clit.

We moved like that together. Sweat was dripping down my spine, but I didn’t care. The only thing I wanted was him, his thick cock, his powerful arms and hands. I pressed myself down harder, faster, and he worked my clit.

He fucked me rough and dirty, neither of us trying to make this last. I wanted to come and I wanted him to come. I wanted him to fill me up and to whisper in my ear as I came on his thick cock, and as I rolled my hips, I knew I was getting close.

I leaned forward again and he slapped my ass and then took my hips, thrusting his cock deep inside me. He wasn’t holding back anymore, wasn’t being kind. He was fucking my tight pussy hard and fast.

“Fuck I love this pussy,” he said in my ear. “I love how you’re a dirty fucking girl for me.” He slapped my ass, hard, and I moaned. “I love how you fucking like it when I slap this ass.” He fucked me harder, faster. “I love how you take this fucking cock deep in your tight little pussy.”

As he spoke into my ear, I felt my orgasm slowly take over me. My whole body began to tense, but he held on to my hips. He didn’t relent; he just kept fucking my tight pussy, working me harder and deeper. I moaned loudly, taking him, loving it.

My orgasm washed over me, and I couldn’t think. It was just pure bliss and pleasure rocking through my mind and my body. His cock kept fucking me, deep and rough, and I came hard. I needed it, needed it so badly, and the incredible release of his cock deep inside me swept every bad emotion away.

I felt him fuck me harder, deeper, his thrusts getting more insistent. I could feel him come then, deep inside my pussy, his face buried in my hair. He groaned as he held my hips, and slowly our orgasms passed over together.

I stayed like that, pressed against him, sweating and breathing, his cock still inside me. I stayed like that for what felt like hours.

Finally, I worked up the courage. “I love you,” I said.

He leaned back and smiled. “I’m in love with you too, Hartley.” He kissed me once, softly, on the lips. “Now let’s go fuck up some assholes, yeah?”

I grinned at him. “Yeah.”

This was it. From here on out, we were in this together. The words were out there, though I knew the feelings had been out there already as well. He knew how I felt, and deep down, I knew how he felt, too. There was no denying it, not anymore.

This was how it had to happen. He was meant to find me that day in the parking lot, meant to guide me through this, meant to save me. He was meant to teach me things about myself that I never knew before.

He was meant to make me the person I was supposed to be.

Travis, my SEAL, my arrogant asshole. It was supposed to have been just one night.

I hoped it was going to be many more.