A few hours later, I glanced at Hartley across the cab of the big rig. She was strapped into the passenger seat and was doing her best not to look too nervous.

Everything was in place. Gage and Flynn knew their jobs and were already in position. Meanwhile, the truck’s cargo container was full of men strapped with serious weapons. Janey had decided to come herself, which impressed me. She looked fierce standing next to her two brothers, wearing body armor and holding a sawed-off shotgun.

I reached over and took Hartley’s hand. She smiled weakly at me as the truck rumbled down the old, bumpy road. Ahead, the factory loomed through from the hills, empty and crumbling.

It took a bit of maneuvering, but I managed to get the truck in through the narrow fence opening and backed slowly into the factory’s open first floor. There used to be big doors for deliveries, back in the day, but they had been torn off and tossed aside years ago.

The factory was essentially a giant steel tent, open to the elements on each side, with a crumbling roof over the top. It once made sneakers and leather boots, but now it just sat empty. Sometimes people went inside to break bottles and to smoke meth, but mostly it was home to opossums, squirrels, and millions of bugs.

Like most of the time, it was empty. There was no sign of the Dixie Mafia, though we were right on time. There were no cars coming up the road, nothing parked nearby. I reached up and touched the earpiece I had in my ear.

“Gage, you hear me?”

“Roger that, boss,” Gage answered.

“What do you see?”

“Owls and one big fucking truck.”

“Any sign of them?”

“Negative. Though we’ve only been here for ten minutes.”

“Roger that. Over and out.”

I put my hand back down and glanced at Hartley. “Nothing yet,” I said. “Come on. Let’s get out.”

“Wait.” She reached over and took my hand. “Whatever happens, we stick together. Right?”

I nodded. “No matter what.”

She nodded back, let go of my hand, and then climbed out of the truck.

As I got out of my side, suddenly something felt off. I heard a creak nearby and a muffled step.

My hand was on my gun as two thugs stepped out of the shadows, machine guns trained on me.

“Don’t,” the one said.

I slowly raised my hands.

More men came out of the shadows. I counted five in total on this side of the truck. The main thug roughly pushed me toward the front, and I saw Hartley coming around the other side, a gun pressed to her back.

As we stood in front of the truck, surrounded by eight men, all armed to the teeth, three more men came walking out from the shadows.

I recognized Hoyt instantly. The other two men I couldn’t place. They walked over and stopped in front of us. Hoyt looked nervous as hell and avoided eye contact.

One of the men I didn’t recognize stepped forward. He was about five foot five, burly and hairy, but was balding. He wore a dapper three-piece suit and was holding a cane.

“So,” he said, “this is the guy who demanded I show up.”

My heart nearly skipped a beat. This was him, Merton, the head of the Dixie Mafia in Knoxville.

“That’s me,” I said. “I come bearing gifts.”

He laughed. “You fucking better.” He looked at the other man I didn’t recognize. “Arlo, what do you think of our friend here?”

Arlo was taller, thinner, and tan. His skin almost looked like leather, he was so dark. His black hair was long and tied back in a ponytail.

“Seems like an asshole,” he said simply.

Merton laughed. “Yeah. He sure does.”

“Are we doing business or not?” I asked. “I didn’t come here to waste my fucking time.”

“You’re wasting my time by asking for me to come here, so you’ll deal with this, you fucking little prick.”

I clenched my jaw but nodded. “Fine. The shipment is in the back.”

“How’d you do it?” he asked. “How’d you grab it?”

“Easy enough,” I said. “I figured out where they hid it by paying off one of their guards. Then I hired a few guys, killed the watchers, and loaded it up. Easy.”

Merton laughed and looked at Arlo. “Hear that, Arlo? Easy. Fucking easy.” He shook his head. “This guy is a fucking asshole. Right, Arlo?”

“Sure,” Arlo said.

“So, Travis, or whatever your name is, you stole from the Caldwells, got our shit back. Congrats. Are we supposed to be square now?”

“We are,” I said. “Those were the terms of the deal.”

“Here’s the problem. I think you’re an asshole, and I don’t like giving assholes what they want. So I’m changing the deal.”

I took a deep breath. “To what?” I asked.

Merton laughed. “This fucking guy. You just ask, ‘to what’? What a crazy asshole. Right, Arlo?”

“Right,” Arlo said.

“The deal is this: I’m taking the shipment, and then I’ll let you live. Your girl here, though, she’s fucking mine. She owes me money, and that isn’t going away.”

I had to play this right. I couldn’t let them get suspicious.

So I turned and punched the guard to my right in the face. He dropped like a fucking anvil.

I turned to take on the next one, but the guards were on me in a second. I fought hard, trading blows, but in the end I let the guys take me down. Meanwhile, Merton was laughing his ass off, enjoying the show.

Once I was down, with boots on my head and back, guns in my face, Merton walked over to me. He bent down, grinning at me. “See, asshole? You don’t win. I fucking win.” He straightened up. “Take the girl. Get the keys. Let’s finish this.”

One of the guards fished through my pockets and found the truck’s keys as another moved away. Arlo, Merton, and Hoyt walked toward the truck’s cab as the men moved toward the container.

“When we’re gone, kill this guy,” Merton said to the gun thugs still standing over me.

“Got it, boss,” one of the two thugs said.

I watched from the ground, patient, biding my time. I’d have a chance to make a move, and soon, but right now wasn’t the time. I had to be patient, even though these gun thugs were ready to murder me at any second. My heart was beating fast, but I had to use that energy, embrace the chaos.

I was trained for this. I was in my element.

Arlo, Merton, and Hoyt started to climb up into the cab. The other thugs went around back, and I watched as they began to pull open the back of the container.

Seconds away now. The doors were opening, and they weren’t going to find drugs and guns inside.

They were going to find death.

Shots cracked out suddenly. The two thugs standing over me dropped to the ground, a bullet in the skull of each.

“Got ’em,” Gage said in my ear. “Move.”

I grabbed one of their guns and was on my feet instantly as all hell broke loose.

The Caldwells waiting in the back began to blast their guns, mowing down the thugs. They didn’t stand a chance. They weren’t ready, for one, but they were vastly underequipped for another. They hadn’t expected a bunch of automatic rifle-toting killers to come spilling out of that truck.

I moved toward the other side of the truck where Hartley was being held. I caught sight of the guard stepping away from her and put a bullet in his skull. He collapsed to the ground, dead.

Hartley ran toward me and pressed herself against me. I pulled her away from the truck, finding cover behind a large support pillar as the gunfight continued.

The three men in the cab began to climb down. Arlo made a break for it, but I put a bullet in his knee. He dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. Merton caught sight of me and began firing his weapon at us. I pushed Hartley back into cover and returned fire, not shooting to kill, just trying to keep him busy.

Then it was all over. Almost as fast as it had begun, the Caldwells swarmed out of the truck, killing every last member of the mafia. Arlo was lying in the middle of the ground, screaming in agony, as Janey and her people slowly circled around Hoyt and Merton.

I moved out of cover and touched my earpiece. “Okay,” I said. “Good shooting. Keep your eyes out, though. Out.”

“Roger that.”

Hartley pressed up against my side. “Is it over?”

“Almost.”

We stood to the side as Janey Caldwell faced down that bastard Merton.

“You?” he asked, shocked. “The fucking Caldwells?”

“That’s right,” Janey said.

“I can’t believe that stupid bastard turned on us. We’re going to slaughter him, and then we’re going to slaughter you.”

“You know, Merton, I doubt that. See, you’re a pretty important guy. And once you’re gone, I’m going to give my brothers a call, and they’re going to kill a lot more of your people tonight. When we’re through, there won’t be anyone to stop us from taking over this town.”

“You fucking bitch.”

Janey smiled wickedly and lifted her gun, pressing it against his head. “That’s right. And you lose.”

She pulled the trigger. Merton’s head snapped back, a red mess, and he crumpled to the ground.

Her men began to cheer and she grinned at them. She took out a phone and typed out a text before putting it back into her pocket.

Hoyt stood there, looking terrified, but Janey was true to her word. Two of her guys grabbed him and held him, but they didn’t kill him right away.

Janey spotted me a second later and came walking over.

“So,” she said, “you kept your word.”

“I did,” I said. “Will you?”

She smiled. “Haven’t killed that asshole yet, have I?”

“No, but I think you owe us some money.”

She nodded. “About that. You see, my guys are out killing a lot more mafia men tonight. I suspect I’m going to have a few deaths of my own by the end of it all.”

“Hard line of work,” I said.

“It is. Very hard line of work.” She crossed her arms. “Which is why I’m not paying you. And I think I might just kill you both, too.”

I shook my head. “Janey.”

“You’re a liability, both of you. I’m going to the next level, Travis. I can’t have liabilities hanging around.”

I sighed. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Why not?” She looked over at her men. “Boys?”

I lifted my hand to my ear. “Now.”

A shot cracked out. The bullet hit the ground at Janey’s feet.

I smiled at her. “I’d stop them if I were you.”

She held up a fist, her eyes narrowed. “What’s this?”

“I have backup,” I said. “Two of the best snipers I know. They can take you out and probably all of your men before you even have a chance to raise a weapon against me.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Didn’t trust me after all, did you?”

“Not for a second. Now, Janey, pay me or I’ll kill you all and sell your bodies to the mafia.”

She laughed again, smiling broadly. “I’m impressed, Travis. I really thought you were playing this one straight.”

“I was,” I said, “but I had a backup plan.”

She stared at me for a minute, still smiling. Her men looked uncomfortable, but none of them made a move. Finally, she nodded at one of her guys. He went back into the container and returned with a thick duffel bag. He tossed it at my feet.

“Check it,” I said to Hartley.

She opened it up. “Money,” she said.

“It’s all there,” Janey said. “I brought it, just in case.”

“If I take this, are you going to hunt me down?”

“Good question.”

“I want this to be done, Janey. You got what you wanted. If I take this money and leave, we’re finished. You don’t hunt me, and I don’t have to hunt you.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Janey, it’s a promise. You know what I’m capable of, and now you know I have very loyal and capable friends. Let’s part ways here and call it a win for everybody.”

She stared me down for a moment before nodding. “Okay then. It’s a win for everyone.”

“Good.” I nodded at Hartley. “Grab that bag. Let’s go.”

“Good luck to you, Travis,” she called out as we walked away. “If you ever need a job, just call me.”

“No, thanks,” I called back. “I’m a Navy SEAL after all.”

The last thing I saw of Janey Caldwell was her cold, smiling face just before we turned the corner and were out of that abandoned warehouse.

“We’re done,” I said to Gage.

“Roger,” he answered. “See you at the car.”

I looked at Hartley and grinned. “You did it,” I said.

“No. You did it.”

“Yeah. True. I really pulled this off.”

She laughed and I pulled her against me, kissing her lips.

“I thought you were done for back there,” she admitted.

“It’s hard to kill me.”

“I’m beginning to see that.”

We walked together, side by side, heading back toward the road. Gage and Flynn had parked the car over there, and they’d meet us once they finished making sure the Caldwells weren’t following.

But Janey was going to be true to her word this time. She wasn’t going to follow, because she wasn’t stupid. I had known she’d try to rip us off tonight, since that was the smart move on her part. If I’d had no backup, she could have easily killed us, kept her money, and taken control of the drug trade in the whole area.

Instead, I had a counter move, and we walked away even. She was a smart business person, and she knew that coming after me would be very bad for business.

Which meant this was all finally over. Hoyt was alive, at least for now. I suspected that if he made himself useful, they’d keep him around for a while. Hoyt seemed like the type to stay alive.

But most importantly, I had Hartley. I had the money we needed to pay off whatever was left of the mafia, and I knew we’d get out of this one without any issues. The only people who really knew I was involved with any of this, along with Hartley, were all dead and gone at this point. The Caldwells would see to anyone else.

From the very start, all I had wanted was to keep Hartley safe, but as we went through this together, I found myself wanting more and more. As I got to know her, saw the bravery in her heart, felt her body pressed against mine, I knew that this woman was special.

She was more than anything I’d ever experienced before. She was more than I had ever imagined.

I stopped in a field, the moon high above us. She cocked her head at me and smiled.

“What?”

“I love you. I don’t know where we’re going from here, but I need you to know that.”

She dropped the duffel bag and threw her arms around me. “I know, idiot.” She kissed me hard and I felt it, deep in my chest, that burning need, that intense contentment.

We had made it through. We had made it through together.

And we’d keep on making it through, as far as we wanted to go, together.