Maud’s diner was always packed later in the day, which was exactly why I had chosen it.

Hartley had a table picked out inside and was sitting already. I made a loop around the outside of Maud’s, just making sure that Janey didn’t bring any extra muscle. If she did, there was nobody hanging around ahead of time.

Reluctantly, I headed back inside, steeling myself for the upcoming conversation.

That meeting with Sam told me a lot more about Janey than he realized. Although we had to leave early, since I was worried Janey would get word that I was snooping around about her, I still felt confident that I was beginning to understand her.

She broke bad, went dark, turned into a criminal. All of that was the truth and obvious, but it was the motivations underneath that transformation that mattered. As soon as I heard about land deals and Sam’s marriage to that Sharon woman, I felt like I understood.

Janey wasn’t just a cutthroat gangster, though she probably was that too. More than that, Janey was a business person. She was in this to make money and to set herself up for power. That was why her cousin married Sam, to get an inside track on any upcoming development and land deals. That was why she continued to run the ATV tours, since they were profitable. She was slowly building a power base in Knoxville to rival and defeat the mafia.

I could work with someone like that. If Janey were just some psycho out looking for revenge for her bad lot in life, I’d have to do something different. But she was smart, and that was important.

I headed back inside and sat down with Hartley. I felt my pulse jump as I saw her looking at me, smiling slightly. I loved that way she looked, her body and clothes. She was wearing this tight sundress that made her curves look fucking incredible. I wanted to lose myself in her breasts and hips, but I had to focus.

“Well?” she asked.

“All clear for now.” I opened the menu. “You order anything?”

She laughed. “I can’t eat. I’m too nervous.”

“Don’t be. This is just a business meeting.”

“Does she know that?”

I smirked at her and leaned across the table. “You need to trust me, Hartley,” I said. “Maybe I can help you relax. Maybe I can take you into the women’s room, peel those panties off, and taste that pussy until you feel okay?”

“I’m not sure that’d be the best thing in this situation,” she said simply, hiding a smile.

“Face it. You’re soaking wet now, thinking about what I could do to you.”

“Hardly.”

“Whatever you say. I’ll fully admit that your little sundress gets me hard as fucking hell.”

“Is this all we’re doing now? You’re going to talk dirty until Janey comes?”

“I wouldn’t mind that, though I’d rather do dirty things to you than just talk it.”

She opened her mouth to reply but quickly shut it. “She’s here,” she said after a second.

I turned and saw Janey coming toward us, smiling. She was wearing jeans and an ATV T-shirt, looking like she’d just gotten off work. I stood up. “Janey,” I said. “Good to see you.”

“Same to you, Travis. I was surprised when you called.”

“Why?”

“You seemed a little distant at the tour place. Thought it might be weird between us.”

I shook my head. “Not weird at all.”

We sat back down and Janey smiled at Hartley. “Good to see you again,” she said.

“Same to you.”

Janey looked at me, still smiling, but I could see something behind her eyes. Something dark and harder than at first glance.

“Well, Travis, what’s this little meeting about?” she asked.

I raised an eyebrow. “Catching up with an old friend.”

“Bullshit,” she said. “I know you’ve been asking around about me. I’ve been doing a little digging myself.” Janey smiled at Hartley. “Little miss Hartley Baker. How much exactly does your family owe the Dixie assholes?”

I couldn’t believe how fast she transformed from the sweet southern girl to being all business. It was like she shape-shifted before my very eyes. Hartley looked completely taken aback, but neither of us should have been surprised. Janey hid behind her pretty looks and her confident, earnest smile, but beneath that mask she was all cold-blooded.

I laughed, shaking my head. “Should have known you’d figure us out,” I said.

Hartley shot me a look, even more surprised.

Janey shrugged. “Not much goes down in this town without me finding out about it.”

“Guess you already figured it was me last night that caused all that noise?” I asked.

Hartley was practically having a heart attack in her seat. I kept cool though, trying not to look at her. She knew the general idea of the plan, but she probably hadn’t figured out the particulars yet.

“I guessed,” Janey confirmed, “though I wasn’t sure. You killed one of my men, Travis.”

I nodded. “I did. He drew down on me first, though. You’ll notice that the other guy is alive and well.”

She nodded slowly. “That’s true. And the man you killed was known for having something of a wild streak to him.”

“Wild streak? More like suicidal. I had a gun drawn down on him and he still pulled the trigger.”

“So. You broke onto my property, killed one of my men, scouted out my operation, and now you want to talk. What’s the deal here, Travis?”

I smiled at her. “Here’s the thing, Janey. You’ve become pretty damn powerful in this town, and you’ve pissed some people off, namely the Dixie Mafia. Right now, the Mafia wants me to steal back the shipment you stole from them originally to pay off Hartley’s debt. But I was thinking you and me could come to some other arrangement.”

Hartley was slowly getting herself under control, but I could tell she was immensely uncomfortable. Janey smiled and leaned toward me.

“Now why the fuck would I do that, Travis Rock?”

“I was hoping out of love for my brother.”

She paused. “Fuck your brother. I’m glad he’s dead. That dumb shithead was holding me back.”

I clenched my jaw for a second. She was testing me and we both knew it. I wasn’t going to rise to the bait.

“Okay then. You should do it because I have an inside track against the mafia. We can help each other here. We have a mutual enemy.”

“I don’t know. It seems like we’re enemies.”

“We don’t have to be.”

“Why would I trust you?”

I spread my hands. “I’m coming to you fair and open here.”

“After sneaking around my property.”

“Point taken, but I had to see for myself what kind of operation you’re running.”

“And?” she asked, an eyebrow raised, a slight smile on her face.

“You’re running some serious shit, Janey,” I said. “I’m very impressed.”

“Well thank you, Travis Rock.” She was smiling, and I thought she might be fucking enjoying this.

“Janey, listen. You can keep chipping away at the Dixie Mafia, keep losing people, keep spilling blood. Or, you can join up with me, help us find a solution to our problem, and strike a big blow against those assholes in the process.”

Janey leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, smiling at me. I glanced at Hartley and held her gaze for a second. Hartley looked calm, the calmest she’d been since Janey walked in the door. I was proud of her for getting her emotions under control.

“Why don’t I just kill you both and save myself the trouble?” she asked.

“You could try that,” I said, “but you’ll find it’s harder than you think.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay, Travis. Here’s the deal I’m willing to make. I want you to get me two thousand dollars to pay for the life you took away from me. He was wild, but he was a good worker. Once you pay me, and we establish some trust, then maybe I’ll play ball.”

“Sounds fair,” I said.

“You have two days, but the sooner, the better.”

“We’ll be in touch.”

Janey stood up and paused. “It really is good seeing you again, Travis.”

“Same to you, Janey.”

She smiled at Hartley before turning and leaving the diner.

I looked at Hartley. “Well?”

“I don’t trust her.”

“Neither do I, but we need her to trust us.”

“Where are we getting two thousand dollars? I don’t have it.”

“We’ll get the Dixie to pay for that.”

She laughed. “No way. Why would they?”

“We’re playing a tightrope game here, Hartley. It’s damn dangerous, but the payoff is big. Can you keep up?”

She blinked at me and then slowly leaned toward me. “I can keep up,” she said softly.

“Damn right you can.”

She was staring at me intently with these eyes, and I knew just what they meant. I pushed my chair back and stood. “Come on,” I ordered.

She stood up and followed me. I led her outside, back out into the parking lot. The car was parked at the far end of the lot, away from the other cars, and we walked fast to cross the empty space to get there. Nobody was around, not a single soul in sight. Once we made it to the car, I grabbed her by the hand and pushed her against the rear driver’s side door.

“Travis,” she said.

I kissed her hard, not caring what she was going to say next.

She kissed me back instantly, wrapping her arms around my neck.

Fuck, I’d needed this since that night. Things had been insane around us, making all these plans and doing crazy shit, but this was what I’d needed the whole time. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, about her body against mine, about the way she tasted. The girl was on my mind, lodged deep in my brain. I was doing all of this for her, and I barely could understand why.

But as we kissed, part of it made sense. I knew she was something important, something special, though I couldn’t tell why. I’d never experienced this with a woman before, but Hartley drove me fucking crazy.

I pressed her back against the car, letting my body push against hers, feeling her lips against mine. We kissed hard, and her taste flooded my mind, becoming the only thing I could think about. My hands explored her body before finally ending at her hair. I took a handful and tipped her head back, making her gasp as I kissed her neck.

“Travis,” she said softly. “We can’t do this. We’re in public.”

“Doesn’t look like public to me,” I said. “Looks like we’re alone.” The nearest car was fifty feet away and we were bathed in darkness. The streetlight in the parking lot was broken, making the whole place black.

“Anybody can catch us,” she whispered.

I slowly pressed my free hand against her stomach and slid my fingers down between her legs. She let out a soft moan as I found her soaking clit. I smirked at her.

“Seems like you don’t care much about that,” I said.

“Shit. Sometimes your body betrays you.”

“Not this time. Your body knows what’s best.”

She moaned as I kissed her again and began to slowly work her clit, that soaking fucking pussy. Her body drove me insane, and I loved the way she responded to my touch. It was like she couldn’t get enough, her soft moans and the way she moved her hips. I was hard as fuck, but I wanted to taste her, to make her come so badly. I wanted to get her off and make her moan my name, over and over.

I couldn’t fucking wait. I wasn’t driving back to the apartment. I wasn’t letting this moment pass. I grabbed her shorts and quickly unbuttoned them.

“Travis!” she gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Trust me,” I whispered in her ear, and then I slid them down her hips. She bit her lip as I opened the door to the backseat and helped her get inside. I pressed her down until she was laying on the backseat, that perfect fucking pussy soaking wet and barely covered by a thin layer of cotton panties.

I knelt down outside the car, the door blocking us from anybody who might leave the diner, and grabbed her hips. I pulled her toward me, spreading her legs wide. She gasped as I kissed her legs, her stomach, and teased her wet pussy.

“We shouldn’t,” she moaned, but instead of stopping me, she gripped the seat and tossed her head back. “We really shouldn’t.”

I slowly slid her panties down her skin and then tossed them onto the floor of the car. “Relax,” I said. “This will only take a minute.”

She moaned as I slowly licked the length of her, loving her taste, loving the way she reacted to my touch. I began to suck and lick her clit, working that nice little pussy, her delicious fucking pussy.

She moaned but was trying so hard to be quiet, and that only made me fucking harder. She was stifling herself and even had to put a hand over her mouth. I reached up and moved her hand away, putting mine in its place and working her pussy harder.

She moaned loudly into my hand, rolling her hips. Her hands laced through my hair and pressed me harder against her as I licked and sucked her, my tongue and lips working her clit like there was nothing else in the world. I was fucking starving for her, and getting that pussy off in this parking lot only made it that much hotter. Anyone could catch us, and that thought made me fucking wild with need for her.

I wanted her to come right on my fucking mouth. I wanted to suck this clit until she couldn’t think and came, again and again, right here in the open. My tongue worked her, rolling and sucking, eating that pussy with wild abandon.

With my free hand, I slowly pressed two fingers deep inside her. She moaned louder as I began to fuck her with my fingers, still licking that clit. She worked her hips, getting into the rhythm, clearly not worried about being in the open.

I kept sucking and licking, her clit delicious, her tight little pussy taking my fingers as I worked them deep inside her. I moved my other hand from her mouth, feeling her breasts, and she moaned loud and deep.

“Oh fuck, Travis,” she said. “Oh my god. This is so wrong. Oh fuck but it feels so good.”

I kept fucking her pussy with my fingers and grinned up at her. “Nothing wrong with getting this pussy off,” I said. “Nothing wrong with loving the way you taste.”

“Yes,” she gasped. “Yes. Keep doing that right there.”

I kept working her pussy, my fingers pushing deep inside her. I went back to licking her clit, sucking and working her while I fucked her with my fingers. She kept rolling her hips, moaning, not thinking about anything, clearly lost in the moment.

And so was I. Everything else that had happened was gone. The only thing I wanted was Hartley’s nice little pussy, her body, her moans. I wanted to make her feel good, make her come, make her forget the horror of the last few days for just a few seconds. I could give that to her, so fucking easily. I worked and sucked that pussy, making her take it, making her mine.

And slowly I felt her fingers tighten on my head, her hips move faster, heard her moans get deeper, her breath shallow. Slowly she began to come, her muscles tightening and contracting. I kept at it, not letting up for one second. I wanted to make this an orgasm she’d never fucking forget. She began to tighten and moan, the orgasm rolling through her as I sucked that clit and fucked her pussy. She said my name over and over as she came, and I fucking loved the way she tasted.

Finally, the orgasm passed. She lay back on the seat and I slipped my fingers from her, licking them clean. She shook her head, breathing deeply.

“Shit,” she said. “That was amazing.”

“I know,” I answered, smirking at her. “I think the whole town heard you.”

She turned red. “No way.”

I laughed and got into the car, kissing her. “Relax. You’re fine.”

Just then, headlights illuminated our little corner of the parking lot. They passed over us like a spotlight before turning into a spot two spaces over. We paused, not moving an inch, as an old couple got out of the car and slowly shuffled over to the restaurant together.

When they were gone, Hartley burst out laughing. I couldn’t help but join her as we laughed uncontrollably about absolutely nothing at all. Maybe it was being so close to getting caught, or maybe it was just all the tension of the last few days, but either way we laughed together, and it felt pretty damn fucking good.

“Ah shit,” I said finally, shaking my head. “We should get going.”

“What’s the rush?” She kissed me again.

“We’ve got one more stop to make.”

“Where to?”

“There’s a bar called Lou’s, over near the hills.”

She nodded slowly. “I’ve heard of it.”

“Well, we need to go get some cash.”

I got up and grabbed her shorts, tossing them to her. She got dressed, pulling her panties and her shorts back on. I climbed up into the front seat, and after a second Hartley joined me.

I started the car, smiling to myself. This next part was a risk, but it was an important risk.

I didn’t want to take risks, not with Hartley’s life in the balance. But I knew we were already playing a very dangerous game, and I had to choose which side to back.

That meant making moves that seemed crazy, but were crazy for a reason.