Go Hard: A Bad Boy Sports Romance(42)
“No. I’ll wait.” He leaned up against the doorframe.
“Get out, Travis.”
“You sure? I can help you change. Or we can leave you naked. Might be a damn good distraction technique.”
“Travis,” I said, getting annoyed.
“Your loss,” he said, laughing. He walked away and I quickly closed the door behind him.
That man was so frustrating. He left me flustered and wild every time he looked at me, and he made no apologies for it. I shook my head as I quickly got dressed, throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt.
Travis was waiting out in the hall for me. “Ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
He nodded, suddenly back to business. “Good.” He walked over to the door and pulled it open.
Three men stood there. Hoyt stepped inside, follow by two men I didn’t recognize. They were large and broad and wore big jean jackets over dark denim pants.
“Hoyt,” Travis said.
“Good. You’re still here,” Hoyt said.
“Brought friends?”
Hoyt glanced at the two men. “Wait outside.”
The quickly filed out, and Travis shut the door behind them.
“I take it the news is good,” Travis said.
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, you wouldn’t be in this room alone if it weren’t.”
Hoyt grinned. “Yeah. You got me there.”
“Come on, sit.”
The two men sat down at the table and Travis gestured for me to join. I sat to his right, feeling a nervous knot in my stomach
Hoyt looked at the two of us. “You’re a real pain in my ass. You know that, Travis?”
“Sure I am,” he said slowly. “What do you have for me?”
“First, Hartley, I got to tell you how fucking lucky you are.” Hoyt stared at me seriously. “You know this guy is just about the only man in Knoxville who could possibly help you, right?”
“I’m lucky,” I said softly.
“You here to make the girl feel bad, or are you here to make a deal?” Travis asked, annoyed.
“A bit of both.” Hoyt leaned back in his chair. “You’re lucky as hell, too, Travis. If it were anyone else at that door last night, you’d be finished.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Travis said. “I know a few things.”
“I bet you do. Well, I talked to my damn boss about you. He’s interested in a little exchange.”
“I’m listening.”
“How much do you know about the Caldwell family?”
“Saw Markus earlier. He told me a bit about them.”
Hoyt scowled. “That old nut job still around? Anyway, so you know that the Caldwells have been pushing onto our turf, taking our customers.”
“Heard something about that.”
“A week ago, we had a big shipment go missing, mostly weed, but also some guns and shit like that. My boss wants you to find this shipment and bring it back to us.”
“That’s it?” Travis asked. “Seems too easy.”
“We think the Caldwells have it, and that’s not going to be easy to prove, Travis. This is a lot of weed and a lot of guns.” Hoyt looked at me. “Enough to pay down your debt.”
“If I do this, the girl is free? And her family?”
“Safe and free,” Hoyt said.
“Okay then,” Travis said. “You got a deal.”
Hoyt held out his hand and Travis shook it.
“One more thing,” Hoyt said. “It’s your job to keep the girl here. We can’t have her running off on us. If this job doesn’t work out, we want the girl.”
Travis paused. “I’ll keep her here, but I won’t give her to you if things go south.”
They released each other’s hands.
“I figured you’d say that,” Hoyt replied. “I can’t say I blame you. She’s real fucking pretty.”
“Enough,” Travis said, and I heard a dark edge in his tone.
“Easy there,” Hoyt said, standing. “Wouldn’t want to fuck this up before it even started.”
“I agree to keep her here,” Travis said. “You can tell your boss he’ll get his shit back.”
“Fine, fine.”
“How long do we have?”
“Two weeks.”
Travis nodded. “Done.”
“Well then, good doing business with you both. You don’t have to show me out. I’ll find the door.” Hoyt turned and left the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
I stared at Travis once he was gone. “Are you serious?” I asked him.
“I’m always serious,” he answered. “I’m serious when I tell you I could make you moan my name here and now if you just let me slide those shorts off that perfect ass.”
“Travis, come on. How are you going to steal all this stuff from a big gang?”
He shrugged. “I have no clue.”
“And are you even okay with doing this? I mean, you’d be helping a pretty awful gang.”
“True. I’d also be saving your ass.”
“I can’t ask this of you.”
“You’re not,” he said. “I’m telling you I’m doing it.”
“I can’t ask this of you. I barely even know you, and you’re risking your life for me.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You don’t get it, do you? I’m not risking my life here.”
“These guys aren’t joking around, Travis.”
He grinned hugely and leaned toward me. “Neither am I. Plus, I have nothing better to do.”
“Travis—”
“It’s too late anyway. The deal is done. We’re in this together now, Hartley. Better get used to it.”
I stared at him, not sure what to say. His gaze was so intense and expressive that for a second I forgot how much trouble we were in. For a second I imagined that it was just the two of us, alone in the apartment together, with nobody looking to kill us.
But that was just a fantasy of course. The truth was, I barely knew Travis, and we were getting thrown into this terrible situation together. I didn’t know why he insisted on staying around, but I knew I needed him. I didn’t know where I’d be if he hadn’t shown up, or if he decided to walk out on me.
I hated that I was in so much debt to him. I hated that I needed to rely on this handsome and cocky stranger. But there was no changing it.
Me and Travis, we were in this together, for better or for worse.
8
Travis
Hartley disappeared back into her bedroom after Hoyt left. I returned to my spot on the couch, realizing that I might be spending a lot of time on these cushions over the next few days.
I was in a fucking predicament. I wasn’t a lawman, but I was a SEAL. I was supposed to fight to protect my country. I wasn’t sure how I was meant to square that with my current task, but I couldn’t look too deeply into it.
At the end of the day, I was going to protect Hartley. All this bullshit between the mafia and the Caldwells was just a bunch of crap I had to deal with. They were going to get their weed and guns no matter what I did.
This just meant I was on my own. I couldn’t use any of the team’s resources, and I couldn’t call for backup. It was just Hartley and me in this, for better or for worse.
I knew Knoxville, and I knew these guys. I grew up with them, knew how they thought. I almost was one of them, if my life had gone down a different path. If my football superstar brother had survived, I might be in the Dixie Mafia right now, hassling girls just like Hartley.
Or maybe not. I never really got down with that sort of fucking thing. Still, I understood how these guys worked, and I knew I could make all this work out.
The Caldwells were the real problem. I knew Jane Caldwell, but I didn’t know her anymore. I didn’t know her family business or how much strength they had. As far as I could tell, I had no way of getting close to them, or at least not yet.
I gave the girl a few minutes of privacy before getting up and knocking on her door.
“Come in,” she called out.
I pushed it open. She was laying on her bed, scrolling through her phone.
“We should go out.”
“Where?”
“I want to see an old friend.”
“Another old friend?” She frowned at me. “Not another mafia guy?”
“Not exactly,” I said. “His name is Toad.”
She laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“Nah, or at least he used to be called Toad. Can’t say what he goes by now.”
“Why do we need to see a man named Toad?”
“As it happens, Toad has his ear to the underworld. We need to do a little reconnaissance around the Caldwells before we make any moves.”
“All right then,” she said, getting up. “One thing, though. Please keep me informed. No running off and doing things without me.”
I laughed. “Hartley, I’m going to be sleeping on your couch for the next couple weeks. You can keep tabs on me yourself if you want.”
She gaped at me for a second before getting herself together. “What do you mean, staying with me?”
“You heard the man. I’m meant to make sure you stay in town. That means we’re around each other all day long, every damn day.”
“No way,” she said. “No freaking way.”
“Sorry, girl. Those are the rules.”