Go Hard: A Bad Boy Sports Romance(53)

“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.





14





Travis





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?”