Second Chance SEAL(76)
I grinned at him and stood up. “I always do.”
Hartley and Markus both stood up. Hartley smiled at Markus. “Thanks for the moonshine,” she said.
Markus laughed. “I like you, girl. Stick around.”
She just smiled and nodded as we headed back toward the front door. Markus walked us out and I followed Hartley down the front steps.
“Stop by again, especially you, Hartley,” Markus called out.
Hartley laughed. “Okay. We will.”
Markus waved as we got back into my car and I pulled out, turning around and heading back down the road.
“So, what did you think?” I asked her.
“Of Markus or of the moonshine?”
I grinned. “Both.”
“Markus seems nice, maybe a little crazy, but nice.”
“That about sums him up.”
“And the moonshine was disgusting.”
“Right on the money.” I laughed, shaking my head. “You impressed him, though.”
“Not hard to impress men like that.”
“How do you mean?”
She shrugged, looking out the window. “Men like him see a cute little blond southern girl. All you need to do is prove you’re not a pushover and somehow you’re incredible.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Hartley, not many people can stomach the swill he gave us, little blond girl or not.”
“Maybe,” she said, and we drifted into silence.
I couldn’t get a fix on this girl. One second she was all self-confidence, and the next she was looking down on herself. Markus held people to high standards, and impressing him was a real feat. But apparently, Hartley didn’t think so, and I couldn’t figure out why.
Maybe she was used to be treated a certain way her whole life. The girl was fucking gorgeous, after all. Maybe she wasn’t used to throwing back shots with real men.
I had a feeling she’d learn, though, and learn fast, especially if we were getting involved with the Dixie Mafia.
Chapter 7
Hartley
The moonshine felt like fire in my stomach as Travis drove back into town.
I couldn’t believe I’d drunk that stuff. Really, it was the foulest liquor I’d ever put to my lips. It wasn’t the first moonshine I ever drank, but it was by far the most disgusting.
I didn’t know what the heck I was doing in this car with this strange man. I’d already visited his family gravesite, which was weird enough, but then we had to go and spend time with his crazy hill person cousin or whatever he was. When Travis saved me from those Mafia assholes, I never imagined I was going to get a very intimate tour of his life.
But the man was interesting, very interesting. I had to admit, he had a lot of pain in his past, but it was incredibly amazing that he somehow rose above it all and became a Navy SEAL. That was no small accomplishment. I could see it in his body, in the way he moved, the skills he had and the serious way he spoke. He’d handled Hoyt the other night, in the face of death, like it was no big deal.
Travis was something else, a kind of man I’d never seen before. He was a cocky asshole, a real southern jerk, but he was also much more than that.
“Where are we going?” I asked him.
“To your place.”
“Know where you’re going?”
“I figured you’d tell me.”
I sighed, feeling a little lightheaded. “Okay then. Know that little dry cleaner with the cowboy statue out front?”
“Sure do.”
“I live above that.”
He laughed. “No shit. Is your landlord James Duncun?”
I nodded. “He’s a creep.”
“That he fucking is.”
Travis took a turn and headed back toward my apartment. We rode for a few minutes in silence, and I noticed him looking back into the rearview mirror a few times.
“What?” I asked him.
He glanced at me. “It’s nothing.”
“Just tell me.”
“We’re being followed.’
I turned around and looked out the back. “How can you tell?”
“They’ve been on us since we left this morning. I’m guessing it’s the mafia making sure we’re not running.”
“What do we do?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Relax. We’re there anyway.” Travis pulled the car over, parking across the street from my apartment.
“Shouldn’t we lose them?”
“No,” he said. “We want them to know we’re playing by the rules.”
I was quiet for a second, chewing my lip. “This sucks,” I said finally.
“Yeah,” he agreed, and then got out of the car. I followed him, not sure how he could be so calm. As we crossed the street, he smiled and waved at a little red truck with two guys sitting in it. They gave him a look but didn’t wave back, and I couldn’t help but smile.