Hartley had set off her charges. She must have heard the gunshot and seen people waking up. She had panicked and probably figured setting them off was the right thing to do.
I wanted to get in there and check a few crates, make sure this was the right place, but I didn’t have time now. If they weren’t sure what was going on before, now the Caldwells probably thought they were under a full-scale attack.
I got the fuck out of there. I darted out of the barn and headed toward the tree line just as men with flashlights began to spill out of the main building. I moved fast, hitting the tree line before they made it to check on the barn.
I could hear ATVs starting up, which wasn’t good. I made my way back toward the car, winding through the woods, but I had to check and make sure Hartley really ran. I kept low, moving fast, and made it back to the original spot on the ridge.
Two large, blackened hunks of wood and dirt marked the spots where she had lit the charges, but she was nowhere in sight. That was good, though I probably should have told her that these things weren’t really fireworks but more like homemade bombs.
I couldn’t’ help but smile to myself as I made my way back toward the car, picking through the trees. I could hear the ATVs tearing around the forest, and so I had to be careful. I kept low, pressing against a tree when one lucky rider got pretty close to me. But fortunately, he drove past, and I continued on through the woods.
We were lucky that the Caldwell compound was so close to the forest. If they were smart, they would have cut the trees back a bit further to create a kind of no-man’s-land between the forest and the compound, just for visibility. That didn’t matter, though, as I picked my way through the trees.
The real problem now was how the Caldwells were going to react to this. Before, if it were just one dead guard and an open door, they’d figure out that it was just someone scouting them out. They’d double their security, but they probably wouldn’t move the goods.
But after the explosions, they might get spooked. They might think the mafia was actually attacking them. If that happened, and they actually tried to move the shipment, then all of this was for nothing.
I kept moving back toward the car, and the sound of the ATVs faded into the distance. Finally, I burst out of the forest and found Hartley pacing back and forth in front of the passenger’s side door.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when I appeared.
“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s me.” I pulled the mask from my face.
“Travis.” She ran to me and stopped herself a foot or so away. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m so sorry. I just, I panicked when I heard the gunshot. I was worried.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You did the right thing. You did great, Hartley.”
She bit her lip. “Did you see something?”
“They have it,” I said. “It’s on their property.” I walked around her and unlocked the door. “Come on. We’ll talk as we drive.”
We got into the car and I started the engine. I pulled out onto the highway, heading back toward town.
We’d gotten away with it, more or less. The Caldwells were going to be paranoid after this, but at least I was able to confirm that the shipment was real.
Still, it only brought up more problems. They might move everything, which was the worst-case scenario. Also, there was a lot of stuff to transport, and I didn’t think we could do this on our own.
Hartley looked at me nervously. “What’s wrong? You look angry.”
“What? No. I’m not angry. Just trying to reason this out.”
“Tell me what you saw.”
“Big barn full of weed and crates. I didn’t see what was in the crates, but my guess is guns and ammunition.”
“That’s good. So they have it.”
“Right. But they might move it now. Also, it’s just too much stuff for us to move on our own.”
She frowned. “What are we going to do?”
“Right now we’re going back to your place. We’ll sleep and then we’ll work this out.”
She nodded and looked out the window. Poor girl was probably fucking terrified, but I couldn’t do anything about that. She’d come to grips with it and move on. She was strong.
But I had to make a plan. Otherwise, we were going to be screwed. The mafia meant business, and so did I.
My head buzzed with possibilities as we drove.
Chapter 13
Hartley
I woke up with a start, sweating. In my nightmare, I had been lighting off fireworks all over this huge field while Travis ran around, trying not to get blown up. Just as the dream ended, Travis stepped on one of the fireworks, and he disappeared into a red mist of blood.