There was no subtle way to approach Jimmy Ray’s compound in a car. He’d built it at the base of a hill. Even with your lights off, you crested that rise and it was all over. The only chance you had to approach undetected was on foot, and the farther you stayed from Jimmy Ray, the better your chances. If things went right, I could cut through the woods, talk to Matt, and be back out again before Jimmy Ray even knew I’d been here. It was in Matt’s best interest to make sure that’s how it went down, too. Jimmy Ray only liked the drama he created. He didn’t want to deal with anyone else’s bullshit. The faster Matt got me out of here, the better for both of us.

I grabbed a flashlight out of my glove compartment and set off through the brush. Kudzu grabbed at my ankles, and overhead I could hear bats wheeling in the darkening sky. Off to my left, something slinked through the underbrush, and I made my footfalls louder in response. But I wasn’t afraid. I’d grown up in these woods, knew them as well as I knew my own heartbeat. Nothing out here would hurt me without a fair fight.

I slowed as the trees thinned out, lights glowing in the near distance. I could see an ever-present ring of trucks outside of Jimmy Ray’s house, but it was too far away for me to see any movement, especially in the growing dark. Ahead and to my left was the path leading to Matt’s trailer. There was no way to avoid leaving the cover of the trees and being exposed, at least for a few moments. I’d worn jeans and a black shirt, and hoped that anyone who might spot me would be far enough away to simply assume I was one of their own. Almost all Jimmy Ray’s men had girlfriends or wives, sometimes both, living on the compound, so my presence might not seem out of place.

I hesitated, listening, but heard nothing but the wind through the tops of the trees, the distant hoot of a barn owl. The time to go was now, but still I waited. Not sure if it was fear stopping my feet or some remnant of my lizard brain warning me not to move yet. I counted slowly to one hundred and then did it again. Nothing. I took a deep breath and pushed out of the trees, walking quickly, eyes straight ahead, toward the path to Matt’s trailer. The sense of exposure, of being easy pickings, made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I resisted the urge to run. I was halfway there when I heard the sound of a car engine from the direction of Jimmy Ray’s house. My heart burst forward in my chest, like it was trying to beat my body to the safety of the path, and I glanced to my right, saw headlights cresting the hill and sweeping across the long grass in front of me.