“What the fuck?” I said, my voice a hoarse croak.

I knew I needed to get back to my car, get out of here, but I couldn’t seem to make my body follow the commands of my brain. From behind me, I heard the sound of running, and even as I stumbled to my feet, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to outpace whoever it was. A man scrambled down the path toward me, slipping a little on the grass, and I steeled myself for what would come next. It was bad enough to trespass on Jimmy Ray’s land. It was another thing entirely to be there when one of his men got blown to shit.

I squinted against the smoke blowing into my eyes, relief flooding me when I realized it was Cal coming toward me, not Jimmy Ray. Cal grabbed me as I stumbled forward, holding me up when my legs wanted to buckle.

“Eve,” he practically shouted. “Jesus Christ. What the fuck is going on? What happened?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I came to talk to him and . . .” I threw my arm out. “And it exploded. I never even saw him.”

Cal looked over his shoulder. “You need to go,” he said. “Before Jimmy Ray gets here.” He gave me shove. “Go!”

“But—”

He shoved me again, harder this time. “For once in your life, Eve, don’t argue with me! Go! Now!”

I stumbled away from him, legs jerking along about a half second behind my brain’s instructions. Behind me I could hear Cal on his police radio calling in the explosion, asking for backup and an ambulance, although it was too late for Matt, or what was left of him. I’d cleared the edge of the woods when a pickup truck crested the rise. I stopped, hidden behind the trunk of a tree, and watched a half dozen of Jimmy Ray’s men tumble out, shouting and racing toward Cal.

Part of me wanted to stay and make sure he would be okay, that Jimmy Ray and his men wouldn’t take their anger out on him. But I had to assume Cal’s badge would protect him, at least until backup arrived. And he was right: I needed to get out of here. The longer I lingered, the greater the chance someone was going to find me.

I didn’t really remember the rest of the walk back to the car, tripping over tree roots and stumbling in the dark. My hands were shaking so hard it took me three tries to get the key in the ignition, jaw clacking as I drove too fast out of the compound in a race to beat the cops I knew were on their way. When I got back onto the main road, I passed two of them, lights and sirens screaming as they headed toward Jimmy Ray’s. I watched their taillights in my rearview mirror until they were out of sight, half expecting to see them turn around and come after me instead. My hands didn’t unclench and my jaw didn’t loosen until I’d pulled into a spot in my apartment complex. When I finally unwound myself from the driver’s seat, my whole body felt like it had taken one of Jimmy Ray’s beatings, and I walked hunched over and limping to my front door.