And Damien needed an answer.
He began digging.
At first, there was nothing.
Dominic Hayes.
Truck driver.
Former military.
Retired.
No public record of anything unusual.
Then Damien's manager found an old photograph.
Dominic in uniform.
Younger.
Harder.
Standing with several other men.
The details around the image were vague.
But one name appeared in an archived military publication.
Commander Dominic Hayes.
Naval Special Warfare.
The more Damien searched, the quieter he became.
Then he found the names of operations.
Most were redacted.
Others had almost no information.
But Damien found enough.
Twenty years.
Multiple combat deployments.
Command responsibility.
Decorations.
Classified assignments.
Damien stared at the screen.
He remembered the way Dominic had moved.
The way his eyes had changed before the fight.
The calmness.
The control.
For the first time in his life, Damien understood something.
Dominic hadn't been afraid of him.
Dominic had been afraid of what might happen if he stopped controlling himself.
That realization was worse than humiliation.
It was terrifying.
Three days later, Damien found O'Malley's again.
The rain had stopped.
The sky over Texas was clear.
Sarah stood behind the counter.
Damien entered alone.
No Leon.
No Brad.
No entourage.
Sarah looked at him.
"What do you want?"
Damien sat down.
"Coffee."
She poured it.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Damien asked, "You know where the trucker is?"
Sarah looked at him.
"No."
"You do."
"Maybe."
"I need to talk to him."
Sarah folded her arms.
"Why?"
Damien looked down.
"For the first time in my life, I don't know."
Sarah studied him.
Then she walked away.
Two minutes later, she returned.
"He comes through here sometimes."
"When?"
"Whenever he feels like it."
Damien nodded.
"Then I'll wait."
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"For how long?"
Damien looked out the window.
"As long as it takes."
The Road Back
Dominic returned to O'Malley's six weeks later.
He had almost forgotten about Damien Cole.
Almost.
The Peterbilt rolled into the parking lot shortly after midnight.
Dominic shut down the engine.
Grabbed his keys.
And entered the diner.
The bell rang.
Sarah looked up.
Then immediately looked toward Booth Seven.
Dominic followed her eyes.
Damien sat alone.
He looked different.
No expensive gym clothes.
No entourage.
No loud laughter.
He wore a plain gray shirt and jeans.
Dominic walked toward him.
Damien stood.
"Mr. Hayes."
Dominic stopped.
"Sit down."
Damien did.
Dominic sat across from him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Finally, Damien said, "I'm sorry."
Dominic nodded.
"Okay."
Damien frowned.
"That's it?"
"What did you expect?"
"I don't know."
"That's honest."
Damien looked down.
"I was a jerk."
"Yes."
"I bullied you."
"Yes."
"I thought I was better than you."
Dominic took a sip of coffee.
"Also yes."
Damien almost smiled.
Then his expression became serious.
"I found out who you were."
Dominic's face hardened.
"You shouldn't have."
"I'm not telling anyone."
"Good."
Damien leaned forward.
"Why didn't you hurt me?"
Dominic looked at him.
"I did."
"No."
"You went home with all your teeth."
Damien swallowed.
"I mean seriously."
Dominic was silent for a long time.
Then he spoke.
"Because I know what serious looks like."
Damien listened.
"People like you think violence is a test."
Dominic looked out the window.
"It isn't."
"What is it?"
"A bill."
Damien frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means eventually, somebody pays."
Dominic looked back at him.
"Sometimes with blood. Sometimes with guilt. Sometimes with nightmares. Sometimes with a phone call in the middle of the night."
Damien became silent.
Dominic continued.
"I've paid enough bills."
The young fighter stared at him.
"Then why did you join the military?"
Dominic smiled faintly.
"Because I was young and stupid."
Damien laughed.
Dominic continued.
"And because I believed I could protect people."
"Did you?"
"Sometimes."
"Was it worth it?"
The question remained between them.
Dominic looked down at his hands.
"I don't know."
That answer shocked Damien.
A man with twenty years of combat experience.
A commander.
A warrior.
And he didn't know.
Dominic stood.
"You want advice?"
Damien nodded.
"Yeah."
"Stop trying to be the toughest man in every room."
Damien looked confused.