Detective Brent Jex's eyes shot open, and he struggled to pull in a deep breath. A perp was pulling a trigger. Or a baby was suffocating. Or he was trapped in a dark corner as a shadowy menace walked toward him. Night after night, he jolted awake in a panic. As his heart rate slowed, he would wonder: Was that a nightmare? Something that had really happened? Or both?
He knew one thing for sure: The job he loved was getting to him.
Exhausted and hoping to regain his old confidence and composure, Jex tried exercise. Nearly every day, he strained against heavy weights in the police academy gym.