Chapter 10
Ten
Wesley
The sound of Santi’s footsteps crunching in the gravel is driving me crazy.
As is his pacing back and forth.
And his constant sighing.
But I get it, I’m just as anxious for the arrival of the others as he is. Telling him to knock it off isn’t fair. That doesn’t stop me from glaring at him every time he shoots me a “where the fuck are they?” look.
Rhett called a little while ago saying they were an hour out from the house. It’s late and the roads are clear; they should be here any second. Yet with every minute that passes by that they don’t show, I’m growing more worried. My stomach is churning and I’m practically vibrating with stress.
“Something’s wrong. They should’ve been here by now!” Santi shouts as he stops and throws his hands up in frustration.
I swallow my own anxiety to reassure him. “They’ll be here.”
“But what if—”
Headlights cut through the darkness, capturing our attention. They’re faint at first but grow brighter as they take the curve of the winding gravel drive up to the cabin.
Santi gasps and I push off the railing post I’ve been leaning against to straighten. One hand goes to my hip where my gun is holstered. It’s been quiet here, with no sign of any trouble, but I’m not willing to risk lowering my guard just in case.
The sight of Ledger’s truck causes my heart to stutter. I know he’s not driving. When we talked to the Rhett and Blair they said they’d bagged him the day before. Still, my anxiety spikes. He’s ruined our lives. I don’t know how to look him in the eyes after all of this.
Or how I’ll stomach watching the woman I love getting her pound of flesh from the man I owe my life to.
The truck pulls to a stop and the headlights cut off.
“Rhett! Blair!” Santi cries out as he bolts for the truck.
The passenger door nearly hits him in the face as Rhett steps out.
I expect Rhett’s usual nonchalance and a less enthusiastic reciprocation of Santiago’s affections as Santi throws his arms around his shoulders and leans in for a kiss.
I’m pleasantly surprised that that’s not the case.
Rhett returns the embrace and kisses Santiago back so passionately that I instantly feel like I’m intruding.
But I’m happy for them. I’m glad that Rhett’s not reverted back to the asshole he’s been.
Whatever Blair did the night he took off into the storm seems to have stuck.
While these two have their reunion, I round the front of the truck and yank open the driver’s side door. Blair has barely unbuckled her seatbelt before I’m pulling her out of the driver’s seat and crushing her to my chest.
“Welcome home, baby girl,” I growl into her ear. “I’ve missed you.”
Blair’s body shudders as she drags in a shaky breath. Then her arms wrap around me.
“I’ve missed you so much, Wes.”
The thick emotion in her voice, and the wobble hidden beneath it, makes my heart squeeze in my chest.
I put Blair on her feet and tell her, “I’m never letting you leave me again.”
Blair reaches up, grabs my face, and I bend, meeting her halfway. The kiss feels like being struck by lightning with how powerful the jolt of awareness shoots through me. My heart slams against my ribs wildly and I feel lightheaded when Blair finally pulls away.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Blair promises. “Wes, you were right.”
I frown. “About what?”
“That this is where I belong. I thought I understood but it took leaving to have it really resonate.”
My heart shudders at the absolute resolve in her voice.
I have so much to tell her—starting with an apology for putting her through all of this to how much I fucking adore her, but all the words are trapped in my throat.
I’m overwhelmed. All I can do is crush her to my chest and pray that she can feel at least some of the emotions pouring off me in waves.
Later, when we have a moment when it’s just the two of us, I’ll tell her everything.
“I’m glad you understand now.” I grab her hand, pulling her around the truck. “I know you’ve got to be beat so let’s get you inside, showered, fed, and—”
“Carino!”
Her tired chuckle is cut off as Santi slams into Blair before yanking her off her feet to spin her around. He’s barely made it one rotation before he’s placing her down and kissing her, just as deeply as he’d kissed Rhett.
He pulls back only to bend at the waist with a groan. “Shit, I came…”
Blair laughs incredulously. “Santi!”
“Just a little… Just give me a second to catch my breath.”
I grimace even as I laugh at his enthusiasm. Giving them their moment, I turn and walk over to Rhett. Without waiting to see if he wants it or not, I give him a hug too. He returns it before stepping back and clearing his throat.
“Missed you,” he grumbles as he looks away.
I chuckle. “I missed you, too, Rhett. You take good care of our girl?”
He swallows, his eyes flickering over to Santi and Blair. “As best I could. You would’ve done a hell of a better job, though.”
I snort with amusement which regains his attention. “That’s funny. Blair said the same thing to me about you the night after the two of you decided to drive off into a storm. I think you both need to put more faith in yourselves.”
A rueful smile pulls at Rhett’s lips but he says nothing to that. Instead, he nudges his head toward the truck.
“What should we do with him?”
Him. As in Ledger.
I swallow hard, trying to reconcile the fact that something has to be done. What that is, I don’t know just yet.
“How the hell did you manage to grab him?” I ask, rather than answer.
Rhett’s brows furrow, his mouth pulling down into a deep frown.
“He found us—tracked Blair down at the same time we were hit with another wave of Dixie’s guys.
” He shakes his head, his scowl deepening.
“Wes, he didn’t try to shoot at us or anything.
He was there to help. And get this,” Rhett lowers his voice and leans in closer.
“He didn’t fight being tied up and taken back. ”
Uncertainty claws at my insides. I’m not sure if I’m surprised that Ledger jumped into the fray to help or not.
He had said he was going to bring Rhett and Blair home.
It would make sense that Ledger would grab them before Dixie’s guys could.
Then again, Ledger was the one to put this fuckery into motion.
If he wanted to kill them—Blair especially—that would’ve been the moment to do so.
Some of the hatred for Ledger that’s been brewing in my chest cools. He saved Blair and Rhett. That must mean something, right?
If it does, I don’t have it in me to figure it out tonight.
With a sigh, I look back at Blair. “What does she want to do with him?”
“Trust me,” Rhett clears his throat. “You don’t want to know.”
I wince. “Alright, well, let’s get him into the basement. At least if we put him down there we’ll nullify the threat he poses to us all.”
Rhett opens the back door of the truck, pulls out a small knife from his boot, and bends down to cut something. Paracord falls out of the truck. When Rhett straightens, he nudges his head toward the house.
“Get moving, asshole.”
Bound and gagged, Ledger steps out into the night. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but seeing him look exactly like the man I’ve trusted all these years isn’t it. Had I thought he was going to sprout horns or something?
Ledger turns his head toward me, but I can’t meet his eyes.
I step behind him and push him toward the cabin. Ledger doesn’t fight me, not once. Not when I push him down the hallway toward the basement, not when we head down the stairs. Rhett wanders off into the main part of the basement while I follow Ledger into the hidden room.
“C’mon,” I order Ledger.
When I open the cage door, he steps in without hesitation.
Rhett joins me with a large duffle bag but pauses to stare at the wall of black and white pictures of Blair. The blood visibly drains from his face—his eyes darting from picture to picture. It doesn’t get any less daunting. Not the first time you see them or the hundredth.
I’m perverse enough to admit I’ve grown fond of the wall in her absence. It’s all that I had of Blair. I couldn’t go a day without standing right where Rhett is to drink in the sight of the woman who’s claimed my heart.
And I hated every second of it because, at that moment, I was putting myself in Ledger’s shoes and I could understand why he did this.
“Jesus fucking Christ…” Rhett mutters, appalled.
Rhett spits on the floor then comes over beside me.
He drops the duffle bag by the entrance of the cage, rummages through it and pulls out real cuffs.
When he stands and steps into the cage, he orders Ledger to turn around.
I lift my gaze from the center of Ledger’s chest and finally manage to look him in the eye.
He’s staring straight at me.
Judging by the intensity of his stare I think he’s trying to convey something to me—a message or a threat, I can’t be sure. Anger surges forward as I glare back at him. Whatever he wants to say, it’ll stay trapped behind that damn gag.
“I said turn the fuck around,” Rhett snaps at him.
Ledger heaves a sigh, one that sounds more like annoyance than resignation, but he does as he’s told. Rhett quickly replaces the paracord around Ledger’s wrists with the metal cuffs, while keeping Ledger’s arms behind him.
I step forward and glare at the man I considered my best friend. “Sit down, asshole.”
Ledger does as he’s told, his gaze still insistent and body still tense.
“We’ll deal with him later,” Rhett grumbles before turning and leaving the room.
I wait until Rhett has made it all the way up the basement stairs before giving Ledger my attention again. Anger—hot and volatile—surges forward. I have the urge to reach down, grab the gun from its holster on my hip and shoot the asshole point blank.
There’s a reason I don’t.
Ledger stares back, his gaze pointed and demanding.
I ignore the urgency in his eyes to step forward and grab him by the front of his shirt, yanking him onto his feet.
“You pointed a gun at my head, Ledger,” I snarl into his face. “And you put a hit on the woman I thought you adored—the same woman we all fucking fell for! I don’t know what the hell you were thinking but you’ve fucking lost it. I should kill you right fucking now.”
I suck in a deep breath and shove him away from me. Ledger stumbles back until the back of his knees hit the metal bed and he falls back onto it.
“The only reason your brain matter doesn’t paint these walls,” I growl. “Is because you brought them both back home in one piece. This is the only mercy you’ll get from me.”
With that, I leave him and head back upstairs.