Chapter 13 #2
“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying we need to think about how best to handle this. We might only get one shot.”
I frown, sensing the heaviness in the air around them. Maybe things aren’t as serene as they seem.
“Hey,” I greet, stepping toward them.
They both turn to look at me. The thoughtful scowl on Blair’s face melts away at the sight of me and a warm smile splits her face. The concern on Wes’s morphs to exasperation.
“Just do me a favor and don’t ask this one. He’s a sucker for chaos,” Wes tells her, shooting me with a warning look.
“Damn right I am. Where’s the fun without it?”
Blair giggles as Wes steps to Blair’s right so I can come stand at her left.
I wrap my arm around Blair’s waist and pull her toward me so that I can lean down and kiss her.
It’s supposed to be quick but the moment our lips touch, I’m melting into Blair.
It’s like we become one on a molecular level.
I breathe, she breathes. Blair’s heart beats, mine does too.
When Blair pulls away, I’m breathless and slightly dazed.
Before I can remember how to speak, footsteps behind me draw my attention. We all look back toward the door to find Rhett with a plate of food in his hand. He pauses when he sees us.
“Ah, hey.”
“Mi amado, perfect timing!” I greet. “I was just learning what Wes doesn’t want Blair to tell me.”
Wes sighs. “I just don’t think she needs your two cents on the matter.”
Rhett shoves a bite of French toast into his mouth and through the mouthful of food, he says, “Well don’t let me interrupt. Let’s hear it.”
Blair and Wes exchange a look before Blair’s entire demeanor changes. Her face hardens. All warmth and softness recede until I can’t read her at all. Even her eyes go carefully blank.
“We need to figure out what to do with Ledger,” she says.
Rhett lets out a long sigh. “And suddenly I’m no longer hungry.”
“Why do we have to do anything?” I ask her with a shrug. “Let him waste away in the basement. We’ve managed to stop the hitmen from coming after you for the time being so you’re safe until this Dixie person can figure out another way to get his hands on you.”
Blair gives me a curious glance. “Remind me how you stopped more hitmen from coming after me again?”
“I siphoned all of Dixie’s funds,” I explained.
“He’s completely broke. Unless, of course, he has other accounts I couldn’t find—which could be the case given most of the accounts led to offshore, shell corporations created with made-up aliases.
But a couple million dollars went up in smoke so I’m guessing that’ll slow him down a lot.
He’ll have to rethink his approach to this situation. ”
The asshole, Dixie, must’ve realized sometime yesterday that his firewall in his private chatroom had been breached.
When I tried accessing it last night before Rhett had called letting us know he was nearly home, the entire chatroom had been terminated.
We’ll be in the dark when the next attack comes but hopefully that won’t be for a while.
Rhett clasps me on the back. “Smart move.”
I beam at him as I try not to swoon under his rare praise.
“But Dixie will keep coming,” Blair says slowly, her brows furrowing. “You just bought me a little time.”
“And in that time, we still have to deal with Ledger,” Wes points out. “Blair here wants retribution.”
“Let me guess, she pitched you a gruesome form of torture,” Rhett drawls, his tone grim.
Wes nods.
Rhett’s eyes narrow on Wes. “And what do you think about that?”
Good question. Wes is the most laid-back person I know. Witnessing him a few nights ago savagely stomping a man’s head in is a reminder that just because he’s chill most of the time doesn’t mean he won’t flip a switch when he needs to.
Wes looks at all of us before reaching up to smooth down his facial hair then sighs.
“I know what it’s like to have a life and then lose it,” he starts grimly.
“While it might’ve been at my own doing, I know how devastating it is to lose it all.
Ledger took Blair’s life from her; one she worked so incredibly hard for.
Not only that but he also put a target on her back.
He’s put us all in danger—and for what? He’s gone mad.
I think the nicest thing we can do for someone like him is to put a bullet in his skull. ”
My stomach lurches.
Kill Ledger?
I mean… I can kind of see how Wes had come to that conclusion. All this mess is Ledger’s fault. I could’ve lost her and Rhett over the course of the past nine days they were gone and Ledger would’ve been to blame. Then again, if it wasn’t for Ledger, I wouldn’t have Rhett or Blair to begin with.
Don’t we owe Ledger something other than death or torture?
Blair nods. “I agree.”
“Well…” Wes rolls his eyes. “You didn’t agree about the bullet part. Your ideas were a bit more… creative.”
“Yeah, her dad taught her a whole bunch of torture techniques that she then relayed to me throughout our little vacation,” Rhett rolls his eyes.
I gasp with delight. “What? Really? Maybe we can start implementing a few during The Hunt? That’ll certainly switch things up.”
Blair gives me a smirk, but Rhett holds up his hand.
“Why don’t we see why Ledger did this before we come up with any course of action for him?” Rhett asks. “While I get wanting him to pay, he saved us, Blair. Ledger could’ve easily swooped in and killed us or sat back and let the others do it. I want to know why.”
I heave a sigh of relief. Yes, this is what we need: answers!
But while I relax, Blair stares at Rhett wide-eyed in disbelief and asks, “Does madness need a reason?”
Wes frowns. “Ledger’s reasons may sound logical to him but they might not make sense to us.”
“I still want to understand—logical or not,” Rhett looks at Blair.
“Don’t you want to know why this all happened?
If he wanted you dead, why would he step in to help us?
Why not kill you before you arrived at Gnarly Pines?
He used to be a hitman before all this, right?
Ledger understands discretion—insane or not—so why all this fanfare?
Something isn’t adding up and, honestly, I don’t think he wants you dead, Blair. ”
Blair’s eyes grow cold as her body goes eerily still. “How are you defending him right now? Haven’t you and I been through enough recently to see that the only way out of this is with his death?”
Rhett sighs loudly. “Maybe killing isn’t the only way, Blair.”
Blair rolls her eyes. “How are you a serial killer when the thought of death gets you squeamish?”
“My killing comes with morals. There’s a reason behind them.”
It’s the wrong thing to say. I know it the moment the words fall past his lips. Wes and I share a mirrored grimace as Blair inhales sharply and she recoils.
Blair recovers quickly—eyes flashing, brightening her dark glare that she pins on him.
“So, what you’re saying is that I don’t have any morals, Rhett?” Blair hisses as her brows crash together.
“No, no, that’s not how I meant it!” Rhett tries to backtrack, tripping over his words to try to make things right. “Blair, listen to me. I’m just saying—”
“That I’m a moral-less bitch. Yeah, got it.
” Her voice cracks and my heart cracks with it.
“Funny how you can go after the people who killed your family, but I’m supposed to just let it go when it comes to doing the same thing.
It wasn’t just me Ledger targeted. My dad is only god knows where; either running for his life or has become a rotting corpse!
Love the hypocrisy. Thanks for letting me know where you stand, Rhett. ”
She shoves by us and stomps down the porch steps. Wes steps forward, shooting a glare at Rhett, before pushing past me.
“Blair, wait, come back!” Wes calls. “We can talk about—”
She ignores him and storms off across the yard into the woods.
Rhett swears before turning and storming into the house.
Wes sighs, standing at the top of the stairs and staring off in the same direction my attention is locked onto. My heart’s screaming in protest as distance grows between us again. I reach out and grip the railing.
No, this isn’t right.
She can’t just storm off. Not after being gone so long.
I have to make this right.
Without another moment of hesitation, I launch myself over the railing. My feet hit the soft grass but they’re not there long. I sprint across the yard on bare feet toward the woods.
My footsteps don’t slow as I dive into the woods.
Anxiety climbs up my spine as I scan the woods, searching for any sign of movement.
I don’t see any. My heart races and a ringing starts in my ears.
Where’s Blair? I know she has the skills to slip away and never be seen again.
She could do it before I have a chance to fix things, and that thought scares the shit out of me.
What if she doesn’t come back?
I know, logically, it would be hard for her to leave with no shoes, barely dressed, and without a weapon or car keys but it’s not impossible. Blair managed to be invisible most of her life.
The thought that Blair would leave me, in any capacity, is agonizing.
No, no, no!
My scream of denial creeping up my throat is suppressed as I run harder.
There! I see her! She’s closer than I expect and that’s such a huge fucking relief. I don’t slow as I sprint toward her.
“Blair!”
She stops and starts to turn around but she doesn’t get the chance to complete the rotation before I’m on her.
Together we crash to the ground as I tackle her.
She grunts and tries to wiggle free from the tangle of limbs but I climb on top of her and wrap my arms tightly around her body, pinning her arms to her sides, making it so she can’t get up.
“Santi? What are you—”
“You can’t leave!”