Chapter 18
Eighteen
Santiago
“Your initial reaction is going to be to pull the trigger but don’t, alright? You need to factor in wind speed, the curvature of the earth, and it matters how you’re breathing so—”
“Wait,” I cut Blair off as I pull my eye away from the scope of the rifle to look at her. She sits beside me, looking relaxed as she peers through her binoculars. “Did you just say I had to figure in the curvature of the earth?”
Blair pulls the binoculars away from her face to look down at me, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear as she does. The smile that stretches across her face is stunning in the morning light.
My heart flutters at the sight of it. Tonight, we’ll be interrogating Ledger, but if she’s thinking about that, it doesn’t show. Good. Maybe she’s feeling better about the impending conversation after relaxing last night?
I know after being sandwiched between her and Rhett I certainly feel better.
More than just better.
I feel like I’m floating on Cloud Nine.
If I could weld myself so that I was permanently wedged between the two of them, I would do it. Nothing has ever felt so right. All morning I’ve been wondering how to make it happen again.
“Much to the disbelief of some—” Blair says, bringing me back into the moment. “—the world isn’t flat, Santi. You need to take that into account when shooting at something that’s a great distance away then adjust for it.”
“How the hell do you do that?” I demand. “Are we talking math equations?”
“Kind of.”
“You’re doing math while you plot a murder?”
Blair giggles. “Yes, Santi. There’s a lot involved in this.”
“This is getting more complicated by the minute. I thought this lesson would be easy.”
“Are you going to shoot at the target or not?” Blair demands.
“No! I’m not!” I push up off of my stomach to sit up and glare at Blair. “I can’t even spot the target through the scope. Are you sure you took the cover off the lens?”
Blair rolls her eyes but her smile grows. “Yes, Santi, I’m sure.”
“Liar, I can’t see shit!”
Her smile drops away instantly and her eyes flash with a warning, mixed with something warm yet wicked.
Oh… this is new and hot.
My cock jumps at the sudden crackling of danger in the air between us.
“Call me a liar again,” she challenges, her voice pitching low.
Without missing a beat, I throw the accusation in her face, “Liar. L-i-a-r—liar.”
With an adorably fierce snarl, Blair lunges at me.
I yelp in surprise as her weight throws me onto my back.
The rifle’s knocked off the tripod Blair set it up on and it slides down the roof before coming to a stop on the lip just before toppling off.
It’s ignored as Blair straddles me. Her fingers slide through my hair to grab a handful of it while her other hand reaches down between our legs and grabs my dick through my pants.
“I’m not a liar,” she growls.
Amusement glitters in her eyes.
Blair bends down into my face and I think she’s going to kiss me. Instead, she uses the grip on my hair to jerk my head to the side to expose my neck. Her face lowers and her teeth graze the side of my neck.
My dick—already in the process of stiffening—turns diamond hard.
“You know what triggers my murderous urges? Being called a liar.” Her voice is husky, her lips a fucking tease.
I shiver as desire whips through me.
My hands come up and I grab her hips to keep her right where she’s at in case she gets any crazy ideas to stop this playful game.
“Oh no… I’m so scared, carino. Maybe you should demonstrate. You know—just so that I’m doubly scared and will reconsider ever calling you a liar,” I suggest.
I buck up into her hand and Blair squeezes my erection.
My groan has Blair giggling.
She bites me gently before the nip turns into a kiss. Holding my head in place, she trails kisses up my neck, nips at my earlobe, then continues her trail of kisses along my jaw.
“You’re a terrible student, do you know that?” she asks before yanking my head to face her. Before I can answer, her lips are against mine.
I melt beneath her, groaning as her tongue snakes its way into my mouth. I kiss her back, just as hungry for her as she is for me. The hand on my erection pulls away only so that she can pull down the zipper to set it free.
Just as her fingers wrap around me, there’s a loud bang of a door slamming against the wall then, “SANTIAGO! BLAIR!”
The fear in Wes’s voice causes us both to freeze.
Blair reacts first, sitting up and calling out. “On the roof!”
“We have visitors. A trail cam caught them heading this way. Get down here and in the house!”
“Tell the danger to go away! We’re busy!” I call out, trying to keep hold of Blair’s hip.
“That’s not how this works,” Blair says.
She’s out of my lap before I can protest further.
“Damn it… I’m going to kill whoever it is for interrupting us,” I grumble as we make our way off the roof and down the ladder.
Wes is on the porch, waiting for us anxiously.
“How many? Are they armed? Which direction are they coming from?” Blair demands the instant her feet are on the porch, all business now.
Wes gathers her under his arm and leads her into the house. Rhett’s already in the kitchen, strapping a gun to his hip and in the process of loading another. Several other guns are on the table.
“There are two of them coming from the south end of the property—a man and woman in their forties,” Wes answers. “They’re dressed like civilians—and they could be—but hikers don’t usually stray this far from any trails in the area. Something feels off.”
“Best to trust your gut,” Blair confirms with a nod.
She grabs a gun off the table then shoves it into the waist of her pants. “What’s the plan? I can move pretty quickly on foot to flush them out from behind if you want to meet them head on. If we—”
“No!” I shout, fear instantly cools the desire still lingering in my veins.
Rhett freezes to look up from preparing his weapons.
Blair’s head whips in my direction.
Wes tenses, his hands fisting at his sides.
I swallow, staring around at everyone before locking eyes with Blair.
“If this is Dixie’s people coming, they’re here for you, carino. You need to stay as far away from them as possible,” I tell her.
“I agree,” Rhett says at once. “Stay here, Blair. Go to the basement and lock the door in case things go bad. But—”
“Absolutely not!” Blair snaps. “I’m trained to handle this. I’m more prepared than anyone else in the room! I’m not hiding here while you all—”
A growl rips past my lips. “You’re staying out of sight, carino.”
“I will not!”
Rhett and I open our mouths to object.
“Enough!” Wes snaps, stepping forward and scowling at everyone.
“This is what’s going to happen. Rhett, you’re staying here with Blair.
Before you two can argue—as of right now, Dixie’s people don’t know who’s here and who isn’t.
If they see you, it confirms that you, and possibly Blair, returned.
If they see me or Santi, they still won’t be in the know.
We’re going to approach this as calmly as possible so that no one gets hurt. That’s final, got it?”
I blink, surprised at the bark in Wes’s voice.
Blair’s eyes narrow on him but she nods. Rhett sighs and nods too.
Content that they’ll listen, Wes turns to me. “Santi, gear up. We’re going to meet our friends and turn them around.”
I nod, happy to be the one to stand between trouble and the people I love.
“Let’s go.”
Birds are chirping and the sun is higher now—warming the autumn air.
Everything around me appears calm and that’s because it is. It’s so at odds with the way my insides are rioting. There’s been only one time in my life that I felt so ready to rip someone limb from limb. That had been while I hunted down the men who killed my father.
Blair and Rhett are still alive—I’m not avenging them.
But their lives are at risk and that’s enough for me to happily tear the world apart to remove any fucking threat that comes their way.
My eyes scan the woods searching for any sign of movement. The minute I see them, I’m going to pounce. They won’t get the chance to hurt the people I love.
“Santi, did you hear me?” Wes asks, drawing me back to the present.
I blink rapidly. “Nope, what’d you say?”
Wes sighs. “Are you going to be able to play this cool? If not, I can handle it and you can hang back.”
“I’m the coolest person in these woods,” I assure him with a grin.
Wes can see right through my bullshit.
“Santi,” he growls, his brows creeping together. “I need you to not do anything rash.”
“Relax, Wes. You can trust me.”
Wes nods slowly, giving me a once over before checking my phone that’s in his hand.
“Then you better prepare yourself for company because according to the trail cams, they should be coming right about now,” he mutters.
Our eyes swing in the direction the trail camera is situated. Our feet follow, shifting direction slightly as we move toward the approaching trespassers. A few minutes later, I can hear voices.
They round a tree on either side, splitting it.
Just before they catch sight of us, I note the way they’re scanning the area—expressions grim, eyes sharp, bodies tense.
The man is tall, lean, and tan. The woman is shorter, stocky, with a thick red braid draped over her shoulder.
When their eyes lock onto us, their alert behavior melts away.
We’re greeted with smiles and friendly waves.
“Hey there!” the man greets with a flash of his white teeth.
“Good morning,” Wes replies.
“Beautiful day for a hike, isn’t it?”
Wes chuckles. “Couldn’t ask for better weather.”
I keep my eyes locked on the woman. She’s holding onto a pleasant smile, but her eyes are eerily observant. She’s not subtle as she inspects me. Her eyes trail down my body—I swear it feels like the ghostly feet of a spider creeping down my chest.
“Thing is,” Wes continues. “You’re trespassing. I’m going to need you guys to turn around.”
“Oh, are we?” The man looks at his companion, who doesn’t look away from us. “Hear that? Looks like we’ve gone way off course.”
The woman huffs out an exasperated sigh as she finally tears her eyes off me to look up at him.
“I told you we were going in the wrong direction.”
The man gives us a rueful smile. “Wives, they’re always right, aren’t they?”
“Wouldn’t know,” I tell him. “But my friend here is right. You can’t be here.”
The man lifts his hands in surrender and a good-natured smile. “Alright, we’ll turn around. Care to point us in the direction of the nearest road? It might be easier to get back to our car that way.”
Wes nudges his head to the right. “A few miles that way you’ll come to a road. Be careful, wildlife can be unpredictable this time of year as they prepare for winter.”
“Good to know.” The man throws an arm over his wife. “Sorry for wandering so far off course. Take care.”
The two of them smile and turn back, heading in the direction Wes has indicated. I watch as they depart, one foot after another. Alarm bells in my head tell me that letting them walk free is a bad idea.
We should kill them.
Instinctually my hand goes to my belt where I usually keep my axe. Instead, I find the gun I replaced it with.
I don’t know if it’s luck or someone watching out for me but as my fingers caress the hilt of the gun, the two hikers, nearly out of sight, stop. They exchange looks with one another, then as one turn to face us again—this time with their own guns drawn.
“Move!” Wes shouts.
Bullets spray the ground just in front of us.
As I fling myself behind a tree, I pull my gun free. Without hesitation, I step back out and return fire. I hit the man in the shoulder as his bullets slam into the tree I’d just used for cover. He stumbles backward.
Wes yanks me out of the way as the woman steps up to cover her partner.
Her bullets sail over our heads as we duck into the bushes.
Crouched low, I peer around the tree. I point and aim.
Four of my bullets miss her completely. I’ll have to work with Blair on my aim because, fuck, I’m not great at this.
One of the bullets meant for her strikes her partner in the gut as he tries to get up.
Wes jumps up and charges forward, gun hot as bullets go flying.
I join him, ready to blow this bitch and her partner to smithereens. We duck and weave, firing whenever we get the chance—taking cover when we have to. Bark and dirt go flying as their bullets sail past us. There’s a cry of pain as Wes fires off a round.
Quickly, I dive behind a fallen tree. I peer over to see the man unmoving on the ground. The woman is on her knees—one hand pressed to a gaping hole in her gut. Her gun dangles from her other hand.
“Toss the gun!” Wes roars, his gun raised at her face.
“Fuck you,” she calls back breathlessly.
Wes’s brows crash together. “I can help you, but I need answers.”
The woman spits at him.
Getting on my stomach, I army crawl, low and out of sight. Wes barks his order again. The woman drops her gun but it’s within reach. That doesn’t sit well with me. Her partner’s gun is within reach too. Creeping closer still, I keep an eye on both weapons.
“Why are you here?” Wes demands.
“For the girl, of course,” she hisses.
Wes stops a few feet away from her, his gun pointed at her head. “What girl?”
I crawl around on the forest floor until I’m directly behind the woman. It takes everything in me to move slowly enough to get to my hands and knees without making a sound.
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “The girl. The one who must’ve been here. It’s the ideal hiding spot for a contract killer.”
Wes tuts. “There’s been no girl around here.”
The color drains from the woman’s face. “You’re lying. We were sure she’d been staying here…”
“Nope, I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
The woman shifts her weight on her knees. It's a subtle move and one that I could play off as her trying to get comfortable as she slowly bleeds out. But I’m not stupid.
I lunge as she suddenly goes for her partner’s gun.
A snarl rips past my lips as I tackle her to the ground from behind. She cries out in pain but I don’t give a fuck. When I get her beneath me, I brace a knee in the middle of her back and jerk her arm back until I hear it pop out of the shoulder socket.
Her shriek echoes all around us.
She tries to flail her other arm around, but I grab it and yank it back until that arm is pulled from the socket too.
Wes walks over, shoving his gun into his waistband.
“We’re taking her back to the fucking cabin!” I snap. “Call Rhett and tell him to warm up the wood chipper. I want to hear this bitch scream.”
Wes chuckles darkly. He crouches down in front of the woman so that he can look her in the eye while he tells me, “Let’s use the older one. The pieces are rusted and not as sharp. It’ll hurt more.”