Chapter 30 #2
I chuckle, the sound more frustrated than amused. If he thinks the endearment is bad, he’s got a whole other thing coming to him when he sees that Santi has no problems barreling past boundaries when it comes to his daughter.
Dinner goes as well as can be, given the present company.
Blair fills her dad in on what she's been doing around Gnarly Pines, and Santi and Wes chime in every once in a while. Rhett doesn’t bother participating.
In fact, he just sits there glowering at Anchor.
It’s pretty on par for any interaction Rhett has with new people so at least that’s not too concerning.
Anchor, for all his proclivities for avoiding human interaction, sits and participates with surprising ease. I haven’t seen him around anyone other than Blair in so long I kind of figured he’d forgotten how most interactions work.
“—so they cleaned out a room in Zone Two and set up a place for me to work in there,” Blair says as she beams around the table at everyone. “It was nice not giving up all that nursing education after receiving your text.”
“Blair did all the work moving the stuff out of there,” Santi objects sheepishly. “She wouldn’t let us help.”
“As she should,” Anchor replies, his answer clipped.
Wes places a hand on Blair’s shoulder. “Naw, what she should’ve done is wait for us to do it. A lot of that stuff was heavy.”
“And if she’d waited, then what?” Anchor counters. “How long would it have taken for one of you to step in to give her the assistance she needed? No, Blair was right to handle it on her own. Then she’s not indebted to any of you or a burden.”
Wes stiffens while Santi frowns, his brows furrowing.
“Indebted to us?” Santi repeats, then scoffs. “That’s not how things work around here.”
Anchor ignores him to give his attention back to his daughter. “So, you’ve been exposed to more than just these men, Blair Bear? The staff at Gnarly Pines all have seen your face?”
I stiffen. “Of course she has. We waited until we thought the danger had moved on and then gave her something to do that she would enjoy.”
“How terribly reckless.” Anchor shoots me, then Blair a dark look. “All these years in hiding and for what now that everyone knows who you are and what you look like?”
Blair opens her mouth, but I cut her off.
“This was never supposed to be her prison,” I remind him.
He shoots me a withering look. “A prison is safer than this arrangement.”
Santi laughs around a mouth full of food. “Well, we got one of those in the basement.”
Anchor misses the way both Wes and Rhett elbow Santi on either side as he looks at Blair.
“I taught you better than this, Blair Bear.”
“You taught me to be fearless,” she counters with a one shoulder shrug. “And hiding in the shadows sure sounds a whole lot like being afraid. I prefer to face any threat in the light. I’m not going to hide my face anymore—well, after all this Dixie stuff is taken care of, of course.”
I smirk at Anchor. “She’s right, you know.”
“I tend to be right a lot these days,” Blair mutters. “It’s exhausting.”
Wes and Santi laugh and Rhett even manages to let out a soft chuckle.
Anchor gives them all a deadpan look. Rather than waste his breath he turns back to Blair and quirks a brow. “You’ve grown awfully chatty, Blair. I hope you’re not picking up bad habits. This isn’t a time to grow careless.”
Blair presses her lips together and looks down at her empty plate.
My chest tightens and beneath the table my hand curls into a fist.
“Careless?” Wes repeats slowly, as if tasting the word. “Blair is the least careless individual I know.”
Blair shoots him a grateful smile.
Anchor barely spares him a glance. “She would be even less so if she didn’t talk so much. Continue on this path and she’ll be used to conversation and be unable to help herself during future interactions. She must be content with silence.”
“That’s fucking bullshit,” Rhett growls. To Blair he says, “Talk all you want.”
“Maybe don’t take advice from Tyler Cane—a wanted felon,” Anchor counters coolly.
Rhett balks in surprise, as does Santi and Wes.
I’m not as shocked. If Anchor knew Rhett Wells didn’t exist, he would’ve done more research to see who he really was.
“C’mon, Anchor,” I shake my head at his ridiculousness. “Your daughter is happy you're alive. After the shit that’s been going down, she’s allowed to be a bit exuberant.”
Across the table, Rhett growls. He reaches for his glass of water and throws it back when Santi nudges his shoulder.
My best friend glances at me. “I don’t want you encouraging bad behavior. Her chattiness might be the reason she ends up dead.”
It takes everything in me not to bristle. This is what it’s always like. Me being a buffer between Blair and her dad. This is normal. Yet, for some reason, his quips at his daughter are pissing me off more than normal.
“That seems highly unlikely and we’ll not be shutting your daughter down each time she opens her mouth,” Wes tells Anchor. The look he gives my old friend would make anyone else wither. “I care what Blair has to say.”
“Speaking of ending up dead,” Santi says hastily, changing the subject. “Do you know who this Dixie person is or where to find him?”
Anchor holds my gaze. “It’s none of your concern. None of this is, anymore.”
“Did you take care of him, already?” I ask, surprised.
Well, shit, maybe this visit from Anchor isn’t so ominous after all?
“No.”
Oh… Well, fuck.
Frowning, I ask, “Then why shouldn’t we be worried?”
“Because I’m taking Blair with me to remove the threat. We’ll be out of your hair shortly. Your lives can go back to normal.”
My fist slams down on the table at the same time Wes, Rhett, and Santi leap to their feet.
“What?!”
“Blair’s not going anywhere!”
“Over my dead fucking body you’re taking her!”
The shouting continues but Anchor remains unphased by the men around the table. But my reaction? Oh, he fucking clocks that alright. His eyes land on my fist then return to my face. His expression goes perfectly blank.
“Have a problem with that, do you?” He asks, his voice growing quieter.
“Damn right I do,” I snap over the continuous shouting. “This fucker has thrown everything he’s got at your daughter. I’m not letting her out of my goddamn sight. Not now. Not fucking ever.”
Blair’s hand comes to rest on my thigh.
It’s a warning.
It’s unneeded, I know challenging Anchor outright has never worked for me in the past. With Anchor, you have to ease him into things if you want him to change his mind. On this issue, though, I’m willing to go head to head with him to make sure Blair stays right fucking here.
Anchor’s gaze becomes glacial. “You think you know what’s best for my daughter?”
“I do.”
“You’ve always had a bleeding heart, Ledger.”
Santi suddenly stops shouting to laugh. The table grows quiet as everyone turns to look at him. He notices and his laughter dies down.
“What?” Santi asks. “I thought it was a joke. Ledger’s an asshole on his best days.”
Blair giggles and I shoot her a glare.
“He’s not wrong,” she says with a bit of an attitude in her voice. Looking around me, she tells her dad, “We should definitely talk about our next steps. I don’t agree that leaving is the best call, though.”
Anchor’s brows raise.
I smirk.
Blair has never objected to any of Anchor’s plans. While he might ask for her input, it’s always just to test her knowledge, never to take her suggestions. It looks like she’s done playing the obedient daughter.
Wes’s hand comes up to hold the back of Blair’s neck. Anchor’s eyes lock onto the gesture. He goes eerily still and his eyes narrow. The air around us seems to grow not only colder, but toxic. I must’ve tensed because Blair squeezes my thigh again, this time in reassurance.
“Whatever the plan is, we’re involved too,” Wes declares. Anchor starts to shake his head but Wes continues, his voice dropping an octave as his anger rises. “That wasn’t an offer to help, it’s me telling you.”
Anchor turns his attention back to me. “You. Me. Now.”
I figured this was coming.
Whatever conversation he wants to have in private is the real reason he’s here, showing his face to everyone.
I nod and get to my feet.
“Let's chat, Anchor.”