Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Ledger
Anchor and I head into the woods. As we move further away, the angry hissing of whispers from the others grow quiet until they vanish altogether.
They have every right to be mad.
If Anchor thinks he’s taking Blair from the four of us, he’s sorely mistaken.
When Anchor deems the space between us and the others far enough, he stops. He doesn’t turn to face me, though. Anchor stares into the dark woods with his hands in his pockets. While his eyes might be on our surroundings, I don’t take mine off him.
Anchor is death personified.
And right now, he’s pissed—which means I need to stay vigilant.
I’ve never worried that Anchor would hurt me.
We’ve always been on the same page since we were kids.
While he didn’t grow up in Caddawalk, he came here often as part of a shitty custody agreement between his parents.
He stayed during most summers, every holiday, and sometimes random stretches of time when his mother just didn’t want to have anything to do with him.
And when he was with his dad, he was actually here with me and Pops.
I’ve known Anchor most of my life. I’m probably one of the only people in the world that understands him and I know, while he might never agree out loud, he appreciates that I’ve stuck it out with him this long.
But things have shifted.
I can feel the tension between us despite the lack of words being said. Whatever’s bothering him, it’s put me in danger. I know it as surely as I know my name.
“Spit it out, Anchor,” I growl when the silence stretches.
He sighs. When he turns, it’s only halfway but his eyes lock onto my face.
“Who the fuck,” he starts soft and low. “Are those men, Ledger?”
I open my mouth to answer but he shakes his head.
“I don’t want excuses. I don’t want an explanation. They were never part of the equation when I agreed that Blair would be safe with you. If I had known there would be others here, I never would’ve allowed it.”
“I trust these men with my life.”
“Do you trust them with Blair’s life?”
I handpicked these men for Blair. Of course I trust them with Blair’s life. If only he knew the level of devotion these men have for his daughter, then… Well, honestly, I’m not sure if that would make it worse or better. Anchor is incredibly possessive.
Before I can confirm, Anchor speaks up again.
“They know her name. Seen her face. Know her connection to me… Do you really think she’s safe with them?”
“They all have baggage and they understand hers. They’ve been good to have around.”
Anchor turns all the way around to finally face me. His body is lax, but I know better than to assume that he’s as calm as he looks.
“Do they understand her baggage?” He asks mockingly. “Or do they just want to fuck my daughter?”
Both.
Absolutely both.
But it’s so much more than wanting to fuck his daughter when it comes to the others. They love her. While it wasn’t my intention for all of them to fall for Blair, and for her to fall for them, this outcome is better than my original plan of having each man fill an empty role in her life.
Again, unsure of how Anchor will react to that news, I keep that information to myself.
“Jesus, Anchor. Blair is a grown woman who can make her own decisions about that shit. If she wants to—”
“And do you ‘want to’?” Anchor’s voice drops an octave and grows icy.
My mouth slams shut as I glare at my friend. He takes a step closer and the air grows thinner. His expression doesn’t show it, nor does his body language change but I can feel the energy in the woods around us, frantic and deadly.
“Do you want to fuck my daughter, Ledger?”
My jaw ticks with tension as I glare back at him.
“Or—” he hedges as he comes to stand right before me. Like this, we’re nearly nose to nose.
Any sane man would back down.
When I inhale, I swear I smell the promise of death in the air.
Admitting the truth to Anchor will be a death sentence, I’m sure of it.
But I’ve seen Blair thrive. I gave her the life she wanted.
What’s more? I got to taste her—something I swore I’d never indulge in, to keep her away from my darkest parts.
If I die, at least I know all of this wouldn’t have been in vain.
Never one to claim to be sane, though, I don’t cower as the world’s most proficient killer stares me dead in the eye.
“—do you want Blair here because she’s a pawn in a bigger game?” he growls.
I balk, taken aback by the change of subject.
“What are you talking about?”
Anchor’s eyes narrow. “You’ve underestimated me, haven’t you?”
“You were never one to waste words, so just get straight to the point, Anchor.”
“There are only two people still alive that know about Blair. One of them knew where my daughter resided, the other wants her head. Wants my head.”
My stomach plummets.
I guessed that there had to be someone else out there that knew about Blair. It was the only reasonable explanation why whoever this Dixie fucker is would go to such extreme lengths to get to her.
“You put out the hit, didn’t you?” Anchor presses. “And you gave away my location and Blair’s. You put her in danger.”
The sheer audacity of accusing me of putting his daughter in danger has me laughing. Hard. The sound carries around in the darkness. My hand comes to rest on my stomach as it continues.
This fucking bastard…
“Yeah,” I admit after composing myself. “I did put the hit out on you two. Did that put her in danger? Sure. Did I intend for it to get so fucking out of hand? Fuck no. I thought this shit would’ve been nipped in the bud by now and we’d all go on our merry fucking way.
So, for that, I’m sorry. No, she was never a pawn—you conspiracy theorist asshole.
I just fucking wanted her for myself. I wanted—no, needed—her here. ”
I swear the devil stares back at me, using Anchor as a vessel. Oh, he’s really fucking pissed.
I don’t care. I push on, adding, “But don’t you dare fucking stand there and accuse me of doing something shitty when you put her in more danger than I ever could.”
Anchor stiffens. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“You heard me,” I sneer. “Don’t pretend like I didn’t end up talking you out of killing her countless times.”
Anchor’s glare promises death. “She’s still here, isn’t she?”
“No thanks to you.” I point at him as I step forward.
“It’s all thanks to me! I gave up—”
“Nothing!” I bellow. “You gave up nothing to keep her around! You lived your life however the fuck you wanted and you dragged Blair along for the ride. But I sure as shit remember a few times when I had to step in to save her life from you.”
Anchor’s strike comes swiftly and unyielding. His fist slams against my jaw with a force that sends me staggering away. Blood fills my mouth instantly. Straightening, I turn to face Anchor and spit the blood in his face.
He doesn’t even flinch.
“Rats are better parents to their offsprings than you were to Blair,” I taunt.
I’m making things worse, but fuck does it feel good to pull this fucker down off his high horse. Anchor always thinks he’s right. It’s his way or no way.
Anchor steps closer, his body still relaxed despite the darkness swirling around in his eyes. “My daughter has always been safest with me.”
“Until you grew tired of towing her around,” I growl.
Anchor lunges at me. I duck as his fist comes swinging around again.
This time, I fight back. I shove at him before rushing forward.
I use the momentum for when I bring my right fist around to hit him in the face—in the exact spot he’d hit me.
Anchor stumbles but I don’t give him time to recover like he’d given me.
My left fist slams into his gut but when I go for a right upper cut, Anchor sidesteps it and his fist strikes me in the stomach.
We grapple, both snarling and furious as the other tries to get the upper hand.
I kick out his leg and he goes down on his knee.
But Anchor’s not vulnerable like this.
He reaches down and pulls the knife from his boot just as I try to bring my knee up to meet his nose. I stumble away before the blade can slam into my thigh. Anchor is on his feet in a fraction of a second.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him. “Don’t like hearing the truth? At least I can own up to my part. Just say it! You were tired of being a parent.”
I twist right, left, back, then to the right again as his blade comes slashing through the air.
I catch his wrist but his fist slams into my gut and the breath is knocked out of me. I make the mistake of letting go of his arm. Leaping out of the way, I narrowly miss my throat getting slashed.
“I never grew tired of having Blair around!” Anchor says as he prowls around me.
I snort in disbelief before launching myself at him.
Throwing my shoulder into his gut, I ram him back into a tree.
Before he can stab me, literally, in the back, I catch his arm and pinch a nerve, forcing him to drop the blade.
Anchor’s knee slams into my junk and I gasp in pain, staggering away from him.
He grunts as he glares at me then takes a step forward.
“Never grew tired of her, huh?” I sniff out a dry laugh. “What about that time in the desert? You literally abandoned her—hoping she would fail and starve to death.”
Anchor comes to a halt, his body going rigid.
Oh yeah, he knows exactly what I’m talking about.
“Or how about when you were giving her all those poisons to teach her how to differentiate between them?” I press on.
“You had no intention of giving her the antidotes. And then that time you tried to drown her in the fucking lake? You fed her a lie and she loves you so much that she ate that shit up. You know what’s crazy?
That time at the lake came up recently and she defended you.
Little does she know if I hadn’t shown up, she’d be at the bottom of that fucking lake.
Hell, if I hadn’t been there for any of those times, she’d be dead.
I’m surprised you didn’t try it whenever I wasn’t around. ”