Chapter 31 #2
Anchor’s hands tremble at his side—it’s the first time in years that I’ve seen any real emotion leak from his carefully curated mask of indifference.
“All of that,” he growls through clenched teeth. “Is in the past.”
“It still happened so don’t give me some bullshit line that I put her in danger because you’ve done it countless times without hesitation.
” I spit on the ground before adding, “At least I can say that what I did led to her happiness. Blair thinks the world of you and I let her because I would hate to destroy her image of her dad. But if she knew what you tried to do to her over and over again, would she still look at you the same way, I wonder?”
“It was better for me to do it than anyone else that was after me at the time!”
I chuckle darkly. “Sure, keep telling yourself that.”
“None of this erases the crime you committed by putting a hit on the both of us,” Anchor assures me.
My dark chuckle slithers around the woods as I give him a half-ass shrug. “I’m not asking for forgiveness, Anchor. I’m just man enough to fess up to my crimes.”
Anchor’s eyes never leave my face.
There’s no missing how still he’s gone.
“Why?” he asks. “Why now?”
“Because I have craved and watched your daughter from afar for years!” I snap, my temper rising.
“The only way I could have her was to force her hand. I put the hit out and she ran straight to me—right into my fucking arms, where she’s always been safe!
” I laugh as surprise flickers across his face.
“I didn’t used to think I was her best choice but between me and you? She’ll always be safest with me.”
It’s only because I know to expect it that I see Anchor reach for his gun. Instinct has me drawing mine at the same time. We stare at one another down the barrel of our guns.
“I trusted you,” he hisses. “I trusted you with her life.”
“And I should’ve never trusted you with hers!” I shake my head with disappointment. “Her life would’ve been so much better if I’d taken her from you from the get-go and dumped her off with CPS. Her life will be much fuller once this is all over, Anchor.”
“She’s coming with me. Once we take care of Dixie, you’ll never see us again.”
As if he’d let me live once Dixie’s gone. I’m not stupid.
“She’s not leaving Gnarly Pines,” I promise him through clenched teeth. “I’m not giving her up and neither will the others.”
At the mention of the guys, Anchor’s face goes blank.
Any sign of anger disappears.
And his eyes go lifeless.
Shit… this is it. This is the moment where my best friend kills me.
“Go ahead,” I urge as I lower my gun. “Shoot me. I would’ve given her the world but at least she’ll have those three to help her now.”
Anchor’s finger slides onto the trigger.
Fuck, he’s really going to do this.
I brace myself, ready to give up my life now that Blair has one to live.
A gun goes off and a bullet goes flying.
It’s just not from Anchor’s gun.
The bullet slams into the tree just inches over Anchor’s head. Pieces of bark go flying as we both whip around to see who the fuck is shooting at us.
There, standing on the edge of the tree line is Blair.
Her gun is drawn and aimed at us while her other hand rests on her hip.
The fury on her face is enough to make me cringe away.
Is it stupid of me to be more afraid of Blair’s wrath than her father’s?
Probably. But Anchor is at least predictable—as in I’m sure someone is going to die in his presence.
With Blair, I don’t know what her next move will be.
Last time she got close to me while pissed, she carved her name into my flesh.
I’m still recovering from that interaction.
Behind Blair are Rhett, Wes, and Santiago. They all watch on, their expressions unreadable in the dark.
“Blair Bear?” Anchor scowls at her. “What the hell are you—”
“Was all of that true?” she interrupts coldly. “Did you really try to kill me?”
Anchor flinches and for the first time in my entire life, I watch as shame twists his features. “It’s not what it sounded like, Blair. Everything we’ve done together has been a test. Some were—”
“You’re lying.”
Her accusation has him staggering a few steps back, like it physically struck him. He lowers the gun to his side as he draws in a deep breath.
“Blair Bear—”
“Don’t Blair Bear me right now!” She waves her gun at him. “Gun. Holster it. Now.”
Anchor stares at his daughter, his expression pained.
As they have a stare down, I try to predict the outcome of the evening. I’m about ninety-five percent sure that Blair wouldn’t shoot her own dad. Then again, I was sure she’d never draw a weapon on him either. With her pissed, we’re all in uncharted territory right now.
Anchor must be calculating the same risk because he doesn’t move right away.
When he finally does, it’s to holster his gun.
“I would ask why you tried killing me, but your answer is probably just as fucked up as the rest of you,” she hisses, keeping her gun trained to him. “You should’ve just put a bullet in my head if you were so desperate to get me out of your hair.”
“Blair, you’re getting emotional,” Anchor says, shifting gears and going into exasperated father mode. “You know it does no good getting this way.”
Blair’s gun goes off again.
The bullet slams into the ground beside his right foot, missing by scant centimeters.
“Blair!” Anchor snaps. “This isn’t a game.”
“Neither is my life yet, apparently, you treated it as such.”
“If you would just let me explain, you’ll see that you’re taking this all the wrong way.”
Blair shakes her head. “I don’t want to hear it. What I want right now is for you to go back to wherever you’re bunkered down. Just looking at you is making me sick.”
Anchor flinches. With a deep breath, he tries to soothe her.
“Blair Bear, you walked into a conversation you weren’t supposed to hear. You’ve misinterpreted everything.” He gives her a smile but Blair isn’t moved by it and he sees it. “Let’s talk, just you and I.”
Her gun goes off again, this time nearly hitting his other shoe.
Anchor swears before taking two quick steps backward.
Blair takes a step forward and mirrors his eerie smile back at him.
“Tomorrow, you’ll come back here for breakfast and we’ll make plans on how to handle Dixie that doesn’t involve me disappearing with you,” she continues, ignoring his offer to chat. “Got it?”
Anchor stares at his daughter as if just now seeing her for the first time. His eyes travel over her face—hardened with anger—and then they fall to the gun in her hand.
“You wouldn’t shoot me.”
“Want to put money on it?” she counters with a cold smirk. “Ledger probably thought I wouldn’t draw his blood, too. He learned the hard way, want to do the same?”
Anchor shoots a curious glance in my direction.
“I’ll show you the damage in the morning,” I offer with a strained chuckle. “If you don’t shoot me.”
His expression goes blank before he turns back to Blair.
“Fine, clearly you need to cool down before we can have a real conversation,” he concedes. After a moment, he adds a little more gently. “Don’t overthink this, Blair Bear. You know I gave you all the tools to succeed in life. Each brush with death only made you stronger.”
A snarl of rage echoes around us. Wes steps forward, his brows knitted together and his lips peeled back so that his teeth are bared. “Get the fuck out of here, now! Your daughter clearly has more self-control than I do. Stay any longer and I’ll kill you myself.”
Santi saunters up to Blair’s other side, lacking a smile that typically adorns his face. Rhett falls in beside Santi, looking just as murderous as ever.
Anchor eyes the crowd that’s gathered around his daughter for a long moment before he nods and takes a step back.
“I’ll be here tomorrow,” he promises.
Blair waves her gun, gesturing for him to keep moving.
Anchor continues to walk backward until he vanishes into the darkness.
I stare at where I last saw him, gaping in surprise.
This was the first time I’ve ever known Anchor, the world’s most infamous hitman, to retreat.