Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
Blair
“Blair!”
Ledger calls for me but I can’t stomach looking at him right now as I stomp back toward the cabin. There are dishes still to be done and a grill that needs to be cleaned but it’s all forgotten as I head for the back door.
“Baby girl!”
“Carino!”
“Blair!”
They all call out for me. I can hear the ache in their voices and that makes it all so much worse. They heard everything, just as I had. Slipping into the woods to listen to Dad and Ledger’s conversation had been the worst mistake I could’ve ever made.
I thought Ledger’s betrayal was bad enough, but learning about Dad’s?
Bile burns in the back of my throat as I think about all the times Ledger listed out. I remember them as clear as day. They were some of Dad’s hardest lessons. Turns out they weren’t lessons at all.
Dad had tried to kill me.
Rhett was right, he is a psychopath.
My heart is quivering in pain, ready to fall apart once I’m in the safety of my own room. But rather than stomp up the back steps, my feet lead me around the cabin, toward the front of it.
On this side of the cabin, the woods feel darker.
The shadows here call to me—they’re a comforting oblivion just within reach.
I slip into them and instantly feel a little better. In the house, I would’ve been trapped inside four walls, leaving me claustrophobic. Out here, with the fresh air, cold breeze, and just miles of space for me to think? This is so much better.
Kind of feels like Gnarly Pines is rubbing off on me.
I stomp through the woods, keeping in sight of the trail cameras so the guys feel more at ease with me taking off on my own. At least they can watch me and make sure I’m safe. That thought brings a short-lived and small smile to my face.
Before coming here, I would never have considered doing something like this. I believed I could handle things on my own. That I didn’t need anyone else watching over me.
But being here has taught me to be more open-minded. To let people in. So yeah, I’m hurting and running from the guys but I’m not disappearing. Not with them.
The first crack in my heart splinters as I realize the “trust no one, lean on only yourself” rule was taught by the very man who tried to kill me.
No, not just kill me.
That lesson was taught by a man who tried killing me multiple times. My own dad wanted to see me dead.
Tears burn in my eyes as my footsteps quicken. As the first one leaks free, I take off into a sprint. I can’t outrun the pain in my chest but I’m going to try.
I feel like the world’s biggest idiot.
Dad had saved me from Uncle Al and because of that, I must’ve blinded myself to the true person he was.
I loved him so much that even through his toughest lessons, I just assumed he wanted what was best for me and that was how it had to be.
How could I have been so easily fooled by the person I spent the most time with growing up? How have I been this naive?
My stomach rolls and my footsteps stagger.
With a shallow breath, I try to focus on being in the moment. Dad’s not here to kill me now. And try as he might, he hadn’t been able to see it through in the past.
I’m okay.
I’m fine. I…
I choke on the sob that wants to be set free. I won’t make a sound. I won’t give voice to my grief.
I will be okay.
I will.
Trust no one but yourself… I should’ve known that lesson was just another test. Dad was right, the only person I can truly count on is myself.
Except, can I even do that?
If I can be so foolish as to not see Dad’s lessons for what they truly were, can I trust my own judgement?
“Oh, carino… you know what running does to me…”
I flinch in surprise at the sound of Santiago’s voice. His taunt carries through the woods but he doesn’t sound all that close. Still, I look over my shoulder and scan the dark shadows of the trees. I can’t see him anywhere.
“If you wanted to play, you should’ve just asked, Blair.”
I whirl around, searching for Rhett who’s voice comes from a different direction. He’s nowhere to be seen either. Excitement weasels its way through my veins, gently nudging aside the ache in my heart.
“Stop it!” I snap into the darkness. “Just leave me—”
There’s a loud tsk, closer than the two voices before.
“You don’t get to be alone, not when you’re ours,” Wes scolds. “Not when we can help you.”
He’s out here playing too? I take three hesitant steps in the direction I’ve been heading in.
“That’s right, carino,” Santiago teases from wherever he’s hiding. “Go for it. Run and see what happens.”
"Don’t listen to him,” Wes says. “Come home. I promise we’ll be sweeter if you don’t fight us on this.”
“I’ll never be sweet to you,” Rhett promises. “I’ll treat you like the dirty little whore you pretend not to be.”
A shiver of desire works its way down my spine.
“I don’t want to play!” I lie loud enough that they can all hear me.
There’s a deep, objecting hum. One that doesn’t belong to Santiago, Rhett, or Wes.
“I know you better than anyone else, darling,” Ledger says, the last of them to speak. A snap of a twig alerts me that he’s somewhere behind me. I whirl around and spot him.
Oh.
Ledger stands just a few yards away, out in the open. I can’t see his face. It’s too dark and he’s too far. Yet I can feel the tension humming between us, despite the distance. Desire and relief, heartache and love burst in my chest at the sight of my godfather’s dark silhouette.
Ledger saved me from my own father.
I always knew he was my hero.
This hit he’d put on my head had made me forget about the man he is.
Ledger has always been there for me—protecting me in one form or another. That was all back before I was his. Now, I have a feeling he’ll go so much farther, cross all the lines, just for me. To protect me. To own me.
Between his obsession, Wes’s gentle possessiveness, Santiago’s playful claiming, and Rhett’s all-consuming energy—I’ve never felt so safe or loved.
The hurt that Dad brought tonight stings but in the presence of my guys, who now stalk me through the woods, that hurt is overshadowed by something far warmer and reaches the darkest depths of my soul, healing it.
“Who do you think will win tonight?” I ask them all.
Santiago snickers. “Definitely me. I want it the most.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Rhett objects.
Both of them sound closer.
“Their exuberance will make them sloppy,” Wes murmurs, the closet of the three. “I can’t wait to win The Hunt tonight. The prize has never been so fucking alluring.”
My thighs clench together at the husk in his voice.
“I’ve never played, so first timer’s luck should be on my side tonight, don’t you think?” Ledger asks, not moving from where he stands.
“And me?” I ask them. “What do I get if I escape you all?”
There’s a round of dark, eager laughter.
“Our prey has never won,” Rhett snickers.
There’s no stopping the stupidly excited smile that splays across my face. “There’s a first for everything.”
I don’t wait for them to respond.
Turning, I dart away, off into the woods running as hard and as fast as possible.
The sound of several different footsteps thunder after me.
There’s no being quiet as I race through the trees.
Ledger probably knows his property the best, but Wes has been here for nearly a decade, surely he knows these woods by now just as well as Ledger.
Those two might be the hardest to beat. Then again, Santi and Rhett created this game.
The thrill of the hunt will give them the much needed boost of adrenaline.
The thought of any of them winning warms my blood.
The hurt of the evening fades as I focus on something other than the wretched truth I’d just uncovered.
I duck under branches, use them to swing over fallen trees or large rocks that protrude too far out of the ground to simply scramble over or waste time running around. I slip beneath brush and throw large sticks behind me to slow down my pursuers.
Somewhere behind me, someone swears.
Another person cackles further off to my left.
My nipples tighten with excitement; becoming sensitive as they brush against my bra. My heart feels like it's already miles ahead with how hard it’s beating.
Taking a sharp right, I use the sudden steep slope to my advantage—running full speed down it rather than slowing or avoiding it all together.
The momentum helps me run up the side of a curved rock and when I get to the top, I jump a few feet down on its other side.
The move allows me to be temporarily out of sight from whoever is closest.
Using the shelter of the rock, I press against it and slide around to the side of it.
There’s the thundering of footsteps as someone draws close but they follow my progression, climbing over the rock rather than trying to sneak around it. I wait until I hear them jump down, right where I had been before darting back the way I came.
I get a few feet before I nearly crash right into Ledger. All I can see is a faint twinkling in his eyes coming from the pale light of the stars above. The rest of his face is shrouded in shadows.
“See?” he says quietly as he takes a step forward. “Beginner’s luck.”
My right foot slides backward. “You haven’t caught me yet.”
“I don’t have to catch you when I know you’ll come straight to me,” he says, his voice growing quieter. Lifting his arm, he offers me his outstretched hand. “Come here, Blair. Let me show you how good sin can feel.”
My pussy clenches around nothing at the offer.
Of my Ledger summoning me.
I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long that it feels only right to see it through.
My face heats and my breath catches.
I almost cave and reach for him.
Thankfully, I’m saved as Santiago bursts from the darkness and slams into him.
“She’s my prize tonight, asshole. Fuck off,” he says then laughs as they both go crashing to the forest floor.
I escape before either one of them can get their bearings.
There’s no suppressing my giggle as I take off to the right, circling the property. I’m not safe yet. The sound of someone’s feet pounding on the ground beneath me warns that someone’s close.