Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
Blair
Iglance in the side mirror and watch the winding road stretch further and further away from Gnarly Pines. It feels like I’m unraveling as I put distance between me and my guys.
“Blair,” Rhett had begged only ten minutes ago. “Please don’t go!”
The sheer panic on Rhett’s face as it went pale nearly had me rethinking the decision.
Me leaving was probably going to be the hardest on him, even if it is for only a little while.
His anxiety seems to be getting worse, not better.
I make a mental note to talk to Wes about how to help Rhett overcome it when this is all over.
I’d only agreed to go with Dad so I could find out where he’s hiding Dixie’s family members. Once I have a location, I’ll call Ledger using the burner phone he slipped me before I headed out this evening and coordinate their rescue.
I’ll not stand for this hostage bullshit.
“Tell me something,” Dad says suddenly, breaking the silence.
I hum to let him know I’m listening.
“When did it start?”
Confused, I pull my attention off the side mirror to look over at him. “What do you mean?”
A flicker of irritation crosses over his face before he tucks it away.
“Between you and Ledger,” he explains.
I think about how to answer his question but after a minute or two, I’m still floundering. With a huff, I admit, “It’s complicated.”
Dad shoots me a dark look. “Did he take liberties with you when you were a child?”
“Take liberties?” I repeat then snort. “Way to show your age, Dad.”
He doesn’t crack a smile at my teasing.
Sighing, I shake my head. “No, this is newish… I guess.”
“Elaborate.”
I really don’t want to but Dad’s going to hound me about this until he gets his story so… “I’ve had a crush on Ledger since forever, Dad.”
His nostrils flares. “What?”
“Yup,” I admit. “I think since the first day I laid eyes on him. Fast forward to my college graduation day when I got the SOS that you two needed back up. I grabbed my diploma, ran off stage, and right into a gunfight. I found Ledger but then we were surrounded. I thought it was the end so I, ah, kissed him.”
“You what?” Dad’s grip on the steering wheel tightens. “In the middle of a job?”
I laugh but the sound is strained. “You’ll be glad to hear that he pushed me away and told me to knock it off.”
Dad doesn’t look glad.
In fact, despite his ability to remain calm under most stressful situations, right now he looks murderous.
“That’s when Ledger said his feelings started,” I continue slowly. “Look, the rest of it is a bit murky but, ah, yeah… it started with that kiss and now we’re here.”
Dad doesn’t yell at me.
He doesn’t scold me.
He simply focuses straight ahead on the road.
Though he says nothing, I can feel his disapproval.
It fills the car and suffocates me. It’s almost worse than if he yelled—which he never would since he doesn’t allow himself to spiral into emotional outbursts.
It’s a little hard to defend Ledger since he put a hit out on both of us in order for his plans to come together, but I don’t hate the outcome.
Once this Dixie is out of the picture, things could be good.
More than good.
Life could be fucking great.
When Dad takes the turn onto Main Street in Caddawalk, we both reach down and grab a baseball cap we borrowed from the others. We put them on, covering our faces from any cameras. He turns off Main Street a few minutes later.
I frown as he takes a few more turns and the area becomes vaguely familiar.
“Blair…” he starts suddenly.
“Hm?”
“Do you think this is Stockholm Syndrome?”
His response is the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard him say. Throwing my head back, I laugh. The sound fills the car but Dad doesn’t join in. As my amusement dies down, I can’t help but tease him. “God, if Stockholm Syndrome leads to the kind of sex I’m having—don’t pull me out of my psychosis.”
“Blair!” Dad snaps. “Do you really not understand the situation you’re in right now?
These men know your identity. They could be on your side right now, but what happens six months from now when they find another woman?
Or when one of my enemies comes snooping around, not with bullets but with cash. Cash talks, you know that. Or—”
“You know,” I interrupt with a drawl. “This outburst is a bit… emotional of you, don’t you think?”
It’s a low blow to call him out like this.
Yet, if the roles were reversed, he wouldn’t hesitate to remind me that my emotions are getting in the way.
Honestly, I appreciate the concern. Dad really doesn’t show his emotions much so when he does, it’s because he feels it’s important that I know his stance on issues. His fear for my wellbeing is touching.
But Dad’s got to trust me to make my own decisions. If I end up being burned by them, well then, that’s on me.
The silence stretches between us as he makes his way through Caddawalk. As we make it into a more residential part of town, curiosity gets the best of me.
“How do you know this place so well?”
Dad doesn’t reply right away as he takes a turn and then another one.
He’s circling his location. I can tell after a few minutes when we pass the same street just on the other end of it.
We must be getting close to where he’s keeping the hostages.
Instinctually, my eyes scan the streets, the shadows, empty cars, and yards—searching for signs of trouble.
“Caddawalk is where my father—your grandfather—lived. I came in the summers and most holidays for a custody agreement growing up.”
I blink, surprised by this.
I guess I shouldn’t be. I know that he and Ledger grew up together and joined the Marines together, but I guess I never considered the fact that Dad had lived in Caddawalk at some point. It never clicked until now.
“Did you ever go to the Caddawalk Fall Festival?”
The question throws Dad for a loop. I can tell by the way his brows creep together slowly while he continues scanning for any potential danger.
“Yes. Why?”
“Santi was telling me about it. It sounds like fun but I can’t picture you doing something so… normal.”
Dad scoffs. “Normal?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I had a childhood, Blair Bear.”
Given how he lives his life now, he could’ve fooled me.
Questions about his childhood and his life while he lived here spin around in my head, but I know if I keep peppering him with questions now, he’ll just shut down sooner rather than later.
I’m honestly impressed with how chatty he’s been all night.
Even at dinner he was much more forthcoming than I ever expected him to be.
A part of me is suspicious.
Dad really doesn’t enjoy being around others so for him to show up and sit down to eat dinner, as tense as it was, feels off. I consider this as he pulls onto an all too familiar street. My body slowly begins to tense with each house we pass.
Oh, shit… I know he’s not taking me where I think he’s headed.
I try not to react as Dad pulls into a familiar driveway but as I stare at the cute, two-story yellow house with faded pale blue shutters, my heart starts to hammer away in my chest. Anger swells up and my face begins to burn.
This is not a coincidence.
As Dad parks the car and unbuckles his seatbelt, I sit there seething.
“Come on,” he urges as he reaches for his door handle.
“What the fuck, Dad?” I snap as I tear my eyes away from the Navarro house to glare at him.
I don’t miss the hard smile that pulls at his lips. It’s that same damn smile he wears whenever he knows he’s taken things too far but doesn’t fucking care.
“Inside, now,” he warns before pushing open his door.
Cursing under my breath, I reach back to grab my go-bag and then push open my door. Dad and I keep our heads down as I follow him around the back to the unlocked sliding glass door.
Once inside, Dad doesn’t turn on the lights. Instead, he moves in the dark. The ease in which he navigates the floorplan without any light to guide him tells me he’s been here for a while. A few days at least.
He moves around the Navarro house as if it’s his own.
“Why the hell did you pick this house to hold the hostages in?” I demand once we make it to the kitchen.
Dad pulls something out of his pocket and plugs it into the outlet on the counter. A little nightlight flares to life a second later. He turns to look at me, his expression hard.
“It’s insurance, Blair Bear. No doubt Santiago would hate to have too much attention brought to this house—so he won’t be doing anything stupid, like hurt you or—”
My temper flares. “He wouldn’t hurt me!”
“He’s a serial killer, Blair. Of course he would.”
I let out a little shriek of frustration. “You’re a serial killer, Dad! Just because you get paid and Santi doesn’t, doesn’t change that fact!” Before I can begin to berate him over this, something else brings me up short. “Wait, how did you know about Santi?”
“Blair…” Dad tsks. “Unlike you, I don’t lower my guard around anyone, and I do my research before approaching any situation. It didn’t take long to figure out Santiago’s MO.”
I’ve never wanted to punch my dad as much as I do right now.
Santi’s going to freak out when he sees the location of Ledger’s phone.
No doubt he already has. I’m going to have to be super quick about getting these hostages out of here.
Dad can be pissed at me all he wants, but I’d rather face his wrath than Santi’s heartbreak if anything happens to this house.
I suck in a deep breath to steady myself.
Yelling has never gotten me my way—not when it comes to Dad. And I can see in his face that he expects me to throw a fit. He’s already shut down, ready to remind me how things are done while he’s around.
Rather than freak out again, I roll my shoulders and get to the point of why I’m here.
“I’m assuming the hostages are in the basement?”
His eyes flash with irritation, clearly annoyed I won’t take the bait.
“Yes.”
“Why wait until tomorrow to contact Dixie? Why not do it now?”
Dad’s eyes narrow. “So ready to be done with me, are you?”