Chapter 39 #2
What if, despite all the fighting, I don’t make it?
If that’s the case, I’ll never be able to savor the dark and twisted affection I share with my godfather, Ledger.
I won’t be able to lean on Wes and simply relax, knowing that he has everything covered.
There won’t be another moment where Santi says the most outrageous thing that’ll make me laugh.
And I won’t be able to savor the quiet, thoughtful moments with Rhett ever again.
They’ve all taken a piece of me and now, without them, I ache.
Even with all the bumps, bruises, scratches, and bullet holes; their absence hurts more than any of that. Taking a breath feels hollow and each beat of my heart feels ineffective without them nearby.
Maybe, if I do die here—wherever here is—I’ll live on through them? They carry a piece of me, don’t they? Maybe that will be enough to hold us all together in an eternal way?
The thought is morbid and doesn’t bring me any peace. Pushing it away, I gnaw harder and faster on the rope.
I’m just starting to make progress when I hear a door open and then shut.
Shit. My time’s up.
Swallowing down the rising panic, I brace myself for what comes next now that Dixie has arrived.
A man in his late forties comes around the car, well dressed and smiling pleasantly. His hair is short and styled nicely, his suit is obviously expensive, and as he lifts his hands to adjust the sleeves of his jacket, I catch sight of flashy gold cuffs.
I’m not sure who I was expecting. Maybe someone like Dad, cold and aloof. But this man whose smile is oddly bright, is not it.
“Good afternoon, Blair. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He lowers his hip to rest on the lip of the trunk of the SUV. “My name is Arnon Dixon.”
I’m not quite sure what to do here.
Do I entertain conversation with him? Do I taunt him like I had his foot soldier?
Or should I stay quiet and reserved. This man is going to kill me—maybe I should play nice?
Mentally, I grimace. The thought of being nice to the man who’s been after me and Dad for the past month and a half physically makes me ill.
I press my lips together and glare at him, deciding that saying nothing is probably my best bet.
“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to get my hands on you?” he asks, not needing to be prompted to continue. “No, you probably don’t. But trust me when I say, it’s been a long time coming.”
Dixie shoves his hands into his pockets and studies me closely.
“You know, I see the resemblance between you and your father. When William told me he had a kid, I half expected you to look monstrous given how fucked up that man is.” Arnon’s eyes darken as they slide over me. “But you, Blair, are absolutely lovely. Even covered in blood, you are… my type.”
I suppress a shiver as his eyes rake over me.
“But, as beautiful as you are, your looks won’t save you,” he sighs.
“He worked so hard keeping you a secret, not only after he faked his own death and took up contract work but before that, too—did you know that? He told me one night after drinking just a little too much. Blurted out he had a kid somewhere out in the world and that he was disgusted by it. He went on to tell me that he considered any extension of himself a weakness. He wanted to hunt you and your mother down to kill you so that he wouldn’t have any.
He wanted greatness and he feared you would somehow steal that from him.
I’m so glad that he decided not to do that.
Because now he has his infamy and a weakness for me to exploit. ”
Oh boy, this man is a talker.
How the hell were he and Dad close, even a little bit? Dad hates conversing for long periods of time. I have a feeling this man could talk for hours, and I’ve only just met him.
But maybe that’s what I need for him to do—I need Arnon to keep talking.
The longer he talks, the longer I live and the more time Dad has of putting distance between himself and this asshole.
My eyes slide from Dixie’s face to the ceiling of the SUV in an attempt to avoid his strange smile.
“You know, he did try to kill me. A couple of times, in fact,” I tell him. “I actually just found that out recently.”
“Did he now?”
I hum in confirmation. “Well, like I said, he tried.”
“You might be his first failed job, then.”
His tone makes me wary, so I look back at Dixie to find him beaming at me as if he’s impressed. I give him a one shoulder shrug. Instantly, I regret it as pain from the bullet wound just beneath my collarbone flares up.
“Dad said that he killed your first wife, is that true?”
The abrupt change of conversation doesn’t throw Dixie for a loop. He blinks once but his smile doesn’t falter as he says, “That is correct.”
“And… you’re going to kill me now for revenge, right?”
“That is correct.”
The confirmation makes my stomach riot but I hold his gaze, refusing to show any sign of fear. “Even though I saved your second wife and kid?”
Arnon’s smile grows wider. “I thought you’d bring that up. My daughter told me of your heroic act. At first, I thought she might be making that up, because why would you set them free? But then my wife confirmed that it was true.”
“Does that earn me any brownie points?”
“Are you begging for your life, Blair?”
I scoff with indignation. “Nope. I’m just seeing if that matters in the grand scheme of things. It’s not like I killed your wife after all.”
“And it wasn’t like Aurora did anything to William and yet he still killed her.
” Arnon’s smile falters. Something sinister flashes in his eyes before he pushes it out of sight.
He opens his mouth to say more but his cell phone rings.
With a sigh, he pulls it out of his interior jacket pocket and checks the screen. “Shit.”
I raise a brow. “Everything okay, Dixie?”
The smile falters just a bit before Dixie fixes it.
“I prefer Arnon,” he corrects as he shoves his phone away to give me his full attention.
“Dixie was from my younger, more rash years. And yes, everything is fine. I’m just running behind schedule.
I wanted to meet you before I killed you but it took longer than I expected for you to wake up.
I’ve been pushing this call, and others like it, back all day. They can wait a moment longer.”
Dread pools in my stomach as he moves to stand straight.
Is this it? Is this where everything ends?
Dixie sighs. “I’m not a bad man, Blair. I do believe in tit-for-tat, though, which is why this must be done. But because of what you did for my family, I’ll make this easier on you.”
He steps back, away from the SUV and out of the garage.