"Mm," I murmured as I moved to the next piece. "They warned me about you, you know."
"Good." His answer was cold, which I hadn't expected.
"So, you just don't want people asking you for help, is that it?" I asked, trying to convince myself that I didn't care if he was here or not.
Blaze let out a heavy breath. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to have been a laugh or some sound to prove me wrong. Either way, if this guy expected me to be scared of him, then he had a bit to learn. I might not have connections with hitmen and politicians, but that didn't mean I was scared of much. Losing my girls - Faith and Violet - was at the top of the list, but I had them now, and nothing could take them from me.
Blaze finally stood back up, then turned to face me. "I'm giving Violet a gun. It can't be traced. I want to make sure that if anything happens, she's taken care of. I know that you boys can handle a body if it comes to that, and I'll make sure that there's a clean-up crew so it can't come back to Southwind."
"She won't shoot someone," I reminded him.
"Oh, she will," he assured me. "So will Ash. You and Cy are the weak links here, but I have a feeling that both of you will stop caring about being nice guys the moment someone you love is threatened."
"I meant that she wouldn't risk Southwind," I corrected. "I also don't think my daughter needs a gun in the house. She's already been battling with cutting, and I don't think it's a big jump from that to suicide. How about we don't make it easy for her, hm?"
"She's a girl," he told me - as if I didn't know. "Luke, she's more likely to overdose on pills or cut her wrists. Girls don't eat the end of a gun. They kill themselves in ways that allow their family to have a funeral. It's the boys who use the guns." He paused to shove a hand across his lips. "I also don't really want to have a weapon here when the students show up. A few of them will know exactly how to use one."
"Just one more reason to not leave a gun here," I pointed out.
"There's a safe in the back of Violet's closet," Blaze went on, completely ignoring me. "The combination is Bea's birthday - not Gran's. I know, because I put it in for Vera. The gun will stay in there."
With a groan, I gave up on working and gave him my complete attention. "Why the fuck do you want Violet to have a gun?"
"Because Simmons isn't going to give up," the man snapped. "Don't you get it? Paul Simmons doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself. He's worse than me!"
"Why her?" I asked. "Not us. Not the rainbow. You keep saying Violet, so what is it about her that seems to mean so much to the entire rainbow?"
Blaze ran his tongue between his teeth and lips as he thought about that. "You know, there was something so honest about her. Here we were, nothing but losers and criminals, and the old lady's granddaughter didn't care at all. She'd come up and introduce herself, just acting like we were completely normal people - but we weren't. We'd all been kicked around before we got here. Gran tried to take care of us. Bea tried to shape us. Violet? She just accepted us, and just about every color appreciated that."
"You know," I said, thinking about it, "when she found out that I was the cow feeder, she didn't care. I figured a pretty thing like her would be put off by that. She'd expect a guy to wine and dine her, and a farmhand doesn't really make enough to do that."
"But she didn't care," Blaze said, nodding to show he understood. "Yeah. Well, that hot little model in there is about the closest thing I have to a little sister."
"So why are you really here?" I asked. "She's not going to let you kill the guy, because everyone in Cats Peak would look right at us. So why aren't you headed out as fast as you showed up?"
He leaned back and made a point of looking me over. "Ash warned me that you tend to get a little jealous about your girl. Well, I was hoping that the whole little sister talk would've fixed that, but it doesn't seem to be working."
"Jealous isn't about her fucking someone else," I told him. "It's about someone showing up and fucking up herlife. I'm not quite convinced whether or not you'll do that. I know you're a bit of a loose cannon. I know you like to make your own rules. Well, I also know that the moment you step foot in that house, I intend to make sure that you play by Violet's rules."
"And yet you all want me to fix this shit," he pointed out.
He had a point. I had wanted him to fix the shit with my daughter. I'd been willing to do anything he asked to make sure that I could get custody of Faith. I'd even made it clear that I would gladly pay his price, but that was for changing Faith's life, not taking one. Something about that changed the rules for me.
"I just figured a man like you would have more options than murder," I said, deciding that was the safest answer.
A slow smirk began to take over his mouth. "Sure I do. Murder is just the easiest," he said. "When someone is dead, they don't come back to try again. They don't get the chance to make the same mistake twice." Then he stepped a little closer. "And I don't like cleaning up bullshit that spills over. Dead men tell no tales, isn't that the line?"
"Dead men don't get rehabilitation centers open either," I countered, refusing to step back before this man.
Because if he wanted to make this physical, then I was more than ready to go. If he assumed us wanting to take the high road made us weak, then I would be happy to prove just how wrong he was. Maybe he was a killer. Maybe this guy had a few screws loose in his head. I still wasn't about to be scared of him.
"I'm still giving her the gun," Blaze said, his voice a little lower and a lot more threatening. "I'm also going to teach your daughter how to use it."
"Don't I get a say in that?" I asked.
"No," he said. "When someone comes after my family, the first thing I'm going to do is make sure that you're all prepared for the worst-case scenario. Then, I'm going to take care of the issue."
"Don't fuck with my girls," I warned him.
