The answer to that question becomes apparent when my eyes pull away from his form to follow his line of sight. There in front of him, covering every inch of the wall above the metal work table, are black and white pictures of Blair.
My stomach drops in horror. These aren't old pictures of her—they're new. I pick out a picture from the night of her arrival and my eyes find one from just this morning.
They're all stills from the security feed of Blair at different angles. There are some of her laughing, some while she’s deep in thought. Others are of her naked in her bedroom, and of her sleeping and eating, and cleaning dishes, working in the garage the first week, laughing with Santi, glaring at Rhett, her leaning into me while we shared a moment on the porch a few nights ago, and so many more. There has to be over three hundred pictures taped to the cinderblock wall. Most of them are cropped, focusing solely on Blair.
Holy shit.
My blood turns cold.
Ledger has let his obsession get the best of him. He's losing it, which is strange because he’s been relatively calm. The last time this happened, the signs were obvious that he was losing his mind.
This time, he’s purposely been hiding this side of himself from me.
No, not just me. Fromallof us.
When did he have the time to print all of these—the thought doesn’t even finish before it’s answered. I hear the soft sounds of a printer going and when I lean my head just a bit further into the room, I see he’s moved the printer from the main basement into here. There, falling to the floor, is another black and white picture of Blair.
Fuck.
This has to be new. If these pictures had been on the wall when Ledger had brought the hitman down here, Rhett undoubtedly would've mentioned it. So why now? Is this inevitable decline of his sanity because the one thing he wants is within his grasp and he still can't have her? Or did something trigger the sudden snap of his sanity?
I guess it doesn't really matter. What I need to worry about now, is how this affects Blair. I've seen how depraved Ledger can get when he loses himself in his obsession with this woman. The last time he spiraled it was fucking ugly. Someone nearly died because of it. I can't let that happen to Blair. She deserves so much better than a fate worse than death. My eyes flicker to the cage. I refuse to relive the memories that surge forward from the last time someone had been in there. If I do, I'm afraid it'll bring to fruition other horrible things.
I look back at Ledger as he groans.
It was wrong to allow Blair to stay here. I should've been actively finding her a different place to hide. Instead, I let her believe that she's safe under this roof.
My thoughts shift to Santi and Rhett. They weren't here the last time Ledger got like this. I might be able to use them to help me figure something out for Blair. Then again, Santi is horrible with secrets and if we came up with a plan to move Blair somewhere else, I don't think he'd be able to keep his mouth shut. Then there's Rhett. He’s going through his own shit, I’m not sure how much use he would be. Except... he did want her gone so maybe he would help?
Whatever it takes, I need to get Blair as far away from Ledger as possible. That much is clear. If things are going on the same trajectory as before, she doesn’t have long before she ends up in that cage.
I suck in a deep steadying breath. Whatever I need to do, I’ll do it. But I’m not going to find an answer down here. I take a step back, away from the cracked door, when suddenly Ledger lets out a harsh groan.
"Blair," he rasps out, then dips his head back and lifts something over his mouth.
"Oh shit," I whisper, realizing what the thin piece of material is.
Those are Blair's used panties. Did he swipe them from the laundry room? I watch in horror as the material slowly descends down into his open mouth. His other hand pumps his dick faster, the speed of his arm telling me he's probably close to finishing.
Ledger sucks on the panties, moaning louder as he savors her taste on his tongue. His swallow is loud as he literally devours them. Just as he opens his mouth to gasp, he finds his release. I step back, not wanting to get caught. I'm not enjoying any second of this, but I can't seem to look away. As he finishes,Ledger stands and I see that he's clutching another pair of Blair's panties. They're dripping with his release but he doesn't seem to care as he balls them up. When they're small enough, he tosses those back into his mouth as well.
Okay,nowI've seen too much.
Turning, I move away from the door and head upstairs. Panic chases me but I try to keep it under wraps. I can't let Ledger know what I saw or have him figuring out that I know he’s losing it. I need to play this cool. This isn't good but if I can get ahead of Ledger, I might be able to save Blair. Plan... Ineedto plan.
I move blindly through the house, my thoughts and emotions colliding and spiraling, and turning into straight panic. I can’t breathe. Fuck. This can’t be happening again. What am I going to do? What about Blair?
Fuck.
Fuck.
FUCK!
It’s not until fresh air hits my face that I realize I’ve made it outside. Stumbling to a halt, I look around. I’m alone on the back porch. Good. I need… Damn it, I don’t know what I need right now. I start with a deep breath in an attempt to settle myself. It’s shaky and unsatisfying. I repeat the motion and again, it doesn’t really help.
My feet start moving again.
Rather than take the stairs, my feet take me around the porch toward the front of the house. We never really hang out on this side of the cabin. With it situated facing the woods and with no flat ground in front of it and the back more easily accessible for coming and going, there’s really no point in us ever coming over here.
