“There are only two masks so you two can wear them,” Rhett says, startling us both. “I’ll just wear my bandana.”
I immediately jerk my head away from Santi’s mouth but Santi simply chuckles and leans down to kiss along my jawline.
“Santi,” I hiss in warning.
With a sigh, he sits up to straddle me then twists to give Rhett his complete attention. I place my hands on his chest and try to push him off, but Santi doesn’t budge.
“Okay and there are six throwing axes, right? That’s two for each of us, plus our normal axes,” Santi says as if it’s completely normal to be sitting on someone.
Rhett doesn’t appear annoyed by our current setup. He stares down at us, his expression void of any emotion whatsoever.
“Yeah, well, you can have the ones meant for me,” he tells Santi. “I haven’t practiced with them, so I don’t want to waste time figuring them out tonight.”
I nod. “You can have mine too, Santi. I wasn’t very good with them.”
Santi scoffs. “You two are going to make this game too easy.”
“Santi,” I groan as I push at him. “Up!”
Rhett offers Santi his hand and Santi takes it. Just as I get to my feet, headlights flood the darkness. Santi giggles with delight but slaps a hand over his mouth when Rhett and I shush him in unison.
“Let the best man win!” Santi says as he hurries around to the side of the house.
“Let the bestwomanwin,” I taunt as I take the axe Rhett offers to me. As I walk away, Rhett huffs a laugh.
Holy shit, I just made Rhettlaugh.
That, in itself, feels like a victory.
Chapter 34
Blair
Our victim is a soccer coach and it shows.
He sprints through the dark woods with ease and he’s nimble. He hurdles over fallen trees, ducks under branches, and can pivot like a pro. I’m honestly impressed.
My feet aren’t silent as I move. I don’t know where the others are but I know at least Rhett must be close. He’ll probably be my true competition tonight. Santi… Well, he made a mistake choosing the throwing axes. Every attempt at throwing his axe has led to him missing as our victim ducks and dives out of the way. While Santi is forced to retrieve his weapons, it gives me and Rhett a solid lead.
My footsteps slow as I come to a stop, listening for signs of our prey.
There’s no more crashing of footsteps through the leaves which means he’s either gained a significant lead or he’s hiding. My bet is on the latter.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” Rhett calls out from somewhere nearby.
I can’t see him, but I can hear his dark chuckle that carries through the woods. It sends a shiver of excitement through me. If Santi runs and bounds around here like a golden retriever, Rhett moves like a raging grizzly bear. I almost wish I could stop and watch him maul our victim down.
Too bad I’m way too competitive for that.
“If you come out for me, I’ll make it quick,” I promise loudly.
There’s a sputter of indignation before Rhett calls out, “She’s lying!”
I snicker. If Rhett doesn’t like coercion then he better find this guy before me.
“Look, one of us is going to find you,” I call out, trying to be reasonable. “And when we do, you’re a dead man. The only bright side is, ifIkill you it’ll be quick and relatively painless. I like a clean victory. But if my partner finds you before I do? Well, there’s no telling what he’s capable of. I’ve never seen him in action but he’s an asshole without an axe, so I can only imagine that he’s an even bigger asshole with one.”
Rhett’s soft snicker reaches my ears.
