“Handle? As in Ledger’s username?”
“Yeah.”
The blood drains from my face as the air in my lungs evaporates. The dread leeching into my veins feels like a toxic slug.
Again, we’re going around another bend. I wait until I see Blair in my rearview mirror before I risk looking over at Santi.
His face looks ashen in the pale light coming off the controls on the dashboard. His mouth is pressed together in a tight line and there’s a tremor in his hand that hadn’t been there a second ago.
“Santi…” I start. “Are you saying that you think LedgerisSparrow?”
“Ah, no,” he whispers, the sound strained. “I’m saying that Iknowhe is.”
“So, he?—”
“Put out a hit on his godchild and best friend?” Santi asks, his voice strained. “Yeah, that’s exactly what Ledger’s done.”
Holy fuck.
Chapter 37
Rhett
“You’ve got to be wrong,” I say earnestly.
Santi shakes his head slowly. “I’m not.”
“Blair’s been with us forweeks!” I remind him. “Why hasn’t he tried to kill her if he’s behind all of this? Why would he have all of us watching her back if he intended to murder her?”
“I don’t know, Rhett!” he snaps. He lets out a hard sigh. “And what’s worse is that this isn’t the most pressing issue we have to concern ourselves with right now.”
“What could possibly be worse than knowingthis?”
How could anything be worse than learning that Ledger, the man we all trust with our lives, has betrayed the closest people to him? The reality of this situation makes me sick.Whywould he do this to Blair? And if he wanted her dead, why not do it himself? Why lead her here to Caddawalk? And why get us all involved? Why bring trouble to our doorstep?
I wait for a momentary wave of bitterness to wash over me but it doesn’t come. Whatever resentment I’ve held onto about Blair being here, and the trouble she posed, has vanished.Instead, fear of the possibility of her getting hurt creeps forward. My heart squeezes in my chest as denial rings in my head.
Wecan’tlet anything happen to her.
Unfortunately, she will get hurt. This news will devastate her. She and Ledger are as thick as thieves despite the fact he’s been keeping his distance from her. There’s a comradery between them that only two people who’ve gone through some shit together can have. He’s been by her side most of her life. To learn that person who should’ve had your back stabbed it instead, can destroy even the strongest person. And, shit, Blair is the strongest person I’ve ever encountered.
Fuck… Who’s the poor asshole who’s going to have to tell Blair the truth?
Santi looks back down at his phone. “My software found another room, a private one, and I managed to hack into it. It belongs to Dixie. According to the conversation in this chat room, another hit has come down the line from him. Someone took the contract from him and is on their way. That was two days ago.”
I groan as my grip tightens on the steering wheel.
“Are you saying that there’sanotherhitman coming after Blair?” I ask him.
Santi nods wildly, his eyes growing even wider with panic. I try not to let his fear become mine. My head is reeling from all this information. It would be easy to panic. But I can’t. One of us has to stay calm.
“Call Wes,” I tell him. “Call him now and tell him everything. He’ll be able to help us. Tell him to slip out discreetly and meet us at your house.”
Up ahead, bright LED headlights blind me as I round a corner. I wince. With an annoyed huff, I flash them my brights, trying to tell them to turn off theirs.
“Okay, I can?—”
The phone in Santi’s hand lights up before he can make the call, cutting him off. Immediately, he answers it, putting the caller on speaker phone.
