Blair is a stone-cold killer just like me and Rhett.Holy shit! What were the chances of that?
The ideas roll in, too fast to process clearly. Just pieces of the ideas stick, forming an even better one. All the excitement of whatcould beis making it hard to stand still. I bounce from one foot to another. The gory future before me looksamazing.I open my mouth to speak but Rhett starts talking before I can get a word out.
“Okay, so why tell us about her father?” Rhett asks. He shakes his head, confused by the information Wes is leaving out. “What does that have to do with anything about why Blair’s here?”
Wes grimaces. “Her father’s work spilled over and now his enemies are after her. She’s simply caught in some crosshairs. That’s why she’s lying low here.”
Rhett recoils as if Wes had just tried to stab him. His nostrils flare and his eyes widen in fury.
“You said you didn’t know the details of why she was coming!” he snarls, pointing an accusing finger at him.
“At the time, I didn’t,” Wes replies, grimly. “I only found out right before Ledger and I went to go pick her up.”
“The bodies the police found in town,” Rhett speculates out loud. “Those were her doing, weren’t they?”
At Wes’s nod, Rhett’s face goes red. Given how pissed he looks, I half expect smoke to come billowing out of his ears.
“What you’re saying, Wes, is that Blair’s dangerous to us,” he hisses.
Wes snorts. “No, that’s not what I said.”
“That’s whatIheard,” Rhett counters. “Her trouble or her dad’s trouble—doesn’t matter. She’strouble, Wes. If whoever is after her finds her here, we don’t stand a fucking chance in hell against a trained gunman!We’regoing to get trapped in thecrosshairs of a problem we’re not even involved in. She can’t stay here.”
Wes’s discomfort vanishes. The lack of it loosens his stiff stance and smooths out his pained expression.
“Blair is going to stay as long as she needs. It’s not up for debate,” he declares.
“You asked me to help you watch her, Wes,” Rhett snarls furiously. “I thought that meant from a boyfriend or some shit. I didn’t think I was agreeing to be a part of herprotectiondetail!”
Wes snorts. “You’re doing no such thing. She’ll be safe here. No one is going to find her if she just keeps her head down.”
Rhett opens his mouth to object but I grab his arm and shake it, too anxious to keep quiet any longer. He rolls his neck until he looks in my direction.
“What, Santi?”
“Rhett, imagine a hitwoman with us while we play The Hunt! She could be an added element of fun!”
“No,” Rhett snaps, his answer immediate.
I gape at him, stunned that he can’t see what a great thing this is, having a badass on hand. “I beg your pardon? Why not?”
“Because,” Wes answers for Rhett with a dark glare at me. “Dragging Blair into your chaotic game is out of the damn question. Leave the poor woman alone.”
Rhett’s body trembles, his anger getting the best of him. He ignores Wes as he glares daggers at me. “Blair’s not family. She’s not one of us. Blair is an omen, plain and simple. One that says we’re probably screwed because something bad is coming.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” I tell him.
I want to say more on the subject but Wes is beginning to look well and truly pissed as his whole body begins to tense. It takes a lot to get under Wes’s skin. To see him getting mad now tells me that I’ll have to go at this in a different way. Which is fine by me, but I have questions. The best way to get them is togo straight to the source. Without another word, I turn and head for the cabin.
“Where are you going?” Rhett demands.
I don’t answer. I simply take the steps two at a time and head inside. There, I find Blair already prepping whatever dish she’s about to make. She freezes as I enter, her expression twisting up in discomfort.
“Why’d you run?” I ask her.
She blinks, surprised by the question. “I didn’t run.”
“Okay, let me rephrase—” I roll my eyes, knowing damn well she understood what I’m really asking. “Why didn’t you want to tell us you’re a blue blooded badass?”
