“Oh god…” Santi groans from a few feet away.
“You good?” Rhett asks him as he applies more weight to my back. I hiss in pain but I can’t do much else.
Santi lets out a breathless laugh. “I’m better than fucking good.”
“God, you’re so weird,” Rhett mutters, shaking his head. His response only makes Santi laugh harder.
“Get off of me!” I demand as I try to crawl away.
“You know, I’m getting real tired of you hitting me,” Rhett snarls as he applies more weight to my back. The axe is his hand is tossed in Santi’s general direction. “I should return the favor.”
I scoff at his audacity. “It’s called self-defense, asshole.”
Rhett’s foot lets up. I roll onto my back and sit up to glare at him. He returns the dark look with an impressive one of his own before reaching out to grab his axe, still wedged into the tree trunk. I hold my breath but don’t look away as he swings it up. I release the breath when he simply rests the handle on his shoulder. He smirks down at me.
“Scared?” he mocks with an ugly sneer.
“I’ve seen more intimidating chihuahuas,” I tell him.
Santi snickers from his hands and knees a few feet away, but Rhett is not amused.
Rhett rolls his eyes. “Why were you following us?”
“I was curious and wanted to see what you were up to,” I reply. “Why are you two sneaking around in the dark with axes?”
“We’re about to kill some fuckers,” Santi answers as he finally gets to his feet. He flashes me a bright smile as he bends down to grab his axe. “Our method of killing is with axes. How do you prefer to?—”
“Santi,” Rhett sighs, his face twisting up with annoyance. “You’re incriminating yourself.”
I look between the two of them as Santi strolls over to stand beside his friend. He places his forearm on Rhett’s shoulder as he stares down at me with interest. I suppress a shiver of awareness as they both watch me. Muscular, tall, and clearly edged with danger, these two are quite a sight to behold. Even as my heart races, I know it’s not all from fear. Heat settles in my cheeks as I realize I’m ogling them.
“You’re not going to tell anyone, right?” Santi asks with a knowing smirk.
I blink, surprised. “Wait, you’re serious?”
Rhett scoffs. “Please don’t tell me thatyou’rejudging us.”
Oh, they’re… They’re actually serious. They’re going out to kill someone. Santi’s words from my first day here suddenly make more sense.
It’s nice to have another killer under the roof.
I had just let the comment slide since it was odd, and I didn’t know how to react.
“I’m not judging,” I mutter as I consider this. “I’m just trying to understand. Is this a paid gig?”
Santi laughs. “Yeah, right. Wouldn’t that be nice? Unfortunately, no.”
“There’s really not much to understand, now is there?” Rhett asks. “We kill people. The end.”
“Why?” I ask him before I can stop myself.
It’s none of my business, I should head back and pretend I didn’t uncover this little secret. The less I know the better. Like Rhett said, if they tell me anything they’re incriminating themselvesandme.
Santi opens his mouth to answer but Rhett elbows him in the gut to cut him off.
“It doesn’t matter why,” Rhett replies, coldly. “As long as you keep your bitch mouth shut?—”
“Hey!” Santi and I object in unison.
