“No need to play dumb. I know what happened a few nights ago—I saw it all play out on the trail cameras.” Ledger’s voice drops lower, almost into a growl. “Watching her pull her punches and go easy on you was hilarious. But you know what’s not funny? The fact she still walked away with a bruise on her face.”
Santi snorts. “That was just a misunderstanding. But?—”
“If she comes back withanytype of injury tonight, whether it’s a bruise, limp, or missing a strand of her fucking hair, I’ll make sure you never see the light of day. Got it, Santi?”
I scowl at the threat and decide I’ve heard enough. Storming forward, I enter the kitchen just as Ledger steps back, away from a surprised looking Santi.
“Cut it out, Ledger.” I glare at him. “You don’t need to scold Santi like a child.”
Ledger, clearly unperturbed that I’d overheard, smirks as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Then he better stop acting like one.”
“Why? So I can act like an old man like you?” Santi replies, his teasing genuine. “Naw, I’m good.”
“If I get hurt, that’s on me, not Santi.And…” I give Ledger a challenging smile. “Maybe I like things a little rough. If Santi brings me back here with a limp maybe it’s because we got carried away in thebestpossible way.”
The words get the reaction I’m looking for. Ledger’s eyes light with fire as the rest of him goes eerily still.
Santi laughs, as he steps towards me. “Oh, we’re definitely going to have fun tonight. Come on, let the old man stew while he wonders what we’re doing. Oh, by the way, he gave me his credit card so let’s try to max it out, shall we?”
With a grin just for him, I say, “Let’s go.”
Chapter 18
Santiago
The town of Caddawalk is small. I’m pretty sure there’s less than ten thousand people in total that live here. It’s a place where everyone knows everyone, somehow or someway. To newcomers, I guess that would be off-putting because if everyone knows you, they probably know your business.
The thing about Caddawalk is that it’s not like other small towns. While everyone can recognize a face, gossip doesn’t rampage around here. Ledger says it’s because everyone here has something to hide. Keep your mouth shut and secrets can’t be revealed. Not yours, not anyone else’s.
Knowing that, I’m not too worried about Molly’s keen interest in either me or Blair as Blair makes her way around the small women’s boutique we’ve stopped at. Her eyes track us curiously and her polite smile is pinned firmly in place. Sometimes she seems to catch herself staring openly. When that happens, she’ll occasionally dip her head down so that her dark red hair covers her face, but I know she’s just peering at us through the strands in a more discreet way.
Whatever questions Molly has will be kept to herself. She’s sure as shit going to eavesdrop, though.
So, despite my curiosity to dig a little bit into Blair’s life, I keep conversation between us light as I follow Blair through the store.
“Okay, I was thinking, after this we can dump all your bags off back at the truck, then go get some food.”
As I draw closer to her, my body hums with excitement. It’s been like this since the day she got here. The sensation has only grown more pronounced with every passing day. She makes me feel alive. Maybe it’s because she’s like a livewire, dangerous but only if you get too close. The rush that whips through me at the thought of touching her is so exhilarating that it makes any threat to my life seem totally worth it.
Blair nods. “That sounds great, I’m famished. Where are you thinking?”
“Janet’s Janky Jukebox! They have a basement where live bands come to play and my favorite one is going to be there tonight,” I suggest.
Blair pauses, her fingers freezing on a clothes hanger as she gives me a quizzical side-eye.
“Janet’s Janky Jukebox?” She repeats. “That can’t be a real place, Santi.”
Behind the counter, Molly snorts her amusement but covers it with the fakest cough I’ve ever heard.
“Oh, it’s totally real and just as odd as its name. You’ll love it,” I promise as Blair grabs a pale pink shirt, checks the size, then throws it over her arm where three other shirts hang. “The walls are covered with all sorts of eighties memorabilia, and the floors are squishy and techno-colored, and the servers dress like their favorite eighty’s hair band member. The food is greasy and delicious, and they bring in some great artists to play everyFriday through Sunday. It’s a dive bar, so it's nothing fancy but those are the best places to hang out on a night like tonight.”
Blair smiles brightly at this. “Alright, Santi, I’m trusting you. But if I get food poisoning or find a hair in my food?—”
“You can slit my throat and use my corpse as a couch,” I confirm with a nod.
“Um, okay, well, that seems like an overly severe punishment.” Blair grimaces playfully then giggles.
The sound makes my heart flutter. I like that she doesn’t mind that I’m too much sometimes. She doesn’t roll her eyes, recoil, or simply shut down like other people I know. Blair just accepts that sometimes I don’t have a filter. She feels safe to be around.
