My stomach clenches as my nerves intensify. Just when I think the silence has gone on too long, Blair sighs.
“This seems…” She searches for a word, her hand twirling around as if that will help her. “Honestly, it’s all a bit underwhelming.”
I blink in surprise. “Ah, what?”
“Yeah, I was kind of expecting more,” she shrugs. “Is there a plastic tarp inside that you use to keep the floors and walls clean when you chop them up?”
The slight disappointment in her tone is at odds with the gruesome picture she paints and it makes me laugh. The sound carries around us and weaves its way through the trees.
“No! You’re right, thatwouldbe boring if we just killed them inside the cabin,” I agree when I get myself under control. “Welure our victims here, then force them to run into the woods. If they can out run me and Rhett, they get to live. If we catch them, however, they’re dead.That’sThe Hunt.”
Her eyes light up and a grin stretches across her face. “Okay,thatsounds like a lot more fun.”
“Oh, I promise, it is.”
Blair looks down at the axe and bounces it slightly to get the feel of its weight. When her head comes back up, she gives me a curious look.
“Why did you want me here tonight, Santi? You could’ve just told me all of this.”
“Tell you about the game but not let you play?” I scoff. “That would be rude.”
Blair snorts and she rolls her eyes dramatically. “Be serious, Santi.”
“Because I wanted you to see that even if you get tired of Caddawalk, there will always be fun to have,” I confess, my voice small as my face heats. “I want you to like it here.”
At the confused shake of her head, I sigh and tell her the whole truth.
“I like you, Blair, and this is my attempt to get you to see, and like, all of me. I want to include you in all facets of my life,” I blurt out, unable to keep it in any longer.
“Oh.” Blair blinks in surprise. When she says it again, her voice is low and her expression softens. “Oh.”
“This is me, just as much as being the manager of The Shop at Gnarly Pines is,” I admit. “My soulcravesjustice, Blair, and I’ve found a way to feed that craving. Maybe that makes me a monster, maybe it doesn’t. Truth be told, I don’t care. The only thing that I do care about right now, is that you still like me despite my socially frowned upon after hours hobby.”
Tonight was my opportunity to show Blair all the reasons there are to stay in Caddawalk. She seemed to enjoy the shops.She loved the dive bar and now she gets to play my favorite game—one that can go on for a lifetime.
Is it enough to get her to stay?
I don’t know.
But god, Ihopeso.
Before anymore can be said, the flash of headlights sweeps over the trees a few yards away. We both tense in alarm. Our heads turn in the direction of the side of the house. A second later, the sound of a car coming to a stop alerts us that we’re no longer alone. I turn back to Blair.
“Look, I can turn him away. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want?—”
Blair reaches out and grabs my forearm and gives me a tentative smile. “Let’s do this.”
“Yeah?” My voice jumps an octave as hope and relief, excitement and anticipation collide in my chest.
She nods. “Yeah, Santi. Just tell me what you need me to do.”
I lean forward and kiss her forehead, surprising both of us.
“Stay here, I’m going to chase him out the back door. We’ll give him thirty seconds then go after him. Whoever kills him first is the winner.”
Slipping into Spanish, Blair declares, “Let the best killer win.”
Then, she has the nerve to wink at me like she didn’t just say the sexiest fucking thing ever.
