“I don’t know, Santi,” I start as I head for the open door. “We probably shouldn’t do this again in case?—”
“Look.” He grabs my hand before I leave. I turn to face him, ready to tell him to let go but that darkness is back and there’s a thick, oily energy around Santi that instantly makes me go still. “You don’t get to run from this. You don’t get to run fromme. My cum has painted your insides and covered your skin. That’s a claim, Blair. I’ve kissed your soul and while you were distracted, I devoured small pieces of it. You’re mine now, got it?”
I stand there frozen in place, stressed and unsure of how to react to Santi when he’s like this. My silence doesn’t deter him. He continues, stepping closer as he does.
“What’s between Rhett and I—that’s on him to figure out. He doesn’t want to be happy,” Santi explains, scowling. “Anytimehe finds himself enjoying something, orsomeone, he backs off and punishes himself for it. I’ve tried everything to get him to just live a little but hewantsto suffer. He thinks he deserves it. I’ve been trapped in his bubble of suffering because I hate the thought of him dealing with it alone. But what about me? What aboutus, Blair?”
I frown. “What about us?”
Santi throws up his free hand in frustration. “Wedon’t have to be miserable just because he is. We can be happy together. Already life is so much better with you around.”
The unexpected compliment throws me for a loop and my face warms in response. I look away but Santi grabs my jaw and forces me to look back up at him.
“When Rhett comes around, it will be to the idea ofbothof us,” he says confidently, a smile returning as he stares down at me. “Because there’s no me without you now. And while it dawns on him that he’s missing out on the time of his life, you and I can live and love, kill and terrorize together—we’re the best of both the light and darkness that’s in this world. Let’s be greedy with one another’s affections,cariño.”
The hope blazing in his eyes steals my breath away. My heart begins to hammer in my chest as his words sink into my psyche. If Santi can live by the seat of his pants and accept my flaws, I think it’s only right to give him that grace too.
I smile up at him.
“Alright, Santi,” I reach up and place a hand in the middle of his chest. “Let’s be greedy with one another.”
He beams so brightly that I nearly wince. It’s like looking at the sun.
“Perfect,cariño,” he declares triumphantly. “Now let’s go dispose of our first murder victim together. After we dump his car in the quarry, we’ll get you some Plan B. And you know what? I saw a hot tub on the side of the road on the way here, we shouldcheck that out to see if it’s worth buying. I’d love to fuck you in a hot tub next.”
Chapter 22
Ledger
CHIEF: We got eyes on a hawk. Soared southwest. Landed at the motel two hours ago.
CHIEF: Strange. The security cameras seem to be down.
CHIEF: It would be a travesty if something happened between now and when the security company comes out to fix them in the AM.
Iglance down at the text again. The fire chief, Ryan McChester, is a buddy of mine. He’s a good man who has an imperfect moral compass.
We’ve helped each other out from time to time and this is one of those moments where he’s looking out for me. I’d asked if he would keep an eye out for any unusual activity or suspicious individuals that might show up in Caddawalk. I’ll owe him forthis, and I’ll pay gladly. It’s good to have people like him on my side.
The text message came five minutes ago. I haven’t let go of the burner phone since, afraid I’ll miss any other news. Trapped in a permanent constricted state, my chest won’t expand enough for my lungs to gain any air.
I’ve made a terrible mistake.
The thought had crossed my mind as I waited for Blair’s call when she first arrived, but I thought that nightmare was over now that she was here. I was wrong. Sofuckingwrong. My grip around the burner tightens. My other hand, wrapped around the banister of the porch, loosens so that I can reach up and slide it down my face. The motion doesn’t wipe away the stress.
There’s no doubt that the fucker bunkering down at the old motel is going to get a bullet in his head. But what about afterward? More will come. I know it. Something’s gone wrong somewhere down the line. Who the fuck is after Blair?
It’s one thing for a singular party to go after a target once a contract’s been picked up. But a multitude of killers coming after the same target isn’t normal. The fact that Blair was chased all the way here, and now this fucker shows up, tells me that she might be the target of a free-for-all.
Fuck.
Panic isn’t in my nature. That was stomped out of me a long time ago, back when I was just a new recruit in the Marines. That’s how I know this feeling rioting inside of me isn’t a normal human reaction. While this might feel like panic, it’s something far worse.
The creature inside of me is tearing at the seams, ready to break loose and destroy the threat that’s just crept onto my territory. I take a shaky breath, trying to settle the beast rattling in the cage I’ve trapped it in.
I can keep Blair safe, but for how long? How many more will track her down to Caddawalk? I thought once she got here the threat would be over. Wes’s idea to move one of the bodies outside the city should have made it look like Blair moved on. It had been a clever decision on his part. Is it luck that this contractor landed here? Or does he know something?
It might be worth keeping him around, ask him a few questions before I put a bullet in his head. My thoughts flicker to the hidden room downstairs where the cage is located. I should put it to good use.
