She pauses to suck in a deep breath. After she lets it out she pushes on. “But somehow I’m still screwing things up. I’m complicating things between all of you because I don’t know what I’m doing. Then there’s the fact that Rhett is right—that me being here jeopardizes your safety—and that makes me feel evenworse. But if I don’t belong here, where I’ve been more myself than I ever have before, I don’t really belong anywhere, right?”
Her question, laced with pain, causes her voice to squeak at the end.
I’m up and out of my chair in an instant, then crouching down in front of Blair. I grab the armrests on either side of her as I gaze up into Blair’s face.
“You’re right where you belong, Blair,” I assure her confidently. “You’re the cure to the plague of complacency that we’ve all contracted. You’re a beautiful miracle that’s been bestowed upon the unworthy but will be cherished all the same.”
“How can you say that?” she whispers in denial.
I chuckle. “You really don’t see what you’re doing to us, do you?”
Tears well up in Blair’s eyes as she stares down at me with furrowed brows. Her confusion is adorable and my heart flutters at the sight of it. This gorgeous yet lost and lonely woman sitting in front of me has no idea that she’s rocked our world.
“You came to Gnarly Pines and shook off the dust that was collecting on each of our souls, Blair.” I speak slowly so she hears every word. “We’ve grown complacent and that’s not good for anyone. Ledger’s used to control but he’s trying to be hands off with you so you don’t feel stifled—he’s learning not to micromanage. And because you entertain his ideas and actually listen to him, Santi realizes that whatever he and Rhett have isn’t enough anymore and that he deserves better. And Rhett? He’s scared to live. Your presence is forcing him to deal with that fear rather than continue to hide behind the thick wall of indifference that he’s built. He can’t keep going as he’s been.”
Her eyes search my face curiously.
“Do you really think that?” she asks me softly.
I smile at her. “I just don’tthinkso, Iknowit. I can see it. I can feel it because you’re affecting me too.”
“I’m affecting you?” she repeats, curiosity seeping through. “How?
I stand then, and offer her my hand. “Let me show you.”
Blair takes my hand without hesitation, her eyes never leaving my face. The beat of my heart grows fast as I lead her away from the fire and toward the cabin.
Chapter 26
Blair
“Sit down,” Wes orders, pointing to the island when we step into the cabin.
Doing as I’m told, I head for one of the stools and take a seat.
The house is quiet. Is everyone asleep now? No, probably not. Ledger’s probably on his laptop in the basement, checking for leads. He’s been down there a lot lately. Santi’s personal truck is still parked beside the cabin so I know he must be here too. Is he watching TV in his room? Rhett, I suppose he could be asleep—with the way he’s been drinking I’m surprised he even got up this morning.
I push all thoughts of them away for the moment. A feat I haven’t been able to do much of lately.
Wes moves to the refrigerator, opening it to pull out a plate wrapped in foil. Quickly, he tosses the foil away and places the plate in the microwave.
“You haven’t been eating in the mornings and you’ve only been picking at the dinners you’ve been here for,” Wes says, turning to face me while the meal warms up. “Why?”
I shrug. “Eating full meals like I have since arriving here isn’t actually the norm for me.”
“It’s not?”
With a shake of my head, I explain. “Growing up, I had learned to eat light because at any minute we’d have to run. I cramp really badly when there’s any food in my stomach and I’m on the run. It’s easier not to eat.”
“But you’re not on the run now,” Wes points out, crossing those thick, muscular arms over his chest as he watches me.
“No,” I agree.
I’m not runningyet.
But that’s the plan. I’ve been found once, and it’ll happen again. It won’t take long before the next threat comes. Especially since this is the last place the previous hitman had been before his disappearance. And before that, when I first arrived, both bodies—albeit charred—had been found in or around Caddawalk. It won’t take a genius to pick up that this is where I’ve bunkered down.
Wes watches me closely. “So if you’re not running, why aren’t you eating?”
