Page 134 of Split You Open

He moves closer to me, his eyes drifting down to study the woman on the couch with me. With her legs in my lap, and my computer on her legs, Blair’s fallen asleep beside me. I didn’t even notice when she dozed off.

Or, now come to think of it, when the others slipped off to bed.

“I just want to work on this for a few more minutes,” I mutter as I reach up to rub my eyes. After a yawn, I add, “I’m running background checks on the names you gave me—which weren’t many by the way. You were right about Anchor not having many friends. Once I break through this security firewall for Red Dynamic—the company that created these drones—I’ll be able to see who all has purchased one of these models. I’ll cross reference the names in the database to the names on the list you gave me.”

Ledger’s mouth presses in a tight line and he grunts.

“What?” I demand. “You don’t think this will work?”

Ledger shrugs. “I’m not sure about anything at this point. It’s always worth checking, though. I don’t want to leave any rock unturned. I’m just worried it may not be as simple as just referencing names. They could've purchased the drone through a shell company or a friend or whatever, which wouldn’t lead back to any of the names I gave you.”

“Whatever roadblocks I stumble upon, I’ll find a work around. I won’t let anyone get their hands on Blair.”

The promise sits heavy between us because it includes him.

He must hear the threat because his eyes flicker back to me. To my surprise, his face softens just a bit.

“I’ll regain your trust, Santi. One way or another.”

“It’s not my trust you have to worry about reclaiming,” I tell him.

At this, Ledger’s mouth shifts into a small smile. “I think Blair and I hashed it out pretty good while you three were gone.”

I consider this answer. Ledger could be telling the truth. Before we started talking about her dad, Blair did seem to be in better spirits tonight than she has been. But what if he’s lying?

Deciding that I won’t believe him until I hear it from Blair, I turn my attention back to my work.

“I’m assuming Dixie is an alias, not a real name, just like Sparrow and Anchor,” I tell him. “But those aliases must’ve come from somewhere? I’m guessing that Dixie could’ve been the name given due to the geographical location of where he grew up? Or maybe he had a particular accent that someone clocked and gave him that name?”

Ledger nods. “That’s possible.”

“Where did the name Sparrow come from?”

Ledger chuckles darkly. “To communicate with my closest buddies during tours overseas, I’d use a sparrow’s birdcall. They populate most areas so hearing it randomly wouldn’t naturally draw suspicion. Anchor was the one who gave me the nickname back during basic training and it stuck.”

“Where’d ‘Anchor’ come from⁠—”

A soft thump from upstairs redirects our attention.

Ledger’s hand goes to his hip where his gun is kept but I’m familiar enough with the sound that I remain relaxed. I smile as a heavy shuffle follows.

“What the hell?” Ledger asks as he turns to put himself between Blair and the entrance to the living room.

“Relax,” my attention returns to the computer. “The others are coming to join us.”

“They went to bed hours ago.”

I smirk. “Well, it sounds like they couldn’t sleep.”

“What are they⁠—”

“You’ll see.” I chuckle. “We’ve been doing this ever since Blair and Rhett got back. We haven’t done it in a few nights but I’m glad we’re all on the same page this evening.”

A few minutes later, Wes is dragging his mattress into the room. His comforter is thrown over his shoulder. Sandwiched between his body and the mattress are a few pillows—making for less trips up and down the stairs.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ledger demands.

“Getting ready for bed,” Wes explains vaguely. “Move the coffee table toward the wall, will you?”