Page 170 of Split You Open

“Hey,” Santi grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall into the family room. When we’re out of hearing range of the others, he grabs my face and forces me to look him in the eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” I spit out through gritted teeth. Jerking my head out of his grasp, I step back and turn my glare elsewhere.

Santi sighs. “He’s, ah, pretty intense, huh?”

“Who?”

“You know who I’m talking about.”

I can hear soft conversation taking place in the kitchen. Ledger’s voice rises and falls, Wes’s voice follows suit. Blair’s there to smooth over whatever tension has started to boil over. My hands fist at my sides but they tremble hard.

“He’s a piece of shit,” I admit.

Santi steps in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders. His brows pinch together in concern as he searches my face. “What’s happening right now? You look…” Santi’s words trail off as he sighs.

I shake my head, not wanting to give voice to the cause of this panic attack coming on. Shame beats at me. Why can’t I push this feeling away? Before Blair yanked me off that cliff’s edge all I could feel was shame, regret, and guilt. Yeah, sometimes they’d get the best of me. They led me to the edge of a cliff for fuck’s sake.

Yet since that night, it’s like Blair breathed life into me and made room for all the things I’ve refused to let myself feel. Now, I feel it all and it’s too damn much.

“Santi, he’s got to go,” I whisper as I force myself to look back at him.

Santi nods. “Yeah, he gives me the creeps too. I don’t think he’s staying the night so at least we’ll get a break from him.”

Turning to give him my attention, I step forward and cup his face in my hands. “He’s not good for us or her.”

Santi’s eyes darken as he nods. “I was thinking that too. Let's snag Blair for our own tonight. After dealing with her dad, I’m sure she can use a distraction.” A smug smile stretches across his face and it makes me laugh.

Santiago might have Blair’s best intentions at heart but he’s absolutely willing to be selfish about her too.

Leaning in, I kiss him—pouring all my love for him into it so he knows I’m not withdrawing from him. Santi leans into the kiss. His answering moan settles something inside of me. The tension in my chest eases and I find it easier to breathe. One hand slips from his face so that I can wrap an arm around his waist to pull him closer. His stiff cock strains against the front of his pants and presses into my waist.

Mine stirs to life, tempted by the delicious man before me.

“—and grab my go-bag. Give me a second and then we can head out!”

Blair’s words break through the cloud of lust that slowly rolled in and was starting to block out the rising anxiety. Terror claps like thunder through me and I pull away from Santi with a gasp. I turn to call out to her but she’s already passed the living room.

“Shit,” I croak out as a ringing starts up in my ears.

She can’t leave! How am I supposed to watch after her if she’s gone? Just the thought of her being out of my sight for hours is enough to send me spiraling.

“Go figure out what she’s up to, I’m going to make sure Wes and Ledger have backup in case Anchor suddenly snaps,” Santi urges, grimly.

I leave Santi in the living as I turn and give chase. Blair’s halfway up the stairs when I get to the bottom of them.

“Wait, why are you grabbing your go-bag?” I demand.

Over her shoulder she says, “Because I need it.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m going with Dad back to wherever he’s bunkering down.” Blair gets to the top of the stairs and disappears down the hallway. Her voice trails after her as she adds, “It’ll be nice to have gear this time around if we get caught up in anything on the way there or back.”

I choke down a cry of alarm as I lurch myself up the stairs and chase her down to her room.

By the time I get there, Blair is opening her closet and reaching for her go-bag. I don’t let her get that far. Without thinking, I shove her away from the closet.

“Rhett! What the⁠—”