Page 33 of Split You Open

“Hey, you,” I greet, my eyes dropping to the ground in an attempt to hide the tears shining in my eyes.

“Oh, thank god, you’re both alright,” Santi says, his voice breaking into a sob. “We’ve been so fucking worried.”

Rhett huffs. “No need to worry. I have a badass woman by my side who’s been killing assholes left and right. She makes this look easy.”

My head jerks up and I find Rhett staring at me, a small smile tugging at his mouth. That same mouth had been all over my pussy last night. Those hoop piercings on his bottom lip made the experience more intense than I’ve ever had before. I look away from Rhett before I can entertain thoughts of last night.

A deep voice says something in the background on Santi’s end and he says, “Yeah, it's them. I’m putting you on speaker phone so Wes can hear you.”

There’s a second of silence before I hear his voice.

“You guys somewhere safe?” Wesley asks.

The sound of his deep, rumbling voice so full of worry triggers tears. Two manage to escape and race down my cheeks. Two more follow. Of course this would be his first question.

“Yes,” I manage to get out, though it comes out as a soft whisper. “We’re safe. For now, at least. We’ve got to get moving soon.”

“Come home,” Santi says at once.

Before either Rhett or I can object, Wes adds, “Santi’s right, you need to come back. He managed to deplete Dixie’s bank accounts. They’re empty which means whatever trouble’s on your heels might be the last of it for a while. He can’t send hitmen after you if he can’t pay them. So come back here and we’ll help eliminate this last wave of killers.”

“Yes!” Santi agrees. “Between the four of us, we can easily take out whoever’s on your tail now.”

Rhett and I look at each other in surprise. Go back to Gnarly Pines? Is that possible?

“I don’t know, Wes,” I hedge, breaking the brief pause. “We’ve barely been ahead of most of the trouble following us. I wouldn’t want to bring that back for you guys to deal with.”

“Just trust us!” Santi says, practically tripping over his words to get it out. “Get back here before Ledger or the rest of the assholes Dixie has sent, find you. You know we can help keep you safe!”

I flinch hard in shock as Rhett scowls darkly at the phone. It’s Rhett that asks, “What do you mean before Ledger finds us?”

“He’s tracking Blair,” Wes says, his voice low and urgent. “I’m surprised he hasn’t caught up to you yet. But he will, it’s just a matter of⁠—”

The shriek of rage and surprise erupt past my lips before I can stop it, startling Rhett who scrambles to his feet. I stumble away from him, turning to cover my face with my hands and let out that same retched sound.

“Blair what’s wrong?!” Rhett demands.

The tracker… How could I be so fucking stupid? How could I forget about it after how pissed off it had made me when Ledger tagged me like a damn cow.

“Rhett…” I drop my hands to my side but don’t turn back to face him, too ashamed of myself to look him in the eye. “In all the chaos, I forgot Ledger put a tracker in me.”

“He what?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about it given⁠—”

“This isn’t on you, Blair!” he snaps.

How can he even say that? I’m luring Ledger right to us! I squeeze my eyes shut as I attempt to choke back the anger that’s boiling in my veins. At the same time, a chill is trying to rush through me. What do we do if Ledger shows up? He’s unpredictable and untrustworthy. What happens if he tries to kill Rhett?

A mental scream echoes in my head.

No.

I won’t allow it.

Ledger won’t take him, or anyone else away from me. He already sentenced Dad to death. Who knows what’s happened to him? I won’t let Ledger destroy what I have with anyone else I care about.

My fists tremble at my sides as I allow rage to consume me. Dad might not be impressed that I’m letting my emotions take over but I don’t give a fuck. He’s not here to scold me. And this rage? I’m going to need it.