Page 41 of Split You Open

Ledger turns his head toward me, but I can’t meet his eyes.

I step behind him and push him toward the cabin. Ledger doesn’t fight me, not once. Not when I push him down the hallway toward the basement, not when we head down the stairs. Rhett wanders off into the main part of the basement while I follow Ledger into the hidden room.

“C’mon,” I order Ledger.

When I open the cage door, he steps in without hesitation.

Rhett joins me with a large duffle bag but pauses to stare at the wall of black and white pictures of Blair. The blood visibly drains from his face—his eyes darting from picture to picture. It doesn’t get any less daunting. Not the first time you see them or the hundredth.

I’m perverse enough to admit I’ve grown fond of the wall in her absence. It’s all that I had of Blair. I couldn’t go a day without standing right where Rhett is to drink in the sight of the woman who’s claimed my heart.

And I hated every second of it because, at that moment, I was putting myself in Ledger’s shoes and I could understand why he did this.

“Jesus fucking Christ…” Rhett mutters, appalled.

Rhett spits on the floor then comes over beside me. He drops the duffle bag by the entrance of the cage, rummages through it and pulls out real cuffs. When he stands and steps into the cage, he orders Ledger to turn around. I lift my gaze from the center of Ledger’s chest and finally manage to look him in the eye.

He’s staring straight at me.

Judging by the intensity of his stare I think he’s trying to convey something to me—a message or a threat, I can’t be sure. Anger surges forward as I glare back at him. Whatever he wants to say, it’ll stay trapped behind that damn gag.

“I said turn the fuck around,” Rhett snaps at him.

Ledger heaves a sigh, one that sounds more like annoyance than resignation, but he does as he’s told. Rhett quickly replaces the paracord around Ledger’s wrists with the metal cuffs, while keeping Ledger’s arms behind him.

I step forward and glare at the man I considered my best friend. “Sit down, asshole.”

Ledger does as he’s told, his gaze still insistent and body still tense.

“We’ll deal with him later,” Rhett grumbles before turning and leaving the room.

I wait until Rhett has made it all the way up the basement stairs before giving Ledger my attention again. Anger—hot and volatile—surges forward. I have the urge to reach down, grab the gun from its holster on my hip and shoot the asshole point blank.

There’s a reason I don’t.

Ledger stares back, his gaze pointed and demanding.

I ignore the urgency in his eyes to step forward and grab him by the front of his shirt, yanking him onto his feet.

“You pointed a gun at my head, Ledger,” I snarl into his face. “And you put a hit on the woman I thought you adored—the same woman we all fucking fell for! I don’t know what the hell you were thinking but you’ve fucking lost it. I should kill you right fucking now.”

I suck in a deep breath and shove him away from me. Ledger stumbles back until the back of his knees hit the metal bed and he falls back onto it.

“The only reason your brain matter doesn’t paint these walls,” I growl. “Is because you brought them both back home in one piece. This is the only mercy you’ll get from me.”

With that, I leave him and head back upstairs.

Eleven

Rhett

My heart is racing as I make my way through the house. I’m beyond exhausted, I’m starving, and fuck do I need a shower. But sleep, food, and a hot bath can wait. There’s something I need more than all of that.

Or rather someone.

I find Santiago in the kitchen. He’s in the middle of pulling out ingredients for something, making quick work darting around the space to get everything he needs. I head straight for him. As he plops whatever it was that he grabbed from the refrigerator down onto the counter, my arms snake around his waist and I step into him, pinning Santi’s body to the counter.

“Rhett,” he breathes.