Chapter 43
Denver
The summer sun warms my skin, and I shield my eyes as I tilt my head back. A breeze would be nice, but I’ve lived in California long enough to know that I’d be lucky to get one on a day like this.
“Ooft, seriously?” I wince and place my hand against my bump. “Use your words, baby. Violence is unnecessary.” As if insulted at the accusation, my son kicks me again. “I’ll tell your damn father.”
“Tell me what?” Colt asks, holding the sun hat I’d forgotten in the car. He places it on my head, and I’m grateful for the shade.
“Your son is kicking me.”
“I told you not to eat the pistachio ice cream. He doesn’t like it.”
“Everyone likes pistachio ice cream.” I rub my belly, sighing softly as I look down at the headstone. “Dad liked it.”
“Yes, well, you DeLucas are strange.” He puts his arm around my waist.
Six weeks in hospital. Four weeks of bed rest after that. Minutes I was dead, and I remember every moment. Ethan, my choice, my dad. Neurons in the brain, Sebastian told me, but I think even he was hoping what I saw was real, and that wherever Ethan is, he’s happy.
If I hadn’t needed so much treatment and rest, we’d have left sooner.
Every extra day here feels like we’re inviting more danger or sinking deeper into lives we’re too damn used to.
But our flight to England is today, and I’m getting on that goddamn flight.
Before I leave for good, I wanted to see my parents’ headstones, and Axel’s.
Colt was arrested for Ranger’s murder. It was hard to deny given that there were a dozen witnesses.
But with Reid’s smooth talking, and some money changing hands, he was released without charge.
Ranger had almost killed me, after all, and was likely at that hospital to finish what he started.
Colt’s actions were in defense of his wife and child. A crime of passion.
The public ate it up, and Colt was praised as a hero, a man pushed to the edge. Deluxe’s Savior, the headlines read. It’s the only time I’ve enjoyed seeing them refer to me with that name.
“Can I meet you back at the car?” I ask.
Colt nods and kisses me before leaving me alone.
I stare at my father’s name, and my mother’s above it.
“I wish I could kneel, but I won’t be able to get back up again.
I just wanted to tell you that I won’t forget what you said.
” I touch the stone, running my fingertip across it. “I’ll love every version of him.”
I take my time walking back to the car. Colt is leaning against the hood watching me, smiling as I waddle my way over.
“God, you’re fucking cute when you’re pregnant.”
I stop and frown, pointing at him. “I’m always cute.”
“You’re tolerable,” Taf says as he gets out of the car.
“Both of you, hush!”
They exchange a grin, and I get into the car. I can’t wait to get on that flight, to get our new lives started, but we have one more stop to make first.
Colt holds my hand, slowly stroking his thumb across my knuckles as if he can feel my nerves tightening with every roll of the tires.
The driveway never felt this long when I lived here, but I can barely hold my breath from the moment we pass through the gate until we stop at the door.
Colt follows as I get out of the car and look up at the place I used to call home.
The door swings open on silent hinges. Crisp white sheets cover furniture I’ll never use again, and it’ll stay here until someone buys the house once owned by the most feared gangster on the West Coast.
Colt waits at the door as I take slow steps across the foyer, my gaze tracking the sweeping staircase where I saw Ranger for the first time. A man who would go on to destroy me.
I stand at his office door, my hand resting on the frame.
It’s all mine now. This house, Luxe Industries—everything in his name. Hundreds of millions of dollars all handed to me because I was unlucky enough to be loved by Ranger Luxe.
I put the money in a trust for Theo. His mother has total control over it until then. They won’t want for anything.
The only thing I didn’t hand over was this house.
I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because Axel lived here, too. It feels wrong to let go of the one thing I have left of my time with him.
Maybe I’ll sell one day.
Maybe I won’t.
For now, I’m saying goodbye.
I go to the bookshelf behind Ranger’s desk and pick up the photo frame. Removing the back, I take out the photo of Axel and me. He’s giving me a piggyback and we’re both grinning at the camera. It’s the only thing I wanted to take with me.
I don’t realize I’m crying until Colt wipes away a tear.
“Hormones,” I say, forcing a smile.
“It’s okay to feel something other than anger in here.” He brushes my hair back. “It was a huge part of your life.”
My breath shakes as I let it out and look around the office.
It’s where I told Ranger about Wyatt. It’s where I first met Wilder. It’s where Ranger and I probably argued the most. Axel and I would pretend to hiss whenever we touched the desk, claiming it could only be used by the Grim Reaper himself. My father probably spent time in here, too.
“I just feel …” I shake my head, resting my hand against the desk. “Betrayed.”
I take one final photo that I find in Ranger’s desk—of me pregnant with Theo. In it, I’m sitting in the garden, shielding my eyes from the sun, smiling. I put it with the one of Axel and me, and we cross the threshold once more, out of the cool shadows of Ranger’s home and into the sunlight.
Colt locks the door and says he’ll meet me in the car.
I swallow hard as my gaze sweeps across ivy-covered stone and windows that won’t open again until I say so. Memories, both good and bad, are now trapped behind an oak door that doesn’t feel sturdy enough. A home built brick by brick, lie by lie, secret by dirty secret.
My first marriage.
My first love.
My first murder.
“Are you Ranger?” I ask, watching him take the steps with all the confidence I’ve come to expect from men like him.
“Yes.”
“I’m Denver.”
“I know. How long do you want to stay here, Denver?” His voice is smooth, rich, low, and a shiver tiptoes down my spine. I don’t look away, I seemingly can’t, caught in the orbit of this man despite my instincts telling me to run.
He smiles, and even though I don’t know him, I get the impression it’s a rare sight. My heart picks up as Ranger Luxe reaches the bottom step, a man my father rarely spoke of, a person my mother once described as terrifying.
And without thinking, I offer myself to him. “As long as you want me.”