Chapter 4
Denver
I’ve shaken so many hands this morning that I’m close to tears from the pain.
My shoulder was easing after a few days of rest, but now it may as well have been torn from the socket again.
It’s still another thirty minutes before the funeral begins, but the church is already busy.
We’re outside waiting for Ranger, somewhere I’d usually avoid given that reporters are hungry for a good photograph, but Alistair said it was better to have evidence of my place by his side.
Lewis is behind me. Taf is behind Alistair. One by one, we greet some of the most powerful people in New York, legitimate and otherwise, and each one has asked about my absent husband.
Alistair leans close to my ear. “You said he was coming.”
“He’ll want to make an entrance,” I respond, eyeing the front of the church, where Helena is with Colt’s mom.
A rush of camera flashes has us all looking out of the church doors. A sleek town car has arrived, and the reason for the desperate attempts to grab a photo is the man who gets out.
My husband.
Dressed in a black designer suit, his white shirt crisp against the black tie, Ranger steps out of the car like he belongs. Axel is close behind, and their resemblance is so striking that I’d be surprised if it wasn’t their image splashed across social media tonight and not mine and Alistair’s.
Ranger whispers something to Axel, and he nods. Security almost drowns them as they stride past the press and up the pale steps to the church.
“A fucking entrance,” Alistair says. “You Luxes piss me off.”
“Good,” I mumble, and he throws me a dark look as Axel reaches me. I hug him, breathing him in. “Thank you for coming.”
“The least I can do. He was technically my great-uncle, right?”
He releases me, and Ranger kisses my cheek. “Sorry I’m late, wife.”
I hide the stiffening of my spine. “Did you have to show up like the men in fucking black?”
He chuckles. “These are our last photos together. I want to look good for my adoring wife.” He shifts Alistair aside and puts an arm around my waist to guide us to the front of the church. If I didn’t hate them both, I’d enjoy watching Alistair being put in his place.
I keep my head held high, the picture of a woman in control, but my mind wanders.
To Colt.
He was brought home yesterday, and so was Ronan.
Two nurses live with us now, too. The hospital beds and machines are now a constant presence in the house, and while I hate the sounds and antiseptic smell, at least I could cuddle Colt until I fell asleep, and he’ll be there waiting for me when this awful day is over.
Sebastian oversaw the move from the hospital to the brownstone. While we haven’t discussed Ethan, he’s still visited to check my injuries and promised to drop by when he can to check on Colt and Ronan, too. It’s a relief to have someone else I trust watching over them both.
“Denver.” Alexei Volkov’s voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I rise to greet him. He kisses my cheek. “How are you?”
“As good as can be expected.”
“Terrible news about Vince Jr.,” he says, grinning broadly. “What a tragic loss.”
I tut. “Alexei, don’t be cruel. And have a little class. It’s a funeral.”
“A celebration of life,” Alexei says, eyeing Ranger with disdain. Ranger appears to be holding back a growl, his jaw ticking. “And I, for one, will celebrate Vince’s death. Dante is a lot more fun.”
“Dante Capelli is taking over?” Ranger says, looking down at me. “Who decided that?”
I shrug, then immediately regret it, pain lancing through me.
Ranger frowns. “Have you taken anything for that?”
“I’m fine,” I say. “Alexei, it was nice to see you.”
The head of the Bratva snorts. “That’s me dismissed, is it? It’s a good job I like you, Deluxe.” He heads away and I take a breath, nausea washing through me from the deep throb up my arm.
Andrzej Nowak spends a few minutes speaking to Helena, and then shows far more interest in Ranger than Alexei did, the two talking while I zone out.
“You being here has been a little like having Cara back.”
“Is it my sass? It’s my sass, isn’t it?”
“Yes … I’ll always regret not fighting harder for you.”
My final conversation with Finn has tears filling my eyes, and I should hold them back. I’m supposed to be strong, but I had such a short time with him. If Ranger hadn’t interfered, Finn would have been the one to look after me when my father died.
How different would my life have been?
Someone brushes away my tears, but more fall as Helena cups my face.
Her own eyes are shining. “Will you sit with me?” I nod wordlessly, and she takes my hand, guiding me away from Alistair and Ranger, the latter looking less than amused.
I ignore him and sit between Helena and Colt’s mom, letting tears fall as mass begins and words are spoken for a good man.
The moment is interrupted by the church door opening, sunlight spilling into the cool space.
Heads turn, murmurs shifting through the crowd as a man stands in the doorway.
A tailored suit hugs his willowy frame, and he waves off the security who entered with him.
He has a thick head of gray hair and sweeps his boney fingers through it before finally looking at me.
He’s older, in his sixties, hollow cheeks pushed into an oily smile.
“Please,” he croaks. “Continue.”
My gaze shoots to Ranger, and he mouths a single word that has a shiver crawling up my spine and across my hairline.
“Spider.”
Alistair is already out of his seat and making his way to the far side of the church, likely notifying security, because Spider hasn’t been seen in months. And he’s right fucking here. The man who took Marnie, who tried to take me.
Ranger leans forward. “You do not go anywhere alone,” he whispers, and Helena takes my hand. “Not for a single fucking second.”
It’s the first thing we’ve agreed on in months.
The sun is warm as we step outside the church. Police and security have pushed back the photographers, but they’ll have great shots of Ranger, Axel and I standing together by the car.
“What the hell is he doing, showing up here?” I ask.
Ranger rests his arm on the car. “This is the safest place for him to be. He’s in public—and not just any public, but people who support him.”
I grimace. “Who supports him?”
“You’d be surprised,” Alistair says as he approaches. “Denver, you’ll need JJ on you as well as Lewis.”
Ranger lets out a growl. “A reunion. Wonderful.”
I haven’t seen JJ since I left California, but Alistair has.
It was a shock finding out that he’d been Colt’s man the entire time, especially given that he was hired long before I even knew the Harlands existed.
Apparently, Colt had asked JJ to work his way into our lives, so if things went awry, he could keep an eye on Wilder.
After the wedding, JJ insisted on staying behind to be his guy on the inside.
I’ll be having serious words with him about that when he wakes up.
“Suck it up to keep her safe,” Alistair says.
I arch a brow. “That almost sounded like concern.”
“I worry about you in the same way I worry about the engine in my car,” he says, texting. “You bother me when you stop working.”
I scratch my cheek with my middle finger, and while Axel chuckles, Alistair ignores the childish move in favor of watching Spider approach.
Ranger’s arm slides around my waist as Leo ‘Spider’ Eddards greets us with a weak smile. I can see why they call him Spider. He’s tall, his limbs long and skinny, and he moves remarkably swiftly, as if he’s gliding and not walking.
“Mrs. Luxe,” he says. “How lovely to finally meet you.”
I ignore his offered hand. “I cannot say the same.”
He presses his fingertips into his chest, feigning hurt. “Am I not the injured party in all this? I lost my only son.”
“It was foolish of you to come here, Spider,” Alistair says. “Especially today.”
Spider waves his hand as if ushering away a mildly annoying fly.
“Today is the best day for it. Faith in the McEwans is wavering, and I’ll be giddy while watching each of you topple.
And while the McEwans fall, the Harlands will burn, and the Luxes will follow.
What a feast that will be.” He focuses on me, running his tongue over his bottom lip. “I’ll sink my teeth into what’s left.”
“No one is falling today,” I say.
His grin almost overtakes his face. “Tell me, Deluxe. How is Colt?”
I dart forward, but Ranger’s firm grip around my waist keeps me in place. “Better than your fucking son. His tongue tasted good when I bit it out of his mouth.”
Spider’s smile vanishes. “You’ll regret that, you vapid little cunt.”
A crack has people glancing over. Spider hits the ground, and I open my mouth to call Ranger back, but it isn’t him who struck.
Axel shakes out his fist, glaring down at Spider. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
Ranger’s smirk is filled with pride and victory, and he winks at me. I pull myself out of his grip and take Axel’s hand. “We’re leaving. Right now.”
Alistair smirks as Spider is helped to his feet by his security. “Try not to cause any more trouble, Denver.”
“Oh, fuck off, Alistair,” I hiss and practically shove Axel into the back of the town car. He scoots over and Ranger gets in beside me, slamming the door shut.
“And you chose this over me,” Ranger says, adjusting his tie.
“Consider how bad you are, then.”
After leaving the church, we head to one of the bars to check a delivery.
The work never stops, and Alistair reminded me via text that it’s a good opportunity to show our partners that Ranger and I are working together, no matter how much I may hate that fact.
Luckily, it’s a smooth afternoon, meaning I can take a second behind the bar to have a breather while Ranger wraps things up for me.