28. Denver
Chapter 28
Denver
I sit back in the waiting room chair and cross my leg over my knee, tapping my fingers against my thigh. It’s hot in here. Unbearably so. My shoes are pinching my toes, and I want to take them off.
“Patience, little bird,” Ranger says.
“Patience? We’ve been here thirty minutes,” I say. “I have things to do.”
“And I don’t?”
I open my mouth to argue, but he rests his hand on my thigh.
It’s been a week since my confession at Pulse, and Ranger decided I should finally give Hayes what he wants. The attack on Ranger yanked us further into the limelight, and avoiding this interview feels pointless. The moment this is over, we can focus on Wilder Harland.
Ethan won’t answer my calls, and going to his house is a huge risk. Social media is obsessed with him; the footage of him punching the man in Pulse trended for days. On the odd occasion I’ve driven by his house, there’s at least one photographer outside waiting. All I can do is hope he calls me back and hasn’t already told the police what I confessed.
Though, I guess if he had, I’d already be in handcuffs.
Axel still isn’t home, but that’s an issue I have to fix alone. I’ve covered for him with Ranger, but I can’t do it for much longer. There’s so much mess, and I keep creating more.
“Mrs. Ledger.”
Ugh, I hate the way Hayes says my name. It’s like he’s always surprised to see me, as if he doesn’t follow me fucking everywhere.
“About time,” I say, standing.
Ranger can’t come in with me, but our lawyer can. The lawyer who, for lack of a better phrase, scares me shitless.
Dennis Smith. Such an innocent name for a man like him. He is maybe a hair shorter than me, bald, with round glasses and a jolly face. But a man who can keep Ranger Luxe’s record clean is a man to be feared.
The light bounces off Dennis’s bald head, and he smiles. “Go ahead, Denver. I’m right behind you.”
I walk past Hayes without giving him a second glance and take a seat at the interview table.
They run through my details, name, address, date, and time, and I cross my leg over my knee again. I look impatient, but I don’t care.
Hayes watches me, uncharacteristically quiet. Maybe our argument at the car has made him change tact. Or maybe he’s tired of trying to get me to talk.
“This shouldn’t take long,” Hayes’s partner, whose name I’ve already forgotten, says. “We’d just like you to run through the night of May thirtieth again.”
I clear my throat. I’ve gone through it so many times and am so confident in my lie that I’ve started to doubt myself. But I know the script, so I stick to it.
“It was my birthday party at Ranger’s house. There were around eighty people there. I saw my husband last at around nine thirty because we’d just blown out my birthday candles. I didn’t see him after that, but it wasn’t unusual for him to go out late. I got a phone call early in the morning to say he’d been killed and…” I pause, acting embarrassed to say what I say next. “I didn’t deal with it well. I had plane tickets, and I left.”
“Do you know why he left the house that night? Why would he leave his wife’s birthday party?”
I shrug. “I have no idea why he left. A lot was happening. We didn’t stay together all night.”
“What did you last talk about?”
“I don’t remember,” I say. “It could have been anything.”
“Did you argue?”
“No.”
The partner raises his brows. “You just said you didn’t remember.”
I resist rolling my eyes. “I think I’d remember arguing on my birthday. I don’t remember what was said, but it wasn’t an argument. We had nothing to argue about.”
“Not even his affairs?” the partner asks.
“I didn’t know about his affairs until after he was dead.”
Hayes still says nothing. He watches me quietly.
“Were you having an affair with Ranger Luxe?” the partner asks.
“No.”
“You don’t seem surprised by my question.”
“It’s all anybody is asking. Have you seen the hashtags?” I retort, my eyes moving to Hayes. “Detective Hayes has.”
“So, your affair with Ranger started after your husband died?” the partner asks.
I cock my head. “Can you cheat on a dead man?” Dennis shifts in his seat. “No, I did not cheat on my husband with Ranger. I never cheated on my husband.”
“You don’t say his name,” the partner says.
“Excuse me?” I raise my eyebrows.
“You haven’t said your husband’s name. Not to Detective Hayes, myself, or in your statement to the press,” he says. “Not once.”
Is that true? It isn’t a conscious choice I’ve made.
I lean close to the tape. “Wyatt Ledger,” I say, then lean back again. “Satisfied?”
Dennis chuckles.
“What did you last argue about?” The partner asks, ignoring my performance. “You must have argued about something.”
“I imagine we did,” I say. “But I can’t think of anything specific. Is my entire marriage under question here or just the night he died?”
“So, you weren’t upset about him signing a new contract with Luxe Industries?”
“Why would I care about that?” I ask.
He tilts his head. “Because you were planning on leaving together, weren’t you?”
I don’t allow myself to pause for long. “We were going on vacation.”
“No,” the partner says. “You were leaving California. Leaving Luxe Industries. Going to England, I believe?” His uncertainty is fake, and he looks at Hayes. “Was it England?”
Hayes nods silently.
The partner sifts through paperwork. “I have Wyatt’s email confirmations here. Two tickets to Heathrow. No return flight. It sounds like you were going for good. Running off into the sunset together.”
I stay quiet.
“This is what I think happened.” The partner sits forward, placing his palms on the table. “I think you were tired of being under the watchful eye of Ranger Luxe. I think your husband told you that you’d both leave. He filled your head with dreams of a world away from this life you hate. Then you found out he wasn’t planning on leaving at all. He was planning on staying for a hell of a long time,” he says. “And you really lost your temper.”
I blink slowly.
“I think you killed him,” the partner continues. “Then you hopped on a plane and got yourself a tan while Ranger cleaned up your mess. Am I close?”
I almost like this guy. He has a hell of a lot more pizzazz than Hayes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” I say.
“Adler. Archer Adler.”
I nod. “Of course. Detective Adler, have you ever been to England?”
“Nope.”
“That’s a shame. It’s beautiful. I love London. You’ve been, haven’t you, Dennis?” I look at Dennis, and he nods. I face Adler again. “But my favorite place is a city called Bath. It’s really unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s about a three-hour drive from London, and gosh…” I place my hand on my heart. “So beautiful.”
Adler’s jaw tenses. “What’s your point?”
“Oh, our return flights were from Bristol International Airport,” I say. “The closest airport to Bath.”
He stares at me. Speechless. The bomb he thought he’d dropped is a dud, and I’ll bask in the moment for as long as I can.
“I booked them,” I say. “If you want to check. Wyatt was useless at remembering which airport was which—you know what husbands are like for forgetting things. Are you married, Detective Adler?” I glance at his naked wedding finger. “Well, maybe you’ll find that out someday.”
I’m having fun. I feel like a cat playing with its food, and I’m not even hungry. How embarrassing for Adler to think that was his big break. At least I know now I have nothing to worry about when it comes to him.
“Is it Detective Hayes’s turn?” I ask, moving my eyes to him. “I really hope it is.”
Hayes sits forward. “I do have a few questions. Where was Axel that night?”
I consider him for a moment. “At the party, with everybody else.”
“The last time anybody saw Wyatt, he was talking to Axel,” Hayes says.
My heart starts to thump. I know what he’s doing. Hayes knows he can’t get me to confess, but he also knows I’ll do anything to protect Axel, especially if he’s accused of a crime I committed.
“They were talking about marshmallows,” I say.
Adler looks amused. “Marshmallows?”
“Axel was high, legally, and he wanted to make s’mores,” I say. “I told Axel not to drive and to ask Wyatt to go to the store for him if he wanted marshmallows.”
Adler tilts his head. “Why wouldn’t you bring that up as a reason for your husband leaving that night?”
Because Axel already felt responsible for a carjacking that never happened.
“It only just occurred to me,” I say.
Adler smiles again. “It only just occurred to you?”
“Are you a parrot?” I snap.
Hayes smiles. They’re getting under my skin, and I need to stay calm before I lunge across the desk or say something I regret.
“Are you close to Axel?” Adler asks.
“Yes.” I dust off my leg.
“Did you have an affair with Axel?”
I roll my eyes. “No, I have never slept with Axel. He’s like a brother to me.”
“You argued with him a few nights ago. Why?”
My eyes move to Hayes. “He got into an argument with someone at Pulse. I asked him to leave because he was drunk.”
“So, it wasn’t a lover’s quarrel?”
“This is just a fishing expedition at this point,” Dennis says. “You’re wasting our time. Unless you’re going to charge Ms. Luxe, we’re leaving.”
Hayes and Adler exchange glances, and Hayes nods at his partner.
“We have an offer for you, Ms. Luxe.”
I shake off my intrigue. “Congratulations on finally getting my name right.”
Adler runs a tongue across his teeth. “We’re willing to offer you immunity.”
I go totally still. I flick my gaze to Hayes. “Is this a joke?”
“Listen, you know being with Ranger will end poorly for you,” Adler interjects. “Angelina Luxe didn’t fare so well.”
Tension steals up my neck. “Is that so?”
“Well…” Adler leans back in his chair. “No one has seen her or her bodyguard since she ran off ten years ago. Do you really think Ranger didn’t find her?”
It had occurred to me. Of course, it had. But even Ranger wouldn’t kill the mother of his child. And if he had, then we’d all know about it because it would add to an already fearful reputation.
I drum my fingernails against the metal table. “So, what is it you want, Detective? All our juicy gossip? Our dirty laundry?” I gasp dramatically. “You wanna know where all the figurative bodies are buried?”
A muscle ticks in Adler’s jaw. “Give us what we need to arrest Ranger Luxe, and you can leave.” I roll my eyes. “And so can Axel.” My spine goes rigid, and I can’t fucking hide it. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? Little Luxe to be safe?” He rests his forearms on the table and searches my face. “We will protect you both. Ranger will be behind bars. Cal Winterson will be right there with him. No one will be able to touch you. A new life, a fresh start, anywhere you want.” My breathing quickens, and Adler has the nerve to soften his gaze. “Help us, Denver. He’s a murderer, a drug dealer, and he will never let you go. Is this really the life you want?”
I force my muscles to relax and lean close, lowering my voice. “Are we done?”
Adler pauses before nodding curtly, and I stand, sweeping my hair over my shoulder. As I stride for the door, Hayes speaks.
“Being loyal means nothing if he kills you.”
My hand wraps around the door handle, and I throw him a sweet smile. “Thanks for your concern. Next time, show it with a fruit basket.” I give him the finger and pull the door open.
Ranger stands. “Done?”
“So done,” I mumble, lacing my arm around his waist. “Can we go home?”
He kisses my temple and hovers his lips close to my ear. “We can slash some tires first if you like.”
The laugh that escapes me is real and loosens the knot in my chest, but it’s seconds before it tightens again, robbing me of breath and words.
Ethan strides toward us.
“Mr. Defender,” Adler says. “Thanks for coming in.”
I stare at Ethan, but he doesn’t meet my eye before going into the interview room.
Adler winks at me. “We’ll be in touch, Mrs. Ledger.”
He closes the door behind him.