Chapter 41 Alistair
Alistair
“Ineed you to stay where you are.”
Keto, a good friend and the man in charge at the airstrip that’s holding Ranger’s plane, sighs. “I want to be there.”
“I know you do, but if this was Ranger, we need to keep him in the city.” I run my hand across my face, staring at my dim reflection in the glass. Beyond it is a line of chairs, where the people I consider family wait for news. “I trust you, Keto. I need you there.”
“Okay. I’ll keep you updated.”
In seconds, everything has changed. Two explosions and our world has been upended. The McEwan house is torn to pieces, just like Colt’s. Finn and Ronan are in surgery, and Helena is only unscathed because she was with Lewis, walking Wesson.
Colt is still in surgery. Denver is getting tests.
Wilder is dead.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and squeeze my eyes closed, fighting the need to break down. One of my oldest friends. Colt’s brother. Holly’s father. Dead. And we don’t know who did it.
It seems impossible that Ranger could have done this. If he was half as fucked up after the fire as Colt was, he wouldn’t have the mindset or the resources in such a short amount of time. That leaves a dozen other enemies.
And more will come.
The McEwan empire has no one at the head. The Harland family has me, but I’m not a named Harland, and while people are used to turning to me after Colt’s years in the dark, him disappearing will raise questions.
Two of the most powerful families in New York are vulnerable, and it won’t be long until people want their pound of flesh.
Taf approaches slowly, pulling me into a hug. I squeeze him, taking strength where I can, because he knows all this, too. We have minutes to regroup before things spiral.
He pulls back from the hug. “Denver is back from her tests.”
On the way to Denver’s room, I pass by the waiting area. Danielle is sat upright, Alison’s head on her knee. She tracks me as I pass, and I give her a reassuring smile that she doesn’t return.
Denver is sitting up in bed, her arm in a sling. Cuts and bruises cover her face, and she’s arguing with a nurse. “I don’t need to lie down. I need—” She sees me. “Alistair, where’s Colt?”
“He’s just got out of surgery,” I say.
Her frantic eyes search mine. “Why? What did he need surgery for?”
“He has swelling on his brain,” I say. “But the doctors are optimistic.”
“When did he get out of surgery? When can I talk to him?”
I don’t like Denver Luxe. It’s been tough to accept her into my life, my family, my work.
My suspicion is buried deep, and I don’t believe her innocence.
But I do believe she loves Colt. I don’t think she intended to fall in love—I think she came here with purpose and her feelings developed along the way.
But it’s still love, and regardless of my suspicions, Colt would want me to be by her side, so I will be.
And I might be the only person at her side for a while.
“Denver.” I sit on the edge of her bed.
Her breathing quickens. “What? What’s wrong with Colt?”
“The damage … the …” I try to remember what the doctor said, the words he’d used to gently hammer home the truth of Colt’s condition. “They had to put him into a medically induced coma.”
“… for how long?” Her voice is small, her eyes glassy.
“Can you give us a minute?” I say to the nurse, and she leaves us alone.
“We don’t know. It could be a few days, maybe longer.
” I try to detach myself. To tell myself this isn’t Colt I’m talking about.
Not my best friend, not him. “He’s strong, Denver.
” She doesn’t look like she’s listening anymore.
She’s staring at the bedding, her lips slightly parted.
“Denver?” She meets my gaze. “I know you’re going through a lot.
We all are, but I need you here. You can’t check out. You need to be present.”
She searches my eyes, but I can see her slipping away. “Why?”
“Because I need you to step up. Finn’s house was hit, too. Ronan and Finn are in surgery. Helena, Lewis and Wesson are fine. Wilder …”
Her inhale shudders. “He’s dead?” I can only nod. “Where’s Holly?”
“She’s here with Antonia.” Colt’s mother. Who is processing losing one son, and the fact she might lose another. “Holly asked about you.”
That seems to yank Denver away from whatever precipice she was dangling over. Some life and expression return to her, and she takes a steadying breath before saying, “Colt, Ronan, and Finn aren’t able to run anything … the families are ungoverned.”
I nod, glad I don’t need to explain it. “And there’s the added pressure that we don’t know who did this.
” I hate what I’m about to say, hate that the words are going to leave my mouth, but I don’t have any other fucking options.
I sit on the edge of the bed and face her.
“The other families will come for us. They’ll strip us down.
We have allies, but if we’re weak, even they might turn their back on us.
” She watches me. “The heads of the families are traditional. They didn’t like it when I ran most of the company.
Even though they knew the decisions were made by Colt, they didn’t have a Harland name, and they didn’t like it.
It took years of struggle to get some kind of peace with them.
I can step back in. It won’t be easy, but I can,” I say, and she stays quiet.
“But they’ll want a McEwan at the helm.”
Denver tilts her head. “You can’t mean Ranger?”
“No,” I say. “I mean you.”
She leans back into the pillow. “I’m not a McEwan.”
“Technically, you are. By marriage,” I say. “We can spin it. Say Ranger is sticking to the West Coast to run his own businesses, and you’re here to be the McEwan on the East Coast. You have a strong reputation and ties to New York—”
“As a DeLuca,” she whispers. “My dad left with my mom without permission. Everyone thinks he let his family get slaughtered for her. My name is dirt here.”
“The DeLuca name is, yes, but Denver Luxe’s isn’t,” I say. “You stood side by side with McEwans and Harlands, and people saw that. Even your reputation in San Francisco means something.”
Denver looks away from me, brow furrowed in quiet thought. I’m asking a lot. I’m asking her to step in as the head of the most powerful family in the city, and she has experience, but not much.
“You’ll have help. Guidance. I’ll be here, and the moment Finn and Ronan are back on their feet, you can step back again. But right now, we need you. And you know I’m the last person in the world to admit that.”
Her breathing is slow, even, like she’s bracing for impact. “Ranger will try to take advantage, too.”
“Can you control him?”
“Maybe. Maybe …” She swears. “I can try.”
“Then you’re already stronger than most of us,” I say. “Can I count on you?”
Her gray gaze meets mine. Not long ago, we argued bitterly over my opinion of her. I told her I didn’t trust her. She told me to remember who the fuck she was. We were on opposite sides.
Now, we have to stand together so we don’t lose everything.
An anguished scream fills the hall. I rush out to see Helena on her knees, the doctor before her. She’s sobbing into her hands, and Antonia is by her side, holding her. Danielle is holding a crying Alison. Taf is standing by, watching in silence.
Who, who, who, who? But will any answer be easy? Will losing any of them be something we can handle?
The world seems to soften around me, Helena’s cries dulling as I meet Taf’s tear-filled eyes. He mouths a name to me. A name that means this situation is far worse than I could have imagined. It’s no longer about waiting for him to wake up.
The fractures in our lives have been split wide open.
Denver is by my side, and her voice is croaky. “Who?”
Somehow, I speak. “Finn.”
Finn McEwan is dead. A legend. A powerful man. The one we needed to pull us all together once he woke up.
If Ronan survives, he just inherited an empire.
If he doesn’t …
“We need to get to work,” Denver says quietly, lifting her head to look at me.
She’s right.
We do.