25. Denver
Chapter 25
Denver
FOUR MONTHS AGO
“ Y ou’re unbearable.”
“I’m the birthday girl. I’m allowed to be unbearable.”
Wyatt grips my thighs and picks me up. “That’s true. And you’re a damn cute birthday girl, too.”
I dance in his arms. “And soon, I’ll be the birthday girl with the tan!”
Wyatt places me on my feet and pulls me close. “I love you, Deluxe.”
I grin and hope he thinks it’s real. “You better.”
“Now get that cute butt downstairs. Your guests will be missing you.”
I make my way down the stairs and weave my way through people, hugging and kissing those I haven’t seen yet. The music is playing, the food is great, I have more gifts than I dreamed of, and my bag is packed.
“Denver!” Richard, the CEO of a company I can’t remember the name of, pulls me to a stop. “Where’s Ranger? He’s been hiding all night!”
“Busy taking over the world, no doubt.” I wink mischievously. “I’ll be right back. I have to at least look busy!”
I pull myself free, my smile faltering once I’m out of view, the heat and noise of the party behind me.
Is it easy pretending I’m excited to be going away with Wyatt? No. Am I going to keep pretending? Of course.
The disconnect was between us long before we lost Theo and has deepened into a void of silence. We still haven’t spoken about the son we lost or the betrayal I felt when Wyatt walked out of that hospital room without even saying goodbye.
But this trip will help. There has to be pieces of us left, buried beneath grief and heart-wrenching silences. Right?
“Denver!” Axel grabs my hand. “Can I drive after four glasses of champagne?”
“No!” I say. “And don’t you dare try! Where are you even going?”
He groans. “I want to make s’mores.”
“S’mores? Do you know how much food is out there?”
“But I want marshmallows.”
I narrow my eyes. “Are you high?”
“Yes, legally ,” he says. “Not that legalities matter around here.”
I point at him. “Do not drive. Wyatt is sober. Ask him if he’ll go for you if you’re desperate.”
“Score. Thanks,” he says. “Oh, and Grim Reaper is looking for you.”
I groan. “Why?”
“As if he’d ever tell me!” Axel says. “He’s in his office.”
The last person I want to see is Ranger. He’s been complaining about me going away, and I’ve avoided him all night because of it. I’m twenty-seven now. I don’t need him to hold my hand. Not that I ever have.
I walk through the hallways, the music quietening as I reach Ranger’s office. I knock and wait.
“Come in.”
I open the door and lean inside. “You summoned me?”
He looks up from his desk, his suit jacket folded over his chair, a white shirt clinging to his strong body. He looks like he always does, but a shiver creeps down my spine when we lock eyes. “I need to talk to you.”
“Can it wait?” I point over my shoulder toward the kitchen. “It’s time for cake.”
“No, it can’t wait. Where’s Wyatt?”
“He’s upstairs. Axel is about to ask him to get marshmallows, though, so I hope he doesn’t miss cake…” I look back down the hallway.
“Denver,” Ranger says. “It’s important.”
“It’s always important,” I say. “Two minutes. Cake. Come and sing to me. Do you sing?”
I leave the office before he can answer, eager to avoid whatever doomsday news he has, and almost slam into Martha.
“Your guests are making a mess!”
I tut. “It’s a party. Cheer up.”
“I can party without the mess!” she cries, then huffs. “Happy birthday, witch.”
“Thanks, hag.”
Martha pats my head, then points in my face. “No more mess.” She storms off.
I make a note to make more of a mess, then set off for the foyer again, and once I reach it, the lights go out. Everyone starts singing, and Wyatt is holding my cake.
God, I love my birthday. It’s always the best month of the year, but I miss my dad. I wish he could be here with me to sing and open presents.
“Make a wish, Deluxe,” Wyatt says, the candlelight flickering across his face, green eyes bright and happy.
I smile wide, close my eyes, and blow out the candles. Everyone cheers. I grin, but it quickly fades when I spot Ranger in the crowd. The shadows around him seem to pulse, his eyes pitch black as he stares at me, but it isn’t anger, frustration, or impatience in his expression.
It’s concern.
“Want a slice?” Wyatt asks.
I tear my eyes away from Ranger. “Yes! Did Axel talk to you about marshmallows?”
Wyatt rolls his eyes. “Yes, I’ll head out after this. What time is it?”
“Um…” I crane my neck to catch a glance at the clock. “Nine thirty.”
“Okay, give me five minutes.”
Wyatt kisses me and disappears toward the kitchen. I’m pulled away to accept more gifts and bid people goodbye, and when I check the time again, it’s past ten, and the house is empty. The party planner will be back in the morning to clean up the mess, and the leftover food has been wrapped and packed away.
I stand in the silence, my ears ringing from the sudden quiet. Footsteps echo through to me, and I spot Axel sneaking past the kitchen with car keys in his hand.
I follow him and skid in front of the door.
“No!” I say. “Give them to me. I thought Wyatt was going for you?”
“I can’t find him!”
I sigh. “Then maybe he’s already gone. Go get some cake.”
Axel groans and gives me the keys before wandering into the kitchen.
“Denver?” Cal appears from the hall. “Ranger needs to see you downstairs.”
I wrinkle my nose. Downstairs is the basement that’s recently been converted into offices. It’s the last place I want to go, even on the best of days. I’ve avoided it since I discovered that it’s soundproof.
“I’ll come with you,” Cal says reassuringly.
“Okay, but you can’t hold my hand,” I say. “I’m a married woman.”
Cal smiles, and together, we venture to the back of the house and downstairs. The basement is a fully functioning office, but so far, none of Ranger’s employees have used it, and I’m glad. There are no windows. No natural light. No plants, no art. I hate the stone flooring; it makes the room feel damp even when it isn’t. I can’t imagine subjecting anyone to eight hours a day down here.
Ranger is leaning against one of the desks, his phone in his hand, staring at the floor.
“What is so important?” I ask. “I still haven’t had cake. Have you seen Wyatt?”
Ranger raises his eyes to mine, and another chill skitters through me. Or maybe it’s the stone floor.
He selects something on his phone, and the flat screen behind me flickers on. I turn. It’s playing CCTV footage.
“No, Denver’s not here. She never is. Thank god.”
“That’s mean. Don’t you love her?”
“Right now, I love you.”
My heart races. I recognize the voice.
I watch Wyatt approach the woman at the table—and kiss her. I inhale sharply and take a step back. Ranger is behind me and holds me in place.
“Turn it off,” I whisper.
“—around her, anyway,” Wyatt says.
A woman responds, “She seems nice.”
“She isn’t.”
“Hasn’t she been through a lot, though? Losing the baby ? —”
Wyatt’s laugh is cold. “She’s better off never being a mother.”
“Ranger, turn it off.”
He lifts the remote but doesn’t turn it off. He shows me more. Different days, different places, different women. The food I’ve eaten is close to reappearing, but I can’t look away.
Ranger finally presses pause, but I can still see it playing in my mind. Wyatt. Kissing other women. Telling them he loves them.
“There’s more,” Ranger says. “But this one…” He selects another video.
“Something’s wrong tonight, honey,” the woman says.
“I’m fine.”
Wyatt is in a hotel room, the woman standing at the end of the bed. She tugs on his tie. “You said you couldn’t see me for a few days. Isn’t your kid due?”
“Just kiss me, will you?”
My heart stalls, my eyes flicking to the time and date on the screen. Theo’s due date. Our son had died hours before this. I was in a hospital room, Ranger holding me as I sobbed—and Wyatt was fucking another woman. My throat stings with vomit, and tears blur my vision.
It’s so cold. Freezing. When did the temperature drop? My fingers feel numb, and I flex them, trying to breathe, trying to think, trying to process.
“He’s been lying to you for years,” Ranger says. “I found out a few days ago but wanted to make sure before I told you.”
The room whirls. “It can’t… it can’t be true.”
Ranger continues. “It is. And that’s not all he did. He changed the life insurance, upped it by a hell of a lot. I don’t think he intended for you to come back from this vacation alive.”
I put my fingers in my hair and tug at the roots. I’m dreaming. I’ll wake up, and it will be my birthday morning again. This isn’t real.
It can’t be real.
I hear shifting and moaning as Cal drags Wyatt into the room and pushes him to his knees in the space before us.
I stare at my husband. His hands are tied behind his back. Blood spills over the silver tape on his mouth, and he’s sweating. He’s still in his suit. I bought him that suit.
Is this the man I married? Or has he changed over time? Is this a nightmare?
How much time has passed since I came down here? Two minutes? Three? Had it been hours? Days?
A gun cocks, the familiar click of a familiar weapon.
“Say the word, Denver,” Ranger says softly.
The edge of my vision softens; my voice sounds too distant to be mine. “What?”
“Say the word, and it’s done.”
“You want to kill him?” I ask.
“He disrespects you,” Ranger says. “He was going to kill you. He was going to fly back here, a widower, with your body. Yes, Denver. I want to kill him.”
I can’t feel my body. “Don’t we disrespect him, too?”
Ranger tenses. “That’s different.”
Is it? Whenever Wyatt is gone, I’m with Ranger. We don’t sleep together, but I lie to my husband about it. Am I really any better?
“Maybe I should be on my knees,” I whisper, my gaze drifting to Wyatt. His eyes dart between Ranger and me, his panic ebbing in favor of curiosity.
Ranger takes my chin in his hand, forcing me to look at him. “You turn to me because he fucking abandons you. And when you needed him most, when your son was dead?—”
“Stop it,” I beg.
“No.” Ranger searches my eyes. “I love you, but even I would have stepped away to allow Wyatt to be a husband that night. I would have walked away because it was your son, and he should have been there. But he wasn’t. He left you. He fucked someone else, and he laughed about you being a shitty mother.”
“Shut up!” I scream. The lights feel too bright, my voice too loud. And I grasp at anything, anything to get me out of this room, to end this horror. “The insurance, maybe he was just being careful?—”
“He asked me, Denver,” Cal says, drawing my attention to him. “He was drunk one night and asked me if I’d kill you. Asked me to make it look like an accident.”
I shake my head rapidly. “No.”
Cal nods. “I’m sorry, kid. But even if it wasn’t for those women, we’d still have to do this.”
That doesn’t mean he should die, though, does it? That doesn’t mean I should give the word to take his life, does it?
“We should call the police.”
Ranger laughs. “Are you serious?”
“He’ll go to prison! There’s evidence of the life insurance being changed. He’ll go to prison and pay,” I cry.
“For trying to kill a Luxe?” Ranger asks, his smile wide with disbelief. “He’ll turn, he’ll get a deal, he’ll tell them everything to save his own ass, and you know he will.”
Ranger positions himself behind me and places his hands on my shoulders, making me face Wyatt. “Look at him, Denver. This is the man you married. He has lied to you since day one. He’s humiliated you.” He points to the television. “He fucked countless women, and on top of that, he was going to spend your money, your father’s money, probably fucking his way through the West Coast once he’d killed you. And you want the police to deal with it?” He releases my shoulders. “No, you deal with it now.”
Tears blur my vision. “I don’t want to deal with it.”
“Tough,” he says. “All you need to do is say the word, and it’ll be over with.”
Wyatt shakes his head desperately, eyes locked on mine, glassy with tears and fear.
“You want to speak?” Ranger asks. “Fine. Speak.”
He lunges forward and tears the tape from Wyatt’s mouth.
“Deluxe, it’s not true, I promise,” Wyatt says. “He’s lying!”
Hearing his voice and his denials makes this even harder. I want to believe him. I want to believe him so badly.
“The tapes,” I say.
“I’m sorry about that. I’m so sorry, but I would never hurt you!” Wyatt insists, blood spilling from his nose and over his lips. “I wanted my life with you. I just fucked up.” He swallows hard, his chest shuddering as he attempts to calm himself. “I thought you were sleeping with Ranger. I’ve always thought you were sleeping with fucking Ranger. It’s why I did it.”
Guilt coils around me. “It’s why you tried to kill me?”
“No, not—I didn’t do that. I didn’t want to hurt you.” He takes in a shaky breath. “The women. I slept with them because I was jealous. Ranger has always come before me, hasn’t he?”
Ranger scoffs. “With good fucking reason.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Wyatt shouts, gritting his bloodstained teeth. “Denver, I was jealous, and stupid, and?—”
“The night Theo died,” I whisper. “Why couldn’t you have been with me? My entire pregnancy, you weren’t around. I went through it all alone.”
My husband searches my face. “You had Ranger. Did you really need me?”
“I wouldn’t have turned to him if you’d been there!” I scream, trying to shield myself from the blinding realization that I’m a hypocrite.
Because yes, I turned to Ranger when Wyatt left me behind.
But had Wyatt only left because I made him feel second best? Had I put Ranger first?
Have I always put Ranger first?
“Deluxe,” Wyatt says. “I didn’t try to kill you. Ranger is manipulating you.”
“And I’m lying?” Cal spits out.
“Yes!” Wyatt bites back.
Cal shakes his head. “Denver, you don’t have to be here. You can go upstairs, pretend you don’t hear a fucking thing, but I won’t have him stand here and say I’d lie to you about that because I wouldn’t. You mean the world to me. I love you and Axel more than anything.” I stare at my friend, the truth reflected in his eyes. “So, even if you say no to this, I’ll do it. I’ll do it because you deserve better than this piece of shit, and you always have.”
My gaze meets Wyatt’s. My husband. The man I thought could save me or, at the very least, try to.
“Tell me the truth,” I whisper.
“It isn’t true ,” Wyatt insists. “It isn’t. Life insurance? It’s total bullshit! I would never, ever hurt you.”
“You won’t die tonight,” I say. “I won’t let it happen, and you know Ranger won’t if I tell him not to. But you have to tell me the truth.”
“I didn’t do this, Deluxe!”
I search his eyes, my heart breaking, my mind unraveling. “Swear on our son.”
Tears glimmer in the green of Wyatt’s eyes as they frantically search my face.
And he falters.
That’s all it takes.
That split-second hesitation.
It’s true.
He shakes his head desperately. “I swear on Theo!”
But it’s too late. I saw the deliberation in his eyes because he’d never swear on our son’s grave unless he had to. That moment of contemplation ended his life.
“Do it,” I say, backing away. Two words. Two words that will change everything.
“Good girl.” Ranger kisses the side of my head.
Cal raises the gun, and Wyatt lets out a strangled sob, telling me over and over it isn’t true. I’m weighted to the ground—the stupid stone floor.
Wyatt lied. He’d planned on killing me.
My breathing evens out. My heart starts to slow. A warm, welcome wave of calm washes over me.
Maybe I’ve always known he’s a liar because something crosses over within me. I feel free. Like I understand myself more than I ever have. I stare at him weeping, desperate, sweating, disgusting .
He’s weak. He’s always been weak. He fell victim to his vices and broke me along the way. He’d left me, he’d left Theo, and he’d lied.
Ranger is right. Wyatt humiliated me.
“Wait,” I say.
Wyatt sobs. “Yes, please, Deluxe. Just let me explain.”
“I want to do it.”
Ranger’s eyes are piercing, dark pits of promise, of heat, and I see something burning so brightly that it tips me over from fear into need.
I’m making him proud.
Ranger hands me his gun.
It feels heavy in my hands. It’s been so long since I’ve shot one, and I’ve never used one outside of the range before.
“Play the recording again,” I say. Wyatt’s flirtations and his seductions overpower his sobs.
Ranger once again takes his place behind me, arm around my waist, his touch comforting like always. I point the gun at Wyatt. I don’t shake. I feel no pain. I edge toward relief, toward freedom from this man.
“I didn’t do this, Deluxe!” Wyatt cries.
He’s a liar. A weak man. Not the man I should be with. Not a man who deserves me.
“That’s my girl,” Ranger whispers in my ear. “I’m right here.”
I pull the trigger.