Page 47 of Taking Denver

“Stop it,” I whisper.

“Because they could never compare. No one ever fucking did.” His grip on my neck tightens, and I inhale sharply.

My lips part, and I whisper, “You better give them a call, then, because I’m never letting you near me again.” Rage tears through his gaze, but even now, I know he won’t hurt me. “You can claim I’m yours, you can keep me in your house, hell, you can fucking marry me if you want to. But I will never let you touch me. And just like everyone else in your life, I’ll never love you.”

I regret the words the moment I say them, but they do what I want. I wanted to hurt him, to get the upper hand, and I do it with a weapon I’ve never used so cruelly before.

His anger is dampened by hurt, the kind of hurt I saw the night I told him about being with Wyatt. It’s a look I hoped to never see again, but this time, I got a front-row seat to that pain, and I hate myself for it.

“Mr. Luxe.” The tentative voice of the air hostess shatters the tension, but the pieces still rain down and cut. Ranger releases my neck.

“What?” He cuts out the word, and the hostess takes stiff steps to our seats and hands him his iPad.

“We’re landing soon.”

Ranger says nothing, and neither do I. I return my attention to the window, close my eyes, and think about Ethan.

Chapter 18

Denver

When we land, a car is waiting to take us to Ranger’s home. I hadn’t considered what would happen to the house I shared with Wyatt. His suitcase is probably still packed and waiting in the bedroom. Will I have to unpack it? Is there a point?

My skin cools when I realize Wyatt’s mom has probably been in our house. She’d have needed a suit for the funeral, so maybe she had the suitcase. Maybe she’d sat on the bed and cried for her son.

We sit in silence in the back of the car, and I lose myself to the sights of home.

Home. God, how am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to pick up my life again? Running had been so easy, an obvious solution in a heart-wrenching situation. But I can’t hide anymore.

We stop, and the back of the car suddenly feels too small, too tight. My hands tremble as I press my fingernails into my thighs, my knuckles whitening. Tears tickle my lower lashes.

“What if I can’t do this?”

From the corner of my eye, I see Ranger look at me. I focus on my fingers. My wedding ring.

“I didn’t do this, Deluxe!”

Ranger’s hands pull me from spiraling into a memory, one cupping the back of my neck, the other resting on my cheek as he makes me face him. I take in a small breath as his dark eyes fix on mine, his cologne a reminder that I’m home, and despite fighting it, at least I’m safe again with him close.

A tear falls free, and Ranger wipes it away. “I’ll fix everything.”

“How?” I whisper, my voice cracking.

“It doesn’t matter how. I promised I’d always protect you, little bird, and I will.”

My lips tremble, and I can’t stop myself from moving closer. Ranger is wild, and dangerous, and hateful, andsafe. It’s muscle memory to lean into him, to let him take control and take care of me.

“But I’m so terrible to you,” I say quietly. “Why? Why do you?—”

“Because I love you,” he says, his voice soft, his meaning firm. He presses his forehead to mine, and I want to weep for how it makes me feel. “I’m glad you’re home.”

He releases me and gets out of the car. I press my hand to my chest, my heart thumping, the switch between hating him to needing him so violent that my mind hums.

Be strong, Denver.

I climb out of the car. The large, two-story manor house is just outside the city, and Ranger has lived here since Axel was young. The property is stunning, with a long driveway separated from the street by gates with twenty-four-hour protection. The home is quaint, considering the horrors that happen inside. Dangerous men and women have walked the halls of this building, and blood has been spilled in the name of power. Thisis where the most powerful man in San Francisco lives—but to me, it was my home for four years before I moved out with Wyatt.

“The police are in the library,” Ranger says suddenly.

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