Page 79 of Taking Denver

I leave, bursting into the parking lot and taking deep breaths of the cool air, welcoming the drop in temperature. The club was hot, stifling, but with every breath, my head clears. I can deal with Ethan another time. My focus is Axel.

“Mrs. Ledger.”

Hayes is leaning against his car, arms crossed, a cigarette dangling between his fingers.

When is this nightmare going to end?

“Little Luxe looked pissed,” he says. “You two have a fight?”

I ignore him and unlock my car, but his footsteps approach behind me.

Paranoia itches at the back of my brain. Could Hayes have heard what I said to Ethan? The argument with Axel, too? No. Definitely not. Between the distance and the music, he can’t have heard a thing, but I’m rattled, so part of me wants to believe he knows everything.

Hayes is close now. “You’re not sleeping with him, too, are you?”

“You’re disgusting.”

He smiles. “You’re trending. Did you know?”

“Lucky me. What is it today?”

Hayes takes out his phone. “Hashtag DeluxeXRanger. Sounds like a car, doesn’t it?”

“Not a car you could afford.”

“I’d rather take the bus than your money,” he says, then shows me his phone. “Cute photos.”

I glance at the screen. They’re all photos from tonight taken from the dancefloor in Pulse, Ranger’s arms around my waist in the office—his lips against my neck.

And the restaurant. I try to hide the dip in my shoulders as I stare at photographs of Ranger’s hand on my neck, his lips against my ear. A perfect view. A beautiful photo. Deluxe and Ranger reunited, stronger than ever, despite the media circus.

Ranger arranged all of it. Tonight wasn’t about us or fixing anything.

It was all for our image.

“Is that the big trick up your sleeve?” I ask, bitterness crawling through my words. “Unless someone snapped a photo of me with a gun against Wyatt’s head, I think you’re shit out of luck.”

“Oh, I have plenty up my sleeve,” he says, putting his phone away. “Don’t you worry about that, Deluxe.”

I’m so tired of people calling me that name and deciding who I am before they even know me. I’m not fucking Deluxe. I never was and never will be.

“Do you think you’re special, Hayes?” I ask, facing him. “You think because you’re the big, courageous, good cop that you’ll win? That good always defeats evil?Wrong. You’ll end up being a lapdog, just like the rest of them. Your bills will get too high, or your kids will need to go to college, and soon that Luxe money will start to look pretty damn good. And you’ll be on your knees, tongue out, ready to take whatever we give you, like a good boy.”

“I’d rather die first.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” I say, turning back to the car and unlocking it, my neck hot.

“How do you think your dad would feel about you fucking his best friend?” he asks.

“Well, he’s dead. So, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“He is dead, isn’t he? That’s a big body count racking up around you,” he says, and I pull at the door handle. “Mom, Dad, husband… and Theo, too.” I pause opening the door, my heart stalling. “Have a good night, Deluxe.”

He leaves me alone, and I resist slumping against the car and bursting into tears.

Chapter 27

Ranger

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