Page 100 of Taking Denver

He approaches slowly, his grin lazy and accomplished. Anxiety curls around my heart and stomach. Why is he so damn pleased with himself? My palms start sweating, and the velvet bag feels hot in my hands.

“I got an interesting call tonight,” he says.

“Good for you.”

“Wanna know who from?” he asks, circling me. I shift in place, trying to keep my eyes on him as he rounds me. “A young lady called Marley Maxwell. Do you know Marley Maxwell, Denver? Well, I guess you wouldn’t. It’s not her real name, after all. It’s a stage name.”

My patience begins fraying. “Fascinating. Can I go now?”

“Denver, please,” he says. “Let me build up to this because I’ve been imagining this moment for months. Now…” he beginsagain, his voice light, “Marley recently had a crisis of conscience and decided to call and make a little confession. She told me that she was one of the women your husband was fucking.”

He stops circling and faces me, grin still wide.

“We haven’t been able to speak to any of the people Wyatt touched. They were like ghosts. It almost started to seem like there were no women at all. Well, lovely Marley told me that she felt guilty because she liked Wyatt, and she’d lied to him. She acted like they met by coincidence in a bar, but it wasn’t a coincidence at all.”

I feel cold. My breathing is short.

“She washired, Denver,” he says. “And can you guess who hired her? Hired all of them? Wait!” He grins and holds his hands up. “Can I say it? I want to say it.” He leans close. “Ranger. Luxe.”

I try to control my shaking, my rage, my disbelief. “You’re lying.”

“Oh no,” he says. “I don’t lie. I’m a good cop, remember? I don’t have to lie. Your husband-to-be, well… it seems he lies an awful lot.”

Ranger didn’t do this. He didn’t hire those women. He wouldn’t.

“But I’m not done, Denver,” Hayes says, pouting dramatically. “I also looked into your dad’s will because I could not get my head around why you were with Ranger. It made no sense to me. I knew guys who worked the case to try and bring down your dad, andeveryoneknew he hated Ranger toward the end. So, why would he write in his will that Ranger was to look after your finances? Why would he write in his will that he wanted you to go to him?” He shrugs. “The answer is simple. He didn’t.”

“You’re lying!” I cry. “I… I was at the will reading. I was there!”

“But did you read the will? Or was it read to you?”

I can’t think. I’d been so torn up over losing my dad that I trusted what the family lawyer told me. Why wouldn’t I have trusted him?

“You see, Denver, Ranger hated your dad. He really did. Nico wanted out of the gangster life, and Ranger saw that as betrayal, so he waited. And he waited. And the moment the opportunity came up, he killed your dad and snatched you. It’s the best revenge, isn’t it? Taking Nico DeLuca’s little girl in, raising you in a world Nico didn’t want you raised in, and fucking you for good measure, too.”

I slap him. He flexes his jaw and smiles. It doesn’t deter him.

“The two men you loved most, your dad and Wyatt, were erased from your life by Ranger Luxe,” he says. “And uh… how long until the wedding?” He checks his watch. “Eighteen hours?”

“None of that is true,” I say. “Ranger wouldn’t do that. He loves me.”

“Aw, Deluxe,” he says, stepping toward me. I back away. “No, he doesn’t. You’re a means to an end for him—petty revenge. And you’re covering for him. You’re protecting the man who has taken, and taken, andtakenfrom you. Because you’re weak.”

“I’m not,” I whisper.

“Yes, you are. And the moment he marries you, you’re stuck. You’ll be Ranger Luxe’s wife. Miserable. Alone. And won’t Daddy be proud? Won’t Mommy be proud? And baby Theo…” He tuts. “What a disappointment Mommy turned out to be.”

I lunge. I slap him, punch him, run my nails down his face, and he seizes my wrists, pushing me back, and I fall. I hit the ground, pain spreading through my side.

And I open my hand.

Hayes glances between me and the dropped bag and snatches it up.

“No.” I grab for it.

But he’s already opened it.

And the howl of laughter that escapes his lips sends a chill through me.

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