Page 33 of Stolen Hearts

“Tough,” he snapped. “I am involved. I’ve been involved since I saw you in that goddamn barn and the instant I found out about Navy.”

The way he spoke, in that forceful tone, told her that he was already moving toward action.

“Why didn’t you tell me from the start? Tell my brothers?”

She shook her head. “I was trying to keep you all out of it. I didn’t want this to touch you too.”

“You think I give a damn about that? You think any of us do? We protect our own, Rhae. My job of protecting people isn’t done, remember?” His voice sharpened to honed steel with a lethal edge aimed at her stalker and not her.

He pushed to his feet and paced once, hands on his hips.

“Give me his name.”

She didn’t respond.

“I’ll find it either way,” he said, quieter now. “I’ll pull court records, dig through anything I can get.”

She believed him. After all, he already tracked down Navy’s birth certificate.

Rhae wrapped her arms around her middle. It was no use now. The secret was already bleeding out between them, and he wasn’t the kind of man who walked away from a threat.

“Robert Ravencroft,” she said softly.

Denver froze.

“That’s a hell of a name.”

She nodded. “He sold the business. Now he’s part owner of a chain of wellness spas, big on clean beauty and yoga retreats. His public face includes a charming smile and a spotless reputation. No one would believe he’s dangerous.”

“I believe it,” Denver said darkly.

She looked at him, her voice barely above a whisper. “What are you going to do?”

He turned sharply for the door. “Handle it.”

“Denver—” She stepped forward, alarm tightening her chest. “Please don’t rush into something. He’s not—he’s not someone who plays fair.”

Denver paused in the doorway, turning to her, his face unreadable. “I won’t make a move until I know exactly who I’m dealing with. But Iwilllearn. I’ll find out everything I need. You’re not dealing with this alone anymore.”

Tears welled in her eyes but hung there, unfallen. “Don’t do anything reckless.”

He hesitated. For a moment, the strain in his face relaxed just slightly. “I won’t. But I’m not letting him keep you in a cage, either. That’s over.”

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

Denver’s gaze moved over her—relaxing, warming—before turning away. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

And just like that, he was gone.

She stood alone in the office, surrounded by silent screens and steady blinking lights. Horses meandered across the top ofthe Black Heart Therapy Ranch website. The land outside the ranch carried on untouched, quiet and calm.

But inside her, everything had changed.

The weight she’d been carrying for months had finally shifted. Not gone—never gone—but it was no longer hers alone to bear.

Denver knew.

And he wasn’t going to let this go.

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