Page 85 of Stolen Hearts

Theo leaned forward. “And Ravencroft?”

Denver’s spine stiffened. “I’ll pull that bastard apart, piece by piece.”

They landed at an airstrip close to the estate as sunset flooded the sky. Too bright for a stealthy infiltration, but they’d make do. The air smelled of cold stone, moss and rain—bringing back a wave of nostalgia for Charlie team. He turned his head in the direction of the base, not far away.

There was a car waiting, and the drive was short—but too long for Denver.

As soon as they arrived, he took off for the house, his boots grinding the gravel with precision. “Let’s go get her.”

The estate loomed in the dark like a mausoleum untouched by time. He never asked for specifics about Rhae’s youth. It was something they could never share. Now he was seeing her life in the twisted iron railing and manicured hedges.

He could also feel the ghosts here. And he could imagine her, so vulnerable, locked inside that fucking prison Ravencroft created for her.

He signaled his team forward, ducking under the hedge line and moving up to a basement door hidden between shrubs.

“I got the door.” Theo rushed in silently. In no time, he had the door wired with explosives. When they detonated with a quietpop, Denver wasted no time.

He followed the map in his mind, inching toward the east wing, where he’d seen lights burning faintly behind curtained windows.

She was there. He could feel her in his bones.

Blood pounded so loud in Denver’s ears that he barely registered the creak of old floorboards. One turn. Another.

And then he was outside the study.

One look at the door filled him with rage. It was fitted with a deadbolt and two padlocks. As if that would keep him out.

He glanced to Theo. “No hiding our position now. Hit it.”

Theo shot the locks off.

Denver kicked the door in.

And there she was.

Rhae.

She huddled on the leather couch, eyes wide. Her lips parted in a gasp the second she saw him. “Denver—”

Relief hit him so hard it buckled his knees, but he didn’t falter, didn’t stop. He rushed in and scooped her up.

“Hey,” he breathed, voice shaking. “Hey, baby. I’m here.”

“Denver,” she sobbed, collapsing into him.

He wrapped her up, cradling her against his chest, settling himself in her scent, her warmth, her trembling frame. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. It’s over.”

But it wasn’t.

Ravencroft slinked into the room behind him and Theo.

He caught sight of the bastard out of the corner of his eye. In one swift move, he shoved Rhae behind him and aimed his weapon between Ravencroft’s eyes.

“Make one move and I fucking drop you,” Denver growled.

Ravencroft smiled. The look in his eyes was unhinged as hell. “She doesn’t belong to you.”

“She never belonged to you.”

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