Page 89 of Finding Denver
We end the call, and I stand, going to the bedroom. Lewis is by the window, and Denver is finally asleep. I pull the covers back and scoop her into my arms.
“We’re leaving. Pack her things. Meet me at Finn McEwan’s.”
He follows me out of the bedroom. “Why? What’s happened?”
Denver has opened her eyes again, and she’s whispering. Now I’m closer, I can hear what she’s saying. She’s asking why. Asking where he is. Her heart is breaking in real time in front of me, and I can’t fucking stand it.
“I’ll explain later, but she can’t be here right now. She needs to be with us. You both do.” I open the hotel room door, and as I wait for the elevator, I hold her closer, kissing her head. “I’ll fix this, Del. I’ll fix it.”
I just wishI knew how.
Finn opensthe door and takes his glasses off when he sees Denver in my arms. I called him on the way over and he was thankfully still awake.
“What’s happened?”
“She needs somewhere to stay,” I say, and he steps aside without another word.
I take Denver upstairs to the room I used to stay in regularly as a kid, and still occasionally now. I tuck her into bed, brushing her hair back.
“Do you need anything?” I ask her, but she says nothing. Rage is pumping through me, an unimaginable amount of it, and I pull the covers over her shoulders and go downstairs.
Finn is in the kitchen with Helena. “Is she okay?” Helena asks, wringing her hands together. She’s in a robe, a mug of steaming tea in her hand.
“She’s in shock. We need to call a doctor. Finn, do we know people in San Francisco?”
He nods. “Yes. Why?”
“People who can kill Ranger Luxe?” The room falls quiet. I hadn’t realized how quickly I’m breathing or how hot my skin is, but I’m close to burning up. “Finn?”
“You need to start by telling us what happened,” Finn says.
A knock on the door pulls Helena away, and I rest my hands against the kitchen island. Helena returns with Lewis. He has Denver’s suitcases and his bag.
He sets the bags down. “Is she okay?”
“She’s upstairs,” I say. “Theo isn’t dead. Ranger put him up for adoption and lied about it.”
Helena’s hand hovers over her mouth. “Oh my God.”
Lewis shakes his head. “No. Even he isn’t that far gone.”
“How do you know?” Finn asks, jaw tight.
“Alistair checked it out. All of it. He’s finding Theo now.”
Helena leans against the kitchen counter. “Poor girl. Poor, poor girl.”
“We kill Ranger, and we do it tonight,” I say. “Finn, I don’t need your men, but I would like your support. Let’s end this.”
Lewis says, “I know where he’ll be.”
There’s no coming back from this. Ranger has crossed unimaginable lines, and there isn’t a person I know who could conceive of forgiving this.
Especially not Denver.
“No,” Finn says.
I search his face. “I’ll do it without you, if I have to.”
