Page 64 of Freeing Denver
Colt gives me a reassuring smile, and it eases my worries somewhat. If anyone can keep me safe and out of jail, it’s him. Reid leaves, and once we’re alone in the hallway, Colt kisses me.
“What if we can’t fix this?” I ask. “Whoever has that footage decides my future.”
Colt runs his fingers through my hair. “Then we run.”
My heart stalls a little at the thought. “But Holly?—”
“She’ll come with us. We can start a life anywhere, Del. We have money. Resources. If we need to run, we’ll run.”
Running. Forever. Always looking over our shoulders. Always wondering if the next person we meet could recognize us.
“We’re not running,” I say. “Holly deserves a better life than that. And running makes me look guilty.”
Colt smiles softly and gently grips my chin. “Denver, my love, light of my fucking life—youareguilty.”
“I mean …technically,” I mumble.
Colt has a meeting with Andrzej Nowak, and given that the head of the Polish mafia rarely makes himself available, he has no choice but to go and strengthen our brittle relationship with him.
Once he’s gone, I shower, change into pajamas, and decide to sit with Ronan.
I rest my elbow on the bed, my chin on my hand, and watch him sleep. It’s nearly two months since the explosion, and his breathing tube is out, but he still isn’t awake. I honestly don’t know what we’ll do if he doesn’t wake up.
“If you could just open your eyes, that’d be great,” I whisper, taking his hand. “We need some good news.”
He doesn’t stir. No blinking, no twitching, no tightening of his fingers against mine.
The weight of the last week has me resting my cheek on the bed, and despite fighting it, I close my eyes, sleep washing over my mind.
I dream of being in that cold cell, but flickers of city hall come back to me, too. To Colt’s smiling face as we promised each other forever, and I became his wife?—
My phone ringing tears me from the dream, and I answer. “Yep?”
“Did I wake you?”
I rub my face, grateful to hear Colt’s voice. It’s dark outside, so I must have been out for hours. “No, I needed to get up. Are you all right?”
“Yeah, the meeting went well. Nowak is happy to stick with us if we can match what Ranger has offered, which is simple enough. I’m calling about something else, though. One of the guys in Chicago has a lead for us. He’s got Spider’s driver.”
I immediately perk up. “Finally, some good news.”
“He’s being brought to the city, and I can speak to him.”
“Speak?”
He laughs softly. “Ghost will speak to him.”
I groan. “You’re sexy when you say things like that.”
“Am I, Deluxe?” he says, the deep timbre of his voice giving me shudders. “How sexy?”
“Sexy enough to?—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” Ronan rasps.
I startle, almost dropping the phone, and get to my feet. Ronan blinks up at me, green eyes half open and groggy, but awake. He’s fucking awake.
“Colt, he’s awake!” I say.
