Page 68 of Freeing Denver

The heated words we exchanged have sat on my chest since we said them, but they cool slowly.

“I’m sorry for thinking you’d send that footage to the cops,” I say. “And for hitting you.”

“I’m sorry for basically calling your wife a black widow.”

“You can apologize to her for that one.”

His laugh is short. “That’ll be a fun conversation. Keep me up to date with the meeting with Sabina.”

The call ends, and I remove my shoes before entering the en suite. Denver is wrapped in a towel, her hair wet and draped down her back as she brushes her teeth. “Who was on the phone?”

“Alistair,” I say, leaning against the doorframe. “I let him know about the Morellis, and we both apologized.”

She faces me, her eyes bright. “Really? That’s great.”

It makes me love her even more how genuinely happy she is that Alistair and I have fixed things. She’s willingly acceptingsomeone into her life that doesn’t like her, purely because he’s my friend.

And I almost lost her a few days ago.

“I’ve been thinking,” I say, approaching her. I wipe away some toothpaste from her lip. “Maybe we should go and stay with Holly and my mom.”

She shrugs. “Sure. It could be nice to have a break.”

“I mean for good,” I say, and her shoulders soften. Her cheeks are flushed from the shower, and I run my thumb across the soft, pinkened skin. “We can’t leave the country until this mess is cleaned up, but we also don’t need to be knee deep in it, either. If we’re in the Hamptons, we’re close enough if we’re needed but far enough away that people aren’t going to try and kill us outside of our house.” Denver chews her lip, her gaze drifting away, and I know what she’s feeling. That tug, the pull, to stay where we’re needed. The weight of responsibility becomes an easy burden once you’ve carried it for long enough, but it isn’t ours to shoulder. “Everyone will be fine without us. Ronan is awake and is already brighter than I was two days after waking up. Alistair has Lucas under his wing. And they’ll have to get used to us not being around eventually.”

Her gray eyes are still filled with uncertainty. “Can we just leave like that?”

“We can do whatever the fuck we like. And if you really want to stay, we will. But I’m so fucking tired of worrying that you’ll walk out that door and it’ll be the last time I see you.” I cup her neck. “So, what do you say, Mrs. Harland? Can we be fucking done with all this already?”

Denver smiles and rests her hands on my chest, nodding. “Fuck it. Let’s leave.” The lightness in my chest is one I haven’t experienced in far too long. Hope. True joy. “When?”

“Well …” I tug her close. “I have one final city surprise that I’ve organized, so we can do that, then leave.”

“City surprise?” She wriggles excitedly. “Can I have a clue?”

I kiss her and she leans into it. My tongue sweeps into her mouth, catching her soft moan, and I back her into the wall, tugging at the towel, the material pooling at her feet. “Let’s just say we won’t need to have quiet sex.” I grip her behind, squeezing and kneading the muscle until a small gasp leaves her lips. “No more interruptions?—”

“Knock, knock!” Lewis calls from the bedroom. “Denver, do you want a hot chocolate?”

I groan and Denver laughs. “Yes, please!”

“Colt?” he asks.

“This is why we need the city surprise,” I whisper-hiss, then call back, “No hot chocolate for me.”

I hear the door close, and Denver arches a brow. “You’re not sharing mine.”

“There’s only one thing I’m interested in tasting right now,” I say, getting to my knees and draping her leg over my shoulder. “And it isn’t hot fucking chocolate.”

Chapter 19

Denver

“As romantic as it is that we have this entire place to ourselves, I’ve decided empty hotels are creepy,” I whisper to Colt as he unlocks the door to our suite.

“Yeah, I didn’t considerThe Shiningangle,” he says, wincing apologetically. “But you’ll forget about it soon enough.”

“Because twin girls are going to axe me to death?”