Franny nodded smugly.
Noni cut her a sharp look, and her aunt rolled her eyes. Damn it.
Chapter
24
Denver lumbered out of the courtroom with Noni behind him and Malloy behind her. Franny and Verna followed along with Tina, who’d held the baby during the hearing. The hearing had been closed because of Talia’s age, so he hadn’t had to worry about unwelcome threats.
“I can’t believe it went that smoothly,” Noni said, holding the sleeping baby. “I mean, it just happened.”
Actually, they’d had all the necessary documents as well as the testimony of a cop. Malloy had come through and big time. Now that it was done, the cop was safe. The paperwork was authentic.
“We’re almost legal,” Noni whispered to Talia again.
Denver straightened. She was right. “You have temporary custody and will need to do the actual adoption in Alaska.” Heath had explained jurisdiction ad nauseam, but that was the gist of it. “So you’ll need all the same documents up there. But you’ll be successful.” Man, sometimes things worked well in the court system when the welfare of a kid was at stake. It almost gave him faith in the system again. Almost.
The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and he looked around the hallway of the courthouse. Was he being watched? Lawyers, clients, some people just hanging out. Maybe jurors on a break. He tried to study them and find anybody out of place. They all blended.
That wasn’t good.
His instincts were, though. Somebody was watching him—watching them. He had a plan to execute, and it was going to piss everyone off. But he had to get moving to get it done.
He slowed to be closer to Noni. Damn it. He had to get out of this fat suit. “Are we covered outside?” he asked Malloy quietly.
The cop apparently caught the undercurrent, because he sped up on his crutches. “We are.” He gestured at two uniformed officers waiting at the front door. “We don’t have all the gang members rounded up, so a protection detail was easy to obtain.”
Denver kept his body between Noni and the exit. “Are you still in trouble?”
“Some but not as much. Taking down an entire gang kind of increased my worth around here.” Pain cut lines across the cop’s forehead.
“You need a rest, Malloy,” Denver said, opening the door and scouting the outside. In fact, the cop was taking a break whether he liked it or not. Malloy’s crappy car waited, guarded by two patrol cars. “Did you even take a pill?”
“No. I’ll rest when this is done,” Malloy said.
“I could use a rest, too,” Denver said, leading the way to the vehicle. He hoped he didn’t lose Malloy’s friendship over this. Sucking in air, he took the baby from Noni, gave her a little kiss on her little head, and settled her in the far back car seat that Tina had picked up. Talia giggled, and his heart melted.
Who was going to kiss her knee when she fell riding a bike? Or scare off teenaged boys when she was old enough to date? Noni would do it and well, but alone? And who’d protect Noni?
He swallowed, wanting them. But he couldn’t put them in danger. Couldn’t get them hurt.
Noni sat next to the baby while Franny, Verna, and Tina sat in the middle. Malloy limped into the passenger side, folding his crutches, and Denver stretched into the driver’s seat.
“To the safe house,” Malloy said. “I’ve told the protective detail to wait and then follow, making sure nobody else follows us.”
Denver looked around, unable to shake the feeling of being watched. His body tensed. Everybody in the car needed protection, and he had to be ready. “Somebody is out there.” But hell. It could just be the FBI. They were certainly keeping an eye on him, if the two agents he’d made inside the building were indicative. He drove slowly out of the lot and started heading in the right direction. Malloy’s gun was in a shoulder holster that apparently didn’t bother his wounded arm. Or if it did, he didn’t seem to care.
Denver calculated the distance. Oh, this was going to be ugly.
Malloy searched outside, keeping an eye on the surroundings. “I don’t see anybody following us.”
“Neither do I,” Denver said, moving through the center of town and appreciating the Christmas lights sparkling from every storefront. The women were too quiet. He’d scared them. He had to get their minds off the danger. “Any plans for Christmas?” he asked Malloy.
Tina piped up. “We’re supposed to head to Tahoe for a ski vacation, but I’m thinking that is out of the question now.”
“I can ski,” Malloy said stubbornly.
Denver sighed. “I like you, Malloy.”
The cop partially turned, his eyebrows rising. “I’m taken.”
Smart-ass. “I know.” Denver drove past the mall and took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to go well, but it was too late to turn back. In one smooth motion, he unholstered Malloy’s gun, pointed it at him, and yanked the wheel to turn the vehicle into a parking garage.
“What the fuck?” Malloy bellowed.
Denver pressed the pedal, speeding around and around, finally ending up in a quiet corner on the fifth level. “I’m sorry.” He shut off the engine, keeping the gun on the cop, meaning the words. So damn sorry.
Malloy glared. “You’re gonna have to shoot me, and I don’t think you will.”
“What in the world are you doing?” Franny smacked him on the back of the head.
Denver winced. “Ow.”
“Put that gun down right now,” she snapped, pinching his ear.
Pain roared through his entire head. “Noni? Tell your aunt to let go.” Did that sound like a whine? It kind of did.
Noni patted Talia’s knee in the back of the SUV, her eyes wide. “What are you doing?”
Man, when she sounded like that, she was really mad. He couldn’t explain right now, though.
Malloy reached out to grab the gun, and Denver smashed his knuckles.
“Ouch,” Malloy roared, pulling back his hand.
“Denver!” Tina leaned over and pushed his shoulder. “You stop it.”
This was unreal.
Suddenly, all four doors opened.
Malloy’s body went rock tense. Men in ski masks and combat gear, fully loaded for war, gestured them out.
Denver slid out and then moved to assist Franny, Verna, and Tina. Their faces had gone pale, and Tina’s arm trembled. “It’s okay,” he whispered.
It took two men to get Malloy out of the car, and it sounded like he broke one of their noses in the process. He nailed the other guy in the balls, and that guy bent over with a cry of pain.
“Malloy, stop being an asshole,” Denver said, herding the women toward a nondescript van.
“Denver?” Noni called from the vehicle, starting to scramble over the seat.
He ducked as Tina aimed a pretty decent cross at his face and kept pushing her. “Stay there, sweetheart,” he called out. “Keep the baby safe.”
Noni instantly blocked the baby from the melee. He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed her out of the way for just a couple of moments.
Verna hit him in the gut with her purse, and in that second, he’d had enough. “Everybody get in the fucking van. Whether you like it or not, you’re going somewhere safe,” Denver bellowed.
Three men forced Malloy, his hands bound behind his back, into the van. The words he strung together were truly inspired. Denver sighed as soon as everybody had been shoved inside. “Listen. I know this sucks, but you all need to get to safety. Noni and I will follow with Talia.” If the baby could take an airplane, she and Noni would be in the van, too.
Tina looked warily at the masked men.
“They’re okay,” Denver said, nodding to the tallest one.
“I’m going to kill you,” Malloy shouted from his seat, struggling furiously.
“I know.” Denver leaned in. “Paperwork has been submitted from both you and Tina at your jobs that you’ve gone on vacation. It’s up to you if you want to back that up with pho
ne calls or not. If you don’t, then you’re putting a lot of people in danger.” He turned toward Franny and Verna. “I’ll keep them safe, and we’ll see you soon. I promise.”
All of the men except one jumped into the van. The remaining guy shut the door.
Denver’s head dropped. “Thank you.”
Jory Dean lifted his face mask. “Ryker called and arranged all of this. On your orders?”
“Yes,” Denver said. “Please try to keep from killing Malloy.”
Jory grinned. “No promises. The blue sedan over in the corner is for you. Take it.”
Man, Ry had thought of everything. “We’ll be along as soon as possible,” Denver said.
“I have a copter waiting. We’ll be in Montana within an hour,” Jory said, his voice low and dark. “I could stay with you.”
“No.” Denver grinned at this new family he’d met just recently. “Get them safe, and we’ll plan our next move.”
“Fine, brother.” Jory grabbed him for a hard hug.
Denver returned it, ignoring his fat suit. They weren’t brothers, not really, but who the fuck cared? Why the hell not?
“Noni is pretty,” Jory whispered.
Jesus. “I know.” Denver released him. “Stay safe…brother.”
* * *
An hour after the most bizarre kidnapping in history, Noni yanked the brush through her wet hair in a hotel on the edge of the Idaho-Montana border, more than an hour away from Coeur d’Alene. They had a small bedroom and larger living area. “I still think you made a big mistake in forcing Malloy to go with Jory.” She wanted to understand, but her temper had just kept getting stronger and stronger ever since it had happened. She bit her lip to keep from swearing.
Denver nodded from where he sat on the bed, rocking the baby after having fed her a bottle. He’d already showered, and his wet hair still curled over his collar. “I had to get him out of town. Anybody who knows us could be used as bait right now.”
She tried for reason, but her hold on the brush tightened. If she hit him across his stubborn head, would he understand? “You don’t have the right to make that decision for everyone else.”
He blinked. “I had no choice.”
“No, you definitely had a choice.” Sure, she would’ve preferred Franny and Verna go somewhere safe, but she never would’ve forced them to do so.
“This is my mess, Noni.” He had no right to look so sexily adorable while rocking a sleeping baby.
Yep. She was going to have to hit him. Hard. After he put down her daughter. “But it’s their lives. My life. You can’t just tuck me away somewhere safe until you’re ready to deal with me.”
He stood and walked to a corner of the living area to place the sleeping baby in the portable crib. “I’m getting the feeling that you’re pissed.”
Oh, he did not just get sarcastic with her.
She ignored him and moved over to cover Talia with a blanket, running a finger down the baby’s smooth cheek. How was it possible to love anything this much? Turning, she tried to hold on to that strong feeling. It was just as strong with him.
Denver crossed his arms, pure stubbornness firming his angled jaw.
Nope. Strong feeling gone. “You are such a dick,” she whispered, keeping her voice low.
“Name calling?” His biceps flexed. “I did what I thought was right.”
“You had a cop kidnapped,” Noni hissed.
Talia snuffled.
Denver pressed his lips together and drew Noni toward the bedroom. She stumbled and looked over her shoulder at the baby. “She’s fine,” Denver whispered. “We can hear if she makes a peep.”
Noni glanced toward the triple-locked door. Denver had taken back roads the entire way there, and he was sure they hadn’t been followed. “Fine.” It was time they had it out anyway.
He left the door open a couple of inches. “I take it you’re feeling emotional.”
Fire nearly blew off her head. “Are you kidding me?”
He sighed and scrubbed a hand across his eyes. “Listen. I get that you’re pissed. You’re also overwhelmed. We’ve been shot at, hauled into the FBI, and then faced a judge. Then I had your aunts kidnapped by guys in masks. You have every right to feel everything. But do we have to fight?”
She hated, hated that he had a point. She was overwhelmed. Not only by everything they’d gone through but also by the baby in the other room. She was a mother now. Oh, she had to get the paperwork stamped in Alaska, but it was a done deal. She felt like a mother. And she had no idea how to be one. What if she screwed up? What if Talia already had problems because of the kidnapping? Then there was Denver and her feelings for him. She couldn’t even organize those into a semblance of anything that made sense. Her shoulders slumped. “I don’t want to fight.”
“Good.” He straightened. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done wrong.”
But he’d do it all again, wouldn’t he? She sighed. “My aunts are going to kill you.”
He slowly nodded. “I know, but you’ll be with them tomorrow, so you can help them plan.” His slight smile was a bit too charming for fairness.
It hit her then. This might be their last night together. “You’re leaving me in Montana.” She had to do what was right for Talia, and being in a safe place for now was right. She got that. “To go after your enemies.”
He just studied her.
She slowly shook her head. A part of her wanted to beg him not to go. To stay in Montana with her and Talia. To stay in their lives. To not put himself in danger and possibly die. Her body ached for him.
As if he could read her mind, his blue eyes darkened. “They’ll never stop coming for me. For Ryker and Heath.” He rocked back on his heels. “Jory and his family. None of us are safe until Madison and Cobb are stopped.”
“Malloy and the FBI could help,” she argued, wanting him to live. Even if it wasn’t with her, she needed him to be alive out there somewhere.
“No.” Denver shook his head. “I’m sorry, but they can’t. Madison is too well connected, and there’s no proof against either of them.”
A battle like this, she didn’t understand. One fought in the darkness, on the periphery of the rest of the world. Like the dark web but in real life. Most people wouldn’t get it. Just how many people on earth lived in this other world? One where law and order were not what she’d been taught. She suspected more lived and worked there than she’d like.
Denver was one of them. Maybe through no fault of his own, but he navigated there freely.
“I’ll miss you,” she whispered, her chest aching. Miss the way he seemed to dominate everything and everyone around him without twitching a muscle. Even though he truly had ticked her off, there was a sense of safety she felt in his orbit.
His gaze darkened.
She shivered. Maybe not safety. That wasn’t the right word.
“I’ll miss you, too,” he said quietly.
She knew then exactly why she’d wanted to fight with him. Why she’d wanted to push him over the edge—so he’d do the same thing to her. It was too difficult to be up front about what she wanted. What she needed.
If this was their last night together, she wanted it to last. He meant something to her, whether he wanted to or not. She thought she might mean something to him. It hurt to think this might be their last time. He was going to leave her in Montana the next day with her family. Maybe she’d never see him again. That thought left a hollow ache throughout her chest.
Whatever it was, they had only hours. So she moved toward him.
He uncrossed his arms.
Several steps later, and his scent washed over her. She slid her hands up his shirt and curled her fingers over his shoulders. “I guess this is good-bye, then.” Levering up onto her toes, she nibbled across his mouth.
With a low growl, he wrapped his arms around her waist and took over the kiss.
Chapter
25
Denver was stealing time, and he knew it. They
should rest. But the idea that this could be their last time, that he’d never see her again, spurred him on. He deepened the kiss as her scent wrapped around him.
There was a rawness to the kiss, to the moment, that slashed through him. How could he let her go again? The last time had nearly killed him. This time it might. Everything in him hurt at the thought. If this was good-bye, he needed to slow the hell down.
But he couldn’t. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and swallowed her small moan. He kissed her, demanding more. Right or wrong, he wanted all of her. Even if it was for only one night. Nothing held back. Just them.
Her kiss was just as demanding, and he gave her everything. Every emotion he couldn’t express. Every word he didn’t know how to say. Every dream he’d ever secretly kept.
For the moment, it was all hers. He was all hers.
His hands swept down her body. All of her. He wanted to touch every inch and pull her even closer. The idea of life without her pierced too deeply, so he concentrated on right here and right now.
She was perfect.
From her brain to her huge heart to her sexy body. She was everything.
He lifted her shirt over her head. Her nipples tightened before his eyes. “God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured, planting his hand across her chest. Slowly, he slid his palm between her bare breasts, allowing his fingertips to graze those nipples.
She shuddered, and her dark eyes seemed fathomless. “Denver.”
The way she said his name. He loved it. There was no better sound in the entire world.
There were promises he wanted to make. Vows. But he could guarantee only one. “You have to know. You’re safe. No matter what, I’ll make sure you and Talia are safe.” It was all he had to give, and he’d do it. Even if something happened to him, his brothers would cover her. Always.
He lifted his hands and caressed both breasts. They filled his palms as if made just for him. Staying as gentle as he could, he removed the rest of her clothing and then backed her toward the bed. Her legs hit, and then she fell backward with a slight chuckle.
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