Not trusting herself to speak, she slid to the side, turned, and headed toward the bedroom with her head up high.
And her body aching with a pain so real it nearly brought her to her knees.
CHAPTER
4
Denver sat typing commands into the PC, his dick still trying to punch through his jeans. Noni had left the room over an hour before, and the idea of her in the big bed wouldn’t leave his mind. He’d done the right thing in letting her go, when all he’d wanted to do was kiss her, and hard. Maybe for hours.
He was off balance and out of control—two things he never was. He’d tried to control himself, and when that didn’t work, he’d tried to control Noni. He’d failed miserably, but if he let her get to him, they’d both end up dead.
He wanted a drink. Bad.
Yeah, he’d lost himself in a bottle for a little while getting over her, and now he could almost taste the first sip. But no more. He had a job to do—two, actually. Drinking would just get in the way.
The search for Talia had to take precedence over his other mission, the one to hunt down his past. But the past was also coming after him. Quickly. The laptop to his right dinged, and he pressed a button to accept a video chat. “Why are you up so late?” he asked his older brother grumpily.
Ryker shoved his black hair away from his face. His eyes were bloodshot, and a shadow covered his angled jaw. “Update me. Are you safe?”
“Yes. I’m just on the computers working on this case,” Denver said, eyeing the searches running on the other two monitors. “What’s up, Ry?”
Ryker’s bluish green eyes narrowed. “Seriously? Spill.”
Denver sighed. “Can we be gossipy old women later? I have work to do.”
Ryker growled low. “I see. All right. Heath and I will be there in about fifteen hours. We’ll have to drive because I don’t want to go through airport security. Just hang tight.” As a threat, it was absolute. If Ryker made up his mind about something, it was a done deal.
“Knock it off,” Denver said wearily, hiding the fact that he wished his brothers could be there. He needed them. “You’re in place and have to stay there.”
“Then fucking talk,” Ryker said, scrubbing a hand across his eyes.
Why did everyone want him to talk all of a sudden? He really wasn’t that interesting of a guy. “Fine. I have Noni, and we’re at the safe house in Snowville.”
Ryker leaned back, his eyebrows drawing down. “I thought you found her in Greenville.”
“I did. Then a couple of gangbangers threw Molotov cocktails into her motel room, and we’re here at the Snowville safe house now.” He leaned over to the far keyboard to punch in a series of commands.
Ryker paused. “Gangbangers?”
Denver nodded. “Yeah. Apparently Noni is hunting for a gang member who stole a baby. The Kingdom Boys is the name of the gang.” Man. When he put the words together like that, the whole thing sounded crazy. A quick look at his brother confirmed that fact.
Ryker’s chin lowered. “Um. A baby?”
“Yeah.”
Quiet. Then more quiet. “Your baby?”
Denver blinked. “Oh. No. The kid was Noni’s foster sister’s, who died from an overdose. So Noni is going after the baby.” The idea of Denver having a kid was crazy. He could barely keep himself alive right now.
“Okay,” Ryker said slowly. “What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
“I don’t know yet,” Denver said, watching search results listing on the second monitor. “I’m researching the gang now, and I’ll have an update by morning. If nothing else, we have to get that baby back.”
“I think we’d better head your way.”
Denver settled. He owed his brothers—more than he’d ever be able to repay. They’d saved his life, and they’d endangered theirs the second they’d killed Ned. “I wish you could be here,” he said honestly. Lying to Ryker wasn’t an option.
“Then we’re there.” Ryker made to stand up.
