He laughed, the sound lacking in true humor. “Think you can stop me?”
No. Her self-defense class in college probably didn’t put her anywhere near his fighting skills, not to mention the fact that he had a hundred pounds of pure muscle on her. “You can’t do this.”
“I’m not doing anything.” He didn’t move. “But you asked for my help and got me involved. So I’m involved.”
“You have enough going on,” she spat. “Or did you not see the news conference?”
He exhaled slowly. “Oh, I saw it. But I also saw what wasn’t there.”
She frowned. “What?”
“You and me. The picture of us together that you plastered on the Internet. Cobb hasn’t found it yet. So we’re safe here.” Denver’s chin lowered. “For now.”
“Did you kill Sheriff Cobb’s brother?” she asked, hating how her voice wavered.
A muscle visibly twitched beneath Denver’s jaw. “Maybe. I might as well have.”
“Meaning?” she croaked out.
He sighed, and his voice cracked. “Ryker and Heath swung bats at his head, and he went down hard. But I’m the one who started the fire to burn the place down, and I’m the reason my brothers went down into that basement. If I could’ve been the one to swing those bats, I would have. In a second.”
Not one ounce of regret filled his words. Not one. Noni took a step back. “You were just kids.”
“Yeah, we were. Imagine what would’ve pushed us to that.” His eyes darkened, and his shoulders slumped. “Ned Cobb, the owner of the home, beat us. Badly.” Denver’s hands fisted, and his voice lowered with remembered hurts.
Noni’s breath caught. “Denver.”
“That wasn’t all. It wasn’t just the physical pain.” Denver scrubbed a hand through his hair, his eyes lost for a moment. “It was the fear. Any day his aim could be off, and we’d take it to the temple. One of our friends could die at any moment.”
She ached for him. For the scared child he must’ve been. “I’m sorry.”
He swallowed. “One night Ned was beating the crap out of me and another kid named Ralph, and he killed Ralph.” Denver’s eyes glazed as he became lost in the past. “Ned was going to blame me, and my brothers ran down into the basement to protect me.”
Guilt. That was guilt. “It wasn’t your fault.”
He blinked. “Ned turned on them, and they swung bats. They killed himbecauseof me.”
She moved to him, grabbing his hands. “Not your fault.”
He shook his head, coming back into the present. “It was my idea to burn the place down. With the bodies.” He sounded almost dazed now.
The need to comfort him, the urge to protect him, made her sway. “It’s okay, Denver,” she said calmly, tightening her hold. It was his idea to burn the place down? With the bodies? How terrified he must’ve been.
He suddenly turned his head. His entire body stiffened, and he pulled away.
She stilled. “What?”
“Where’s your gun?” he whispered.
Adrenaline flooded her. “Which one?”
“The one I gave to you.”
She couldn’t breathe. “What’s happening?”
“Gun?” he asked, more urgently.
His tone prompted her to move, so she turned and opened the utensil drawer to pull out the shiny weapon. “Here,” she whispered back.
