When his lips part from mine, his hands settle on my shoulders. “I don’t think you understand how terrified I was that I was going to get to Denver too late and you’d be dead. I cannot do that again.”
Because he still loves me. I know he said those words to me, but this is more than words. It’s actions. It’s worry. It’s him going over-the-top alpha on me to protect me. I press my hand to his chest. “I know you won’t believe me when I say this, but you worrying about me feels bad to you and good to me because I really did miss you, Luke. But you didn’t fall in love with me because I was the girl who sat back and let someone else do the hard work.”
“Talk to me about those options, Ana, that don’t include you risking your life.”
“I’m on a hitlist,” I remind him. “My life is already on the line. Let’s get this behind us and then, then I don’t know where that takes us, but it’s better than here, right? And before you say a word, I didn’t fall in love with you because you shoved me in a corner and made me play the damsel in distress who needed a prince charming.”
His jaw clenches and he releases me, giving me his back to walk a few steps, running his fingers through his hair before he turns to face me, hands settling on his hips. “We talk this through. We agree on how and when.”
Relief washes over me. “I know we haven’t slept, but I think now is better than later. The cover of night. I can call him when we get there and say, meet me now or I’ll be gone and I won’t be coming back.”
He considers me a moment and then says, “Let’s go. I’m not going to sleep anyway.”
Chapter Forty-Two
LUCIFER
I give Ana a new phone with every Walker contact I trust already programmed inside it. After which, we head back upstairs and rejoin Adam and Savage at the island. Blake is still connected via the laptop on the counter. “She’s right,” I say. “She needs to call Darius and meet with him.”
Savage wiggles his fingers at Adam. “Pay up. I told you she’d win. Just like my wife always does.”
Adam slaps a hundred-dollar bill into his hand. “What happened to keeping her safe?” Adam challenges.
I don’t explain myself. While I’d rather tie Ana up and keep her safe, she was right. She has a right to fight for her own life. I will never be the man who tries to break her. Even if she breaks me in the process of supporting her. “That’s why you two are coming with me,” I say, “To protect her. As for the package, it has to be the one that Kasey was holding before I confronted him.” I give them a quick rundown of how things went down with Kasey, aware of Ana’s energy ticking uncomfortably beside me, but this has to be said. “Trevor disappeared at the same time as that package,” I conclude. “Whatever it is, he’s the answer. Even if he’s really dead, which I’m not convinced he is, if we follow his path, we might find answers.”
“I’ll dig,” Blake offers.
“There were dental records,” Ana says. “And Trevor wasn’t the mastermind kind of guy.”
“All he had to do to act like one, was work for one,” Blake counters. “When are you leaving?”
“Now,” I say. “Ana wants to call Darius when we get there, take him off guard while it’s still dark.”
“And meet where?” Blake asks.
“I hope the hotel,” Ana says. “There will be security there. If he’s still there.”
“He is,” Blake says, “but we can’t be sure he’ll offer that option.”
“And even if he does,” I say, “you cannot agree to go to his room.”
“I’m fine with that,” Ana confirms.
“So if he doesn’t tell you he’s at the Ritz,” Adam chimes in, “you know him. Where is he likely to suggest you meet?”
“Since he’s clearly dirty,” she replies, “nowhere I’ll agree to, however, if he thinks we’re somewhere secluded, I have more of a chance of getting him to talk. The problem is finding a place that meets that criteria and makes him feel safe.”
“What will he expect you to want?” Blake asks.
“A semi-private place in public that offers coverage and protection. I need to dictate where and it can’t be somewhere anyone expects, obviously. They could be ready for me, whoever ‘they’ are.”
“The Ranch is obvious,” I say. “It’s your safe zone and it’s also booby-trapped and wired with cameras. We’ll know what’s coming.”
"The Ranch will feel like a trap.”
“How about the cavern? It’s deep on the property, one of the buildings used for combat training that connects to a series of caverns. It doesn’t feel like it’s part of The Ranch. We’ll have resources there.”