Denver pulled Carver up and hit him time and time again.
“That’s enough.” Lyle Lewis stepped away from his wife. “Son, he’s had enough.”
“You have no idea,” Denver told him without looking away from Carver.
Police sirens sounded.
Denver popped his neck. Carver hung limp in his grasp.
Cherry watched his back expand several times while he struggled with himself. She noticed that neither Stack nor Armie seemed inclined to put an end to things.
With a growl, Denver slugged him again. It amazed her that with each punch Denver seemed to get angrier, instead of shedding some of his rage.
Seeing the uneasiness on Lyle’s face, the torment on Pamela’s, Cherry took a step forward. “Denver?”
He went still, but didn’t reply.
She didn’t get too close when she said, “I don’t want to interfere, but I need you. Right now.”
Carver moaned, and Denver gave him another slug that shut him up.
“Denver?” She took another step closer. “I love you, too.”
He started breathing harder, his broad back billowing, the pronounced muscles in his arms flexing and bunching.
“Way to drag out the suspense,” Armie told her. He handed the gun to Stack and stepped in close, whispering something low to Denver.
Denver shook his head.
Armie whispered again, then pried Denver’s clenched fist away from Carver’s shirt. “There you go,” he said as if soothing a wild animal. “A few more breaths. Maybe back up just a little? That’s it. That’ll work.” He dropped Carver to the ground without concern for any additional injuries he might get.
The sirens grew louder.
Armie clapped him on the shoulder. “She’s waiting for you, dude.”
No, Cherry decided. She wasn’t good at waiting; she’d already proven that. If she hadn’t rushed Denver at the bar after Armie’s fight, they might not be together right now.
Once again she’d have to act, to nudge him.
She’d taken only one step when he turned and stalked over to her, scooping her up without losing his stride.
Lyle said, “I’ll go around front and fetch the cops.”
“I’m going with you,” Pamela told him, still sticking close.
Indicating the fallen men who were now unconscious, Stack assured Denver, “We’ve got this,” as Denver walked away.
Armie added, “Take your time,” and Cherry heard the suppressed laughter in his tone.
They were all nuts, but she loved each of them.
Ignoring everyone else, Denver left the yard with her held close to his heart.
* * *
DENVER WANTED TO take her all the way home, but he made it only as far as the back deck before emotion got a stranglehold on him and he had to sit down on the step. Never, not if he lived to be a hundred, would he forget the sight of Carver poised over her, a gun aimed at her head.
Thank God Armie called him when he did, that Armie and Stack had been close enough to disable Mitty without fanfare.
That Cherry hadn’t been seriously hurt. He couldn’t lose her.
Cherry tried to lift her head, but he hugged her tighter. “I love you.” Saying it wasn’t enough. Not near enough. “I love you so fucking much.”
Her gentle fingers smoothed through his hair, over his shoulder. “I loved you first.”
Laughing, he took a soft love bite of her neck, nuzzled his way over her cheek, and sealed his mouth over hers for a heart-stopping kiss. When he thought he might be able to talk normally, when some of the ragged tension making him shake had turned to lust instead of rage, he lifted his head and looked into her beautiful dark eyes. “I said it first.”
“I knew it first.”
God, he loved her. “It’s not a competition, girl.”
She settled in close to him and sighed. “If it was, you’d lose.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Again he tipped up her chin to check her throat. A few of the red marks might turn to bruises, and it hurt him, physically and emotionally, to see them on her pale, soft skin. Back to trembling, he growled, “I should have killed him.”
“I’m glad you didn’t.” She moved her fingertips over his bristly jaw. “I liked seeing you bloody him up some, though.”
He’d bloodied him up a lot, but she’d seen and heard enough violence in her lifetime. “Carver is out of your life for good.”
“I know.”
“The detectives will bust up his drug trade, Lieutenant Peterson will make sure the dirty cops are exposed, and Leese is more than willing to testify. In fact, he’s going to be pissed when he realizes he missed his chance to get even.”