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He leans backward and grabs it from the side, placing it face down beside us.

“G, I can’t spend another minute in this house. If I hold in this rage any longer, I’m going to go down and skin your father so that he can be sent to your uncles. Then I might charter the flight to Italy and kill those bastards too.”

I wince as I reach to touch his jaw, stroking my thumb over his stubble. “It is what it is, Colt. Some days it was fine. Other days, it wasn’t. I can’t change it. It made me who I am; I doubt if I’d been brought up any other way that I’d even be alive. Mom didn’t survive this life being nice.”

He closes his eyes, resting his forehead against mine. “How are you feeling?” he asks.

I burst out into laughter that pulls on my ribcage. “Cowboy, you can be many things for me, but a therapist is not one.”

He pulls back, his face softening. “Alright. Do you think maybe you’d see a professional?”

My laughter fades instantly, being replaced by something way more angry. “You think I’m crazy? Are you seriously asking a woman who murdered her own father if she will go to therapy? Are you insane, Colten? Do you want me in jail?”

He mutters something I can’t quite catch under his breath, and before I can continue my rampage, his lips crash over mine.

And like that, he doesn’t just shut me up; he makes all the bad shit in my head fade away.

“There’s a shower on the jet and a bed,” he mutters against my lips.

“Fine. Take me to your fancy jet, cowboy. Whisk me away like the princess I am.”

To be honest, it’s exactly what I want right now. I don’t have to keep doing this alone. Not when I have Colt to help hold me up when I need it. That strength I need, it’s always been inside me, but I needed this man to give me a safe space to help me find her.

He shakes his head. “Not a princess, you’re a queen now.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY

Colten

Hunter and Ace are leaning against the fence post as I pull up beside their trucks. Gianna has spent the car ride over here with her nose in her phone, typing away ferociously.

I’m worried about her. I don’t care how many times she says to my face she’s fine; I know her better than that.

“I told Levi he’s done,” she says as I kill the engine.

“Good girl.”

She grins, shoving her phone back in her bag. “He isn’t going to take this well. I’m expecting repercussions. I’ve got a new security detail heading over to Dom.”

I rest my hand on her bouncing leg. “Do you want to borrow some of our guys? We have enough to go over to LA. People we can trust.”

I know how important Dom is to her, and for her sanity, I gotta make sure nothing happens to him.

She sucks in a breath. “Yes please, Colt.”

“And you? Do you want your own extra security?” I question.

Her eyebrows pinch together, her eyes dragging over my body. “Why would I need that? I’m surrounded by a bunch of heavily armed cowboys.”

I lean in, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You’re married to the worst one,” I whisper.

She shivers against my touch. “If you send men to LA, does that leave enough to protect the Ranch?”

I cup her cheek. “Yes, sweetheart. We’ve got our own army here, and what’s mine is yours, remember? I can bring in the guys from Vegas if I need to.”

She licks her lips. “Then we’re good.”

“But,” I cut in, “if you leave Sterling Ranch, you either take me or one of my brothers with you. And you aren’t going back to LA on your own.”