Page 124 of Queen of Spades

“Did you not wonder why I turned to you in the first place?” Ranger asks. “Any number of individuals in Vegas could have been called upon to house Sparrow for a few days. However, I chose you. Not just because you owed me a marker, but because of who your father is.”

My head tilts as I try to follow Ranger’s train of thought. “That’s why you pushed the fake marriage. You needed to give Cas’s father something he could use to prove his displeasure to the Andrettis.”

“Indeed.” Ranger nods. “They were desperate for allies, and I gave them one. Canton Forbes reached out to Lucien to express his hatred for me and my methods, along with his contempt that his oldest son was tied up in our war. He offered to provide insider information if Ezrah and Lucien spared Cassian’s and Ward’s lives.”

“Why go that route at all?” Ward growls.

“It gave Lucien a false sense of security by not only convincing him that he had someone inside my inner circle, but also that those closest to me would defect if given the chance.” Ranger shrugs. “It also gave me the opportunity to see if I could separate the two of them.”

“You barely gave us any warning that Ezrah was heading to Kentucky,” Grady growls.

“See, that was an unfortunate series of events that centers around Lyra.” Ranger stretches back against the couch cushion. “The Andrettis assumed she had more information than she did. Ezrah hired a contract team to track and retrieve her. He was on his way to meet them?—”

“But they never had Lyra. They grabbed her sister instead,” Ward points out.

“Correct,” Ranger says. “But we intercepted chatter that Ezrah was moving to meet the team to collect who they thought was Lyra. I dispatched a team to try to collect her before that could happen, but they were too far out. As a result, I needed to distract Ezrah. Canton made a quick call to notify the middle Andretti that he had a location, and the rest is history.”

“You could have given us a little more notice,” Cas growls.

“I attempted to,” Ranger says blandly. “Unfortunately, Kane didn’t answer his phone. At that point, I made several calls to determine who was the closest to your location while Merrick continued to try Kane. I was trying to find you some backup, but when Merrick spotted Ezrah’s team already in town, it became an emergency. Meanwhile, the original team sent for Laken tried to retrieve her, but they were unable to gain an access point, and she ended up in Lucien’s possession.”

“If we hadn’t bonded with your sister, would you have tried to kill us?” Kane asks, coming to take a seat in one of the chairs.

“Kill you?” Ranger laughs.

It’s an ominous sound that makes goose bumps break out on my skin.

I twist, glaring at my brother.

“I regularly daydream about killing Tanner, but I’m at a loss. Why would I kill you?” Ranger asks, looking genuinely puzzled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Sparrow. I care about you as much as I’m capable of, but you’re a pain in the ass.” He shoves himself off the couch, shaking his head. “Kill you? God, no. All I’ve ever wanted was to know that she’s safe. I can’t express how much of a relief it is to know that she’s no longer my problem.” He makes it to the edge of the living room and turns back to face us, but he focuses on me. “It’s their job to keep you alive now. And, truly, I think that will be a good thing for our budding relationship. I no longer have to attempt to control you. They will follow you around and keep you safe.” He gives a weird bow. “Good luck, gentlemen. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve finally evicted Kate, but my house is covered in an obscene amount of dog hair, and I have an adorable little omega to attempt to coax out of her shell.” He stops by the door. “Tanner received a delivery of his belongings yesterday. Has anyone had any success at finding him alternate living arrangements?”

Grady snorts.

Ranger is probably going to be pretty pissed when he realizes I told Tanner he could stay with my brother for as long as he likes.

Ranger’s eyes narrow. “Fine. I’ll ask him myself. His presence is grating on my nerves when I only just got my home back. That’s not a good sign for his long-term survival.” He nods, agreeing with himself, and spins around, aiming for the door. I barely hear him say, “Next on the eviction list is those giant mutts and all the hair that goes with them.”

“I have to give it to Beefcake,” I say with a laugh. “He’s braver than I thought he was.”

“Or dumber,” Kane adds with a laugh.

“Does anyone else feel like Ranger purposely shoved us at you, hoping we would bond?” Grady scratches his thick beard. “Because I’m starting to feel like that was his plan from the jump.”

“I wouldn’t be shocked,” Kane says.

I laugh, shaking my head.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least, either, but I am thrown off by the fact that I’ve never, not even once in my life, seen Ranger show interest in anyone.

I can’t help but wonder if she likes him, too, and that’s why she’s been so catty toward me.

Not that she doesn’t have other viable reasons, but omegas are notoriously possessive of their alphas. Although, I’m bonded, and also…he’s my brother.

“Are you doing okay down there?” Ward asks, his words running together as his accent rolls through them.

I pat his chest, giving him a smile. “I really am.” My gaze moves to Cassian. “Do you feel better about the whole situation with your dad now?”

He nods. “I believe I do.”

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