Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 130159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“It’s not a problem, man. I’m just working. If it will make you feel better, I’ll come home right now and help you fuck Heavenly so you two can sleep nice and sound tonight. Would that make you happy?”
Beck restrained the urge to break his jaw—or at least try. But he needed his hands for surgery tomorrow. And he must be getting uncomfortably close to Seth’s hot-button truth, because the big guy was lashing back. So he tamped down on his violent urge and shook his head. “No. I’ll fuck her by myself. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you. But what would make me happy is for you to grow a set, get honest, and tell us both what the hell is bothering you. Until you can do that, maybe it’s best if you don’t come home.”
After giving Seth the ultimatum, Beck stormed from Cooper Investigations West, slammed the door behind him, and peeled out of the parking lot. Fury lit up his system, crowding his head and firing his blood. He resisted the urge—barely—to flatten the accelerator to the floorboard and leave this bullshit in the dust.
Goddamn, he was tired of Seth shutting them out. Tired of him being unable to deal with his past and get his shit together. And tired as fuck of him hurting their girl. Didn’t the stupid asshole see he was throwing away the people who loved him and wanted to help him? Didn’t he give a shit that his avoidance was wreaking havoc on their future?
“Motherfucker!” Beck banged on the steering wheel.
It didn’t make him feel better.
Swallowing his rage and helplessness, he turned off Wilshire and aimlessly cruised side streets. He couldn’t let Heavenly see him this angry. She was already worried, but when she found out that Seth had chosen to sleep on his office sofa instead of their bed? She would be devastated. Still, she needed the truth. Worse, he couldn’t give her any assurances. And Beck hated that he had to be the one to break her heart—yet another task Seth’s refusal to face his feelings forced him to endure.
Beck just hoped like fuck that the PI’s love for Heavenly would be enough to bring him back.
“No use procrastinating,” he muttered as he drove home.
Beck had barely pulled into the garage when the door to the house swung open and Heavenly stepped into the portal. Expectation filled her face, offset by an unsettling swirl of fear and hope in her eyes.
Cursing Seth under his breath, Beck clenched his jaw and climbed from the car.
Heavenly rushed to his side. “Did you find him?”
“Yeah.”
Her anxious glance at the driveway almost killed him. “W-where is he?”
“At the office. Alone.” Beck wrapped his arm around her waist as he reached up to close the garage door. When the rollers squeaked and the panel met the concrete with a definitive thud, Heavenly let out a shaky breath and pressed her forehead to his chest.
“He’s not coming home, is he?”
“Not tonight.” He scooped her into his arms and cradled her to his chest, carrying her inside the house.
Tears pooled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks as he climbed the stairs and headed into their bedroom. When he set her on her feet, Beck fought the urge to pull out his phone and FaceTime the prick so Seth could see how much he was hurting their girl. Right now, he didn’t think it would do any good, so he nudged the pillows against the headboard, eased onto the mattress, and pulled Heavenly up beside him, nestling her close.
“Is this case really more important to him than us?”
“That’s not it. He and River solved that a few hours ago.” Beck dragged in a tense breath and went for broke. “Seth isn’t coming home because I told him not to.”
Heavenly reared back and gaped at him. “What? Why would you do that?”
Beck brushed the tears from her cheeks, wishing she was more ready to hear the truth he had to tell her. Then he crushed her as gently as possible. Once he’d explained everything, he held her close. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t understand.” The anguish in her voice eviscerated him. “He’d rather sleep on a couch in his office than come home to us. Why?”
“Because he knows that he can’t come home until he’s honest with us. And he’s not ready.”
“What if he’s never ready? What if he never comes home?” A sob caught in her throat. “What if he leaves us for good?”
Beck hugged her tighter. “We have to think positive.”
“But telling him not to come home? How can he know that we’ll still love him, no matter what, if you told him to stay away?”
Goddamn it, he wasn’t the bad guy. He was trying to protect her. “Seth needs to understand the consequences of his choices. And I didn’t kick him out of the house; I told him that, until he could be honest with us about his past and his feelings, he shouldn’t come back.”