The Chase

Inside the bedroom, Seth waited. “The balcony is a no-go. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he said as he flashed Heavenly River’s message.

She read it and smiled. “Well, there’s some good news.”

Seth leaned in to see it. “Yeah. He had me really fucking worried. Honestly, I thought he was dead.”

“Me, too,” Beck admitted. “I’m sure he’s got a hell of a concussion, and that arm is going to be a bitch for a while. But he’s tough and he’s in good shape. I’m sure that helped.”

“Definitely. But I thought River was going to lose his shit.” Seth shut the bedroom door, enclosing them in privacy as he shook his head at Heavenly. “You should have seen him.”

“Poor guy. Dean is his best friend, but I feel especially sorry for Ngaire.” Then she turned to Beck and squeezed his hand. “Today has been pretty overwhelming. I know it’s been really hard on you, too. What you endured was terrible. But everything is going to be okay.”

Beck raised a brow. “Is it? I killed my own brother. I let my mother die.”

“How much mercy did they ever show you?” Heavenly asked.

None.

“Exactly. You did the world a favor,” Seth assured. “If you hadn’t ended them, how many others would have suffered those victims’ terrible fates?”

“Even one more was too many.” Heavenly cupped his face. “I’m really proud of you.”

“Absolutely. You slayed your dragons, man.” Seth held up his fist. “Way to go.”

Beck scowled. “You make me sound like some fucking hero.”

“Where I come from, you are.” Seth sent his fist a pointed stare. “And you better not leave me hanging, asshole. If you do, I know this woman and her donkey…”

He couldn’t not chuckle as he bumped Seth’s fist. “Got her on speed dial already?”

“Please no…” Heavenly shook her head. “Just no.”

As much as Beck would rather joke and forget that today had happened, he feared none of this would be swept under the rug so easily. “Can you really live with what I’ve done?”

“Stop worrying.” Her face softened. “Kenneth Beckman, I can’t live without you.” She turned to Seth. “The same goes for you, Mr. Cooper. I love you.”

Beck exhaled in relief. That was exactly the way he wanted it. “I can’t live without you two, either.”

“I feel the same.” Seth’s voice turned low as he gave them both a squeeze.

Beck slipped his arms around her and Seth, comforted by the way she laid her head on the big guy’s chest with a soft sigh and sent him a contented smile. Their circle was complete.

“Thank you both for sticking by me. Dragging all those skeletons from my closet was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

“You were braver than hell.” Seth patted his shoulder.

“You were. I could tell it wasn’t easy, but you did great,” Heavenly assured. “And I love that there are finally no more secrets between us.”

Seth tensed. The gesture was subtle, but Beck felt it. Yeah, the big guy had stuff he’d vowed to spill. Since he’d come clean and Heavenly had stripped away all her barriers last night before letting them take her without any, maybe he’d take this opportunity to jump on the confession train…

Before he could give the PI a nudge, Heavenly broke into his thoughts. “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to your brother. Is he going to be all right?”

“I hope so. Time will tell, but I’m worried about him.” Beck sighed. “No matter what, he’s going to find a whole new world tough to deal with, but it’s going to be even more difficult without his wife and daughter. I can barely wrap my head around a loss like that…”

“I know.” Sympathy softened Heavenly’s face. “My heart hurts so much for him. I can’t imagine what he’s going through and how he’ll ever recover.”

Seth went taut. The big guy might be standing right beside them, but his face said he was a million miles away. “He won’t. Something like that haunts you forever.”