AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They really had gotten out just in time.
A knot of tension loosened in her belly.
The drive to the hospital passed in a blur. Beck made calls as he drove. A crew was waiting by the ambulance door. They wheeled her half-sleeping father to the neurological unit. Thankfully, the seasoned personnel barely gave Beck and Seth’s bloody clothes a second glance. Once the staff wheeled him to a private room, Heavenly squeezed her dad’s hand.
An unfamiliar nurse nodded their way. “Dr. Litchfield has already ordered the admitting paperwork. He’ll start the tests in the morning.”
“Thanks.” Beck nodded.
“I’ll visit you tomorrow, Dad,” she promised.
He raised a tired hand and closed his eyes.
When Beck and Seth led her away, Heavenly’s heart stuttered. She wrapped her arms around herself. She was doing the right thing. Her dad needed good care, certainly better than she could provide. But this was the first night she’d spend without him since…well, ever.
Suddenly, Beck’s arms circled her shoulders. “He’s fine here.”
“He’s where he needs to be,” she acknowledged with a jerky nod.
Seth took her into his arms and cupped her face. “Yeah, he is. And now we need to get you where you need to be.”
“Maybe I should stay and—”
“There’s nothing you can do for him tonight, angel. The hospital is taking care of his needs. He would want us to take care of yours.”
She blinked, looking down the empty hall, then turned back to the expectant men. She was so accustomed to being responsible for her father’s life and well-being. Heck, for her own, too. Someone else planning everything for her, despite the fact they were far more capable, made her anxious. And totally overwhelmed her.
“Heavenly?”
Slowly, she nodded. “Yes.”
Seth caressed her face, then brushed his palm down her arm before he took her hand. “Time to go.”
“You’re right.”
As they backtracked to her familiar unit, the edges of her vision blackened and tunneled in. Her equilibrium tilted. She was so tired her legs felt like noodles. She stumbled over her own feet.
A soft curse rang in her ears. Seth. Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tucked the other under her knees, and lifted her against his chest. Suddenly, she was floating.
No, he was carrying her.
“I can walk,” she croaked out. Funny, what she said sounded more like slurs than words.
“You can if I put you down. But I’m not going to. End of conversation.”
No missing his implacable tone. She didn’t have the energy to argue anyway. Tomorrow she’d start making plans again and take all this responsibility back from them. Tonight, she needed sleep.
Heavenly closed her eyes and laid her head on Seth’s shoulder, barely aware when he eased her into the car. She had no memory of the drive to the condo, only of being lifted out of the car and carried across a bright parking garage. A keycard and an elevator ride later, they emerged into an enclosed atrium. It was industrial and sleek, obviously new and pristine and very upscale.
Beck was willing to let her stay here? Ha. Even if he didn’t intend to make her pay rent, she’d insist…but she could never afford it. Still, she had to admit, spending a night or two here would be absolute paradise.
He let them in the front door. Absently, she noticed he carried her suitcase. Everything else he must have left in the car. Fine. Tomorrow would be soon enough to take that off his hands.
Seth set her on her feet just inside the condo. Beck flipped on the lights.
Heavenly’s jaw dropped. A gorgeous, tufted black leather sofa and a flat-screen TV took up most of the space on her left. Blinds covered the huge windows on the far side of the room where she saw a commanding yet comfy matching recliner.
“Follow me,” Beck said as he walked past a bar area, then turned on more lights that illuminated a state-of-the-art kitchen and breakfast nook and pointed through a dark opening on the far side of the room. “Inside is a bedroom and bath. Go take a hot shower. I’ll start making food.”
She didn’t have the energy to argue or even to offer help. “Thank you.”
He nodded, then pointed Seth to another bathroom and offered to let him borrow some clothes. They were discussing taking shifts in the shower when Heavenly closed the door and found herself in a luxurious black and marble bathroom with hot water that felt like Shangri-La. She scrubbed vigorously, as if she could wash away not only the blood and memories of Sanchez’s touch but her worries, fears, doubts, and dread.
Finally, she stepped out, wet hair in a haphazard braid, and found her suitcase on a bed that was covered in a mountain of soft pillows. Tiredly, she fished out a pair of underwear and one of her old nightshirts. On the other side of the door, she heard the sounds of bacon frying and the murmur of the men talking.
