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“Exactly.” Seth’s voice was firm, unyielding.
Heavenly swallowed. “I’m really sorry. I should never have assumed you’d be so angry that you’d make the situation worse. I should have trusted that you would understand and do the right thing.”
“Damn straight, but apology accepted. It better not happen again.”
“You’re not going to leave me, are you?” She felt her heart in her eyes.
“Would it matter to you?”
The fact they even wondered that hurt her so much. Guilt for all the damage she’d done made her feel so small. “More than you know. It would crush me.”
“Do we understand each other now?” Beck asked sharply.
“Yes. I promise. If I ever have a problem, I’ll come to you. I’ll want to help, too, because I’m still a grown woman responsible for myself and my actions, but I’ll hope we can find a solution together.”
“That’s fine, angel. We respect that.”
“But if anyone threatens you in any way, you come to us immediately. Is that clear, little girl?” Beck demanded.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now I’ll handle this problem.” Beck crossed the room and opened the bedroom door. “Dean?”
“Yo,” she heard the cop call from downstairs.
“You know a slum lord who lives near Exposition Park named Sanchez?”
“That creep? Yeah, he used to run drugs. Did some time for it. Rumor has it he’s dabbling in prostitution now.”
“Well, he’s been threatening our girl…” Beck explained.
“That shitbag is messing with Heavenly? I’ll take care of it. He probably has outstanding warrants. I’ll see if I can’t get them served so he can have a nice long trip to jail. Twenty bucks says we can get him on multiple infractions, maybe even a felony possession charge since he loves illegal guns, too. That will mean some awesome prison time.”
“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”
Two minutes later, Dean called back up the stairs. “A fellow officer on duty found some outstanding warrants. Since he was cruising near Sanchez’s neighborhood, he’s on it as we speak. That asshole shouldn’t give sweet Heavenly any more trouble.”
Relief and gratitude filled her. “Please thank him for me.”
“Will do,” Beck muttered, then passed the message on to Dean.
“You’re welcome,” he called back up the stairs.
Then Beck shut the door. They were alone again.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Seth challenged.
Ridiculously easy, in fact. She’d fallen into old patterns—trying to take care of everything herself—and she knew the price could have been the amazing future she now saw in front of her so clearly. “No. I feel horrible that I risked us. I only wanted to protect you two, but…”
“We know. We’ll talk about punishment when we’re home. Right now, we want to hold you.”
“First, I have one more thing to say. Please?”
They both froze, then Beck nodded. “All right.”
Heavenly drew in a deep breath to steady herself. She hadn’t come upstairs with them simply to apologize. She’d come here to begin the rest of her life. Liam had told her nothing would be settled with words and she’d known in that moment how best to convey what was in her heart.
She grabbed the remote to close the blinds. Once the three of them were free from the prying eyes of the outside world, she began peeling off her clothes, draping each garment on the back of a nearby chair. Then she bowed her head, knelt at their feet, and waited, breath held.
