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“I did what I needed to do and I walked away over six and a half years ago, so yeah. It’s over and done. Leave it the fuck alone.”
Beck was dying to know what Seth had “needed to do”, but if it had been that long ago, the steps he’d taken to understand their deaths or avenge them or whatever were moot now.
Seth’s feelings, however, weren’t. Those were causing them problems.
“I can’t. If it’s over and done with, why are you sleeping here? Why does it seem like you’re avoiding us? Does this have anything to do with Zach?”
Cooper blanched. “I don’t care if you moved your brother in. He needs help, and there’s plenty of room.”
“So being around him while he’s processing the murders of his wife and daughter doesn’t bother you at all? It doesn’t exhume the fury and anguish you dealt with after losing Autumn and Tristan?”
“Is it comfortable? No. But he’s not the reason I’m at the office instead of home. I. Have. Work. I know you get that.”
“I do. But I’m sorry I moved Zach into the house without asking you or Heavenly how you felt about that and without thinking about how that might impact you. It was a knee-jerk reaction because I remember crawling out of Messiah City and feeling alone in a world I didn’t understand. I wanted to spare my brother some of the difficulty and confusion—”
“And you should. If that was one of my brothers, I’d do the same. Besides, it’s your house. Do what you want with it.”
“It’s our house. I’ve said that enough that you ought to know it. So if Zach being there is a problem for you, I’ll find somewhere else for him. The condo, maybe. Just say the word.”
“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?”
