She searched his kind face. He really could read her mind, and for once she was grateful. “Thank you.”
As Heavenly opened the door, she knew she shouldn’t…but she couldn’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder at the two men she’d fallen hard for, who stared back at her, their faces utterly destroyed.
“I’m sorry.” She choked on her words, on regret.
Then she was gone.
As the door closed behind Heavenly with a final click, all the air left the room. Beck dropped into the nearest chair and lowered his head into his hands. The guilt he’d been feeling when he’d arrived had given way to shock and devastation. The sound of her voice, cracked and filled with pain… And her fucking tears. Why?
Beside him, Seth slid onto the sofa, looking equally stunned and flattened. “What the hell just happened?”
“I have no idea.” Beck shook his head. “If this had nothing to do with the pranks, what did we do?”
Seth just shook his head.
“I’m sorry. Even I didn’t see this coming.” Liam sauntered into the room. “We were talking, and she seemed all right, if a little perturbed. Then Raine asked her about her feelings. Heavenly loves you, more than she realizes. She said so…but something turned in her head. I don’t know what. I do know she’s making a mistake and my warning stands. The looming darkness is already tearing her away. If you want her back, you’ll have to peel her open now.”
Beck whirled on him. “How about you speak English? And how the fuck did you think we’d peel her open after you put her in a goddamn cab and let her get away?”
Seth ignored him and turned to Liam. “What is she hiding?”
“You think that has something to do with why she left us?” Beck demanded.
“Every instinct I have after eight years as a cop tells me yes.”
Liam nodded. “If it helps at all, the decision tore her apart. I could feel her agony over the fact that she’s not ready for the future. But I can’t tell you why.”
“Can’t?” Seth challenged. “Or won’t?”
“It’s all the same.” Liam gave them a regretful shrug. “I know you’ve been loath to work together, but I think it’s time you compared notes. We’ll be upstairs. Help yourself to the scotch in Hammer’s office.”
“There’s scotch in his office, too,” Macen called from the top of the stairs. “It’s the good Irish shit.”
“Raine all right?” Liam murmured as he walked up.
“Upset. She could use you…”
The guys disappeared, and a door in a far corner of the house shut.
Suddenly, Beck was alone with Seth, his questions, and a mountain of regret. Scotch sounded good about now. Numbly, he made his way into Hammer’s study, poured a couple of stiff drinks, then returned to find Seth staring at his phone. He set a glass down in front of the PI. “I can’t let her go like this, especially if she loves us.”
Seth shook his head. “I can’t, either. Something is definitely wrong.”
Beck frowned. “A lot of things are wrong. How do we start figuring out what she might be hiding?”
Seth lifted his drink and knocked it back in one swallow. “Well, what do we know?”
Beck knew her smile. He knew her scent. He knew how much she liked adventure and new experiences. He knew whatever had caused her to leave them today had crushed her. “Not much. She’ll be twenty-three in a couple of weeks. She’s a nursing student. She came from Wisconsin. She likes cheese curds and mint chip ice cream.”
Seth sighed. “How about something useful? Middle name? Social security number? Place of birth? Something I can search.”
Right. Beck backtracked, mentally raking through every conversation he’d ever had with Heavenly. “Nothing. She almost never talked about herself.”
Snorting, Seth shook his head. “Every time I asked her questions about herself, she would change the subject or leave.”
“Are you shitting me?” He sipped his drink. “What is she hiding? What do people usually hide? Lovers? She doesn’t have one.”
“She doesn’t,” Seth agreed. “Crimes, but she seems wholly incapable of breaking the law. I don’t think she’s a missing person or in witness protection. Did she ever mention her parents?”
“Only that she hadn’t seen her mother in years and she didn’t have any siblings.” Beck sighed. “Don’t you know anything about her? You’re a PI.”
“I dated her; I didn’t investigate her. And I’m coming to realize that you two talked way more.”
Now wasn’t the time to worry about what Seth had been doing to Heavenly if they hadn’t been talking. “Do you know where she lives? She never would let me pick her up for a date.”
“Same. Do you know where she’s waitressing?”
“Some kids’ pizza place.”
“That’s basically what she told me, too,” Seth said. “Know which one? Must be more than a couple in LA.”
Probably dozens. Fuck. She’d wanted privacy, and he’d respected that. Now he felt like an idiot. “No idea.”
Seth cursed. “Does she have any friends at the hospital she might have confided in?”
“None. Raine is probably the best friend she has, and if the princess knew something important she would have told us by now.”
“You’re right.” Seth gouged his thumb and forefinger into his eyes. “This is supposed to be my job, and I’m so fucking shell-shocked, it’s like I can’t move.”
“Me, too.” Beck sighed. “I can try talking Nurse Lewis into letting me see Heavenly’s records. All volunteers have to fill out paperwork and undergo a background check.”
“Do that. I’ll run a few searches with the information I’ve got. I can also follow her, see where she leads me…” He lifted his head and speared Beck with a glance. “If we don’t figure out what she’s hiding, how can we ease her fears about the future? We don’t know what they are.”
“We can’t. Obviously, we were too distracted by our dicks to ask important questions.”
“She didn’t just distract my dick; she distracted all of me—my head, my heart…”
Beck nodded. “I don’t know about
