Then he realized the implications.
Enlisting Seth’s help would be as much fun as swallowing acid. But no matter how much he hated it, she needed the prick right now. And Beck had to believe that if Seth was willing to cross the country to throw down a gauntlet, then he’d do whatever it took to help Heavenly.
Wearing a snarl, Beck snatched up his phone and forced himself to dial.
Seth answered on the first ring, not even bothering to say hello. “If you’re calling to yank my chain—”
“I’m calling for Heavenly. She needs your help.”
“What’s happened?” All hint of animosity left Seth’s voice. “Is she all right?”
“Physically, yes. But one of the nurses at work is terrorizing her, and the situation escalated to a death threat today.”
“What the fuck? I want details!” Seth’s voice assured Beck that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, either.
After clearing his throat, Beck explained everything, from the minor pranks to today’s threat. By the time he was done, the PI was equally livid.
“You knew all this time that she was being harassed and did nothing to stop it?”
“Heavenly didn’t tell me shit herself until today, and I didn’t get involved because nothing had occurred that the hospital’s HR channels couldn’t handle. Until today.” He hated that he’d underestimated Kathryn. He hated even more how much Heavenly had suffered. “But now that Heavenly has been threatened, I suggest we step in to fix this shit.”
Seth got straight to business. “Got anything in mind?”
“Catching Kathryn red-handed. But that will require a video recording device.”
“I’ll get you one. Where do you plan to put it?”
Beck sighed and came to one conclusion. “In the nurse’s storage room. Their lockers are in there. I’m not exactly sure where to put it.”
“Every stunt this nurse has pulled happened inside Heavenly’s locker, right?”
“Yes.”
“Can you get me access without anyone in her unit finding out?”
“I think so.” He’d do whatever it took to get Bridget Lewis on board. “You’re willing to rig up a camera for me?”
“Not for you. For Heavenly.”
Beck rolled his eyes. If the prick needed to play her knight in shining armor to feel big and strong, whatever. All he wanted was to nail Heavenly’s tormenter so she could work in peace. “Fine.”
“I’ll swing by your office in a couple of hours. I need to stop at a store or two to grab a few things first.”
“Excellent. I’ll be here.”
On Saturday night, Heavenly eased onto the back patio at Raine’s house, a smile breaking across her face. She didn’t love everything about living in Los Angeles, but if she still lived in Wisconsin, she’d never be attending an outdoor party in late February. And this one, with its floating candles in the pool and the fairy lights strung through the trees, was magical. The surprise gathering to celebrate Hammer’s birthday and the thankful end of his legal troubles had dovetailed together perfectly.
Though she’d been helping Raine set up most of the day, she hadn’t been sure she’d be able to stay for the festivities. The bubbly brunette had insisted. Since Dad was feeling stable after his last lapse and her boss at Bazookas had given her tonight off to make up for Valentine’s Day, she’d agreed…but not without trepidation.
Beck and Seth would both be here. How would she juggle her time between them?
As she tried to imagine, Raine appeared in a gorgeous red dress that made her cool, pale complexion absolutely glow. By comparison, Heavenly felt dowdy in the hodgepodge dress she’d stitched together from a bolt of floral fabric she’d been saving for a rainy day, the lace she’d torn off a second-hand dress, and a pattern her mother had left behind years ago.
“I’m so excited!” Raine squealed, then clapped her hands. “And Hammer has no idea! Liam kept him busy all day, with a little help from Pike. Creating an emergency fire at his, um…office was a stroke of genius.”
Heavenly was amazed the woman had pulled off a party of this size with one of her lovers none the wiser. “He’ll be thrilled.”
Suddenly, River sidled up and raised a friendly hand to Heavenly. “Hi. Good to see you again.”
“You, too.”
Raine grinned his way. “There’s the porn star of the hour.”
“Okay, don’t remind me how low I stooped to help you, storm cloud. Every time I think of that woman, I throw up a little in my mouth.”
Heavenly frowned. If she didn’t know the whole story already, she’d be thoroughly confused. But she’d been hearing about his exploits all day.
River pulled at the back of his neck. “But just for you, I took one for the team and cozied up to Hammer’s nemesis until she admitted all her accusations were bullshit. You’re welcome.”
“Thank you.” Raine wrinkled her nose. “Now make me feel better and tell me she was a lousy lay.”
“Well, after years in Afghanistan, any sex is better than no sex, but if I had to rate her? Terrible,” he confirmed. “I don’t know how Hammer ever voluntarily fucked her.”
“Me, either.” Raine shuddered. “Watching Dean arrest her was one of the best things ever.”
“No doubt.”
“We’re never this mean,” Raine assured Heavenly, placing gentle fingers on her arm. “But this bitch deserves it for lying in an attempt to put Hammer in prison for the next few decades.”
Heavenly couldn’t disagree. “Yes, and everything ended well.”
“Perfectly,” Raine chimed. “And we’ll have a great time celebrating Hammer’s birthday, too. I’ll enjoy ribbing him about being an old man.”
“How old?” It was a nosy question, but it hadn’t escaped Heavenly’s notice that at least a decade gaped between Hammer and Raine. They made it work. She sometimes wondered if Beck’s hesitation with her had been their age difference.
“He’s thirty-five.”
And she already knew Raine would be twenty-four in June. Heavenly herself would be twenty-three in a month…
She bit her lip. “Do you know how old Beck is?”
Raine cocked her head. “He didn’t tell you?”
“We’ve never talked about it.”
“He turned thirty-six in November.”
Older than she’d imagined, but still young enough
