Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
“Grandma?” Hudson murmured. “The three of them belong together. And before you ask, yeah, I know. I’ve known the whole time.”
With her chin quivering, Grace blinked away fresh tears and stared silently for what felt like an eternity.
Heavenly braced herself for rejection. For the woman’s disgust. For her righteous indignation.
Instead, Grace swallowed hard. And then…slowly, she nodded. “I don’t care.”
Heavenly’s breath caught.
“I don’t care,” Grace repeated, her voice still shaking. But this time, it sounded stronger. Resolved. “It doesn’t matter to me who Seth loves. I don’t care what your relationship looks like, how many people are involved, or what anyone else thinks. I only care that he’s loved.”
“He is.” Heavenly’s chest broke open, a sob tearing free. “More than you can imagine.”
Grace nodded, squeezing Heavenly’s hand so tight, it hurt. “I want him to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for my boys. If you and Beck make Seth happy, then that’s all I need to know. I accept the three of you, however you want to be together.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “Today has taught me what’s really important. I just hope we all stay alive so I can tell him.”
Heavenly couldn’t hold back. Sobbing, she threw her arms around Seth’s mother. The woman clutched her back as they shared tears, bound by terror and love and the desperate, aching hope that they’d all survive this ordeal long enough for Grace’s acceptance to mean something.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t cry,” Grace whispered, stroking Heavenly’s hair like she was comforting a beloved daughter. “I’m sorry you all felt like you’d lose me if you told me the truth. I’d do almost anything to go back and change that.”
Without warning, Hudson leaned in and wrapped his arms around them both. He held them tight, just like Seth would have done. Heavenly’s heart squeezed.
They sat together, clinging for long moments—three people in the shadow of a monster’s gun, living in the moment and trying to hold on when hope felt impossible.
Heavenly kept the news about the baby to herself. Gene would twist it into a weapon, a bargaining chip, to destroy Seth from the inside out.
For now, she simply prayed they’d all live long enough to tell Grace.
“Jesus, spare me emotional broads.” Gene’s voice sliced through the moment like an ax. “Dry your fucking tears and shut up. I’ve heard enough bellyaching, and Seth is almost here.”
At that, they jerked apart. Heavenly’s heart leapt to her throat. Seth was close?
Scowling, Gene checked his phone. Then he cursed as if he didn’t like whatever he was seeing.
Dangerous hope flared as the crooked cop’s thumbs flew across his screen.
His phone lit up once, twice. Then the screen lit up again and again with incoming texts.
Gene answered them quickly, his expression shifting from agitation to focus. Then a slow smile of satisfaction spread across his face.
Heavenly’s heart threatened to stop.
That expression said that Gene’s fate had turned. He’d set his scheme in motion, and it was working. She’d bet he was calling in reinforcements to put down Seth before he could even get near the house. And they were responding.
Gene wasn’t working alone anymore.
Horror washed over her. How could she warn Seth, send him some signal that wouldn’t get them all killed? Gene had taken their phones, blocked all their exits, and cut them off from the outside world. And Seth was outnumbered, outgunned, and unaware of the overwhelming danger he was about to face.
With a grim expression, Gene pocketed his phone. “That fucking bastard blew up my entire operation in a single morning, and I’m going to repay him by making sure he dies after watching me off each and every one of you.” Then he pointed his gun directly at Heavenly. “You first.”
As Seth approached his mother’s neighborhood, he fought every instinct screaming at him to floor it and crash through the front door. But Gene knew he was coming. If he hadn’t already, he was calling for backup. He had hostages. He had control.
But Seth had one advantage: he knew the house in a way Gene never would. Every inch of it. Every blind spot, every angle, every way in and out.
He would use that to his advantage—minimize risks as much as possible—then proceed with caution and save his loved ones. He couldn’t what-if himself into a mindfuck that would cripple him.
And he sure as hell wouldn’t fail again.
Letting out a rough breath, Seth turned onto his mother’s street and tucked the SUV behind the neighbor’s conversion van three houses down, shielding the vehicle from the front-facing windows of his childhood home.
He killed the engine. Then his stare fell on the leather pouch in the passenger seat. He hesitated. Damn it, he couldn’t leave this goldmine of evidence in his car. Anyone, especially Gene’s goons, could break in and steal the only proof of Gene’s corruption. He had to stash it someplace where Gene couldn’t reach it, would never think to look for it.