In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2)(27)

She needed to know what she was up against and that the minute she lost her bargaining power—herself—her parents would almost certainly be eliminated.

“I think they’re alive,” Beau said, wincing inwardly as he made his statement. He hoped to hell he wasn’t lying to her. He was the one usually counted on to speak the truth, no matter how hard it was. But he found himself wanting to offer Ari at least a glimmer of hope, because if she truly thought her parents were dead she’d likely snap.

He needed her to have hope so that she used sound judgment and adhered to whatever plan Beau and his team came up with. The last thing they needed was a wild card and for Ari to go off on her own. Powers or not, she was extremely vulnerable.

And even if her parents weren’t killed the moment Ari was in her attackers’ possession, they would most likely be used to control her. The attackers would threaten her with her parents’ death to ensure her full cooperation and would forever have a stranglehold on her because she would do anything if it meant keeping two people she loved from dying.

“As long as you stay out of their reach, I think your parents will be safe,” he said. Again, hoping he wasn’t setting her up for horrific shock and disappointment. But it was the logical conclusion to arrive at since they hadn’t killed Ari and seemed determined to bring her under control. Their control, whoever the hell “they” were.

“They’ll use your parents as bargaining tools, at least for a short while. It will buy us some time to start our investigation and hopefully find them before their kidnappers grow impatient and start using more drastic measures to ‘persuade’ you.”

She shuddered against him as if his words solidly planted a very unpleasant image in her mind. He regretted that too but again, it was information she needed to know. To understand. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—sugarcoat it for her.

The smell of her hair wafted through his nostrils, and he frowned, immediately setting her away from him, back onto her side of the vehicle. When he started noticing things about the way a woman smelled—a client smelled—then it was time to gain some perspective—and distance—between him and his “client.”

He’d made a serious professional breach as it was by hugging her, even if it was only to soothe her frayed nerves. The problem was that he’d enjoyed it far too much, and what had started as an impersonal offering of comfort had immediately changed as he became aware of certain things. Like how she smelled. How her body felt curled into his. How petite and delicate her bone structure was. And how damn kissable her mouth was.

Jesus. He was losing it. If he had any sense whatsoever, he’d turn Ari over to Dane and Eliza’s very capable hands and bow out. Let them do their job—a job they were damn good at.

But at the same time he completely balked at the thought of foisting her on someone else. Her father had told her to trust him and Caleb. No one else. If he handed her over to Dane and Eliza—or anyone else employed by DSS—she’d likely tuck tail and run.

She was already as skittish as a newborn colt and he could tell it was difficult and weighing heavily on her to place her trust in him as it was. And only because her father had instructed her to. Otherwise he doubted she’d trust anyone right now. He couldn’t blame her for that. But his impression of her was that she was one of those “nice” people who gave their trust easily and always saw the good in others. If he was right, then this was her first experience with betrayal and realizing just how the world around her worked.

Her parents had obviously kept her cocooned her entire life and they hadn’t done her any favors by doing so. But it wasn’t his business or his concern. She was a client and his job was twofold. Find and recover her parents. And keep her safe and alive.

“Hold on tight!” the driver shouted. “We’re in for trouble.”

Beau barely had time to securely wrap his arms around Arial before the entire vehicle jolted, whipping both their necks forward and then lashing back.

“What the f*ck?” Beau roared.

“Got a tail. Hang on. I’m going to get us the hell out of here,” Brent, his driver, said in a grim voice.

“A tail?” Ari squeaked. “You don’t call someone who just tried to run you off the road a tail!”

“Shit!”

Beau didn’t like that muttered curse from Brent. It took a lot to ruffle the driver. He could handle himself in any situation. Not only was he a former race-car driver, but he was also ex-military and he’d been hired for more than just his driving ability.

Beau glanced up to stare through the windshield only to see two vehicles barreling down the wrong side of the freeway, on a crash course with them. They were caught in the middle of an inevitable collision. Which was pretty stupid if they were so intent on keeping Ari alive. How could they be certain she would escape unscathed?

Unless their objective had changed. It was hard to speculate when he had no idea what the source of the threat was. He was already well behind, had no starting point until he could question Ari at length and start investigating her parents—especially her father.

A low whimper tore through Ari’s throat and then her eyes glazed over, tiny flecks of gold that sparkled like glitter in the oceanic pools as she stared through the windshield at the vehicles bearing down on them.

Her features tightened as though she were in pain. Her fingers bunched into tight fists, her knuckles white from the fierce grip. Then her entire body quivered, as though the electricity reflected in her eyes now surged through her veins.