In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2)(30)

Brent made a solid point but that didn’t mean Beau had to like it.

Before he could argue, though he knew his arguments would fall on deaf ears because Brent, as well as most of the DSS operatives, were headstrong, stubborn as hell and tended to do things their own way, he heard a vehicle roar up and brake hard behind the wreckage of their vehicle.

He sighed because those under him always managed to get the job done, and he had left them largely alone and had instructed Dane and Eliza to do the same.

Zack stalked up, anger smoldering in his deep green eyes.

“Sitrep,” he demanded.

Beau quickly brought him up to speed even as they hustled Ari into Zack’s waiting vehicle. They didn’t have time to stand around while Beau gave Zack the rundown from start to finish.

Suddenly Ari shoved both men aside, catching them off guard so that they stumbled. Beau watched in horror as one of the men crawled from the wreckage Ari had caused and pointed a gun in their direction.

“No!” he roared, his shout immediately echoed by Zack as they both lunged for Ari, trying to cover her.

A shot rang out and the two men stared in bewilderment as the bullet slowed, enough that they could see it whizzing in Ari’s direction. Even as much as she was able to slow it, and direct it away from the men, it clipped her side and she sank to her knees, her hand going to the wound that was already seeping blood.

Beau was furious. He was pissed that Ari had taken a bullet meant for him or Zack. He was pissed that he was supposed to be protecting her and yet she’d stood in the way while he and Zack had been shoved out of the line of fire.

Ari was bent over, pale, blood streaming from her nose, mouth and ears and now her side where the bullet had grazed her.

He and Zack immediately formed a protective barrier around her and Beau scooped Ari up and all but threw her into Zack’s armored car, where no more bullets could penetrate the vehicle and especially her. His mind was a haze of fury. He wanted to take those sons of bitches out right here and now.

But in the distance, the wail of sirens could be heard. As much as it ate at him to leave Brent, his driver was armed and capable of defending himself and the ones capable of fleeing had already left the scene. With police and rescue en route, he doubted the idiot who’d shot Ari would chance another shot, and if he did, Brent’s aim was deadly, even if he was trapped in the wrecked vehicle.

Beau settled Ari in the backseat and slid in next to her. He fumbled underneath the seat and dug out a first aid kit. He needed to clean the blood from her face and ears. She looked as if someone had beaten the hell out of her, with the older bruises and the fresh blood. But his first priority was seeing how much damage the bullet had caused. He hoped to hell it was only the graze it appeared to be.

“What the hell happened back there?” Zack demanded as he glanced in his rearview mirror. “Do I need to take her straight to the hospital? She’s bleeding from more than the gunshot.”

Ari was vehemently shaking her head even as Beau vetoed the idea.

“Psychic bleed,” he explained to Zack. “She’ll need to be monitored to ensure she didn’t do permanent damage to her brain or if there was a severe hemorrhage.”

Zack scowled, his expression causing Ari to scoot even closer to Beau as if she were afraid of the other man. Beau instantly put his arm around her like it was the most natural reaction in the world.

“Psychic bleed?” Zack questioned. “Is she psychic then? Is that what happened to those other vehicles who tried to run you off the road?”

Ari stiffened, going rigid in Beau’s arms. Her respirations were shallow and he didn’t know if it was from blood loss, fear or a combination of both.

“He can be trusted,” Beau whispered against her ear. “He works for me and there’s no one I trust more than my brothers.”

She gave a short nod, but she still regarded Zack warily as they drove as fast as they could without gaining the notice or attention of a cop setting a speed trap.

“You going to fill me in on what the hell is going on and who our new client is?” Zack asked impatiently.

One corner of Beau’s mouth quirked upward. How like Zack to automatically insert himself right into the thick of things. His hands were wrapped firmly around the steering wheel, his knuckles white as he performed swift lane changes to weave in and out of the busy traffic on the 610 loop.

“Later,” Beau said shortly. “Right now I need to get her to safety and make sure she’s okay. And I’ll need you to get on the horn and figure out who’s free to help out on this assignment. I know Dane and Eliza are tied up with another job at the moment.”

“I’ll handle it,” Zack said simply.

“Where are we going?” Arial asked in a quiet voice.

She seemed in shock, the blood a stark contrast to the paleness of her features. Beau fished in the first aid kit and then slowly lifted her blood-soaked shirt so as not to alarm her.

In answer to the unspoken question and the wariness in her eyes, he soothed her as best as he could. He wasn’t a smooth-talking guy. He was too blunt and abrasive to know how to calm a woman’s fears. Especially a woman he was currently stripping free of her shirt.

“I need to see how bad this is,” he said with calm he didn’t feel.

Inside he was a seething caldron of fire, furious that she’d deliberately put herself in the line of fire to protect him and Zack. That was his job. To protect her. Not the other goddamn way around and it pissed him off no end that she’d put herself at such risk. It would not happen again, and as soon as he was assured she was all right they were going to have a serious come-to-Jesus meeting about the way things would be going forward.