In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2) (6 page)

“Dad, you have to come see,” she said, wringing her hands in agitation. “I can replay it with the DVR. It’s bad. I don’t know how we can fix this now.”

“We saw,” her father said quietly. “We leave as soon as we can get a bag packed. Tonight. We’re going to another of our residences here as a precaution since Doctor Winstead was just here just earlier. We can’t afford to be hasty in our decision, but neither do I want you exposed to the media feeding frenzy that will surely ensue. They identified you by name, and the school employees, students—past and recent—will be flooded with questions and requests for interviews by the media and even the police. Administration is going to be all over you and, honey, you need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

“They’ll fire me,” Ari whispered. “I messed up. I’m so sorry, Dad. And you too, Mama. This will ruin your summer trip. It will change
all
our lives.”

Her mom’s eyes filled with such staggering love that tears welled in Ari’s and she had to swallow back the knot of emotion nearly choking her. Then her mom gently wrapped her arms around her, pulling her head down to her breast as she stroked her hair as she’d done when Ari was just a little girl.

“Baby, you
are
our life. You’ve always been the heart and soul of us both. Since the day you entered our lives. Never apologize for who you are. You did what you had to do. If I had been there, that little bastard would be dead right now instead of dealing with a headache,” she muttered.

Her father tried to suppress his grin as he looked at his wife and daughter, love shining like a beacon in his eyes.

Then he said to her mother, “Honey, go pack her a bag. She’s in no shape to do so. She’s shaking like a leaf and she took her medicine not long ago. We need to go. I’ll take care of what you and I need. Let Ari sit here and you go get her things together.”

Her father waited until his wife left the room and then he slid out of bed, pulling on a T-shirt he’d discarded by the bed. Then he sat next to Ari on the edge of the bed and pulled her into his arms.

“I know you’re scared, baby, but one thing you need to understand is that you and your mother are the two most important people in my world. The only people who
exist
in my world as far as I’m concerned and there is nothing,
nothing
that I won’t do to protect either of you.”

He tipped up her chin so she looked him in the eye and could see the utter sincerity radiating from his expression.

“We’ve always known this was a possibility. We tried to protect you your entire life from just this sort of thing, but it was inevitable at some point because it’s who you
are
. And I can only imagine how hard it’s been for you to suppress something so integral to who you are out of fear. Fear of discovery and fear of somehow disappointing me and your mother. Let me correct something right here before this goes any further. We could not be prouder of you and who you are. And there is nothing you could ever do to disappoint us or make us love you any less. You are our only child. A blessing when we thought we’d never have a child, much less one as loving, kind and special and beautiful inside and out, as you are. So trust me to do what’s best not only for you but for me and your mother. Because you two come first with me. Always. And that will never change.”

“I love you, Dad,” she whispered.

He brushed a kiss over her forehead and gave her a gentle squeeze. “And I love you, baby girl. Now let me pack your mother and I a quick bag. We can always get what else we need later.”

SIX

BEAU
Devereaux hit the pause button for the television after he’d replayed the evening news segment from the night before for his brother, Caleb, and the assembled members of their security specialist team.

They’d lost good men to a madman who’d put Caleb and his now wife, Ramie, through hell, and they realized they needed better than what they’d considered the best in the beginning. After a thorough vetting, more men had been hired, and the new recruits had gone through extensive training headed by Dane Elliot, their head of security. He was a former Navy SEAL and all-around tough-as-nails warrior. He was partnered with Eliza Cummings, a badass in her own right. The two had been instrumental in hunting down the fucker who had tormented Ramie, though it had been Caleb who’d taken the bastard down for good.

Zack was perhaps their most interesting addition. Beau had been drawn to him because he and Zack were alike in many ways. Quiet. Cynical. They were both content to sit back and observe, taking in their surroundings, studying quietly all the while gaining information. And neither were glory seekers. They simply got the job done.

He wasn’t the typical recruit. Most of their men were ex-military or former government agents. FBI, DEA and a few organizations that didn’t officially exist. When they were first getting off the ground in the hasty year following their sister’s abduction and subsequent rescue, he and Caleb had done the best they could to hire capable security experts. They were in fact working trial by fire. But in the aftermath of losing men, Caleb’s wife’s near death and Caleb’s own, they’d knuckled down, learned from their past mistakes and spared no expense in getting the best. Only the best. If the old adage was true and you got what you paid for, then they were getting top-notch operatives because they did not come cheap.

Zack, however, was a different story. Superstar college football player on a full ride. Drafted by the NFL in the first round as a starting quarterback. But after only two years, an injury had taken him out of football forever. For most people this would have been a setback they never recovered from. He’d shrugged it off, did his rehab and then followed in his father’s footsteps and entered law enforcement, excelling and quickly moving up the ranks.

He’d been heavily recruited by a government agency, but Beau had been quick to snatch him up, his gut telling him it was the right decision. There was a ruthlessness and darkness to Zack that Beau sensed more than saw outright. His gaze missed nothing, always calculating, taking note and processing at lightning speed. For some this might be a warning sign. A reason
not
to hire him on. But Beau had witnessed the difference in Zack when it came to victims and the people they hunted.

He was infinitely gentle with the innocent, but was ice-cold when it came to taking down the monsters who preyed on the innocent. He was perfect for Devereaux security and their expanding network.

Caleb leaned back, his expression speculative as he eyed his brother. “So why are we looking at this exactly?”

The others assembled had similar questioning looks. Zack’s was hard, though. Beau could feel the same anger that simmered in his own veins radiating through Zack.

“It doesn’t bother you that a defenseless woman could have been killed?” Beau asked mildly.

Even as he spoke, his attention went back to the frame that was frozen over Arial Rochester’s delicate, terrified features. He couldn’t explain why he was more bothered by this attack than he was about others. And in their business, they’d seen a lot, even in the short time they’d been in business.

“I’m more interested in the ‘freak’ windstorm and the flying bricks,” Eliza murmured. “Since posted on YouTube, this video has gone viral with over ten million views in twenty-four hours. News networks across the company have picked it up. Speculation is running rampant as to how she managed to fend off three attackers without so much as a weapon.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Dane said in his calm, implacable tone.

Eliza snorted, knowing full well he spoke the truth. In light of all that had happened with Caleb and Ramie, this looked like simple child’s play.

Beau continued to study the wide, frightened eyes of the small woman. Her arms were wrapped protectively around herself and there was panic evident in her every feature.
After
the threat to her had been eliminated.

Wouldn’t she have been relieved? Some hint of relief or even upset? Reaction to her close brush with death. Instead she looked even
more
terrified than she had when confronted with the arrogant little assholes.

There was something about the entire thing that bothered him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. But the surge of anger over the attack of such a small, vulnerable-looking woman pissed him off. He usually approached his job impassively, never letting his emotions rule him or get in the way of his actions. Protection required absolutely no room for error. No mistakes. No letting emotion result in hasty, stupid decisions that could get someone killed.

“So do you think she has psychic abilities?” Caleb asked, addressing the obvious elephant in the room.

Beau shrugged. “Maybe. It’s possible. She certainly caused a stir and the evidence is pretty inexplicable. But then again, it could very well simply be a freak occurrence and maybe she was scared because even she didn’t understand what was going on.”

“Or maybe she was worried about discovery,” Zack said, speaking up for the first time in his gruff voice.

Beau had had the same thought.

“Well, if she was worried about discovery then I’d say she’s a hell of a lot more worried now,” Eliza said grimly.

The Devereauxs were intimately acquainted with the fear of discovery. Their younger sister, Tori, had psychic ability and they’d shielded her from public scrutiny her entire life. Caleb’s wife was also psychic, her “gift” more of a curse than a blessing. And while her abilities were known, Caleb went to great lengths to keep her out of the public eye and he made damn sure that the many requests for Ramie’s help were filtered through the security firm and never reached Ramie.

Ramie still hadn’t fully recovered from her brush with death. Neither had Caleb. Beau wasn’t certain Ramie would ever be able to use her talents again. She’d seen far too much death, experienced too much pain and devastation and had barely survived with her sanity intact. Caleb was well aware of that fact, and he’d do whatever it took to ensure his wife was never at risk again.

“We need to focus on other matters—business matters,” Caleb said pointedly. “While this is a subject of interest, that’s all it is. We aren’t involved in the case. We have clients who deserve our undivided attention.”

With that, the meeting shifted its focus to their current client load and assignments. Planning and organizing, deciding who headed what as well as reviewing new requests that had recently come in.

Beau couldn’t quite shake the incident from his mind and he wasn’t sure why. But it bothered him. It bothered him a hell of a
lot
.

SEVEN

ARIAL
knew she couldn’t wait a moment longer. Fear and anxiety ran uncontrollably through her heart, freezing blood as it pumped furiously to keep up with the stringent demands of her chaotic mind and thoughts.

We’ll be an hour, two at the most, baby.

It was what her father had said right before escorting her mother to a vehicle discreetly parked with easy access to at least three exit points from the large house owned by one of the many dummy corporations her father had funneled most of his properties and assets through.

Her father hadn’t been thrilled, an understatement for sure, when her mom insisted on going with him. He’d wanted both women under constant guard. Her mother wasn’t leaving the shopping for Ari’s necessities to her husband and neither of her parents would even consider exposing Ari to the public eye.

Ari had very recognizable features and would most certainly be identified because not only were the local news and media in a frenzy over the anonymous video but the rest of the country as well. It was only after her mother had threatened to go alone to shop for her baby that her father had grudgingly capitulated, because there was no way in hell he was allowing his wife—or his daughter—to go anywhere without him.

Oddly enough, her mother was perfectly content to allow her husband to pick out
her
clothing. She’d said more than once over the years that her husband knew what looked good on her better than she did and he loved spoiling his wife. Wearing clothes chosen by him seemed to represent a tangible sign to him of his possession.

When it came to Ari, however, her mom was adamant about shopping for
her
baby. It was something special she liked to do for her daughter. And it was her way of spoiling Ari since her husband shamelessly spoiled them both.

But why weren’t they back yet? Why hadn’t she heard from them? In her heart she knew that something terrible had to have happened for them to stay gone so long and for them not to contact her. She was sick with worry, the possibilities endless as to why they hadn’t returned, and she was torturing herself with every single one of them.

It was now long past time stores stayed open and she knew her father would have hurried her mother through the process and be anxious to return home to Ari, where he could be assured of both his wife’s and daughter’s safety.

Her father—or her mother—would never cause Ari stress or fear. She knew that for the absolute truth it was. And they wouldn’t have wanted to be gone long from her. Especially her father, because he was most at ease when he could see his “girls” and know they were safe.

So something terrible had to have happened. It was the only reasonable explanation and she was utterly paralyzed by terror and grief because she couldn’t lose them. She couldn’t! They were her lifeline. Her support system. Her anchor, her rock.

It might seem ridiculous for a twenty-four-year-old woman to still be so dependent on her parents, but it was what they wanted—what she wanted. In an uncertain world and living every day in fear of discovery, her parents were her only sanctuary.

Yes, she’d spread her wings, gone out on her own after graduating with her teaching degree. She even had her own apartment, though it was in her father’s building. She shopped for herself, went to her favorite restaurants and constructed a façade of an ordinary day-to-day life.