by Maya Banks
The car took off, tires squealing as it shot into traffic. She scrambled up so she could look out the back, trying to make sense of what had just happened. The street was empty of pedestrians. They’d all taken cover the moment a shot was fired.
Beau yanked her down roughly so her head was below the windows.
“Stay down, damn it! Are you just trying to get yourself killed?”
Her eyes were wide as she stared over at him to where he too was crouched low in the seat.
“What happened, Beau?”
“Sniper,” he clipped out.
Dismay and confusion swirled in Ari’s chaotic mind. It was simply too much to take it all in. Too much had happened in a very short span of time, turning her world completely upside down. Her life as she knew it had undergone a drastic change.
“I don’t understand,” she said, trying to shake the cobwebs from her brain. “It seemed so important that they not kill me. They tried to drug me when, if he’d wanted, he could have killed me on the spot. So why would they try to kill me now?”
“They weren’t shooting at you,” Beau said, his expression grim.
She shot him a puzzled look, her confusion growing by the minute.
“They were shooting at me.”
TEN
ARI was eerily silent on the drive to Beau’s residence. She was pale, obviously shaken, and worse, guilt shadowed her eyes. He knew she was beating herself up for placing him in danger and that just pissed him off.
So when she shifted restlessly and turned her gaze on him, he knew before she ever spoke precisely what she was going to say.
“I shouldn’t have involved you,” she said in a low voice. “I had no idea this was so serious. I don’t understand any of it. But I couldn’t live with myself if someone was killed because they were helping me. I think the only reasonable thing to do is give them what they want. Me.”
“Shut up and stop being a goddamn martyr,” he said rudely.
He knew he was being belligerent when he should be more understanding and compassionate with her. She was clearly at her rope’s end and was on the verge of collapsing and she didn’t need him being a surly asshole to her. But it angered him to think of such a vulnerable, innocent woman in the clutches of some son of a bitch out there who planned God only knew what to do to her.
She flinched at the reprimand and he felt instant guilt when he saw the flash of hurt in her eyes. She masked it quickly, but not before he saw that his words had struck her like a dart.
“I’m not trying to be a martyr or overly dramatic,” she said in a low voice.
Sadness clung not only to her features, but to her words, and swamped her vibrant eyes, turning them from the nearly neon, electric natural glow to a more dull, sedate blue-green.
“I just don’t know what else to do. My parents are everything to me. My only family. They’ve given up so much for me my entire life. My powers impacted their lives even more than mine because they always made sure I was happy and safe and it wasn’t until I was much older that I understood the sacrifices they’d made for me.
“My mother calls me their miracle child. After my parents married they tried, unsuccessfully, to have a child. My mother was young, though, and my father wasn’t in a hurry. He would have been happy with just my mother if it ever came to that. But she desperately wanted to have a child.
“After countless miscarriages and my mother deciding to stop trying because the grief grew harder to bear with each child they lost, she got pregnant with me. I’m their only child. My mother was never able to have another. I wanted to be the perfect daughter, to somehow make up for the fact that my mother couldn’t have what she most wanted. A house full of children, love, laughter and happiness.
“They’ve always, always protected me. Sheltered me from the harsh realities of life. Maybe they didn’t do me any favors. Maybe they sheltered me too much. But I’ll always be grateful for what they’ve given me. Their love and their willingness to do anything to ensure my well-being and happiness.
“So now, when it’s them who need me, I feel utterly helpless. I don’t have the knowledge or skills to even know where to begin looking for them. So when I say that I feel like my only option is to surrender to these people, whoever they are, I’m not being dramatic and I’m not being a martyr. I’m a woman who loves her parents more than life and will do whatever it takes to have them back. Safe. Even if it means my own life.”
Sincerity rang in her words. Her utter conviction was evident in every single feature. Her eyes glowed once more but with purpose. Determination.
She didn’t deserve his censure. It was clear that Arial had never had to face the harsher realities of life, as she’d said moments earlier. She simply couldn’t comprehend that her parents would be used to get to her and it was obvious that she absolutely meant what she said when she’d firmly stated that she would do whatever it took, even if it meant trading her life for the lives of her mother and father.
That kind of selflessness rarely existed anymore. Beau was used to seeing the worst in people, not the good. His sister and sister-in-law had suffered the unspeakable at the hands of sick, twisted monsters. Evil was prevalent everywhere. In every walk of life. In those no one would ever suspect. Yet evil, the capacity for evil, existed in most everyone. True goodness, the kind that went soul deep, was a rarity. Most people wouldn’t be as selfless as Ari appeared to be, and he didn’t doubt her sincerity even for a second. She was utterly serious and that was going to make his job that much harder to keep her out of harm’s way while he and his men tracked down her parents.
“I apologize,” Beau said, hoping his words were every bit as sincere as hers. “It just enrages me that you’d value your life so little that you’d literally surrender yourself into their hands. It doesn’t have to come to that. I need you to trust me. Your father evidently trusted me and Caleb. Enough that he told you to seek us out if you were ever in trouble and he couldn’t provide help himself. So trust me not only to find your parents, but to protect you as well. And promise me you won’t do anything hasty because, Ari, you have to understand, even if you had allowed yourself to be taken, they would likely kill your parents once they had what they wanted.”
Ari paled, all the color leaching from her face until it was chalky white.
“I know this is hard to hear,” he said, lowering his voice to a more soothing note. “But you have to face reality. Whoever these people are, they clearly mean business and just as obviously think nothing about killing anyone who gets in their way, as evidenced by the fact a sniper tried to put a bullet through my head just a few minutes ago.”
“Do you think they’re even still alive?” she whispered, choked with emotion.
She looked so lost and terrified that it was instinct to pull her across the seat and into his arms. He hugged her, feeling the rapid pattering of her pulse against his chest. Her respirations were shallow and just as rapid as her pulse.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on Beau. He wasn’t a hugger nor was he one who usually offered comfort. He was the arrogant asshole of the family, the one who always said what no one wanted to hear but needed to hear nonetheless. Such was the case with Ari right now.
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 mome
nt 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 fuck?” 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.
He could feel the power emanating from her in waves. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. And it wasn’t as though he were new to psychic powers or even a skeptic. He’d witnessed firsthand unusual psychic phenomena.
But when one of the cars bearing down on them from the front suddenly lifted into the air, turned on its side and slammed into the guardrail, Beau’s mouth dropped open. His gaze shot between Ari’s strained features to the wreck they were bearing down on closer and closer.
Blood suddenly dripped from Ari’s nose. It slid silently from her ears and her body trembled as if in the grips of something terrible and all-consuming. And then she was suddenly pitched forward. She slammed against him, rocking them both forward. He barely had time to wrap his arms protectively around her and roll her underneath him when the entire world went upside down.
Pain splintered through one of his legs and his shoulders. The sound of metal crunching, the terrible scraping sound of an overturned car still sliding along asphalt freeway. Beau was only conscious of the small woman in his arms and his worry that he’d utterly failed to protect her as he’d promised.
ELEVEN
PAIN surfaced and with it the knowledge that Beau was alive. He cautiously moved first his arms and then his legs, relieved when all seemed in operating condition with only a few twinges that signaled bruising but not breaks. At least he hoped so, because they were still in great peril.
He reached automatically for Ari, opening his eyes to examine the turmoil of their surroundings. Ari was climbing awkwardly into the front seat, her hands going to Brent to gently shake him to ascertain whether he was conscious or not.
“My leg is trapped,” Brent reported grimly to Ari. “But my hands are perfectly capable of working. Grab the gun from my holster and hand it to me. There’s another in the center console. You need to keep it on you at all times. Be careful, they’re loaded. Don’t hesitate to shoot if one of those bastards gets near you. The Devereauxs will ensure that none of this falls back on you or that you’re even remotely involved. Your first priority has to be protecting yourself. At any cost.”
“Ari, you stay put,” Beau bit out, voicing his directive as a harsh command.
She glanced back, relief stark in her eyes as her gaze swept over him. As if she’d been afraid that he’d been seriously injured or killed.
“They’re coming,” she said quietly. “I need to get out so I can draw them away. They’ll kill you and Brent. You know that.”
It did funny things to his chest—things he didn’t like—that she seemed so concerned for him. It was his goddamn job to protect her. Not for her to protect him.
Brent’s curses mixed with Beau’s own. Beau’s orders to her to remain here where he could protect her went unheeded as she slithered through the shattered passenger side window, gun in her hand.
Beau fumbled around for his phone, latching on to it when he found it lying just inches from his hand. He punched in Zack’s number, knowing he would be able to get here faster than Dane or Eliza.
“Brent and I are down,” Beau said with no preamble. “We need extrication stat. I have a client with me and she’s vulnerable. They want her alive. Everyone else, not so much.”
“On my way,” Zack clipped out and then th
e connection went silent.
There was little point in wasting time giving Zack their exact location. All of the vehicles owned and driven by DSS had GPS that enabled any of the operatives to know where they were at any given time. And Zack was solid. Dependable. Yes, Beau probably should have contacted Dane, since Dane was over the recruits and he answered only to Caleb and Beau. But Beau trusted Zack completely and knew that he’d waste no time getting here as soon as humanly possible. And well, there were times when Beau wondered if Zack was human. He seemed to operate with ruthlessness and a cool head at all times. Nothing much fazed him. He took it all in stride and did his job effortlessly. He was precisely the kind of men that DSS needed to fill their ranks with.
Beau awkwardly made his way from the back to the front, his large body not fitting between the crumpled hood and seats as easily as Ari’s much smaller frame had done. But the hell he’d leave her alone to face the bastards after her.
“How bad is it?” Beau demanded as he squeezed himself the last bit.
“I don’t think anything is broken,” Brent said through gritted teeth that told Beau regardless of what the other man admitted, Brent was in pain.
“I’ll cover you,” Beau said. “Just stay put and don’t move. You may have sustained spinal injuries so wait until an ambulance arrives.”
“How the hell you going to explain this one?” Brent asked. “You saw what happened as clearly as I did. I know I didn’t imagine it.”
“No, you didn’t,” Beau admitted. “It was Ari. She saved our asses and is still trying to save our asses. I’m getting out of here so she isn’t facing those assholes alone.”
Beau winced when some of the jagged glass cut into his skin as he shimmied his way out and onto the concrete freeway. He immediately looked for Ari and saw her a few feet away, taking cover behind their overturned SUV, a gun that seemed far too large for her small hands gripped tightly in her palm.
The vehicle that had hit them from behind had flown by the wreckage and even now was doing a quick U-turn, uncaring of the oncoming traffic. The other vehicle that had approached from the front had skidded to a halt a hundred feet away and both driver and passenger side doors were open, men taking cover but with weapons drawn and aimed in the direction of Beau and Ari. And Brent.
Goddamn it. Brent was a sitting duck.
Ari turned, her eyes cold and ruthless. He could feel her fury. It crackled between them like an electrical current. She tossed the gun to him and he caught it on reflex.
“Cover me,” she said softly.
Before he could open his mouth to protest and tell her to stay her ass right where she was, she stood, presenting an open target to their pursuers.
“Goddamn it, Ari! Stay down!”
“They want me alive,” she said softly. “They won’t shoot me. You and Brent on the other hand they probably don’t give a shit about and I’m not going to just let them take you out because you were protecting me. Not when I have the power to at least slow them down even if I don’t completely stop them.”
Ignoring his further protests, she locked her gaze on the threat in front of her. Again, he saw blood drip from her nose, seep from her ears and her fingers curled into tight, bloodless fists at her side. Her entire body was rigid and he could only imagine the awful strain she was experiencing. She’d told him that until recently she hadn’t used her powers at all. That she’d tried to blend in, be average, nothing special. As if a woman like her, whether she had psychic powers or not, could ever blend in. Not with her beauty and distinctive features.
More blood slid down her neck as the guns trained on them wrenched themselves free from the men’s grasps. They floated effortlessly through the air, one landing right beside the driver’s side door where Brent could reach it, the other dropping harmlessly to the ground in front of Beau.
The vehicle that had executed the U-turn barreled forward, on a direct collision course with the already mangled vehicle with Brent trapped inside. Beau watched helplessly, because there was nothing he could do to prevent his man from being more seriously injured and likely killed. The sons of bitches after Ari meant business and they’d eliminate anyone who stood in the way of their goal.
Every vein distended in Ari’s arms, her neck, even her forehead as if she was experiencing crippling pain as she focused on the speeding vehicle. And indeed, her features were marred with agony, a nearly silent moan escaping her tightly pursed lips. But as with the other vehicle she’d taken out single-handedly, it suddenly lifted into the air and turned on its side before crashing heavily onto the freeway. It skidded the last fifty yards to come to rest a mere car length in front of the downed vehicle Beau and Ari had taken cover behind.
To further ensure they wouldn’t be able to get out, her face contorted once more and the unscathed doors facing upward simply crumpled inward, making it impossible for anyone to escape.
Her power was incredible—like nothing he’d ever witnessed before—but he knew it was costing her dearly. He’d seen psychic bleeds before. Knew they were caused by intense focus and concentration. The blood—and obvious strain on her features—concerned Beau greatly. She could easily suffer a stroke or incur a massive brain bleed as a result.
“Ari,” he said in a gentle tone, reaching up to run his hand soothingly down her arm. “Honey, you need to calm down. Slow your breathing. You’re bleeding. You’ve taken out two of their vehicles. I can handle the rest. You need to get down and out of sight until my people get here.”
Either she didn’t hear or she chose to ignore him. The two men taking cover behind the doors of the vehicle quickly scrambled back inside, reversing at great speed before performing a screeching turn and roaring away, for now, retreating.
Beau sighed in relief and then carefully circled her slender arm with his fingers, drawing her back toward the relative safety of their overturned vehicle.
She blinked in obvious confusion and then she frowned when she stared at the carnage around her. Traffic had slowed considerably as it had to navigate through three wrecked vehicles. Though there was plenty of rubbernecking, no one actually stopped to offer help, something Beau was grateful for. The very last thing they needed was more attention. He willed Zack to get there quickly so they could move Ari somewhere safe and under constant guard.
The police would most certainly be involved, although the vehicle Brent had been driving wasn’t traceable. He doubted the other vehicles would net the authorities any more information than his would. The authorities would likely assume gang-related activity or drug trafficking. It didn’t matter to him as long as Ari didn’t suffer even more exposure as a result of her unleashing her powers.
When no movement was forthcoming from the two wrecked vehicles that had pursued them, Beau instructed Ari to stay down and then he crawled back into the interior of the vehicle to determine the level of injury Brent had endured.
“I’m okay,” Brent muttered. “Damn leg is just trapped by the dashboard. When
