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 moment Ari was in
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 moment Ari was in
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