In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2) (25 page)

Then familiar arms stole around her body and she was drawn against Beau’s chest, though she was still facing Zack. She had no knowledge of what had occurred behind her. She’d only been focused on escape. If words had been exchanged, apologies acknowledged, she hadn’t heard, but then she hadn’t really been listening because she was mentally bracing herself as she recognized that this was goodbye.

Warm lips nuzzled into her hair just above her ear.

“Don’t go, Ari,” Beau whispered. “Just . . . don’t go.
Please
.”

Shocked that he would ever beg anyone for anything, she swiftly turned in his arms, staring intently into his eyes to try to decipher just exactly
what
he was asking. He made his request sound so . . .
permanent
. It wasn’t spoken as though he were simply trying to get her to stay until his mission was accomplished.

Actual vulnerability shadowed his eyes, astonishing her almost as much as the fact he’d begged. She had an instant image of him on his knees, staring up at her, sincerity burning in his beautiful, dark eyes. Sorrow filled her because never would she want this proud, arrogant man on his knees for
anyone
. Unless, of course, he was proposing marriage.

Whoa. Talk about jumping to major, far-fetched conclusions! She shook her head to rid herself of all the clutter that had seemed to accumulate. It was an unfortunate side effect of using her powers, one she, of course, had never been aware of since she’d refuse to
ever
test them.

And then she felt the betraying warm slide from her nose and she glanced up at Beau in dismay just as the dull throb in her head that had gone unnoticed until now, because she’d been concentrating so fiercely on everything else, made itself known in a jagged burst of pain as if it had been caged and suddenly burst free of constraints.

She bit into her lip to prevent a moan escaping, afraid that any sound would simply make her head explode. She lifted her hands to cover her ears and simply held them there. The roar in her ears grew louder and louder until she could bear it no longer. The room seemed to spin around her while she stood still, making her so dizzy she feared she’d be sick. She swayed, closing her eyes to make the constant motion stop.

Beau swore violently and she winced, nearly screaming as the sound, magnified a hundred times, speared through her head.

She let out a whimper, no longer able to control her sounds of distress. “Please,” she whispered so softly she wasn’t sure she’d even be heard, but to her it sounded like she’d screamed it. “Please don’t talk. No sound. Beau, I’m going to be sick!”

“Nobody say a goddamn word,” Beau bit out, turning away from her so she didn’t feel the impact of his words directly.

When he turned, she wobbled precariously and suddenly a foreign set of hands clamped down around her shoulders, holding her steady. But even that didn’t prevent her legs from giving out. She shot downward, cringing and bracing for impact, knowing the jarring would split her head wide open, or at least that’s the way it would feel.

Before she hit the floor she was suddenly lifted and she immediately shut her eyes again as the room spun wildly out of control. Zack. She’d all but forgotten he was there, that he’d been the one who’d prevented her from leaving, the moment she’d turned away from him to face Beau.

“What the hell?” Beau murmured softly.

She cracked open one eye, wincing as the light seemed to pierce her eyeball like a needle. Beau had turned back around, his dark eyes even darker with concern as he viewed her cradled in Zack’s arms.

“She almost took a header,” Zack said grimly.

In response to the softly worded explanation, Ari let out another low sound of distress.

Beau immediately closed the distance between them and very carefully took her from Zack’s arms.

“Lay your head on my shoulder, honey,” Beau whispered. “I’m going to take you back to bed and Zack is going to get your medicine. Everything is going to be all right. I promise. Try to relax and school your thoughts. Focus on something soothing and relaxing, something happy and mellow. Or just blank your mind completely if you can manage that.”

The low cadence of his voice, while roaringly loud, was oddly soothing. Or perhaps it was the vibration, the low rumble from his chest that was a balm to her frayed nerves.

He carried her like she was the most precious, fragile thing in the world, like she . . .
mattered
, careful not to jar her in any way. The covers were still in disarray and he laid her down onto the mattress and then pulled and straightened the sheets around her, pausing only briefly to ensure her bandage was still in place underneath her shirt.

She was barely aware when Zack entered and she turned her face into the pillow, trying to muffle the sound of the jangle of pills in the bottle as Zack shook two of them out and reached over to carefully put them to her lips.

“Open up, sweetheart,” Zack murmured. “I brought you a little milk to take them with since you didn’t eat breakfast.”

She vaguely wondered why Beau wasn’t administering the medication but then her unspoken inquiry was answered when Beau very gently lifted her head, just enough so she could open her mouth and allow the pills to be placed between her lips. She was astonished by the effort it took to simply roll them to the back of her throat with her tongue. Then Beau lifted her the barest of inches more and Zack held the glass to her mouth and tilted it, careful not to allow too much of it into her mouth. Which was good because the pain had made her so nauseated that she feared anything she swallowed would simply come right back up.

The task accomplished, Zack withdrew and Beau sat on the edge of the bed, running his hand down her hair, pushing it away from her face in a soothing motion.

“Hurt,” Ari said. It was the only word she could muster. Something felt terribly wrong, but she couldn’t articulate what or for that matter anything at all.

“I know, honey. I’m so sorry. I should have flattened the jackass the minute he opened his mouth. He had no right to attack you that way,” Beau said darkly.

“He’s . . . brother . . .”

Her intended admonishment that Caleb was Beau’s brother and nothing was more important than family had narrowed to the only two words she managed to form. But it was enough to get her message across.

Beau stroked her hair, not responding to her words. He acted as though he hadn’t heard them. Or perhaps he simply chose to ignore them all together.

“After the medicine has had time to work, I’m going to get you out of these clothes so you’re more comfortable,” Beau said, continuing the soothing caresses up and down her body. “Try to relax, honey. I know it’s hard, but try for me.”

“Asked . . . me . . .”

A brief look of confusion skittered across his forehead as he leaned in closer so he could hear her barely audible words.

“What did I ask you, Ari?”

“To . . . stay. What . . . did . . . mean?”

His expression softened and his hand went to her forehead, his thumb pressing into her brow and rubbing along the lines, applying just enough pressure that it was soothing.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he said simply.

“Why?”

Her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier and she didn’t want to go under yet. She wanted to hear
why
. Sluggishly her eyelids fluttered, half closed, and then the room seemed to go dimmer and dimmer.

“Beau?” she asked fearfully, wondering why the room was going dark.

“I’m here,” he said. “Medicine working yet?”

“Why?” she persisted, determined not to surrender to the pull of the medication until he answered her question.

He hesitated, seeming to wage an internal battle, almost as if he couldn’t decide whether to tell her or not. She reached blindly, searching for his hand. Her anchor.

His hand closed around hers and immediately warmth spread up her arm and into her chest. He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to her palm.

“Because you’re mine,” he said simply.

TWENTY-ONE

BEAU
stalked out of the bedroom, his face set in stone. He knew the others had moved to the living room because he heard voices in that direction. He was so pissed he literally couldn’t see straight. Rage formed a red haze that made his vision cloudy.

As soon as he strode into the living room Dane looked up and said, “Oh shit.”

“Beau, man, let it go,” Zack softly advised.

Ignoring them all he headed straight for where Caleb stood rubbing his throat from where Beau had pinned him to the wall, blocking his brother’s airway. Caleb barely had time to look up before Beau flattened him with a punch to his jaw.

Pandemonium ensued. Beau followed Caleb down, intending to yank him up by the shirt to look him in the eye. But Caleb connected with a roundhouse kick from a supine position, knocking Beau back several feet as he stumbled to maintain his footing.

It gave Caleb enough time to bolt to his feet and he glared at his younger brother, rubbing his jaw where Beau had landed the punch.

“That’s the only one you get,” Caleb warned.

“Says you,” Beau said in a menacing soft voice.

“That’s enough!” Ramie said sharply.

She shot across the room and stepped between the two men just as Beau advanced to close the distance between him and Caleb. Beau pulled up, not wanting his very petite, small-boned sister-in-law to take an inadvertent hit. If he accidentally hit
her
as hard as he’d punched his brother, he’d very likely break her jaw.

Instead he stood there, seething, fists down at his sides, his fingers flexing, curling and uncurling, itching to pound on his brother some more. He couldn’t even look at Caleb without unfettered rage overwhelming all else.

“He was wrong, Beau,” Ramie acknowledged quietly.

“The hell I was,” Caleb said, a stubborn set to his jaw.

Ramie rounded on him, but not before Beau got a good look at her expression and it was positively murderous. He watched in surprise as Ramie dressed him down and informed him that he did not make decisions for her and that if she wanted to help Ari then she damn well would.

“Swear to God, if you cause so much as one moment of pain to my wife, I will take you apart,” Caleb said, his face red, eyes blazing.

“You hypocritical son of a bitch,” Beau said softly.

Ramie started to speak up but Beau gently put his hand on her shoulder but let it slide away quickly before she picked up on his utter fury. It was a motion for her to stand down, one she acknowledged with a short nod, but she remained solidly between the two men.

“Did you not see what you
did
to Ari?” Beau demanded. “That woman is desperate, terrified and alone. The only family she has vanished without a trace and you
attacked
her. Worse, you made her feel
unwanted
. What is
wrong
with you? And that wasn’t enough for you. You kept poking at her, so that she felt completely defenseless and when she uses her powers it is debilitating for her. You ought to know all about psychic bleeds. Only yours weren’t nearly as bad as the ones she suffers. And if that’s not bad enough, the pain she suffers is horrific. She already had a brain bruise before you brutalized her tonight. I just put her to bed and she couldn’t even say more than two words because she was so weak and even the lightest sound sent shards of glass through her head. And I had to sit there and watch because there’s not a damn thing I can do to help her besides shove a pill down her throat and hope she gives in to oblivion quickly so she can escape her reality. Now, you fucking tell me, big brother. When did you become an asshole who verbally beats up on a fragile, vulnerable young woman? Oh wait. I remember. You’ve had plenty of experience given how you forced Ramie’s compliance when she quite plainly told you no.”

Ramie paled and the color leached from Caleb’s cheeks as pain shadowed his features, shadows collecting in his eyes. Beau wished like hell Ramie wasn’t in the middle of them. That his reminder to Caleb had to be stated in front of Ramie, who needed no reminder of the hell Caleb had unwittingly unleashed on her.

“Are you forgetting who her father is? That he was the last one to see our father alive?” Caleb asked hoarsely, though regret already simmered in his eyes. He cast a sorrowful look in his wife’s direction, abject apology etched on his features, and it just pissed Beau off all the more that he could feel that kind of remorse and be utterly appalled by what he’d put Ramie through, but he saw nothing wrong with brutalizing a complete innocent.

And in that instant, Beau knew he’d been right not to confide all the details of the phone call he’d received to his brother, because he would be completely ruthless and unstoppable when it came to Ari.

“So far as I can tell, Ari’s only sin was being born,” Beau said. “You’re a fucking hypocrite if you think she should be judged and held accountable for the actions of the man she calls father. Because you and I both know that our father was no saint. And if you’re going to make Ari answer for her father’s sins then you better be fucking ready to own up to ours.”

Caleb closed his eyes, but not before Beau saw that he’d scored a direct hit.

“God, I’m a dick,” Caleb said wearily. He reached for his wife as if needing to touch her, as if by touching her he’d be clean again. But it wasn’t Ramie he needed absolution from. She’d given him hers already by marrying the bastard.

“Yeah, you are. But that’s nothing new,” Beau said, a bite still to his voice.

He was still seeing Ari, hurt and then fear flashing in her eyes. Her hasty retreat from the heat of the words Caleb hurled at her like daggers. And worse . . .
defeat
. As though she had no one. No one who cared. No one to hold her. To tell her it would be okay.

And then her terror, fueling rage, the glasses and plates hurling through the air, lashing out because Caleb had hurt her and Beau hadn’t had time to intervene. She’d thought he was as much against her as the other occupants of the room who stood back, allowing Caleb’s words and actions to go unchecked.