In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2)

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 fa?ade of an ordinary day-to-day life.

She was highly intelligent, excelling in her studies. She had a photographic memory and could store data in her brain much like a computer did. And yet with her superior intelligence and her psychic powers that she hadn’t truly tested to see just how powerful she was, she was still fragile and vulnerable. She knew it. She hated it. But she accepted it, because it was who she was and she couldn’t change it no matter how much she wanted to.

She wanted to be strong. She wanted to live life without forever looking over her shoulder and suppressing her true self. It was no way to live even if her parents surrounded her with their love, always protecting her. At some point she had to step from her parents’ shadow and take on the world herself.

She sighed, closing her eyes after checking her watch for the hundredth time.

The two hours her father had assured her they’d be back in had turned into three and then four and five until every minute seemed an eternity. At first Ari hadn’t been concerned, because above all else her father was lethal and fiercely protective of her mother. He’d never allow harm to come to either his wife or his daughter.

He’d left a security detail with Ari, surrounding her, the house. She didn’t see them but she sensed their presence. Their watchful eyes. It should have reassured her, but with every passing hour that her parents remained gone, her anxiety mounted until she was literally paralyzed with fear. And indecision.

She was exhausted, unable to sleep with her parents gone and her not knowing if they were dead or alive. Now dawn crept across the sky, bathing her room in pale shades of lavender. She’d tried to call her father countless times. Her mother too. And each time both attempts had gone straight to voice mail.

She knew she had to do something. But what? She didn’t even know where her father had taken her mother to shop, so tracing their route was impossible.

What if they’d been in an accident? Wouldn’t someone at least check their cell phones, see all the missed calls and at least contact her to let her know if they were in the hospital? Or . . . dead?

Frigid cold gripped her insides. Her chest tightened to the point of pain, and she struggled to squeeze air into her burning lungs.

They couldn’t be dead. And if they’d been in an accident, one of them would have called her. Unless they were incapable of making a call. Unconscious. Fighting for their lives?

Her knotted fist went to her mouth, her teeth sinking into her knuckles. Oh God. She couldn’t imagine her world without her parents in it. They had to be okay. They had to.

She couldn’t stand it another minute. She’d go find one of the men keeping silent watch over her. Her father had brought two of his detail with him and her mother. Wouldn’t the men have known if something awful had happened? And if they knew, then why the hell hadn’t they informed her and, better yet, taken her to wherever her parents were?

She dressed hurriedly, packing a light bag in case she needed to immediately rush to her parents’ side. She took only what was absolutely necessary and threw everything into an oversized tote before slinging the strap over her shoulder.

Then she headed for the front entrance.

Ari stepped past the front door, shutting it firmly behind her. She clutched her bag and glanced furtively around as she moved farther down the walkway to where another vehicle was parked. Thank God her father had ensured that she had keys to every vehicle they owned in case she ever needed to use one of them.

Her gaze skimmed over the grounds, carefully observing for any sign of the men posted around the perimeter. The wind blew, ruffling her long hair, and she reached up with her hand to shove it from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

“Hello!” she called loudly. “I know you’re there. I need your help. Please.”

Only silence greeted her. No answering call. No one striding from nowhere to suddenly appear at her side. Maybe they’d been called away because her parents had needed them?

She tried once more, louder this time, until her voice cracked. And once again, there was no response. With an aching sigh, she trudged farther down the pathway, resigning herself to the fact she was flying blind.

She took the inside curve of the sidewalk that skated outward to where the other vehicles were parked. Dismay made her freeze momentarily because while she had several keys on her key ring, she wasn’t at all sure what key went to which vehicle.

She paused, shimmying the strap of her tote bag down so she could reach in to retrieve the heavy clump of keys lying in one of the pockets. When she looked up again she let out a startled gasp and instinctively took a step backward.