Safe at Last (Slow Burn #3)

Ari looked annoyed, though she tried to mask it. But Anna-Grace could pick up fleeting impressions from Ari’s mind, including her repeated efforts to demonstrate that she was more than Beau’s equal and she resented that he put her in a gilded cage where nothing could ever hurt her when in fact, it was she who could prevent anyone from ever hurting him. Or any other DSS agent, for that matter.

And part of her thought pattern was hurt, because a tiny part of her regarded his obstinance as lack of trust in her and her abilities, and she’d demonstrated on numerous occasions that she wasn’t weak. She was capable of awe-inspiring things.

She could protect Eliza better than any man in this room. The women knew it, acknowledged it. But the men couldn’t see past their fear to accept that.

Ramie shoved Caleb aside forcefully so she was once more standing in front of Wade. She didn’t immediately take it from him but her lips were in a determined line even as Caleb pushed forward again.

She turned to her husband, her eyes hard.

“Do not interfere,” she said in a voice that could possibly crack stone. “Eliza is in trouble. She could die. She could be dead already. And I’m the only one who can track her quickly enough to give us a chance of saving her. You do not make my decisions for me. Eliza helped me, no questions asked. She’s never asked for a single thing in return. I will not abandon her because of your misguided notion that I’m too weak to suffer temporary agony in order to get back someone who is very dear to us all.”

Caleb went stock-still. Anna-Grace wasn’t even sure he was breathing. He seemed to be waging an internal war with himself because his thoughts were so chaotic and jumbled that Anna-Grace couldn’t get a clear sense of what he was thinking. The only word that came from his subconscious was no! In a litany. Over and over. As if he couldn’t bear the thought of her suffering even for a moment.

“That explains why Ramie is here,” Beau said gruffly as he stared his wife down. “It does not explain why you are here.”

She sent him a breezy smile as her words, though lightly said, still sent a chill down Anna-Grace’s spine as they filled the room.

“Because I’m going to take these bastards out. They are no match for me and my powers. They have one of our own. I would no sooner remain behind than I would allow harm to come to any person who is important to me.”

Beau opened his mouth to argue, but Ari turned her back to him to look at Ramie.

At first, Ramie’s movements were hesitant and then more forceful as she reached for the piece of clothing from Mathew’s hand.

But Anna-Grace quickly caught the shared thought between Caleb and Beau, that once Ramie determined where Eliza was, they were in no way allowing any of the women to go anywhere and would have their men sit on them. Which was pretty stupid considering no one could keep Ari anywhere she didn’t want to be. Anna-Grace rolled her eyes but she too sent the women a look and hoped they could sense what she was saying with her expression.

A small smile flirted at the corners of Ari’s mouth. She was far enough away from Beau that she could whisper to Anna-Grace and not be heard.

“I may not be able to read minds, but I know my husband very well, and I knew from the beginning he was going to throw the mother of all hissy fits about me going anywhere. Even though I’m far more capable of death and destruction than any of his men are.”

Her expression softened a brief moment as she looked over at her husband.

“It’s just that . . .” Her expression became wry. “I can’t fault him for his fear. I fear for him every time he goes out on a dangerous assignment. I almost didn’t make it out alive when we last encountered these fanatics. So I understand his fear. But I’ve grown stronger since then. I’m more self-aware. I know my limitations, or at least the ones I’ve discovered so far. But I also know that there is more that I don’t even know about, that I haven’t discovered yet. He’s just going to have to deal because I’m not staying home on this one.”

Anna-Grace’s admiration for Ari grew even greater. And she only had to look at the resolve in Ramie’s features to know that she would present a united front with Anna-Grace and Ari.

If only Zack were back.

Anna-Grace went still. For a moment she didn’t even breathe as the shock of the unconscious thought floated through her mind. When had she shifted from hatred and fear to a sense of not feeling safe when he was gone?

She rubbed at her temple, but quickly lowered her hand when she realized it was shaking. The thought had rattled her. And right now she couldn’t afford to be shaken. Not when Eliza’s life was at stake.

It seemed the entire room sucked in their breaths, the moment Ramie finally took the article of clothing from Wade’s hand. Caleb immediately stepped forward, inserting himself between his wife and Wade. And becoming a barrier to the rest of those assembled as well.