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I hold up a hand. “I do.”
A rough breath leaves her as she sags against her desk. “I’m just glad she’s safe. Her father… that asshole… he’s off his rocker.” She makes an angry slash with her hand.
I reach for her arm, turning the underside up. There are small round bandages dotting her skin. “He did this to you?”
“Technically, a glass did this to me, but he threw it at me. And a dish. Several of them, actually. I ducked.”
The fucker.
“Come work for me,” I say quickly.
Beside me, Declan shifts and makes a sound. He’s as surprised as Ariel.
After a few long seconds of her looking at me like I’m an insect under a microscope, she says, “Where in the world would I do that?”
“I bought an estate near Winnetka. I need someone to run the house. I think you’re the woman for the job.”
Ariel’s so still that I know she’s not breathing. Her eyes fall to the floor. When she looks back at me, there’s a burning distrust in her expression. “You shouldn’t promise things if they aren’t true, Kieran.”
“I never lie.”
“But you withhold the truth,” she bites out. “What are you up to, fucking around with Coghlan’s world?”
“I’m going to shake the foundation, that’s all I can say. But the offer to work for the estate is as real as it comes. I know Carra would like nothing more than for you to be there.”
She glances at Declan for some kind of reassurance.
His bulky shoulders rise in a shrug. “I’m just as much in the dark as you,” he offers. “But I know Kieran is a good man. I’ll bet my soul on that.”
She’s visibly shaken now. Clutching at her chest, she says, “I hope so, because if anyone deserves a good man, it’s Carra. That girl has been through hell.”
A string of questions unfurls on my tongue. Between Declan and Ariel, someone knows the answers to all of them. They’ve been too close to Carra not to know about the pregnancy. They might have even been part of her hiding it.
“She’s being looked after now,” I say instead of demanding answers. “And you can be as well if you trust me.”
Pacing behind the desk, Ariel drops into her chair as her teeth worry at her lip. “I don’t want to have another run in with the Boss. I think he’s a ticking time bomb. Since the kitchen spectacle happened, I’ve been trying to figure out where I can go… what’s next. Because staying here is just too dangerous.”
I kick myself for not thinking about her safety sooner. “How soon can you leave?”
Shock widens her eyes for a second, but it’s replaced by something close to hope. “As in just walk out?”
I nod and motion around the office to the pictures on the wall, the plant in the corner. “I know you need time to gather your personal things, but would you be able to leave what? Tonight? Tomorrow?”
“I guess I could have everything packed in a few hours.”
I nod. “Do you have a place to stay tonight? I need to take care of a couple of things before bringing you in, but tomorrow morning, everything should be ready for you.” Carra would want her safe and close, but bringing Ariel in needs to be cleared with Max first, and this gives him time to make any changes he might need.
Declan says, “You can stay with me, if you want.”
Ariel’s eyes bug out of her head. “Wh-what?”
His smile is sly when he says, “I have two rooms in my house. You’re welcome to share mine or take the other.”
“I... You... We... I...”
He laughs and shrugs. “Just saying.”
She huffs a breath, closes her eyes for a second, then turns to me.
