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Garrick’s phone buzzed, and he checked it.
“All right. I have to get to Notes anyway. I’ll be back later. Keep her inside. No more adventures for her today.”
“Agreed.” Bastian put his focus back on the screen. There had to be something there that could help him figure a way out of starting a war back home and keeping Ariella safe.
There just had to be.
CHAPTER19
Ariella
* * *
It wasclose to ten o’clock when the bedroom door creaked open, and Garrick and Bastian entered. Ariella sat in the corner of the room in the oversized armchair, reading an article on sex trafficking on her phone. Her stomach swam in nausea at the idea her father would willingly turn a blind eye to this sort of horror. He had daughters himself; how could he not put a stop to these disgusting people? And he wanted her to marry into a family that had their hands in it, too.
“What are you reading?” Bastian asked as he tossed his suit jacket to the side, then reached for the top buttons of his shirt.
“A news article.” She swiped the screen away and put the phone down on her lap. “Why didn’t you just tell me Ares was into that sort of business?”
Garrick raised an eyebrow and looked at Bastian.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Me? Or my father?”
Bastian dropped his shirt and stalked over to her. Even under the white tank undershirt, she could see his chest and abdomen muscles work as he moved. He pinched his lips together when he reached her, staring directly into her eyes. It was like he wanted to make sure she was listening.
She raised her chin a fraction, readying herself for whatever he was about to say.
“You. I was protecting you,” he said firmly. “He’s your father, and I didn’t want you to lose that, to see him as anything more than that.”
“To see him as the monster he is?” She whispered the question. She’d been sitting alone most of the day, thinking about her family, particularly her father. Of course, she’d known her father didn’t do everything above the law. She wasn’t completely ignorant, but it never crossed her mind that he would be all right with the buying and selling of young girls. Just because he didn’t take cash for the sales didn’t mean he wasn’t profiting.
“He’s no more a monster than me.” Garrick’s firm voice pulled her attention from the severity of Bastian’s stare.
“You sell women?” She asked, leaning slightly to get a look at him.
“No. My uncle did, though. It’s how my family has made most of its money. Ash put a stop to it when his father died, and he took over, but there are others in this city that continue the trade.” Garrick came to stand beside Bastian. Having these two hulking men looming over her should make her nervous. They could easily break her. But all she felt was their warmth, their strength wrapping around her.
“You can’t stop them.” She lowered her eyes. “There’s such evil in the world.” She sank back onto the chair, pulling her feet up and hugging her knees. “My aunt is involved in this. Dad always said she wasn’t to be trusted. Mom worried about her being around us when we were little girls, but no one said she was evil.”
Bastian touched her cheek. “Your father is flawed. He’s a criminal in charge of a lot of other criminals. He’s done horrible things. So have I, and so has Garrick,” he explained casually. “But none of that changes the fact that he loves you.”
She turned her eyes up to him. “We can’t let the women on that flash drive get to Caspian.”
“Stopping one shipment won’t end it,” Garrick said.
“It will end it for those women,” she argued.
“Your cousin, Peter.” Bastian took a step back. “He’ll take care of Ares, but we can interrupt the delivery. Once Ariella signs possession, it’s hers, right? She can redirect it.”
Garrick frowned. “I don’t want her near that station.”
“I’m not a little girl.” Ariella dropped her feet to the floor and shoved up to stand. “I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know what Ares’ men are capable of, Princess. If he suspects for even a second there’s an issue - he’ll nix the whole thing, or worse, he’ll take you too.” Garrick’s words might have been meant to scare her, but she couldn’t allow herself to think about those chances. Those women needed help.
“I think Bastian’s right. I’ll sign whatever I’m supposed to sign, and then I can take the girls off the train or reroute the train to a different city. This is possible.” She argued again.
