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Larson inclined his head. “To abandon the mission and return, he’d send me my initials, the date, and X.”
Ariel’s brother held up the phone. “Looks like you’re going home.”
A conversation started up. A debate over handcuffing Larson and seeing him back to the airport. A question to him over what he’d do with the information he now had. It was only part of what Ariel knew, and in one breath condemned him, as well as giving him power.
The kidnapper shrugged. “I’ll decide that when I’m Stateside. Safe to say I can no longer work for your father, so thanks for the unemployment.”
It was agreed that Ben and Valentine would ensure he went, with Lochinvar going along for good measure.
With Larson still in cuffs, they left, the majority of the others leaving, too.
Throughout all of the discussion, I only had eyes for Ariel. This was her victory, but she seemed deflated.
Raphael drove us back to the tower, all of us lost to introspection.
This time, he parked outside the front. Eyed the scorched ground and blackened stone where my car had been torched, thankfully removed by someone so I didn’t have to look at the wreckage.
The three of us climbed the tower’s stairs, the scent of smoke still lingering in the hall, but a sense of safety regained.
In the circular living room, Raphael threw himself into a seat and spoke to his sister. “How did ye remember all of that? So much of what ye said was familiar, that was like opening a box in my mind. One I’d intentionally locked and thrown away the key.”
She curled her legs underneath herself. “Probably because he didn’t tell me any of it and I was desperate to listen. You were forced to be in the room. I went in there to gain his approval by finding any way to be helpful to him.” Ariel’s shoulders rose. “I spoke to Willow, and between her and the brief conversation with Mom, it sparked the idea that I could ruin his reputation, even though I’m in hiding. If I spoke about him publicly, revealed his alliances and all that shady shit he’d done, his business world would crumble. And that is more important to him than any of his kids.”
“What does this mean for your safety?” I asked. “Could this mean he’ll target ye?”
“Larson has that list now, and Dad will be sure to assume I wasn’t the only person on the call. I’m not scared of him.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not in hiding anymore either. None of us are, I’m just realising. We’ve been so restricted for the past six years, hell, for that matter, all of our lives. And now? Nothing we can do can make the threat of him any different, so until there’s a reason to worry, I’m just going to live.”
She reached for me. I’d sat beside her but left space, unsure of how to navigate this thing we’d found.
I hooked my arm around her and brought her close, closing my eyes briefly while I pressed my lips to the top of her head.
Then I regarded Raphael, because I’d crossed a line, and though I’d called him to tell him I’d fallen for his sister, he was my friend, and I owed him a better explanation than that.
His gaze moved between us, and he generated a wry smile. “This is new.”
Ariel pulled an awkward expression. “I promise I’m not stealing your friend. We’ll have entirely different uses for him.”
Raphael barked a surprised laugh. “God, don’t make my mind go there. I’m happy for ye. Both of ye. In fact, Jackson, can I assume you’ll stay here tonight?”
I hadn’t thought beyond the next few minutes all day.
I had no reason to stay over at the tower now. Ariel didn’t need a bodyguard with Larson gone, and she wouldn’t be here alone anymore.
But her fingers twisted through mine, and my answer was right there.
“If Ariel wants me here, I’m staying,” I told him.
“I do,” she confirmed.
“Good, because I have somewhere else to be. See me out?” He leapt up.
I frowned but followed, dropping a quick kiss on Ariel once more.
“Raph,” she said, stalling his progress. “Did you take your final exam? You didn’t say.”
My friend inclined his head. “Passed with flying colours, pun intended. Going to grab some clean clothes and I’ll be out of your hair.”
I smiled at his joke—finally he was giving them back—and trailed him downstairs to the bedroom floor. Raphael entered his room, sorting through his drawers and collecting a pile of clothes that he stuffed into a bag.
