Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) (2 page)

He smacked his baby brother on the shoulder in passing as Gideon stalked from the bar into the cool, spring night.

The place reeked of urine, vomit, and sweat, even on the outside, but there was something almost comforting about it. Gideon couldn’t put a finger on it, but he didn’t try. He just let the moment wash over him as he moved towards his
Rolls-Royce
gleaming like a giant, gray ship amongst a sea of shiny black motorcycles. His keys jingled as he fished them from his pocket. He was distantly aware of Reggie’s boots crunching gravel behind him. He could also
feel
his brother’s disapproval beating against the length of his spine. It surprised him that the younger man restrained himself until they were seated in the warm leather before unleashing the annoyance wafting off him in dark tendrils.

“That was stupid.”

“I didn’t start it,” Gideon reminded him as he stabbed the keys into the ignition and started the engine.

“But you instigated it,” Reggie argued. “You deliberately pushed Valkyrie—”

Gideon arched a brow. “Have you
met
Valkyrie? You can’t push her to do anything that she hasn’t strategically thought to death first.” He turned out of the driveway and pitched into the night. “I mean, she’s the one that got those guys on our asses.”

“Because you attacked the guy she was talking to ... for no reason!”

Gideon snorted. He kept his gaze fixed doggedly on the road as the bitter tang of annoyance and anger tainted the back of his throat. The leather bound wheel creaked beneath his fierce grip. He relaxed his fingers.

“That wasn’t talking.” He squinted hard at the windshield. “He was all over her. I did him a favor.”

“Well, I don’t think
she
saw it that way.” Reggie faced his window, missing the flex of his brother’s jaw. “I should have known you were up to something when you picked me to tag along with you tonight. Magnus would never have let you go in there and neither would Octavian.”

It was the hurt in his voice that made Gideon groan inwardly and let go of his own irritation.

It was true. Magnus and Octavian wouldn’t have let him go in. The minute they saw Valkyrie, they would have grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him out. They knew the two of them in the same room was like gasoline near an open flame. Reggie, well, Reggie was easier to convince, easier to stronghold into doing what Gideon wanted. True, he felt horrible about using his brother like that, but it was for the good of mankind.

“I asked you to come along because we never spend time together anymore.” It wasn’t entirely a lie.

He hadn’t seen much of his baby brother. They were always busy with their Caster duties, or manning the bar, or whatever else needed seeing to. So why not kill two birds with one stone, he’d thought. He’d take his brother out, have a few drinks, and if they happened to come across Valkyrie ... well ... he could hardly be blamed for that. Besides, how could he have known she’d sick the entire club on him for beating the shit out of that gangly asshole pawing at her? That had just been uncalled for.

“Maybe.” Reggie said, pulling Gideon out of his woolgathering. Then he turned and asked the one question Gideon had no intention of answering. “What’s the deal with you two anyway?”

Only Magnus knew the truth. His twin was the only person he felt like he could trust not to blow the whole thing out of proportion, the only one who would be logical about the disaster. After Riley and Octavian, and Daphne and Reggie, the last thing he wanted was to fall into that death trap with an infuriating woman that made him want to bite the head off a kitten.

“There’s no deal,” he replied evenly.

“Seriously?” He didn’t have to look over to know Reggie had an eyebrow raised. “You two can’t even walk into the same room without going into full battle mode.”

“Can you blame me?” He tossed his brother a quick glance before facing the road once more. “That woman is a pain in the fucking ass.”

“Uh huh.”

He highly disliked the amused disbelief in the other man’s voice.

Asshole.

What did he know anyway? He had Daphne, a girl that was crazy about him, who would drop everything to be with him ... happily. Valkyrie would just as soon stick a dagger into Gideon’s heart before even considering the possibility of being his for all eternity, which he told himself suited him just fine. He wasn’t a masochist. He didn’t exactly thrive on pain and boy was that woman a pain.

It took no time at all to get home. Reggie rolled out before Gideon could even eject the keys from the ignition. The two crossed the gravel lot and stomped up the front steps to face the doors of judgment. Gideon didn’t know the history behind the bronze emblem. He didn’t know where it had come from, except it had been there when they’d been given Final Judgment as their home. The house itself had been built on the grave of more lost souls than any in the world. It was the very doors of hell and every time he passed through, he felt a chill go down his spine.

The night was winding down to a few stray stragglers hoping against all odds that tonight would be their last night there. He didn’t know why they bothered. If their name hadn’t been called by the first hour, it wouldn’t be, at least not that night. Yet they stayed, hoping. It was ridiculous.

Across the room, behind the bar, he spotted Magnus mixing drinks. He looked up when Gideon and Reggie strode in.

As twins went, they looked nothing alike, which threw a lot of people off at first glance. Magnus was tall, dark, and harbored a perpetual scowl that only intensified the angry scars slashing the side of his otherwise handsome face. He wasn’t the friendliest of the brothers. Truthfully, he wasn’t friendly at all. It amazed Gideon how someone so surly could be related to him at all, never mind actually having shared a womb at one time.

He’d begun to grow his hair out, letting the once neatly clipped strands curl around the back of his collar and around his face. He never said, but Gideon knew it was to hide the scars. He also knew it wasn’t vanity. Magnus didn’t give two shits about what anyone said, or thought. But even he had to admit the change gave his brother an almost pirate appearance, which suited him. It was wild, dangerous and, well, very dangerous, which fit Magnus to a T. Aside from being gruff, he was the brother most people feared. Despite his calm demeanor, Magnus could make a grown man cry just by looking at him. The fact that he had no qualm about taking the law into his own hands didn’t help the ruthless reputation he carried like a badge. Magnus just didn’t give a shit. That’s what Gideon loved best about him.

“Hey.” Gideon took a spot at the end of the bar and was passed a small shot of vodka, just what he was dying for. He threw it back greedily and hissed as it poured with a beautiful burn down the center of his chest to brew welcomingly in the pit of his empty stomach. Satisfied, he sent the glass skidding across the table back to where Magnus stood wiping the counter. “Where is everyone?”

“Where else?” Magnus muttered without looking up.

Pushing away from the bar, Gideon made his way to the door across the room, the one leading into the kitchen. Reggie followed him.

The kitchen was dark, except for the single bulb over the preparation table and the light spilling through the open staff room door. Low whispers followed the warm glow, floating through the semi darkness. Gideon followed the sound and stopped in the doorway.

Inside were Octavian and Riley, lost in the cocoon that perpetually surrounded them when the other was in the room. Riley was perched on the table with her arms around Octavian’s neck as he nuzzled into her, murmuring something in her ear that had her giggling. It was a disgusting sight.

“Don’t you two have a room?” Gideon interrupted with a little more bite than was necessary.

It wasn’t that he didn’t love his eldest brother and the pint sized woman he loved more than life itself. But damn it all to hell! What did a man have to do to walk freely through his own home without stumbling in on things he would rather not see? Like his brother’s naked ass.

It had been the same ever since Riley had been turned into a strigoi and Octavian had given his soul to the devil to keep her. That had been almost three months ago. Gideon had hoped things would cool down between them. It hadn’t. Not even an inch. If anything, they seemed even more desperate not to let a single moment pass them, like they were afraid if they didn’t touch, kiss ... screw every chance they got, something bad would happen and they’d be torn apart. As if Octavian would ever let that happen. Hell, even Gideon wouldn’t let that happen. Riley was family. He loved her as much as he loved his brothers. He’d be right there next to Octavian, fighting to keep her safe if it ever came down to it, just as he knew Magnus and Reggie would, which was why he wanted to hit the two with something blunt.

“You’re back.” Riley smiled at Gideon as Octavian eased her off the table. The dull light sparked off her needlepoint fangs and glinted in her red eyes. “Did you guys have fun?”

Standing just behind Gideon’s shoulder, Reggie snorted. “Oh, loads.”

Giving Gideon a shove, he walked away. A moment later, Gideon heard the door leading upstairs open and shut.

“Something happen?” Octavian asked.

Gideon sucked in a deep breath, held it, and then released it in a single rush. “Nope. Night.”

With a salute, he turned on his heels and stalked out of the room, following Reggie’s retreat.

In his room, he shut the door and kicked his boots into a corner. He shrugged off his coat and tossed it over the armchair by the door. Then he started the mundane process of undressing, letting everything just slip off him and fall where they may. The brawl had taken more energy than he liked using in a single night, unless it was to fight something worthwhile.

He dropped across the cool spread of his bed and shut his eyes against the world. Usually, this worked. Usually, he’d pass right out and stay asleep until dawn. He probably would have this time, too, if it hadn’t been for the blood curdling scream that ripped through the manor.

In a single powerful lunge, he tore off the bed, snatched up his jeans and tugged them on as he half ran, half stumbled to the door. He paused only once to grab his angelic blade from his coat pocket.

His bare feet pounded as he raced down the corridor in the direction of the sound of female anguish. His blood roared in his ears as he imagined all sorts of horrific things happening to Riley or his mom and what he would do when he got his hands on the person responsible.

At the bottom of the stairs, he nearly collided with Magnus running up. The angelic blade in his hand glinted in the feeble moonlight spilling through the stained glass showing a seriously pissed off Michael in all his angelic glory.

“Where’s that coming from?” his brother demanded.

Gideon shook his head. “Not downstairs?”

Doing a turn on the steps, Magnus growled in his throat. “Find Mom! I’ll find Riley.”

“What is that?” Reggie appeared at the top of the stairs. He’d clearly had the idea of going to bed as well, because he was topless and his fly was open to reveal white boxers. His brown eyes shot from Magnus to Gideon. “Where’s Mom?”

“Split up,” Magnus ordered, taking charge. “I’ll take outside. Gideon, upstairs. Reggie, down here. Shout if you find anything. Where the fuck’s Octavian?”

With no way to answer that, they shot off in separate directions.

The wails continued, seemingly endless and without pause. It swept through the manor, a hollow sound of unbearable pain, and the longer it continued, the more desperate Gideon became. His heart hurt. It was as though his very soul was being wrenched. The anguish tore and twisted through him until he wanted to curl up where he was and weep.

“Mom!” He pounded a fist on his parent’s door. “Dad?”

Without waiting, he wrenched open the door and stumbled inside, something he hadn’t done since he was a kid escaping a nightmare.

The bed was empty, as was the rest of the room.

Swearing, he pivoted on his heels and ran for Octavian and Riley’s room. He didn’t bother knocking. He didn’t care if they were buck naked and fucking so long as Riley was okay.

“Riley?” He shoved into the room.

Nothing. Not a single soul in sight.

Heart thrashing, he turned and dashed downstairs.

“Gideon!” Reggie crashed into the room from the front room. The doors swung violently with his attack. His wide, frantic gaze met Gideon’s. “Anything?”

Gideon shook his head. “I can’t find anyone. Where’s Magnus and Octavian?”

Looking as terrified as Gideon felt, Reggie shook his head wildly. “I don’t know!”

“Okay.” He put his hand up, the one not holding his angelic blade. “We stay together. Magnus went outside. Octavian and Riley were in the staff room. Did you check there?”

Reggie squinted at him like he was insane. “Of course I checked there!” He tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling as the screeching pooled over their heads, weaving through the air like a solid force. “Where is that coming from? It’s everywhere.”

He opened his mouth to tell his brother he had no idea when the kitchen doors slapped open and Octavian marched in, dragging a wide-eyed Riley in after him.

Gideon expelled his first breath of relief. “She’s with you! Thank God.”

“What the hell is going on?” Octavian demanded. “Where’s Mom?”

“We have no idea,” Reggie answered. “We’ve looked everywhere. Where were you two?”

“The conservatory,” Octavian answered. “We heard the screams and came running.”

Some genius had built the conservatory away from the manor so one would have to go out the backdoors and around the house to get to it. Gideon never cared as he never went there. His mom, however, loved it and kept the place brimming with blossoms during the summer. Recently it had become yet another place for Octavian to get Riley naked and give Gideon all the more reason to stay away.

“Did you see Magnus?” he asked. “He went out there looking for you guys.”

Octavian shook his head. “We haven’t seen anyone, except you two.”