Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) (30 page)

“Are you serious right now?” the guy said. “It’s two in the fucking morning. No way in hell I’m letting you clowns—”

“Daniel?”

Gideon sensed Reggie stiffen a split second before Daphne came into view, looking adorably rumpled and sleep tussled in a long t-shirt nightgown that went to her knees and had a giant, smiling teddy bear on the front. Her wild riot of orange curls fell in tangles around her shoulders and over her face. She stopped next to her brother, coming just a little past his elbow.

“Who is it?” She blinked gray eyes in surprise at the sight of Gideon. But the surprise melted quickly into concern. “Gideon? What is it?” Ignoring her brother’s growl, she shoved open the screen door, narrowly smacking Gideon in the face. “What’s wrong? Where’s Reggie?” Her gaze shot past Gideon to where Reggie still stood at the bottom of the steps, hand a white fist around the iron railing. The relief at the sight of him had her shoulders slumping, but it didn’t last. “What happened? Is it Riley?”

Gideon put his hand up, stopping her. “Riley’s fine.”

She exhaled slowly. “Okay...” She dampened her lips and forced an unsteady hand back through her hair, shoving the tendrils away from her face. “If everything’s okay, then what are you doing here?”

“You know these guys?” her brother demanded, moving to rest a hand on his sister’s shoulder and draw her back into the house.

Tucking a curl behind her ear, she nodded. “Yeah, it’s okay. They’re ... okay.”

Gideon would have arched a brow at the comment, but Daniel was watching him a little too closely.

“It’s two in the damn morning, Daph. They need to go.”

She touched her brother’s arm lightly. “I got this. It’s okay. I promise. I’m safe with them,” she added when he continued to look doubtful. “They’re Riley’s brother in laws.”

That only seemed to confuse Daniel all the more. “What the hell are they doing here?”

“Well, that’s what I’m trying to find out,” she replied shortly. “Can you, I dunno, give us a minute?”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed to thin slits. “Can I ... are you kidding? I’m not leaving you alone with them. They might try something funny.”

“I’ll have you know I’m a perfect gentleman,” Gideon retorted. “Besides, I’m already spoken for by a very scary woman with a fetish for knives so the last thing a smart man like myself would ever do is try anything funny with another woman.”

His reassurance didn’t work. If anything, Daniel only appeared all the more adamant they were crazy.

“They’re clearly drunk,” he decided.

“He’s not drunk,” Daphne assured him. “He’s always like this. Just let me talk to them. Please, Danny.”

With a look that said very clearly that he wasn’t happy about the decision, Daniel pinned Gideon with a sneer that could kill a man.

“I’m just in the next room,” he said. “You try anything stupid, I’ll rip out every bone in your body and use you as a hand puppet.”

Gideon cringed. “That’s disgusting!”

Daniel smirked. “You’ve been warned.”

With a final once over, Daniel slide past Daphne and disappeared somewhere deeper into the house.

“Sorry about that,” Daphne murmured. “He’s a little overprotective.”

“A little?”

She chuckled. “I’m the baby.” It was said as though that explained everything, and maybe it did. Gideon had to respect a guy that protected his family that fiercely. “So what are you guys doing here?”

“Reggie’s here because he really likes the paint job on your house,” Gideon explained. “But I’m here because I would like a word.” Gently, he took her elbow and led her over the threshold. He shut the screen door quietly behind her and propelled her down the stairs to where Reggie stood watching them. Once she was standing on the last step, Gideon faced her. “Riley went on her first hunt last week.”

Daphne’s eyes went wide with excitement. They shot from Gideon to Reggie like they were offering her an early Christmas present.

“Wait, does that mean...”

“No!” Reggie barked at once. He bared his teeth at Gideon. “What are you doing?”

Gideon put up a hand to stop his brother before he flipped his shit. “I could have done this behind your back,” he told the other man. “But I didn’t. I wanted you to hear this, too. I think she’s ready—”

“No!” Reggie snarled.

“She’s ready!” Gideon insisted.

“One hunt does not mean she’s ready,” Reggie said. “Jesus Christ, Gideon! You should have talked to me first.”

“Why?” Daphne speared her hands on her hips. “Because I can’t make this decision by myself?”

“This has nothing to do with you,” Reggie replied sharply. “This is about Riley and whether or not she’s ready, which she’s not.” He confronted his brother once more. “She’s not ready, Gideon!”

“She is,” Gideon softened his tone. “She has far more control than she thinks she does.”

Reggie shifted. He may not have been consciously aware of it, but he positioned himself in front of Daphne. “How can you say that after what she did to Valkyrie?” He shook his head. “I won’t let you risk Daphne’s safety. Riley’s fed, which means she’s stronger than before. It will be nearly impossible to stop her.”

“We’ll all be there,” Gideon explained, which had Reggie’s eyes narrowing.

“Why are you doing this?”

Gideon blinked. “What?”

Reggie crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance. “Why is it so important Daphne be there?”

“Because Riley needs it.”

Rage flared behind Reggie’s eyes. “Then take her to a fucking park! Leave Daphne out of this!”

“It’s not the same!” Gideon snapped. “She won’t work as hard to control herself if it’s people she doesn’t know.” He paused, moistened his lips. “When she fed, she was in complete control. She was lucid. I think that’s because she wanted to kill them—”

“Riley killed someone?” Daphne gasped.

Gideon ignored her, keeping his focus on Reggie. “She found a medium between herself and her hunger. The last time she saw Daphne, she had literally just been turned. She hadn’t fed and everything was new. It’s different now.”

Reggie shook his head. “No. I won’t let you do this. Find someone else.”

“I’ll do it.”

Reggie whirled around to face a determined Daphne. “You don’t know what you’re saying!”

Daphne straightened her shoulders and met his gaze squarely. “Riley won’t hurt me. Besides,” she smiled at him, “you’ll be there, right?”

There was no mistaking the absolute fury that swept off Reggie like a sandstorm. The heat of it was scorching. Gideon expected him to explode ... literally. But he gave a stiff nod as the muscles in his jaw flexed and his nostrils flared.

“I’ll be there.”

After assuring them she would drop by later that day, Daphne left them as she climbed back into the house and closed the door. Gideon waited until he heard the quiet click of locks before turning away.

He had been expecting the attack, and yet it took him completely by surprise. He hit the ground hard on his side. All the air left his lungs and a crippling pain rocketed up his arm to his shoulder. But it was all quickly forgotten when he was grabbed and jerked violently onto his back. The fist caught him in the jaw with the momentum of a charging bull. Stars exploded across his vision and blood filled his mouth.

“You had no fucking right!” Reggie roared into his face. “She’s my mate!”

“Wouldn’t hurt her...” Gideon tried to work out around the throbbing.

“You don’t give a shit who you hurt.” Reggie tightened his hold around Gideon’s shirt front. “You think everything’s one big fucking joke. You always have. But not this time. You stay away from her, Gideon.”

It wasn’t until much later when Gideon had dumped his exhausted and sore body onto his bed with a very large glass of whiskey that he felt the spear of annoyance. Why did everyone think he was an asshole that only looked out for himself? It was insulting if not severely offensive, especially coming from his family. He would never deliberately put Daphne in harm’s way, not unless he was absolutely certain and while he wasn’t, because nothing in life was ever really absolutely certain, he knew Riley would fight against the hunger. The men at the park had been animals. Their death was not a loss to anyone. And while it was forbidden for them to meddle in human affairs and while it was their job to stop those who posed a threat to mankind, Gideon felt no loss, or obligation to take action. Valkyrie had been right about that much; the only way Riley would learn to control her thirst was to get out there and feed and learn for herself when it was time to pull back.

The strigoi feeding process was a complex one, one they kept strictly between clans. Had Riley been accepted into a coven and had she had the protection of her maker, she would have been taught how to feed, how to hunt, how to mold into normal society. That was taken away from her when her maker, not only never had any intention of making her, but was later killed. It was up to her family to help her through this. The last time he checked, Gideon was her family.

Pushing upright and holding his drink aloft, Gideon sat up. He toed off his boots and let them fall carelessly to the floor. He set his drink down on the nightstand and lifted a hand to his bruised jaw.

“Bastard,” he grumbled, grimacing.

He pushed to his feet and shuffled into the bathroom, leaving a long trail of clothes behind him. He shut the door behind him and stepped into the shower.

The clothes were gone when he left the steaming cubical with only a towel around his waist. In their place was Imogen, standing in the open doors of his very unusual closet, holding up a set of shiny, titanium handcuffs. The look on her face, slack-jawed, wide eyed wonder with a mixture of awe and embarrassment was priceless.

“All I can say is ... be thankful you didn’t open the third drawer.”

Imogen jumped so high, she nearly brushed the frame. The cuffs hit the floor at her feet with a noisy clatter that made Gideon cringe.

“Easy,” he scolded playfully. “Those are delicate.”

Fumbling around an apology, Imogen swooped down and snatched the steel rings back up only to drop them a second time, making Gideon snicker.

He crossed the room to her and picked them up himself.

“I am so sorry!”

She staggered back, giving him room to maneuver around her and replace the cuffs neatly on its bed of velvet inside the hidden compartment he himself had built inside the closet. He snapped the drawer shut.

“Naughty girl, what
were
you looking for?”

Face the color of a freshly ripened tomato, Imogen practically tripped over herself trying to get out of his way. “I ... it ... I wasn’t...”

He turned to her slowly once he was certain the wood paneling had closed seamlessly around the compartment he kept carefully away from the ever watchful eyes of his mother, and brothers. And while he was fairly open about his more ... unusual preferences in the bedroom, the extent of it, he was fairly confident would horrify his mother. So he kept it hidden, tucked away from sight in the bowels of his closet.

Now his secret was out.

“So?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

Imogen’s mouth opened and closed several times before any actual words came out. “I ... I was putting away laundry?”

It was her uncertain question that only seemed to amuse him further. “You’re not sure?”

“No! I mean, yes. Yes, I’m sure and yes I was...” Bowing her head, she scrambled to the bed where one of his mother’s laundry baskets sat, piled high with neatly folded clothes. “Your mom asked if I could help with some of the chores and since I’m hopeless in the ... the bar, I thought ... I was going to put them away...”

Gideon put his hand up, stopping her rambling. “It’s fine. Next time, just leave the basket on the bed.”

Nodding her head, she hurried towards the door.

“Imogen?” he called her back. He turned as she did with one hand on the doorknob. “Thank you.”

Blushing furiously, she bolted out, leaving the door wide open for another figure to stroll in. Valkyrie raised an eyebrow, but there was no amusement on her face.

“Come in,” Gideon said as he made his way to the bed. “I have an open door policy.” He rifled through the basket Imogen had left behind, dragging out clothes. “I think I might get a timestamp card, or charge an admission fee.”

“What was she doing here?”

Gideon knew perfectly well what she was referring to, but she was in his room and he had never been very good at being commanded there. That was his domain. That was where he did the commanding.

“Who?”

“The banshee,” she retorted.

“You mean Imogen? Just chatting. Can you close the door please?”

She did, but remained inside the room. Gideon wondered if he should tell her he was about to get dressed, but decided against it. She clearly had something on her mind.

“You know,” he said slowly as he shook out a t-shirt. “You should try being nicer to people. You know, make friends.”

He didn’t have to look to feel the force of her glare. “I don’t need friends.”

“Everyone needs friends, even you.”

“I’m a Harvester—”

“That doesn’t make you immune to all the little things the rest of us require, like love and affection.”

“I have the love and affection of my family. That’s all I need.”

He turned his head in her direction. “I don’t think you want me to get into that.”

Valkyrie straightened her shoulders. “I find it strange how you defend your family so vehemently and yet I’m not allowed to defend mine.”

The shirt dropped back onto the bed from his hands as he twisted his entire body in her direction. “Because my family doesn’t need me to self-mutilate myself in order to prove my worth. My family doesn’t put me down, degrade me, and make me feel like I’m worth nothing—”

“My family doesn’t—”

He stalked towards her. “You are so brainwashed by them that you can’t even see how completely isolated you are. Being a Caster isn’t a competition. It’s not about who is faster, or stronger. It’s about protecting those who can’t protect themselves. It’s about working as a team. You don’t even know what that means.”

“I know what a team is!” she hissed through her teeth. “But a warrior has to fight alone.”