Jacob's eyes snapped open. The man sitting in the chair across from him didn't complement his surroundings the way Debra had. He wore a pair of worn jeans, a dark T-shirt and a bomber jacket Jacob was certain hid an array of weaponry. Probably a nine millimeter and loaded wrist gauntlets. There'd be a knife scabbard on his left calf, another down the back. He hadn't had his hair cut in a while, and the shave looked a couple of days old. Still, the glittering blue eyes of his brother were as vibrant as his own, though Gideon's face held far more lines and his hair was threaded with white. The result of lifestyle, not age. Only a handspan of years separated them. That and a whole hell of a lot of other things. "Gideon. " "I thought about shooting you right here, but I was curious. I wanted to know why you've lost your fucking mind. "
He ignored the startled and offended looks of nearby patrons. Rising, he jerked his thumb toward the door. "Get your ass up and we'll go somewhere and talk where we can get a late breakfast. You're buying. " He strode toward the door with apparently no doubt Jacob would follow. Jacob reflected darkly that there appeared to be far too many people in his life who thought they could order him about. This day was just getting better and better.
Chapter Four
On principle, Jacob made Gideon wait, paging through Debra's romance novel. He found a scene or two that engaged his pruri- ent male interest, with at least one interesting idea to try out on his sensual lady. When he finally departed the library, he found Gideon as well as Elijah Ingram waiting in the parking area. Elijah sat in the driver's side of his limo, while Gideon leaned against the side of his own car close by, thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans. Standing, Gideon looked even more like the mean son of a bitch he was. A couple of inches taller and broader than Jacob, he'd inher- ited their father's dark hair rather than their mother's auburn brown mix as Jacob had. They shared the blue eyes, and though Gideon shaved, the dark shadow along his jaw never fully went away. He was pure muscle. There were no soft spots anywhere on Gideon, unless one counted the mush behind the rock-solid skull. He and Elijah were eyeing one another. Since each possessed the skill to take the measure of the other within three blinks, they'd settled down like a couple of yard dogs determined not to fight, ig- noring each other while not missing a single twitch. "This man says he's your brother, " the limo driver offered as Jacob approached. "Funny. Last time I saw him he said the exact opposite. "
"Mmm. " Elijah squinted through the open window. "You still need a ride? I don't have anywhere to be until late this afternoon. " "I guess not. " Jacob cut a look at his silent sibling. "If you can run the things you picked up by the house and just leave them in the lockbox behind the column at the security gate, that'll be good. Be sure and send me a bill for your time and gas. Gideon'll give me a ride after he says his peace. If not, this is a college area. I've still got a working thumb. " "Don't let no cute college girl pick you up. Might do something you'll regret. Get the other arm broke. " "Or he might realize the smart thing is to go home with her and not look back. But he's never been all that smart. If you can't be smart, be pretty. " Gideon straightened. "If you think that, seems to me you got the cuter ass, " Ingram observed, deadpan. Jacob stifled a chuckle as Gideon's lips twitched. "Seems you've been making friends without me, " his brother said. "They're easier to make and keep without you around, " Jacob said without rancor. "You don't tend to approve of my choices in friends. " The humor disappeared. "Lady Lyssa isn't your friend, Jacob. Whatever else you think she is, fine.
But I can promise you, she's not your friend. " It was uncomfortably close to what Debra had just told him. Jacob wasn't in the mood for it. "If that's going to be the tone of this conversation, I'll just ride home with Elijah here. " Gideon scowled. "Oh, pull the railroad spike out of your ass and get in the damn car. " "There's that brotherly affection I know and love. " Jacob nodded to Mr. Ingram. The driver turned over the ignition. "You have my number, son. " "He's a little protective of you, " Gideon noted as the limo pulled out of the parking lot. "When did you break your arm?" "Your spies are falling down on the job. A while ago. " As Gideon turned to open the car door, Jacob noted his brother had a new scar at his temple, disappearing into the hairline. It looked like an impact wound, possibly from having his head smashed against a brick wall.
He wondered what their parents would think of them now. The parents they'd last seen alive on an idyllic day at the beach, when the only vampires were in movies and the imaginations of young boys. Even there they hadn't dwelled long, for a child's mind was a crowded merry-go-round of graphic possibilities. As if he were following the direction of his thoughts, Gideon's expression altered from hard purpose to grudging affection. "There's a good diner around the corner. Let's go there and talk. "
The brunch offering was good. As if they both were aware of the po- tential for disruption if they tried to talk before satisfying their ap- petites, they ordered and consumed the special in silence. The portions were sizeable, catering to the construction workers who came in from their work on new office buildings to refuel on the higher calorie count they needed. The exception was one table near the two men, where a pair of elderly women shared a postbreakfast pot of coffee. Since the construction workers were similarly indisposed to talk- ing while eating, the diner was relatively quiet except for the com- forting chatter of the two women. Gideon flipped up the top of the ketchup, pushing it and salt to- ward Jacob's left side just as he thought about needing it. While Lyssa would call it more evidence of the psychic intuition she sus- pected ran through his family, Jacob knew it more likely was long familiarity. Gideon had always been good at taking care of his younger brother. He thought he knew Jacob through and through, and in a way, he did. Gideon just preferred to pretend certain things didn't exist. As they both slowed down and came up for air, Jacob laid down his fork. Here goes nothing. "How long have you been in town?" he asked. "A couple weeks. When Carnal left his territory, we thought we might have a shot at catching him vulnerable. No such luck, though. "
"You're hunting Carnal?" The day might be looking up. "He likes to think he's a badass. He takes out his full Council- sanctioned quota of humans every year. We suspect he's gotten cockier and is taking more, though he's good at covering his tracks. Most of his victims in the past two years have been violent crimi- nals. Unless you count his servants. " Draining a person infected with evil spurred the natural aggres- siveness of a vampire to a higher level, increasing the problem of uncontrolled bloodlust that would encourage unwelcome attention from human society. Jacob knew Carnal didn't need any encourage- ment in that direction. A vampire needed blood to live, but actually only needed to fully drain one human annually to maintain their full strength and faculties. Lyssa had argued strongly for limiting the number of human lives taken by a vampire to one kill per year as a result. The Vampire Council had compromised with a higher num- ber to placate those like Carnal who were strongly opposed to any limits at all. "Lately he's been in the mood for sweeter meat. Seven women, all young. He's found a loophole. There's no limit on the number of ser- vants a vamp is allowed to kill in the course of a year. We figure he's going to pay Lyssa a visit while he's here, etiquette and all, and be- cause he's always had such an obsession with her. So we thought--" "Don't, Gideon. " Jacob held up a hand. "I can't hear any of your plans. " "Are you listening to me? Seven women. Young girls he seduces, then traps into being his servant for a while so they don't `count' to- ward the quota. " "You're not telling me anything I don't know. " Jacob struggled to keep it easy, friendly. "Let's not talk shop. What's going on with you, other than staking vampires?" Gideon stared at him. "You don't want to hear anything about a guy murdering innocent girls? Even if you're in a position to help? We're trying to--" "Gideon, " Jacob said sharply, "shut up. I'm carry ing a third mark. "