His brother went stock-still, his fork frozen in midgesture. His hand shot forward, fork still in it, forgotten so that when Jacob inter- cepted, slamming his brother's wrist to the table between them, the silverware clanged. Water glasses and plates jumped, drawing star- tled glances. "You don't have to see it, " Jacob said evenly. Gideon jerked back. "I knew you'd lost your fucking mind. Your moronic pacifist ideas about vampires--" "Not pacifist. I just don't believe being a vampire should be a death sentence. " "No, of course not. Just because they kill humans, it doesn't make them all bad. " "Contrary to popular myth, you know vampires only have one food source, " Jacob retorted. "Human blood, taken fresh. They have the right to survive. They're predators, Gideon. Like wolves or lions. They're not automatically minions of evil. " Gideon blew out a ferocious breath. "Yeah, Carnal's just your basic trying-to-survive guy. Tell that to the sixteen-year-old home- less runaway corpse he drained. But hey, guess we can consider it charity, since it interrupted the burgeoning kiddie porn career her pimp boyfriend planned for her. " Jacob shook his head. "I'm not saying Carnal isn't scum. I'd stake him myself given the chance. I'm saying they aren't all like that. " "But Lady Lyssa isn't like you, Jacob. Don't make the mistake of thinking she is. " Gideon enunciated each syllable between clenched teeth. When Jacob pointedly picked up his juice, took a swig, he blew out another exasperated breath. "I completely lose touch with you for months except for the occasional postcard, and then you resurface right under my nose as some vampire bitch queen's lackey. Did you even think about what's involved? She seduced you, is that it?" "Gideon. " Jacob put down the glass carefully. "I'm not twelve. I need you to listen to me. " His brother brightened. "That's it, isn't it? She compelled you, whatever you want to call it. You can break out of it, Jacob. Shit, she's queen of all of them. She can screw with any man's head. It doesn't matter if you did it in the heat of the moment. That's their talent, seduction. Even this bastard Carnal, when he turns on the charm, no woman can say no to him. "
"Gideon--" "We could trick her. Get her into a coffin, bury her underground or put her in the center of a concrete slab. She couldn't do anything to control you--" "You even think about hurting her, I'll kill you. " While most of their conversation had been pitched low enough that the remarkable parts of it were lost in the women's chatter and the sounds of utensils and waitstaff, the cold statement hit a pocket of dead air. Jacob paid no attention to the turning heads, furtive glances. He kept his gaze locked on Gideon's. In his most dangerous moment, he'd never thought himself as intimidating as his brother. However, the startled look that flashed across Gideon's face made him suspect he might have grown in that regard since Gideon had seen him last. Perhaps because he finally had something he'd defend with every- thing he was. No matter what she did to him. "I'm sorry. " Jacob wiped his mouth, set aside his napkin. "I didn't mean to throw it down like that, but you don't listen. I trained to be her servant for almost a year. I have lash scars on my back, my fealty oath. " Thomas had given him those fift y lashes on the cold stone floor of the monastery before he'd ever come and offered himself to her. Now those marks were overlaid by the serpentine scarring of the third mark, and Jacob felt their presence at all times, like her physi- cal and mental touches. "I've committed myself to her. She's the woman I'm meant to be with. To protect. " My lady. He would have said it, but he didn't want Gideon to mock him. Truth was, he hadn't wanted to say any of it, knowing how Gideon would react. But Gideon was his only family, his only constant in life except the restless desire that had driven him to find his lady. For that reason alone he had to say the simple truth. Maybe it would have been better if they'd fought before the meal. He'd still be hungry, but hunger was better than having the break- fast roiling in his stomach and this leaden weight in his chest. "She dies, you die. You understand that? You stupid, fucking idiot. "
Gideon shook his head, ignoring the sharp looks from the women across the aisle from them. "I don't get this at all. Does this have something to do with us? With our parents? What?" "It's a choice I made, and it has nothing to do with you. I don't agree with everything you do, but I've helped you kill vampires that crossed the lines. " Jacob inclined his head. "There's a balance in na- ture, and vampires are part of it. " "They threaten our survival--" "How?" Jacob demanded. "Billions of us, less than five thousand of them. Their offspring are rare, while we breed like rabbits. " "What if the Council is overruled and more made vampires are allowed? What if those like Carnal get the upper hand? What then?" Gideon's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I'm not as dumb as you think I am. We do have our spies. We know the political climate is changing. The first imperative is human survival, Jacob. " "The first imperative is honor. Integrity. " "Oh, Jesus. " Gideon sat back in the booth, scrubbing his hand over his unshaven face. "The chivalry bullshit--" "Yeah, that bullshit, " Jacob interrupted him, his own annoyance kicking up. "You used to remember it. Believe in it. It's why you started doing what you do, and that's why I followed you, at first. But there's a difference between killing for a just cause and murdering to satisfy the emptiness in your own soul. You need love to remember that, Gideon. To balance it. " His brother stopped pressing at his temple and stared at him. "I love you. Look how well that's turned out. " "Cheap shot, " Jacob said. "She's been alive for centuries. You've never hunted her. Why is that? You could have taken her out the first night I saw her, when I was with you. When her husband broke her arm and she was off by herself. " Gideon picked up his iced tea and took a swallow as if he tasted something bad. "She keeps the bigger monsters in line. The Council she created serves that purpose. " "No, that wouldn't be enough. It's more personal, Gideon. Why isn't she a target?" "She saved my life. Once. " He swiped at his mouth with a napkin.
"Got knocked out in a fight with a vamp. Nasty one that was killing anything that moved. Apparently one of her and Rex's territory vamps. Woke up in an alley with her sitting next to me and the vamp dead. She nodded to me, walked away. Well"--he shrugged irritably--"after she told me I was an idiot and that I'd have a longer life as a Christian missionary in the Sudan. " "That sounds like Lady Lyssa. " Gideon ignored that. "But the debt's even now. She saved my life but stole my brother. Even if she's one of those who only take out one human a year, those are healthy, decent human beings who don't deserve to die. " "I'm not saying the situation doesn't suck. " Jacob spread open his arms, linked his fingers behind his head and tapped at the base of his skull, his muscles tense. "It's a Hobson's choice. But say you've got a decent vamp who takes their one kill a year to stay alive and in con- trol of their powers. And you have a decent human who has to die. A one-to-one relationship. How do you make that judgment? One vamp or one human? You don't see the deer herd going off and killing all the wolves when they come and take down one of their number. It's a balance, Gid. Not fair, not kind, not even close to com- passionate in many ways. A balance. A vamp is going to choose a human and that human will fight. He should fight. Defend himself whatever way he can. Maybe he'll get away; maybe he won't. Maybe he'll kill the vampire. " "You're saying that it's okay for a vamp to kill humans. " "I'm saying that we're the only species that doesn't accept that be- ing prey may be a part of Nature's cycle for us. " Jacob blew out his breath, brought his hands slapping down on the table surface. The waitress who'd been approaching with more coffee backed off, went to another table. "We're expected to try and stay alive. Whatever the Powers That Be, I don't think they intended us to exterminate an entire species to make us a hundred percent safe. " Gideon's eyes narrowed. "What are you going to do, little brother, when she orders you to help her take down her annual kill? Tarnish that armor of yours? Lure to his death someone like your Mr. In- gram, a guy who thinks he has a purpose for living beyond being dinner to a vampire?