Chapter Five
Because Gideon tried to trip Jacob on their way into the police station and Jacob responded by using his shoulder to ram him into the wall, the officer who'd brought them in had recommended to the guard on duty that they be cuffed to the bars on opposite sides of the communal cell. He'd also threatened them with an officer as- sault charge because they sandwiched him in the middle of the scuf- fle. Gideon's private arsenal had not helped matters. While the cops had been partially mollified by his concealed carry permit for the guns, Jacob was sure they were running every background check on him possible, including searching the data banks for international terrorists. Perhaps because Jacob had been a little more polite to the cops and wasn't carry ing twenty pounds of weapons like an action movie star, he'd been cuffed where he could sit on a bench, whereas Gide- on's choice was standing or taking a seat on the questionable cess- pool of the floor. The guard on duty was posted at a desk near the cell. He kept an indifferent eye on them and the other occupants, ignoring any wise- cracks as he worked on paperwork. Their cellmates were mostly drunks sleeping it off, a few petty criminals, a scared-looking white- collar kid who'd probably been pulled with pot in the car and was thrown in the tank to put the fear of God into him.
He was keeping his head down, his hands twisting around each other as he tried not to look toward several of the more hardened offenders who were sharing sullen company in the corner. Jacob felt the ache of the fight in every muscle. His eye and jaw were swelling and there was bruising in his ribs, but he didn't think he'd cracked any. Gideon sported a similarly damaged face. Despite that, Jacob wished they weren't cuffed. Beating on each other was preferable to staring at one another across thirty feet of space, every- thing said and unsaid vibrating in the air between them, making his headache worse. "You look like shit, " he said. Gideon's head lifted. "You're not looking so pretty yourself. " "No. I mean you look like shit, Gid. This is beating you down. "
"Shut up. " Gideon turned his face away. "You don't get to talk to me as if you're my brother. After we leave here, I'm not looking back. You're one of them now. My brother's dead. You hear me?" He spun around abruptly, making the cuffs clank against the bars and earn- ing a sharp glance from the guard. "Dead. " "So love's all about meeting your terms, is it?" Idiot, stubborn, hardheaded jackass. You used to sing to me when I had nightmares. You used to smile. Gideon turned away farther, hunching a shoulder, but to Jacob's surprise, he responded, his voice low and gruff. "I'm past loving any- one, Jacob. I just can't handle it anymore. This is probably just the way it's meant to be. " The desolation in Gideon's tone was as cold as death, and Jacob wondered if the analogy was uneasily close to the reality of his brother's life. "That's fortunate. " Jacob's attention swung to the rear of the cell. On first glance, the man looked like a well-heeled middle-aged businessman, a hooker's John or a DUI. But he was neither of those things. His eyes glittered in the shadows, and his smile revealed the hint of a sharpened tooth.
Jacob cursed his focus on his brother, which had kept him from more carefully noting all the cell occupants. The vampire had been blending into the shadows, screened by the restless movements of the others. Of course, if he'd been deliberately avoiding notice until now, Jacob might have missed him regardless. It didn't make their situation any less fucked. Gideon had gone on alert as well, straight- ening from the bars, his eyes narrowing. "Kyle Miller, " he said flatly, telling Jacob they were in trouble, if he didn't have the small handful of brain cells required to recognize that already. "Tends to like to take his full quota. Just another of your happy, fuzzy vamps trying to live, " he added, a cutting edge to his tone that made Jacob shoot him a narrow look. "It's like dinner theater, " the vampire observed, remaining seated in the deceptively casual pose, his hands linked around his knees, idly fingering the expensive fabric of his slacks. "So many interesting dramas play out here. I could have used the sewers to head home an hour ago, but watching you two has been so stimulating. Oh, no worries"--when he nodded toward the boy, Jacob noted the vacant confusion in the kid's eyes, the lingering aftermath of vampire com- pulsion instead of alcohol or drugs as he first thought--"I've already supped well. I'm not interested in blood. However, I think I'll be kill- ing him. " He indicated Gideon. "As you can tell, he's known to me and my kind. His luck runs out tonight. " Jacob surged to his feet, the cuff bringing him up short. He could yell for the guard, but the guard would not only end up dead, he wouldn't even get the door unlocked before the vampire struck at Gideon. He wouldn't even know what had happened. At the mo- ment, their conversation wasn't even being tracked, everyone else involved in their own miserable circumstances and the guard tun- ing out anything that wasn't life threatening. In the meantime, Gideon hadn't moved at all. His brother met the vamp's gaze as if he wasn't hampered by a lack of weapons and limited mobility. With a jolt, Jacob realized Gideon had perhaps had other reasons for wanting to meet with him today. Looking for hope from the only reason to live he had anymore--his brother--Gideon would have seen Jacob's betrayal as the last straw.
Now he just didn't give a shit at all, which made him hazardous on a lot of levels, mostly to him- self. For the first time in his life, Gideon needed Jacob more than Ja- cob needed him. He might be past asking for help or wanting it, but that was too bad. Jacob wasn't going to let his stubborn brother's ass get wasted by some midlevel vamp. "This isn't going to happen, " Jacob declared. Kyle's gaze shifted to him. "You're brothers. You're the prettier of the two. " "Told you, " Gideon said, though he didn't shift his gaze. "Asshole, " Jacob responded mildly. He kept a matching deadly focus on their enemy, forming a triangle of tension that finally caught the guard's attention. Now the other inmates were stiffening, mut- tering. While they hadn't followed the exchange, they certainly could sense some violent entertainment brewing. "Knock it off in there. " The vamp's gaze flickered over Jacob, lingered in areas less than comfortable. "Perhaps when I'm done, I'll take some dessert, after all. I can make you hard as I drink, human, " he whispered. "Increase your pleasure and your prudish embarrassment. I bet your brother hasn't seen you jack off since you were young enough to share a room. " "You're not touching my brother, " Jacob said. "Or me. " He could hear the guard starting to move, the chair scraping back. If he came into the cell, he was dead. "I'm not seeing you in a position to stop me. " "Perhaps not. " Jacob inclined his head with cold courtesy. "But my Mistress can blow you away like dust. " In a blink, the vamp stood by Jacob, his face close enough for a kiss, his fangs exposed. He had a hand on the back of Jacob's neck, fingers snarled in his hair. Jacob steeled himself not to move. Gideon surged forward, metal clanking. The guard called out, telling Miller to move his ass back, his hand on his radio, a breath away from call- ing for backup.