"Release them both, " she ordered the entranced cop. "We're going home. " "But bail--" "The diner owner isn't pressing charges. " She looked between him and Gideon. "Since the two of you aren't charging one another for assault--I assume--there's nothing to hold you for. That's what the police will remember after we've left. " "Why would the diner owner--" "I paid him enough to convince him. " The cop unlocked the cuff on his wrist, went over to Gideon and did the same.
Jacob rubbed his arm, eyed her as she studied him. Why didn't you just let me rot in here a day or so? Perhaps I didn't care to spend the evening without my servant. Before he could reply to that, she'd turned away. "Follow me. "
Chapter Six
She kept Gideon under her compulsion, guiding him into the limo and ordering Mr. Ingram to take them home. Jacob didn't like it. He'd wanted her to lift it as soon as they'd left the cell. Gide- on's capitulation disturbed him, the lackluster look in his eyes too close to a different version of what he'd displayed when he thought Kyle was going to kill them. But Lyssa had given Jacob a quelling look as soon as he had the thought. Since she was trying to control the minds of a building filled with armed police officers, he man- aged to suppress his reaction until they were safely in the limo and driving off. "Gideon's not weak. He's got a strong will. He's got to be fighting you like a son of a bitch. " "Compulsion imposed by a vampire of my strength does not al- low that level of consciousness, Jacob. " She curled her legs up under her in the seat facing the two of them. She wore a simple, short black dress that clung to her curves and stopped at midthigh. Sexy, classy. Even though she'd pulled her hair in a quick twist and hadn't put on any makeup or jewelry as she'd informed him, she didn't need any. It reminded him, however, how quickly she'd come to their aid, and diluted some of his irritation. She wasn't likely in the mood to be pushed. Which might or might not make him hold his tongue, depending on the mood he himself was in.
"It's like anesthesia, " she continued, even as her eyes challenged him, acknowledging his thought. "You start counting down from a hundred and have just enough time for the worry, `What if I don't go to sleep before they start cutting?' and then you're waking up in your hospital bed, the procedure done. " Her gaze shifted between him and Gideon again, lingering, comparing them in a way that disturbed Ja- cob. It made him wonder what she was thinking. What she was up to. "You're right, though, " she added quietly. "He does have a very strong will.
He's just very, very tired right now. Sick to his soul. Let him have the rest. It's not painful, I promise. It's like he's asleep, in a dream. " "He'll hate knowing you did it to him. The longer you hold it, the worse it will be. Please, my lady. I know him. " She sighed, gave him a searing look. However, as she turned her eyes to the window, Jacob sensed a change in the charged air in the limo. Gideon blinked. Straightened. His gaze darted to Jacob, then back to Lyssa. "How--" His eyes narrowed, pinned on Jacob with ominous intent. "You let her put her frigging mind control on me. You--" "And I will do it again if you two start pummeling one another like you're in the back of your parents' station wagon. Jacob didn't let me do anything, Gideon. He's my servant. I am not his. " Gideon glared at her. "You can let me off at the next corner. " "I could, but I won't. " Straightening out her legs, she crossed them, folded her hands over her lap and stared back at him. "You need a shower. " Her delicate nose wrinkled. "Food. A good night's sleep. I'd offer the same to a stray dog. While the dog would be far more deserving and definitely more grateful, you also need some time with your brother. " "I have no brother. " She laughed, startling them both because the sound of it was so easy and relaxed. It rippled through the tension in the car, disrupting and confusing it. "Of course you have a brother. Your anger doesn't change that. Had Kyle done anything to Jacob, you'd have broken all the bones of your hand to slip the handcuffs and try to kill him. I've lived a long time, Gideon.
Families have fights; they go their separate ways, sometimes for years. But you and Jacob are bonded. You love him. Your bafflement at the choices he's made, feeling betrayed and angered, perhaps even jealous, doesn't change the fact. " "I'm not jealous--" "Not of his choice. Of how he feels about me. The commitment he's made to me, instead of to you. " The knife of the truth twisted inside of Jacob. She was right. In Gideon's mind, he'd not only left his brother to fight his adversaries alone, but had made the choice to join the other side. Sometimes a person goes down the wrong path and the only way to help him back to the right one is to leave him alone to find it. While he appreciated his lady offering virtually the same thought he'd had right before their fight, it didn't help the aching sense of guilt. He looked at Gideon, at the haggard lines of his face. Felt the anger and hatred emanating from him as he stubbornly crossed his arms and refused to say anything further. You didn't leave Rex, Jacob thought. No. I killed him. He might have been better off if I had left him. Though she didn't say it, he heard it echo in the pregnant silence that followed the thought. Thomas certainly would have been. And Jacob never would have gotten to be this close to her, be- cause she wouldn't have needed a new human servant. Right or wrong, the thought was in his mind. From the shadowing of her ex- pression, he could tell she heard it. When they reached the house, Jacob expected Gideon to balk at going in, but his brother had apparently decided to go along with Lady Lyssa's intent. He got out of the car without comment and stared at the fortresslike structure while Lyssa spoke to Mr. Ingram. He thinks he can scope out your home for attack advantage, my lady. I wouldn't advise letting him in like this. I know, Jacob. Don't worry about it.
Jacob set a record for a fast shower, pulled on just a pair of jeans and was somewhat mollified to find Bran lying outside Gideon's door, along with a stack of extra towels.
The wolfhound padded away hap- pily as Jacob relieved him of his post and picked up the towels, giv- ing only a cursory knock before he entered. Gideon had apparently found a small towel in the bathroom. He held it around his hips, water still dotting his body as he surveyed the room with careful precision. "Looking for vulnerabilities?" Jacob asked. "Ways to come in and stake her in her sleep? You might as well sign your own death war- rant. She knows when a new squirrel enters her property. " "Vampires aren't always on guard, little brother. " Gideon turned, held out his hand to take the towel that Jacob offered. "No, they aren't. That's why they have human servants to pick up the slack. " Jacob watched him swap out the smaller swatch of terry cloth for the larger one, tucking it in at his hip. At some point, a blade had left an impressive crescent-shaped scar over his kidney area. He wouldn't have been surprised if the intent of the attacker had been to cut out the vital organ. "But if you try to take her on her own ground, on any ground, she'll cut you down before you even glance her way. You've never dealt with a vampire with her kind of power. " "Is that what gets you going? All that power in that fuck-me- eight-ways-to-Sunday body?" While Jacob refused to let his temper be tripped by such an obvi- ous ploy, he did experience a strong urge to ram his brother's hard head into the dresser. It was good, sturdy oak. It might withstand the blow. "I'm here by my own choice, Gideon. For my own reasons. " Gideon rubbed his hands over his face, the massive muscles in his arms bunching, turning scars into pale silver snakes rippling over his skin. "Just please don't tell me you're with her because you think she loves you. " "No. " Jacob put down the rest of the towels. "I'm with her because I know I love her. " Gideon made a derisive hissing between his teeth. "Boys. " The two men turned. Normally Jacob sensed when his lady was near, a feather brush of something insubstantial along his neck like a light kiss, but this time she'd disguised her approach.