by Joey W. Hill
Good men were like that. Which was why Daegan and Gideon were with her now. Gideon had barely left her side since the explosion, though he’d given her space. Daegan had been in her mind through everything. As soon as all the responders left, he, too, had joined them, putting his arms around her and holding her close. She’d felt his wish, as well as Gideon’s, to take any pain from her and, in the face of that impossibility, give her comfort however was needed.
After she threw the chunk of debris, they drew closer to her, though neither of them touched her. She was grateful for that. Simmering with so many things, she was likely to explode like that bomb with the trigger of a single touch.
“They know we’re here now,” she said dully. “No one is safe.”
“This was a discussion I never wanted to have with you, cher,” Daegan said quietly. “I have once again brought pain to your door.”
“I should have dug deeper on Perry. I’ve gotten soft,” Gideon said bitterly. “I saw a vet in pain, with a true sob story, and didn’t remember that my story wasn’t much different. It was what made me a vampire hunter, damn it all.”
Anwyn rubbed her brow. “Stop it, both of you. Life sucks sometimes. Beginning and end of it. I don't have time to hold your hands and make you feel better about the situation, because I'm too pissed about it myself. If there were no bad guys, none of it would matter. But bad guys happen. I get it, and I'm going to be okay with it.”
“We know that,” Gideon said. “But we hate for you to hurt and not know how to make it better, which always makes it feel like our fault.”
Her lips curved, despite herself, and she shook her head. “I know. I feel the same way when anyone I love is hurting.”
“Like us?” Daegan’s gentle tease helped, and she cast him an indifferent look, though it took effort.
“You two might be included in that group. Depending on the day. You’re not trying to handle me too much through this, and I want to appreciate that. I’m not capable of it at the moment. I’d like to tear somebody’s guts out with my bare hands.”
She walked a few steps away, bowed her head to think. They let her do so. Daegan had marked Gideon directly, not long after she had, so he could talk to the other male directly in his head, rather than using her as a conduit. It allowed her to ponder things without the disruption of spoken conversation when she needed the silence.
As much silence as she could obtain when her head was inhabited by so many demons.
She took a breath made of sharp glass, tried to dial that surge of rage back, settling the cacophony. She hated when they giggled like schoolgirls. “So, we’re going to shut it down. Hell, it will have to be closed anyway until we clean up this mess and do repairs. Once you find these guys and take care of them, we reopen.”
She had to believe it was an isolated cell, as Gideon had projected to her. Most vampire hunters didn’t believe in killing innocents. Unless the whole network had upgraded their strategy, in which case it would never end, and she and her club would never be safe.
“The Council has given me leave to hunt them down and dispatch them,” Daegan said. “They will also alert all other vampires, not only in this area, and particularly the business owners, so that everyone will be on guard.” He shifted his glance to Gideon.
“They'd like me to show my loyalty by giving you intel,” Gideon guessed.
“Yes. But I will not ask for it. I will find them on my own.”
Gideon stared at him. He’d been propping on a pile of rubble but now he straightened, though it was as if he bore the weight of the world on his shoulders. “No. This wasn't just an attack against vampires. It was against everyone here, so these are fanatics who don't care how many innocents get in their way. That’s everyone’s enemy. I’ll help you hunt them.”
“If you wish to provide me information, then that is your decision. But I will hunt them on my own.”
Gideon’s brow creased. “No.”
Daegan held his gaze. “This is not up for debate. It will take a cost from your soul, vampire hunter, that I find unacceptable."
"You and Anwyn are my soul. I lost mine long ago."
“You didn’t lose it at all. It found its home with us. Gideon.” Daegan came to him, put a hand on his tense shoulder. “You may argue, we may fight about it, but my decision on this won’t be swayed. I want you here, with Anwyn. This will be difficult for her.”
“Don’t use her to keep me on the sidelines.” Gideon shrugged him off irritably. “That pisses her off as much as it does me.”
“I am not using either of you. You are my family, and I will care for you as I know best.” Daegan’s voice became steel. Intractable. “I do not draw many lines in the sand between us. This is one of them.”
Gideon looked toward Anwyn. She met Daegan’s gaze, and he let her in his mind, let her see it. This wasn’t a manipulation. This was how he felt, which meant it was how it was going to be. As he said, he didn’t hold the Master card over both of them often, but when he did, no force in the world would change his mind.
So she turned to Gideon, who looked like he was deciding whether to go a second round with Daegan or not. To head that off, she took his callused hand. “I’m going to go with Daegan on this one,” she said, surprising both men. “I need you here. Wolf is a good backup when the two of you hunt together, but this time…it’s a little much. He’s right. On both counts.”
Gideon frowned, but she squeezed his hand. “You handle everything thrown at you, because you worry if you relax that vigilance, if you ever let anyone take any part of the load, you’ll be less than you think you should be. I know that feeling. I knew that feeling. That was me, when all this started. I had to learn the hard way that there are people in my life I can trust to help carry me when I need it. Don’t learn the hard way.”
“It’s the only way he learns,” Daegan commented dryly. When Gideon looked toward him again, Daegan was close enough to brush a knuckle along Gideon’s jaw. Though Anwyn knew the two men loved one another as fiercely as they loved her, it was a rare tender gesture between the two males, one that she could see unsettled Gideon.
“You are my family,” Daegan repeated. “Give me the honor of doing this, knowing I can make one thing in your life easier.”
“Well,” Gideon said after a long moment. “Since I serve the two most demanding vampires in the history of fangdom, I guess I can take a day off.”
But his expression remained pensive. “You know, when I made the decision to stop hunting, I met one last time with my guys, the ones who worked directly with me. Just felt like I owed them some type of closure, an understanding of what I was doing, even though at the time I wasn’t all that sure myself. The conversation turned ugly, real quick. They said I was a traitor to my species.”
He gave a half-laugh, looked away. “One of them told me I should just give it up, go be some vampire’s fucktoy, since that’s what I was going to end up being anyhow.”
“Gideon,” Daegan said. He put his hand on his face, his thumb on his throat, under his chin, lifting his face with the assertive touch of his Master. “Look at me.”
Gideon did, but he also put his hand over Daegan’s wrist, a strong grip. Anwyn stood beside them, her heart in her eyes. “I know what I am, Daegan,” he said. “I don’t agree with their assessment.”
“Then why did you say it?”
“Because you’re right. This would mess me up. Because at this point, we don’t know what drew them here. It could be me. Maybe that was why they decided it was okay to kill ‘innocents.’”
“That’s too much to put on yourself,” Anwyn said.
“Not if it’s true.” Gideon sighed and looked at Anwyn. “I get that you don’t want to deal with us doing the guilt run, so don’t take it like that. This is straight out something that I believe is my responsibility. The homeless guy in the alley is a technique I taught to my team, one that worked for me. I took three of my kills that way. Even if it’s not my original group, i
t’s someone who learned my tactics from them.”
She pressed her lips together, not wanting to go there, even in her head, but fortunately Gideon turned his attention back to Daegan. “I know, even with that, they don’t have a shot against you. But if they’re good enough to see you coming, if you can manage it…” His hand tightened on Daegan’s forearm. The vampire’s eyes darkened, but he nodded.
“They will never feel a thing. And if they do see me coming, it will be as painless as I can make it.”
“Thanks.” Gideon dropped his grip and Daegan eased back, two warriors giving one another space. Gideon looked toward Anwyn. “They hurt Ella and Wolf, and your cats. The bomb could have killed even more people, so they didn’t do the right thing. I'm bound to you two, and that's where I want to be. But it doesn't mean I stopped understanding the other side of it. And the fuck of it all is, it’s all related, on both sides of the coin, isn’t it?”
The anger in her wasn’t willing to go down that road yet, but she understood what he meant, even as he said it aloud.
“When you see someone go after the people you love, or you feel like it's your job to protect people, and something other than ‘people’ are attacking them, that seems pretty straightforward. There's not always a lot of things that are straightforward, especially to a veteran like Perry.”
Now he managed a wan grin. He picked up her hand, lifted it to his lips. She spread her fingers over his stubbled jaw and cheek as he nuzzled her palm. “Then someone like you comes in and mucks up the clearness,” he murmured. “And a guy finds that’s not always a bad thing.”
She moved into his arms and held him. He held her back, just as tight. Daegan stood close by, his strong presence a reassurance, but she noted he was studying her with a brooding look, as if he had gone down another road in his head.
“It will be okay,” she told him. “I will be okay.”
“No, you won’t.”
She knew the tone. He was going to heap additional precautions on her, protect her further. She was not going to be handled with kid gloves. That was not the best way for her to get through this, and he should know it by now, they both should…
She opened her mouth to sharply tell him just that, but he’d already heard it. Her thoughts tended to project through Gideon when her gremlins were restless.
Daegan’s hands landed on her shoulders. “Enough,” he said mildly, in a way that wasn’t mild at all. “Atlantis is your dream, and not just yours. Anwyn, I am very wealthy.”
She blinked at the segue, arresting the forward motion of her frustration. “Okay. I’ve never asked to be your kept woman, but it’s nice to know I won’t be homeless anytime soon if my club goes under.”
A tight smile touched his lips. “I suspect you will never capitulate to being anyone’s kept woman. My point is, I don't need a great deal, but I have accumulated much.”
“I’m so asking for a Ferrari for Christmas,” Gideon said.
“Only if I can force it up your backside,” Daegan said pleasantly. His fingers flexed on Anwyn before she could get impatient with them. She usually loved their banter, but it had been a superbly shitty day.
“Since I have precious little to use my money on,” Daegan continued, “I am going to use it on this place. Bomb detectors, weapons scanners, more security. I can do whatever is necessary to secure Atlantis so it can be safe for you and your employees, while remaining operational. This will become the safest place in all of Georgia.”
She stared at him. He was serious. “Setting aside all the discussions you and I will have on the allocation of your resources and my desire to be an independent businesswoman, even all that won’t eliminate our biggest blind spot. Human security won’t know exactly why this place is more at risk than others. The vampire angle gives the attackers an advantage.”
“Yes and no.” Daegan nodded to Gideon. “It was Wolf who started us down this path.”
“Yeah.” Gideon cleared his throat. “Wolf fully supports the idea of you reopening as soon as possible. He called several pals of his. Wolf was special ops when he was in the military, and apparently these buddies are, too. And they’re vampires.”
At Anwyn’s widened eyes, Gideon smiled. “He suggested you bring them here to handle and train security on the upgrades while we get everything back up and running. With this new plan of Daegan’s, they can take us to that next level. Wolf just needs you to give him the green light.”
“Okay.” She rubbed her forehead again, the wheels turning. “So I get word out to the membership. Keep them apprised of the clean-up and re-build, and assure them of the new security and privacy measures.”
“Exactly. They will come back, because there is no club like this, Anwyn.” Daegan tightened his hands on her shoulders. “You’ve made it a place they love to be and will want to support, especially when we assure them we are addressing all security problems.”
She looked from one man to the other, then back. Slower. That ache in her gut, it was easing, and it allowed a flood of other things in. Because she was a practical woman, she could catalog every reason it would be a bad idea to re-open, especially with a target painted on their backs. As such, she’d been putting a lot of energy into reconciling herself to the end of her club for the indefinite future.
Finding out there was a damn good chance they could make it work unbalanced her enough it perversely almost launched her right into the vat of those gremlins. Even though they were receding with a dull buzz, the fuel for their fire gone.
But Gideon was there in her mind, steadying her, and she held onto that. With a sudden crumpling of her expression, she flung herself into Daegan’s arms, and reached out to bring Gideon into the three-way embrace. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”
But she lifted her head and pinned Daegan with a look. “I am paying you back. Or you’re becoming a legal partner.”
“I will have more than enough money left over, even helping you,” Daegan said. “But you’re correct, you will pay me back. Just not in money.”
He could be a demanding lover, so he meant that, even if right now he said it to tease her, make her smile. She wasn’t sure she could summon a real one right now, but she was far closer to it than she’d been only minutes ago.
"You know, you are wrong,” she said, looking at both of her men. “Much as I love this place, you and Gideon are my heart. I couldn't bear the idea of someone hurting either of you."
“Unless it’s you,” Gideon said. “If I remember correctly, you wield a mean cane.”
“She didn’t think you needed intervention for those little taps that don’t even leave bruises,” Daegan said pointedly.
“They don’t leave bruises because I’m a third mark and I heal,” Gideon retorted. “That’s like saying I can break your arm and it’s okay because it mends in an hour. Give me your arm, let me prove it.”
Daegan fended him off, shoved him back. But then he just as smoothly gripped Gideon’s T-shirt and drew him close again with one arm, Anwyn with the other. Picking up on the change of tone, Gideon wrapped his arm around Anwyn’s waist, the three of them linked. She put her head down on Daegan’s chest, and Gideon pressed against her back.
“Neither of us will tolerate someone hurting you,” Daegan said in her hair. “I will find this cell and deal with it. And after we reopen and things are on a good footing, the three of us will go somewhere to enjoy a real vacation. Kauai on a moonlit night is unforgettable. Particularly in an open-air bungalow with a wide hammock strung beneath the stars. And yes, there will be wi-fi so you can check in on things,” he added to Anwyn. His expression tightened. “I wish you would go to Savannah for a few days, handle the repairs from there. This is going to be a media circus for the next week. It will help if the club owner is not available for comment.”
She set her jaw. “I can’t leave it this way. I’m with Wolf. I want those doors open again as soon as possible. I won’t know how soon until I get started on the cleanu
p and get bids for the rebuild, but only the hallway was damaged, which means we lost the security annex and our accounting office, a storeroom or two. The main club doesn’t need any repairs. Once Wolf’s team is here, and you all deem it safe enough, we could conceivably re-open while the repairs are ongoing during the daylight hours.”
She took a breath. “Ella had everything in place to do Burlesque night. I’m going to schedule that for the re-opening, make it a celebration, a club re-launch to help spur member confidence. Let those bastards know they didn’t do anything to intimidate us. All right?”
Daegan was listening, studying her as she spoke. She knew the idea was sound, but also knew he was considering other things, things that delved into her state of mind, which might be masked under adrenaline and anger, so even she wasn’t entirely sure what she could handle right now.
Which was the part she hated most. She was a Mistress, but she’d surrendered to Daegan, acknowledged him as her Master, and she gave him that respect. Which meant the final decision was his. If he didn’t see it in the best interest of her welfare, he wouldn’t agree, and nothing would dissuade him. Never mind he was almost always right when he disagreed with her. It was the principle of it, not being able to make the best judgment call for her wellbeing herself.
“It’s merely proof of what a formidable woman you are, cher,” he said with gentle reproof, picking it up from her head. “Not an indication of the opposite. You are the steel cable that doesn’t realize it has a breaking point.”
“Yeah, but if the shoe was on the other foot, and you didn’t have full decision-making abilities, I doubt you’d take it any better.”
“He’d just decapitate everyone who got near him and sit brooding among all the severed heads,” Gideon said.
Daegan sent him a glance. “I’d prop my feet on yours, vampire hunter. It’s big enough to be an excellent footstool.”
