“You’re drinking,” Gideon said.
He turned toward the man that had changed his life together, and sighed. “Why are you in my home?”
“I have a thing about turning up to places uninvited. It’s my flaw and my gift.”
“You’re neither invited or wanted. You’ve not long gotten out of jail. Shouldn’t you be between a woman’s legs or something?”
Gideon straightened the cuffs of his shirt, and stepped toward him. He picked up a glass and the scotch, standing beside Gabriel. “Women are so easy to find, and even though I’m not balls deep inside one, I’m not a little boy. I can control myself.” He held out the bottle. “Another.”
“It’s my damn scotch, you should be asking me for permission.”
“I get the sense that you are pissed at me, and I can’t help but wonder why.”
Gabriel stole his bottle of scotch, and glared at him. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you release that kind of truth?” Gabriel asked. “No one needed to know.”
“About you being a Denton at your core?” Gideon held his glass up.
“All it has done is cause nothing but trouble.”
“Just so you’re aware. The Colton and Denton families do not have a good reputation for getting along. You were under a false need for revenge, and my father was getting pissed. Not to mention all of my brothers as well. We’re not a very patient family. You’re our brother, and I did think it was funny to see the fallout from that. Quite comedic.”
“I don’t get it. Unless you want to see your family fall.”
“Far from it. I have this deep, drilled into me sense of loyalty, Gabriel. I can’t just … let my family fall, but I always wasn’t about to let my brother die, nor my future brothers-in-law.” Gideon smiled at him.
Gabriel frowned. “I haven’t gotten a clue what you’re talking about.”
“It’s rather funny actually. About two years ago I saw this charming woman, very sweet, and she was buying vegetables at some kind of deli store. I was there because a woman I liked to fuck had moved there. Anyway, let’s just say that during that brief … encounter, not only did I discover a woman that was meant to be mine, I also found out that the love of my life was none other than Emma Colton.”
“Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me. That’s my sister.”
“And absolutely no relation to me at all,” Gideon said. “So I found out the truth about your parental line, and it all worked in my favor. Yay.”
“You will stay away from Emma.”
“Your sister works very closely to me, and I happen to find her the most fascinating woman. For the past couple of days, I’ve not had my usual fill, and I’m not feeling particularly nice.”
“You’ve not told anyone.”
“Why would I?” Gideon asked. “I happen to enjoy keeping secrets, and this is my damn life.”
He finished the scotch, and handed him back the glass. “You’re a Denton, Gabriel. Act like it, and don’t take any shit from my brothers. You’re exactly like us in every single way.”
Just as Gideon was about to leave, Gabriel reached out, grabbing his shoulder. “You’ll stay away from Emma.”
Gideon chuckled. “See, exactly like us.” With that he winked, and left.
Chapter Eleven
Two months later
“Smith and Westbrook have gone to ground. No one has any trace of them,” Maddox Denton said.
“Cowardly fucks,” Rick said, speaking up first.