Page 24 of Gideon
“But he didn’t give any details?” I asked, curious. “He didn’t mention when you would be starting this new project?”
“No,” Levi shook his head, sipping another deep pull of his drink and hissing at the burn. “Not a word. Could be tomorrow, could be two years from now, I have no fucking idea,” he nearly choked out, the liquor making his eyes water.
“What about where —” I began, but Levi cut me off.
“Christ, Kai, where did you get this shit from?” Levi nearly spat as he coughed again against the back of his hand.
“Made it myself,” Malachi grinned with pride.
“You made this? It’s basically swill!” Levi said as he sipped once more. “And what is it — ninety proof?!” he exclaimed.
“Who knows and who cares? It tastes sweet, burns like hell, and destroys the pain. I call itwoman,” Malachi explained, his chest puffing up as he told us about his new swill.
“Sorry, Gideon, what were you saying?” Levi brought the attention back to me, shaking his head at Kai as he spoke.
“Did he mention where this job is? Any details?” I asked, finding myself hungry for information. I wanted this puzzle to make sense, especially after Talia’s revelation. My stomach still churned and rolled at the memory of Zeke’s poor wife. Christ, how incredibly damaging to go through a trauma like that and not remember it — only to remember in the middle of a kinky night with her new husband, through a marriage arranged by the very people who kidnapped her! Probably. It was probably them. We didn’t know for sure.
“Not a word. I have no idea if it will be here or somewhere else or what…” Levi trailed off, his eyes going unfocused for a moment as he likely thought about all the possible scenarios.
“So what are we going to do about it?” Ollie asked, taking a deep breath and trying his best to trudge forward. It was cute how he thought he could just don Levi’s big brother shoes from time to time and take them out for a test drive. He didn’t have the gall, or the balls, to handle shit like Levi did. Not by a long shot.
“I don’t know. I suppose I don’t really have enough information to make any kind of decision right now,” Levi said with a sigh. The hell? So why were we here?
“What can we do to help, Levi?” Zeke asked sincerely.
“Nothing right now, I think. Stay focused. Be vigilant. And remember that we are in this together and will get to the bottom of it. No matter what,” Levi led us in his own weird version of a brother’s sermon. He was known to do such a thing when the spirit moved him. It wasn’t religious in nature, but it was still high and mighty as hell.
“Well, let us know if you need anything. I need to get back to Naomi before anyone notices,” I said, finding my excuse and riding it the hell out of there as fast as I could.
Malachi followed me, hot on my heels with his whiskey in hand.
“Sorry you had to come all the way out here, but you know Levi.” Malachi rolled his eyes.
“That’s ok,” I shrugged. “Levi is the master ofwhy have a text message when you could have a meeting.” We both chuckled at the absurdity of it, but at the end of the day, we would be there for our brothers, no matter what.
“Truer words, Gideon. Truer words…” Malachi trailed off with a chuckle.
“I’ll catch you later, likely after this whole honeymoon mess is over,” I replied with a roll of my eyes.
“Sounds good. Later, Gideon. Go have fun with that new wife of yours,” he teased with a smirk.
“Watch your words, brother. You’re next, remember?” I shot right back, flipping him off as I jogged to my truck and slid into the driver’s seat. The drive home was much more relaxing than the drive there had been. The conversation with Levi still rattled through my brain. It was important, yes, but I had a new wife at home. One who apparently had an even shorter fuse that I did, and that was fucking saying something. I needed to keep my focus on what was happening at home, at least for the time being.
As my thoughts circulated away from Levi and towards Naomi, I couldn’t help but picture the intense sex we’d had. We may have been at each other’s throats nearly constantly, but Christ Almighty! When we collided, it had been nothing but pure fire. Explosive. Passionate. Nearly violent. That’s how my need for her felt.
It wasn’t easy to feel that way, not really. She was a beautiful woman; the kind that I gravitated towards, even at Abditory. Tall and lithe, she had the body of a dancer. All long lines that made me want to tie her up in intricate knots and lift her into the air as my version of art.
God, she would be a masterpiece if that could ever happen.
But, of course, I knew it could not. Not ever. She’d bite my fingers off if I ever even tried to come at her with a hank of rope. I chuckled in the truck, turning back into the driveway.
There she was. My precious boat. Sure, the little sailboat I took around the lake was beautiful as well, but it wasn’t the Ataraxia. That girl was the one thing giving me a purpose right now. Thoughts of taking her out onto the wide, open ocean with no one to bother me, no one to control me — that was what kept me going.
I inhaled a deep sigh. I needed to get my tools packed up. The sun was dipping into the treeline and I knew I wouldn’t get anymore work done tonight. First, I would check in on Naomi. It had been a bit, and I had a feeling I may have done her a disservice by not telling her I was leaving. I winced at the thought of what kind of vitriol she might spew at me when I walked in the door.
I turned the knob to the front door, throwing it open and deciding to dive in headfirst. Let the siren rip me to shreds with her words if she wished.
“Honey! I’m home!” I called out comically.
