“It’s closed for a reason.” I left off the “asshole” I was thinking. “Knock if you want to come in.”
He turned the handle, but I’d already barred it with my telekinesis. It wouldn’t hold him, but if he broke it down, I wasn’t even going to give Michael a heads-up before I left.
A house-shaking blow struck the door, shattering half the wood, but my obstruction held. I jumped off the bed and glared at him across the wall of translucent energy. “What the ever living fuck is your problem, asshole?”
“I said training in an hour.”
“I heard you. Have fun, I’m not going to be there.” Hellfire, I wasn’t going to be here in an hour.
“You think this is some kind of game?” He pushed against my barrier, and it held him back. Unfortunately, the door jam and wall were showing signs of stress. Rather than risk destroying the room or even the entire house, I let him in. “I told you I’m in charge of your protection.”
“Well then you’re out of a job. I’m going home.”
I hadn’t thought of what I’d do if he tried to stop me, but I was pretty sure he wouldn’t hurt me too much. I collected my things again and tried to leave, but he barred my way. This time I didn’t back down. Dad would rip him apart if he hurt me, which might not do me any good, but it was hopefully a deterrent.
“Running home to Daddy?” he asked in a mocking tone.
Resorting to taunting me into staying meant I’d won. “Nope.”
I pushed past him and didn’t stop until I was out the door. Tossing my things in the car, I pulled up Michael’s text and called Gabriel. I watched the front door, half expecting Orion to come charging out to drag me home.
“Zeke?” The voice on the other end was laden with disappointment. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m done. He broke the door to my bedroom and threatened to bring the entire house down because I refused to train with him.” The words rushed out in a torrent, which almost sounded like a preteen telling on a sibling. “He came in, telling me how it was going to be. I told Michael I worked alone, or at least I was in charge. Two minutes in and it isn’t going to work.”
I heard him take a few deep breaths. “I’ll talk to him.”
If Orion hadn’t broken my door, I’m sure they’d have thought I was overreacting. But he had, and it was borderline sociopathic. “Be my guest, but I’m going home. I’m not going to end up dead because he has an alpha male complex. Since he thinks he knows how best to do this job, let him do it all. Then he doesn’t have to argue about every move.”
My subconscious must have known it was safer to call Gabriel than Michael. Had I said this to the other brother, I might have had my ass singed by lightning. I heard typing on the other end. I couldn’t decide if he was texting Michael, Orion, or Dad. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t wrong, and I wasn’t backing down.
“Go get a beer. I’ll be there in an hour.”
Gabriel’s angry tone was punctuated by the call going dead. I didn’t like turning tail, but it wasn’t a suggestion. He didn’t want me to stay in the area, and getting a beer was a lot closer than going home.
Backing up, I left the neighborhood. I was sorely tempted to keep driving until I was back in Virginia, but then I’d be defying a direct order. Dad might defend my decision to leave, but he wouldn’t tolerate me disobeying Gabriel.
I didn’t feel like a beer at 2:00 p.m., so I opted for a late lunch. The town was full of chain restaurants. I’d go to one of them and wait for further orders.
Orion
Icursed under my breath as Zeke drove off. Talk about screwing up. I hadn’t made it five minutes without blowing this assignment. Not on purpose, but the smug little shit had no idea what he’d be facing. I couldn’t protect him if I didn’t know what he could do.
There were, however, better ways to glean that information short of destroying his door like I was breaking in to rape his cute ass. Maybe that was the problem.
Gabriel’s angry text was followed by an angrier one from Michael and one from averypissed-off Ares. He ripped me a new one for threatening his son. I tossed the phone onto the couch in disgust. I’d come here to protect his kid and ended up scaring Zeke off.
In my defense, I’d been guilted into the job. That didn’t excuse my behavior, but they should’ve realized this might not go well. Or maybe I shouldn’t have been such a jackass. I couldn’t even blame him. Zeke tried to review things together and I went off on a power trip. When he didn’t yield to me, I smashed in his door. Nothing wrong there.
After that display, I grudgingly might possibly need to agree the others had seen what I couldn’t. Being alone for seventyyears had not been the solution to my problems. It made them worse.
My phone mocked me from the couch. One of the three who messaged me would be showing up in person. My money was on Gabriel. Michael wouldn’t come himself, and Ares was too angry. Gabriel, however, would be feeling guilty for talking me into this and for what that did to Zeke.
Definitely Gabriel.
Rather than stew, wondering what I’d say, I decided to use the time to repair the door I’d damaged. Young angels were taught creating something was infinitely harder than destroying things. I was reminded of this lesson while I worked.
The knock at the door broke my concentration just as I was almost done. I’d been saving my work as I went so I didn’t lose much progress. Sensing Gabriel’s presence on the other side of the front door, I released the defenses I’d created when I arrived.
