Guilt and pain stabbed him hard over his own thoughtless callousness.
Tonight, Tory had a huge surprise party planned for him. Urian was supposed to keep him occupied with his son while Tory and the others decked out Sanctuary and finished the preparations. He wasn’t supposed to know anything about it, but her best friend Pam stunk at keeping secrets and had accidentally told him two days ago.
Never in his life had he been happier.
And Ash owed it all to Styxx and Urian for the sacrifice they’d made in rescuing Tory out of Kalosis. Had his brother not stepped in to help Urian save Tory’s life, Ash wouldn’t have a precious son to hold.
Or a beautiful woman who was his entire world.
He glanced around the stark condo that showed no sign of life and wished Styxx were here so that he could say thank you one more time. So that he could wish him a happy birthday for the first time since they were little boys, bonded as twin brothers.
But then what the hell? He hadn’t spent a birthday with Styxx in over eleven thousand years. What difference would one more make?
Still …
“Wherever you are, brother, I hope you’re surrounded by friends.”
June 25, 2012
“Where the hell’s my brother?”
Urian paused his game that he was playing against his nephews and muted the mic to stare blankly at Acheron. “You need to modulate that unwarranted ire, buddy. I’m not your ho and you ain’t my pimp.”
A tic started in Acheron’s jaw. “Sorry.” But his tone contradicted that apology. “Do you happen to know where Styxx is?”
Of course he did. However, he was too pissed to answer. So Urian took a swig of his beer. “Am I your brother’s keeper?”
“You gave Tory his e-mail. I assume that means you’re keeping tabs on him.”
Urian clicked back into play and had to bite his tongue to stop his causticity from saying something that would cause Ash to blast him through a wall. “Your point?”
“I’ve been to his condo three times this month and he’s not there. As far as I can tell he hasn’t been there for quite some time.”
Nice powers of observation, Atlantean god. It only took you what? Three and a half years to realize your brother had moved out?
For that alone, he wanted to punch Ash.
Refraining from that particular level of stupid, Urian cleared his throat. “Maybe we should put his face on a milk carton, see if anyone has information on his location.” He frowned. “Do they still have milk cartons? Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen one in a while.”
“I’m serious, Urian.”
“I can hear that,” he said, taking his anger out on his online opponent as opposed to his boss. “I mean, damn, how dare my eleven-thousand-year-old brother not be right where I put him three and a half years ago after he did me a huge favor and saved my life and that of my wife. Rank filthy bastard. Inconsiderate dog! Maybe we should take him out back and beat the shit out of him for worrying you so.”
“What is your problem?”
Time to kiss the wall …
Urian sighed and clicked the mic on for a second. “Hey, Tyr, Erik? Can we pick this back up later, little buddies? Uncle Ash needs me for a little bit.”
“Is something wrong?” Wulf asked.
“Nah, I’ll be back in a few. Don’t let the little guys kill me off yet.” Urian signed off and removed his headset.
Picking up his beer, he faced Acheron. “You know I’d die for you. I put my ass on the line for you all the time without fail or hesitation. Hell, sometimes I’m even grateful you saved my life. But you’re not perfect, Ash. None of us are, and when it comes to your brother, you’re a fucking prick.”
Rage mottled Acheron’s cheeks as his eyes darkened. “You don’t know my brother like I do.”
“Really?” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “When was the last time you sat down and had an actual conversation with Styxx? Oh wait …”
