Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gideon
The moment Alex had informed me that Lorcan had Penn cornered in a convenience store, I’d ordered him to get him out of there and to my house. If Lorcan had hunted him down, he either knew it was Penn or that Penn had lied about not knowing.
Paul texted me when they were on the way back, explaining what had happened and that Penn was hurt. My rage wasn’t a foreign feeling, but I couldn’t figure out what exactly was angering me so much. Was it that Penn was hurt or that he was hurt because of me?
His green eyes met mine as I leaned against the doorjamb while Rita finished up.
“He really should rest, Gid.” She scowled at me.
“Uhm, actually, while I appreciate your help, Mr. Hendrix, and Rita, I’d like to call a ride share and get home, please.”
“Ha!” Rita’s voice echoed loudly. “If you walk out that door alone, it’s gonna be bad news for you.”
“Hm…” Penn tilted his head. “Lorcan will kill me, you think?”
Rita snorted. “A man like that, he’ll extract information out of you first, slowly, painfully. Afterward, yes, you die.”
“I see.” Penn scratched his eyebrow, a thoughtful expression on his face. He didn’t look scared by what Rita was saying, and that was odd. “I think he’d end up disappointed.”
Now it was my turn to chuckle. “And why is that? Everyone has a breaking point, it’s rare that pain doesn’t pull information out of someone.”
He pursed his lips and stood. “I agree that pain is a good motivator for a lot of people, but I’m not one of them.”
“Regardless.” Rita kicked the first-aid kit under the sink. “You’ll still be dead in the end.”
He glanced at her, then back at me. “And what exactly do you want from me, Mr. Hendrix? Why am I here, and why did your men save me?”
“You’re joking, right?” Rita huffed. “You risked your life for my boy, for my niece and nephew, who are Gideon’s children. Of course we’re going to keep you safe.”
Penn hummed. “And Lorcan wants me dead because I saved children?”
I shrugged. “More that you foiled his plan to leave me completely broken. Like I explained, Penn, everyone has a breaking point, and my children are just that.”
“Understandable.” He motioned toward me. “Can I at least leave the bathroom?”
Rita laughed and pushed me out. “You can. Go sit on the couch and relax.”
“Mom?” Matteo called out as we exited the bathroom. He was coming down the stairs.
“Hey, baby, what do you need?”
Matteo looked from his mom to me and finally to Penn. “Oh my God,” he whispered. “It’s you.”
Penn’s face scrunched up and he scratched the nape of his neck, which I noticed was quite pink.
“Hey,” he mumbled.
“It’s your eyes,” I said, and he glanced at me as if I were weird. “They are very green, it was what gave you away to Dean…that, and your voice.”
“Really? I tried to mask my voice.”
“Are you okay? You were on fire!” Matteo inched closer.
Penn waved him off. “Yeah, no problem.”
“Has anyone checked those burns?” I gestured to his neck, where he was still scratching.
“Oh, yeah, it’s fine.”
“Maybe I can?” Rita offered, but Penn stepped away.
“Thanks, you’re all very kind.” He turned to me. “And I appreciate you wanting to keep me safe and all, but I think I’ll be fine and anyway, I’m leaving town soon.”
“Leave?” Matteo gasped. “Where are you going? Why are you leaving?”
“Job opportunity,” he answered even though I knew that was bullshit.
“Do you have to?” Matteo’s lip jutted out, and I’d have laughed if I hadn’t been curious about Penn’s answer.
“Yeah, sorry, buddy.”
We were all silent for a minute before Rita spoke up. “You must be hungry; dinner is almost done. Stay, please?”
Bless her, because it was hard to say no to Rita, and I had a feeling it had been a while since Penn had eaten a home-cooked meal.
His shoulders slumped. “Okay, that sounds nice. Thanks.”
“Good, I’m just going to go finish up. Matteo, set the table please.”
“But, Mom!”
“Now.”
Matteo sighed but followed her to the kitchen…and then it was just the two of us.
“How about we talk?” I motioned for him to follow me up the stairs. I’d take him to my office, where we’d have some privacy.
He didn’t argue or react at all, simply followed behind me. Fortunately, my office had been cleaned of the broken keyboard and lamp a few days ago.
“Have a seat.” I went to my desk chair, putting space between us. Maybe it was for me, maybe it was for him, but it seemed like the right thing to do.
He sat, hands on his lap, his posture relaxed.
“Mr. Hendrix, I—”
“Please call me Gideon.”
“Uh, okay, sure. Gideon, thank you for real for saving me tonight…err, your guys. I get that you’re worried about me for some strange reason, but I’ll be fine. I think I’ll speak with Alan and tell him I have to leave sooner rather than later. He’ll understand.”
I didn’t know what to react to first, the way he’d said my name, how he couldn’t understand why I was worried, or that he was readying to leave sooner than originally planned. I decided to address none of them.
“You’re not like other people are you, Penn?”
He cocked his head. “How do you mean?”
“Where to begin…” I cleared my throat. “You ran into a house that was on fire, saved three children you didn’t know, got burned for your trouble, then were attacked by a very dangerous man tonight, glass scratched up your arms, and through all of it you haven’t even flinched.
You show no fear. Are you—and I say this with no disrespect, Penn, please understand—but are you a sociopath or a psychopath? ”
He chuckled thankfully. “You know a lot of psychopaths that help strangers?”
“You’d be surprised how many do just to blend in.”
His brows scrunched, but he nodded. “Maybe someone should tell them kindness makes you stick out more than cruelty.”
I folded my hands on top of my desk. “What’s your story, Penn?”
“It’s just that, Gideon…my story.”
Oh, I’d hit a nerve. “We have a situation.”
“Do we?”
“Yes.” I stood and walked over to the small bar in my office. “Drink?”
“Is that the situation we have?” The corner of his mouth curled up, and I had a sudden need to taste his smile.
“No.”
“Just water, please.”
I filled a glass with some water and one with bourbon for me, handing his to him before returning to my chair.
“Lorcan Anders hates me more than you can possibly fathom, Penn. He tried to kill my children, and you ruined that for him. He’d cross state lines to find you and drag you back only to tear you apart right in front of me.”
“Why would him killing me in front of you affect you?” That was what came out of his mouth, not the fact that he’d be tortured.
“Because he’d believe it would anger me, hurt me.”
He sipped his water and placed the glass on my desk. “And would it…bother you?”
I swallowed my bourbon in one gulp, put the empty tumbler down, and looked directly into his green eyes.
“Yeah, Penn, I think it would upset me a great deal.”