Chapter 4 Orion
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 a very pissed-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 seventy years 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.
“Over here,” I said, loud enough for Gabriel to find me.
I kept my attention on the door as he made his way toward me. I knew I’d messed up. No reason to see the disappointment on his face to confirm it.
“Are you okay?”
Gabe knew I was physically unharmed, so I didn’t pretend otherwise. I kept working on the door even when he was right beside me. “Obviously, my people skills need work, and anger management classes wouldn’t hurt, I suppose.”
A swirl of energy surrounded me, and the small shards of wood rose slowly from the floor. With enviable skill, Gabe repaired the door in about the same amount of time it took me to break it. “Show-off.”
A hand grabbed my shoulder and gently turned me around. “Let’s go sit down.”
I blew out a frustrated breath and followed him to the living room. He pointed to a chair and disappeared into the kitchen. I’d just sat when he returned with two bottles of beer.
“Where’d you get those?”
The corner of Gabriel’s lips quirked up just a hair.
“If you hadn’t decided to pick a fight two minutes into your arrival, you’d have known the kitchen is fully stocked.
” He handed me a bottle and settled into the chair across from me.
“Did you know Zeke spent fifteen years as a top-rated chef in Paris?”
I hated rhetorical questions. He knew I’d have skimmed the personnel information. Glaring at him, I took a sip.
“Of course not. He gave me quite a shopping list so he could cook for you both.”
We gently moved toward the real purpose of the conversation because that information wouldn’t have been in the file. “I fucked up, okay? I didn’t mean to, but you know why I didn’t want to come here.”
He fixed me with a level look. “Walk me through exactly what happened.”
You learned humility quickly as a soldier. Hiding information because you were embarrassed to tell your commander cost men and women their lives. In painstaking detail, I led him through what happened. All two minutes and thirty-seven seconds of our time together.
Gabe listened without reacting. The picture of patience and understanding. When I finished, he took another drink before responding.
“Since he didn’t agree to be tested, you decided to test him when he was in his room,” he said with enough snark that I got his message. “At least he proved he could handle himself.”
He didn’t miss anything. All the bits of the broken door were on the outside of the door. “I didn’t say I was acting rationally.”
Avoiding his stare, I rubbed the back of my neck. “He’s just like her. You should’ve warned me.”
“He’s practically your stepbrother, even if you never spent any time with him.” The admonition was heavy in his words. “And I gave you a complete profile.”
It was a load of turds, and he knew it. “You knew Zeke and I barely interacted and that was almost a hundred years ago. I’m not even sure he’d come into his powers the last time we met. Nothing you gave me could prepare me for what I saw.”
“You knew Ares dotes on his son,” Gabriel said. “He’s the most like Ruth of all of them.”
Ruth was Zeke’s mother and the love of Ares’s extremely long life. Spend two minutes in her presence and you’d know why. “It’s not an excuse, Gabe. I know I was wrong, but how can I protect him if he won’t let me?”
Gabe shook his head. “Don’t lie to yourself, Ori. You never gave him a chance. You don’t protect someone by locking them away.”
The words stung more than I cared to admit. I had barged in and given orders like Zeke was some green kid playing private detective.
My gaze drifted back to the bedroom with its newly repaired door. Zeke had been angry but never cowered in fear. He held me back and only released the barrier when my actions might have destroyed the wall.
“You’re right.” I finally looked him in the eyes. “He’s not a rabbit in a wolf’s den. So, what now?”
Gabe finally smiled. “Ares is talking to Zeke. He’ll be back soon. Then you two can work things out.”
If Ares came back with his kid, I might need a month to recover. “Why did you really ask me to do this? You or Ares could’ve done it.”
“Ares is too close. He’d be more overprotective than you and he knew it.
Same goes for Zeke’s older brothers. I could do it, but my other responsibilities make it difficult for me to spend an indefinite amount of time here.
You’re the next best option. We’d hoped you wouldn’t go all mama bear on him and would give him the freedom to do his part. ”
In other words, they needed me to step up and I was blowing it big time. “Why didn’t you tell me that the first time? Instead, you gave me that crap about Michael wanting to give me purpose.”
“He does and it’s true. I was explaining to you why you’re the better choice right now.” He put his beer down with a sigh. “Ori, I let you be after your breakup. Probably more than I should’ve. I kept hoping you’d pull through on your own, but you didn’t. There is life after Lael.”
I flinched at hearing Lael’s name. It was as if it had been removed from all vocabulary for the last seventy years. I’d let go of Lael years ago but not the pain and anger. Those emotions affected my ability to interact with anyone who didn’t tiptoe around me.
“There is, but it was easier not to believe it.”
“Easier, but not better.” He let his words sink in. “You’re right about Zeke. He has a lot of Ruth in him. Her looks, her spunk, and her heart. Remember, too, he’s Ares’s son. He’s been raised to take charge of his life and not to back down. Zeke is a lot stronger than you gave him credit for.”
The way he kept me out of his room taught me that lesson. I pushed out of my chair and finished my beer. “If he comes back, I’ll do better. But he needs to accept I’m here to protect him.”
“He will.” Gabe got up and pulled me into a hug. “Welcome back, old friend.”
I snorted as I squeezed him back. The bastards had played me a bit. They knew guarding Zeke would somehow break me out of my funk. I’d be pissed, but even the anger made me feel alive again. I could do this.
Provided Zeke gave me a second chance.