Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment) (10 page)

“Don’t you have a job to do, Ms. Masters?” Octavian muttered through his teeth, gaze fixed on his brother.

Her smile quickly vanished. “Oh, right.” Hurriedly, she stuffed her coat and purse into her locker and left room, but not before she heard Gideon say, “Well that wasn’t very nice. I was just beginning to enjoy her company.”

“What are you doing, Gideon?” Octavian demanded

“I was bored.”

“And you just happened to run into Riley on your way to not being bored?”

“Quite accidentally, I assure you.” There was a slight pause before he added, “She’s a gorgeous little thing.”

Riley felt her cheeks flush.

“Stay away from her, Gideon.” The warning in Octavian’s low growl sent a strange thrill coursing through her chest.

“Is that possessiveness I hear, brother?” Gideon asked with just a hint of dark amusement. “Are you going soft for the pretty little Ms. Masters?”

Riley moved in closer to hear Octavian’s next words, but they were said so softly that it was impossible to pick them up.

Gideon burst out laughing. “That’s a good one!”

“I’m not joking.”

Gideon sobered. “You’re serious?” A pause, then, “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know!” There was panic edged in Octavian’s tone.

“Are you sure? Of course you are,” Gideon muttered a moment later. He exhaled. “Man, this is bad.”

“Tell me about it.”

“We need to tell Mom and Dad.”

“No, they’ll be obligated to report her to the Summit. You know what they’ll do.”

“You have to—”

“No!” The snarl made Riley jump. “I won’t let them near her. Keep your mouth shut, Gideon, or so help me I’ll make you.”

Hot coils of tension wove through the air as thick as tar seeping through the silence. It was Gideon who broke it.

“Would you like to know what I would do?” The buoyancy was back in his voice. He didn’t wait for Octavian to ask as he resumed airily. “I would march out there and make you an uncle, or at least practice…
a lot
.”

“Jesus, Gideon!”

There was a loud smack, followed by an
ow
of pain from Gideon.

There were hardly any tables at all to bus. The few occupants who actually braved the weather were still nursing their drinks, probably to prolong the inevitable, like facing the elements again. She couldn’t blame them, but she wished they would order more than one drink, because honestly, she could only scrub the tables and sweep the floors so many times before it became obvious that she wasn’t really doing anything.

Octavian and his brother were still in a heated debate at the counter. Well, it looked more like Octavian was doing the talking while Gideon watched on with silent amusement. Whatever they were discussing was really infuriating Octavian because he looked about ready to punch his brother out. Riley wondered if she should intervene and maybe save Gideon’s life. But at the same time, that would put her in the path of the lion and Octavian already had reason to throttle her. Nevertheless, she had no choice, she realized. Either she stood in the middle of the room and become one of the wood pillars or move and stand somewhere else for a little while. The room didn’t give her very many options. She opted to just get it over with.

She couldn’t have taken more than a handful of steps when Octavian slammed a fist against the table with a violence that cracked through the room. He blurted something in a language Riley didn’t understand before he turned on his heels and burst through the kitchen doors. She hesitated a fraction of a second before venturing to the bar and the blond man sitting there.

“Is everything all right?” she asked carefully.

Gideon glanced up as she rounded the bar to claim Octavian’s old place. “Perfectly. Octavian has the panache for dramatization. It’s usually best to just let him run out of steam.”

Curious, she tossed a glance in the direction Octavian had taken. “He still doesn’t like me being here, huh?” she mused, turning back to Gideon.

“Octavian doesn’t like anyone being here, truthfully,” Gideon replied with a careful shrug. “He’s quite belligerent like that. It’s always more pleasant to just ignore it. He’ll eventually get over it and move on.”

“So, it’s not just me.” There was some degree of relief in the knowledge.

Gideon folded his arms on the counter and leaned forward. “Would it matter?”

Riley frowned. “I would think so. I mean, I have to work with him. Plus, I really dislike being an annoyance to anyone.”

“Ah!” Gideon sat back. “You’re not an annoyance. Not in the sense you’re thinking. Octavian has a deep passion for rules. You go against them.”

“I don’t understand.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “Nothing to worry yourself over. Just ignore my brother’s foul moods and you should be fine.”

Should be.
Well, she supposed it was better than nothing.

“I think I need a drink!” he declared, changing the subject as he hopped off his stool and ventured around the bar. “Red wine, I think.”

Maybe it was because he just didn’t strike her as the wine drinking type, she was surprised by his choice of beverage. Nothing about this guy fit right with the image of him.

She watched, fascinated as he unearthed a bottle from the cooler beneath the counter and speared the cork with a corkscrew. His movements were so fluid, like he’d done this a million times before. When he jerked the bottle free of its stopper, Riley flinched, half expecting foam to spew everywhere like it did in the movies, but only a soft coil of smoke rose from the neck.

“You’re good at that,” she murmured, seriously impressed.

“We take turns manning the bar,” he said. “Octavian’s usually here most nights because he’s the eldest and likes to pretend he’s in charge.”

Riley chuckled. “So how much older is Octavian?”

“By a few centuries.” His eyes twinkled as though they were sharing a private joke.

“If Reggie’s the youngest at eighteen, you guys must be very close in age.”

“You would assume correctly.” He placed the bottle opening to the rim of a glass and poured. “There’s four years between me and Reggie and a year between me and Octavian.”

“What about Magnus?”

Gideon slanted her a glance from the corner of his eyes. “Didn’t Reggie tell you?”

She shook her head. “What?”

“Magnus and I are twins.”

Riley nearly dropped her jaw. “You guys look nothing alike.”

“Hard to believe, I know, but I was trapped for nine months with that guy in an airtight bubble.”

Riley chuckled. “Your poor mother.”

Gideon grinned. “Yes, but then she got lucky and had me. I was an angel.”

“I somehow doubt that,” she muttered, using a rag to mop invisible spills off the bar.

“Does this face seem untrustworthy, Ms. Masters?”

She could only laugh. “I don’t think any of you are very trustworthy, honestly. You all remind me of naughty little boys doing things you know you shouldn’t.”

He sighed heavily. “That could be because we usually are.” He took a languid sip of his drink. “And yourself? Any siblings?”

She shook her head, keeping her gaze fixed on the task at hand. “It’s just me and my dad.”

“Well, I have a few to spare if you ever decide you want one, or three.”

Riley shook her head, laughing. “Something tells me Octavian wouldn’t be very happy being related to me.”

Gideon touched his wine to his lips, his eyes watching her closely. “Oh he wouldn’t. In fact, if you were related, this whole situation would take a very awkward turn for the awkward. ”

Just then, Octavian stomped back into the room, carting three cases of beer. Riley rushed forward to help, but he shook his head and set the stack on the counter with a resounding clutter of bottles. He stepped back and wiped his hands on his jeans.

“What are all those for?” she asked.

“Stocking the fridge,” he replied.

“I can do that,” she volunteered, needing something to do except stand there like an idiot.

Octavian opened his mouth, probably to object.

“Oh let her!” Gideon burst out, waving arm without spilling a drop of his drink. “For heaven’s sakes man, it’s just stocking the fridge. You don’t have to be such a control freak over everything.”

Octavian glowered at him. “Don’t you have someone else to bother?”

Gideon beamed. “Oh plenty, but they’re not nearly as much fun to bother as you.” He took a gulp of his wine.

Shaking his head, Octavian turned to Riley. “Make sure the labels are facing out for easier finding.”

Riley nodded, resisting the temptation to squeal like a little girl and clap her hands with excitement. It was a testament of just how bored she was.

Octavian lowered the cases to the floor for her and jerked back when she stepped forward. It made her want to sniff herself, just to make sure her deodorant was doing its job.

Ignoring him, she crouched down and popped open the mini fridge beneath the counter. She was on the last case when raised voices filled the dull silence. Even Octavian and Gideon had left when the final customer had, leaving her to finish the task as they disappeared into the kitchen. She’d partially assumed the evening was over.

“Hey, the gang’s all here!” she heard Reggie shout. “Whoa, where is everyone? It’s dead in here. HA! Get it? Dead in here?” He broke off in a fit of laughter.

“Shut up, Reg,” another voice muttered.

The approaching footsteps faded into the kitchen, leaving behind the clack of the doors swinging closed behind them. Riley sighed, going back to work. The place felt so large and empty when no one was there to occupy it. Gorje hadn’t been there when she’d arrived and she hadn’t seen Liam or Kyaerin all evening and the only customers who had walked in, providing momentary lapses in boredom, were now gone. Riley would have asked if she could leave, too, but refrained in fear of getting her pay docked.

With the last bottle stored away properly in its slot and the boxes crushed flat, Riley rose, rubbing the tips of her fingers into the middle of her back where a dull ache had begun to form from stooping for so long. She expelled a lungful of air that ruffled the tendrils of hair around her face before stooping down and gathering the mess she’d created. Her feet echoed in the silence as she shuffled across the room and ducked into the kitchen. The room was dark except for the light spilling out of the staff room and the single bulb hanging over the preparation table. She made her way to the storage room, a tad surprised to find the door already open. She jostled the recycling for a proper grip before moving deeper into the room towards the backdoor where the garbage was left. She set the boxes down and turned to leave.

“Riley?” Octavian appeared in the doorway.

“Here.” She wove her way through the maze of boxes towards the front. “Just taking out the recycling.” She reached him and stopped, tipping her head back to peer up into his face. “Did you need me?”