Page 18 of Love At the Gates of Hell (The Seven Sinners Trilogy #1)

“We got a hell of a lot more than we had,” Luke said.

“Yeah?”

Cleo blew out a breath. “That was insane.”

“Blood magic,” the witch replied with a grimace. “It works but it’s gross.”

What the hell was blood magic? And when did Benny learn it?

Gideon rose to his feet, taking a moment to wipe the dirt from his trousers before he reached his hand out for Benny to take.

She looked up at him, and in a flash, it was like all her initial anger came bubbling back to the surface.

Still, she placed her hand in his, and he helped her to her feet.

There was a brief moment her hand lingered in his before she pulled away from him and stepped back, putting distance between them.

Distance he needed.

“Okay, what do we do with the almost-dead guy?” Cleo asked, staring down at the slumped -over man with a grimace.

“Oh, I can handle that.” Luke grinned.

And in a flash, Gideon watched as his brother’s familiar features contorted into his second face.

The one Gideon had struggled with in the beginning.

The obvious proof that the brother he knew was something else entirely now.

His skin paled while his veins grew brighter, his pupils growing larger as the whites of his eyes turned red.

It was the face of the monster within the body, the blood rush of the vampire coming to the surface and leaving his brother behind.

He chose not to watch as Luke descended upon the man, the pathetic whimpers enough to paint the picture.

“You and me, we need to have a conversation about what happens in situations like these,” he said instead to Benny. “You could have gotten yourself really fucking hurt.”

“Is this what you want to do right now?” she asked. “ Lecture me?”

“I am trying to keep you alive,” he said. “So stop being a brat.”

“Jesus Christ, would you two just chill out?” Luke wiped at his mouth. “I can’t have a goddamn meal in peace with you two.”

“Shut up, Lucas,” Gideon snapped.

Luke sighed before he resumed feeding, Cleo turning away from the scene.

“Come on,” Gideon grit out as he wrapped his hand around Benny’s wrist.

“Hey— what are you doing?”

He bit back a grunt of frustration as he led them both back toward the Mustang, Benny marching alongside him with heat behind her eyes.

“You know, you’re being a real dick,” she muttered as they rounded the hood of the car. Gideon fished for his keys in his pocket with his free hand, his jaw tightening at the insult. “I was perfectly fine out there.”

“None of us were perfectly fine,” he snapped. “That was an ambush.”

He could hardly look at her as he dropped her wrist, focusing on popping open the trunk.

He was mad for a million different reasons, and he was trying to figure out which one of those was Benny’s fault as he tucked his gun back in his holster.

He had a duffle bag tossed in the back, among other various things that came in handy in a pinch, most of them illegal in one way or another.

But he found what he was looking for in a side pocket of the duffle bag, yanking out a clean towel.

“This isn’t the kind of situation where you can just run off guns blazing,” he said, voice rough as he reached for her right arm.

She tensed beneath his touch but she didn’t budge, her eyes tracking every movement he made.

Gideon tried to be gentle as he wiped away the blood but it was beginning to dry on her skin.

“Those were hired men. They don’t give a fuck about who they hurt. Do you understand?”

“So, I’m supposed to do what?”

He moved on to her left arm, flipping the towel to the clean side before carefully wiping away the remains of whoever the fuck that was lying dead in the quarry behind them.

“You listen to me,” he said, irritated. “Stay back when I tell you to stay back.”

“They want me , Gideon,” she said, and he hated the way her voice cracked when she said his name. “I will not just sit here and watch as everyone else tries to fight this for me. I don’t care if you’re being paid— I can’t watch—”

“So, your plan is to just put us all in harm’s way instead?”

He stepped back when he was finished, balling up the towel in his fist, trying to ignore the stricken look on her face. The way her lips parted as if she was going to say something before she thought better of it, her jaw tensing instead.

“I was so fucking focused on finding you out there,” he continued, unable to stop himself. All of his focus for the last week has been on Benedetta. “You are a goddamn distraction. And that’s the kind of shit that’ll get me killed. All of us killed. And then who’s going to keep you safe?”

He could feel the heavy thump of his heart beating rapidly in his chest, the same kind of ache that was twisting up his insides.

He was gonna have a hell of a bruise in the morning.

And he knew he was taking out some of his anger at the attack on her, but Jesus Christ, it could have gone so sideways.

They were lucky. They were really fucking lucky.

And he needed her to know that. He needed her to get on the same page and fast. Because Gideon knew this wasn’t the last time they were going to see those men.

They weren’t going to give her up without a fight.

Well, neither was he.

But if Gideon was hoping for some kind of acquiescence, some kind of agreement, he was shit out of luck.

Benny reached for the gun and held it out for him and as he took it from her, she was storming past him and pulling open the passenger side door to the Mustang.

Without even bothering to look back at him, she slid inside and slammed the door shut.

The car rattled with the impact, and all he could do was let out a weary sigh.

“Well, good luck with that, brother.” Luke laughed as he led Cleo to her Jeep. “I’m gonna go in the happy car tonight.”

“Fucking hell,” Gideon muttered under his breath.

It was going to be a long ride home.