Chapter 18

18

Gideon could've easily had any one of his people deal with Ty Levins. But here he was, face-to-face with André's annoying ex. A man who refused to stop reporting André's and Jules's disappearance to the cops. Gideon had thought about killing him, but he'd ultimately put that as a final resort.

This was Ty's last chance, though. And Gideon wanted to look him in the eye when he said what he had to say. He felt a momentary twinge of regret for not telling André what he was up to, but he already knew what his now-lover would say.

André wouldn't want his ex hurt, but Gideon didn't have such qualms. Ty was poking his nose where it didn't belong and Gideon would offer up one warning only.

"So, uh…" Ty licked his lips and glanced around. "What— Why am I here? Not that I'm not stoked to meet the Winters in person," he rushed to clarify. "But how do you know who I am?"

Gideon strode past him, taking a seat behind his desk and leaning back when Ty faced him. "You reported someone missing recently."

Ty's eyes got bigger. "What? You-You know what happened to André?" He placed both hands flat on the desk, leaning over to peer at Gideon. "You know where he is?"

"Why do you think something happened to André?"

Ty paused and straightened, confusion narrowing his eyes behind his glasses. "How do you know André?"

"Who is André to you?"

Ty crossed his arms, jaw tightening. "I'm not answering any of your questions until you answer mine."

Oh, he thought he was the one in control. Gideon smirked. "Didn't André and Jules show up safe and sound the first time you reported them missing?" He lifted an eyebrow. "Why do you think the cops keep laughing you out of the station, hm?"

"How do you know that? What do you know?" Suspicion colored the rapid-fire questions.

"I know you are out of your fucking league and way too invested in the comings and goings of a man you're no longer in a relationship with."

Ty blanched. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he shook his head. "Who are you?"

Gideon shrugged and got to his feet. "Just someone trying to keep you from making an even bigger fool of yourself." He sighed. "You should get over André and put your attention where it needs to be, on your grandmother and that precious little boy of yours."

Ty's jaw damn near hit the floor.

Gideon gave him the smile he reserved for his enemies. "T.J. That's his name, right?" Ty couldn't seem to find his words, so Gideon kept talking. "Such a shame, what happened to his mother. To die like that." He shook his head. "So sad. Especially not knowing what really happened and wondering if it could happen to you. "

"You're threatening me?" Ty found his voice it seemed. He took a step toward Gideon, then stopped. "You're threatening me." That last statement was filled with shocked wonder. It was as if the reality of things had just suddenly dawned on him.

"Threats?" Gideon threw his head back with a laugh. "Of course not." When he met Ty's gaze again, his voice was hard. "I'm just a concerned citizen, hoping you don't make a mistake you can't come back from."

"A mistake like what?" Ty closed the distance between them this time, tone filled with challenge. "You and your money don't scare me. You think you're untouchable?"

Gideon cocked his head slowly. He was beginning to see why André had liked this guy at one point. They were reckless, the two of them. Stubborn as fuck, too.

"Where is André?" Ty demanded. "Because all this talking you just did? I'm convinced you know where he is."

At this point, Gideon was only going along, keeping the conversation going, because he was enjoying their little exchange. The minute he stopped enjoying it, he would be putting a bullet through Ty's skull. He'd decided.

"Don't you think it's time to give up your infatuation with him?" he asked casually as he sat at the edge of his desk. "When he returned home, did he call and tell you he was back or did you find out some other way?" Ty didn't answer because they both knew what it was.

"Where is he?" Fists bunched at his sides, Ty's voice rose when he asked, "What did you do to him?"

Gideon allowed a slow smile to spread across his face when he responded, "Nothing he didn't beg me for."

Now, that was a hit Ty didn't see coming, so he didn't know to dodge it. Gideon watched as it landed as intended, knocking the other man off balance.

"You—"

The door opened. "Gideon, I brought you coffee." Jules wheeled inside, a tray with one cup on her lap. "Dré told me we're all gonna— Ty?"

"Jules?" Ty rushed over to her. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?"

"Samir," Gideon called out, and his friend poked his head in.

When Gideon stared pointedly at Jules, Samir shrugged. "Have you tried saying no to her?"

"Miss Juliette." Gideon went to her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you for the coffee." He took the tray from her lap, setting it on his desk. "Why don't you go with Samir?"

"Why is Ty here?" she asked.

"Ty and I were having a meeting, but he's leaving now."

"Not before I see André."

Juliette had already seen enough spilled blood. That was what Gideon kept reminding himself so he didn't shoot that fucker where he stood. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he reopened them, he sought out Samir, who regarded him with a smug I told you so smile on his stupid face. He'd wanted to be the one to deal with Ty, but Gideon had insisted on handling it. On bringing him to the penthouse.

Now that fucker was being an even bigger nuisance and Gideon couldn't just kill him. At least, not in front of Jules.

"André is busy," Gideon said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure he'll be able to make time to see me." Ty crossed his arms.

"I told you?—"

"Dré, guess who's in Gideon's office?"

Gideon glanced down to find Jules with her cell phone to her ear, talking to her brother. He stifled a groan. Goddamnit!

"It's Ty! They're having a meeting. Huh? Oh, yeah, he wants to see you before he leaves. Yeah." She nodded. "In Gideon's office." She ended the call and gazed up at Gideon. "He's on his way. I'm gonna go get ready for our fun day." She wheeled over to the door and then glanced back at Gideon with a big smile, her eyes bright with excitement. "I've got a whole list of things planned."

Yeah, things they might not get to do if André was mad at him for this. Still, Gideon forced a smile and a wave. "Can't wait." The door closed behind her and he turned to find Ty glaring at him.

"Why are they here with you? How do you know André and his sister?"

"I don't know if you noticed, Ty ," Gideon sneered, "but I don't answer questions."

"Why bring me here just to warn me away from André?" Ty kept pressing. "Am I that much of a threat to you?"

Gideon barked a laugh. "A threat? You?" Was he serious?

Ty shrugged, looking full of himself now. "You just implied that you and André are…more. He and I aren't together, like you said. So, why would you feel the need to warn me away from him?"

Gideon went to him, standing toe to toe, chest to chest. To his credit, Ty didn't budge. It wasn't often that he'd had to reevaluate his opinion of someone, but Gideon was man enough to admit that he might have underestimated Ty Levins. Still… "You are laughably out of your league, my friend. You could never be a threat to me."

They stared each other down, tension thick and choking until the door opened.

"Gideon."

He tensed but didn't turn around. If André was mad at him, Gideon didn't want to know. A hand touched the small of his back, then André was at his side.

"Ty. What are you doing here?"

Ty nudged his chin in Gideon's direction. "Ask your…friend." That sounded just a little bit bitter.

Made Gideon want to smile. "Ty has been making noise, being a regular nuisance," he told André without taking his eyes off said nuisance. "My people in law enforcement gave me a heads-up."

"And you thought you'd bring him here?" André asked. "For what?"

"He threatened me." Ty sounded like a spoiled brat.

"Yeah, he does that sometimes." André didn't even blink at him. Instead, he turned to Gideon. "This is the meeting you told me about?"

Gideon nodded.

"Except you didn't tell me it would be Ty."

Okay, now he felt as if he were being scolded. "Because you would have tried to stop me."

André's eyes narrowed.

"André, what the hell is going on?" Ty butted in. "How do you know this guy? Why aren't you at your house?"

"Ty." André blew out a breath. "How is your son?" There was something there, in his tone, that caught Gideon's attention. Hurt? There was definitely a story there, one he wanted to know.

Ty must've heard it too, because he sort of pulled in on himself, shoulders hunched. "He's fine. He's perfect."

André nodded once. "Then you should be with him instead of wasting your time on me, don't you think? As you can see, Jules and I are safe and happy."

Sadness flooded Ty's eyes. "Is it true then? Are you and him a thing?"

"I no longer owe you explanations, but yes. Gideon and I are together."

"You don't even know who he is. He threatened?—"

"Oh, trust me, I know exactly who he is." André slid his hand into Gideon's. And Gideon squeezed him gently, releasing a pent-up breath. "This meeting is over, I take it?"

"Definitely over." Gideon couldn't help turning into André's side, burying his face in his lover's neck and inhaling him. He'd taken a shower, and that made Gideon want to dirty him up again so that he could smell their sex on him.

"Samir will show you out," André told Ty. "And Ty, whatever Gideon told you to do or not to do, listen to him. Please. For your own good."

Ty didn't say anything else and Gideon listened to his footsteps and the sound of the door closing.

"Are you mad at me?" he mumbled against André's skin when they were alone.

"Yes."

He lifted his head, peering into André's eyes. "Would you like to punish me?"

André's lips twitched, eyes blazing. "Yes."

"Would fucking me over my desk suffice?"

André leaned forward, lips brushing Gideon's. "It might." He released Gideon's hand and reached for his belt buckle. "Only one way to find out."

"Tell me why you and Ty broke up."

That was not what André expected to hear come out of Gideon's mouth after he'd just put in work fucking him over his desk. He blew out a breath, shifting against the other man. They'd stumbled to the couch after their orgasms, holding on to each other as they rode out the aftershocks. André's chest was still heaving, heart still racing, and here was Gideon, trying to get him to string more than two words together.

Ty was the last person he'd expected to see in this place. He'd thought his ears were deceiving him when Jules called to tell him she'd seen Ty. Why wouldn't Gideon tell him that was who he'd be meeting?

But André already knew why.

"Hey." Gideon peered down at him, arms tightening around him. "If you don't want to, we don't have to."

"No, it's—" He shook his head. "It's fine." It wasn't, not really, but he didn't want to keep secrets. "Ty and I were together for a few years. I loved him and things were going great, but then my mom died and I had to focus on Jules, so I kinda… I put us on pause. I had other things to focus on."

"Okay." Gideon rubbed his back, his touch soothing. Almost therapeutic.

"We were never truly out of each other's lives because he lives close by and we both work at Jules's school, so we were constantly running into each other, crossing paths. And sometimes, I would—I would slip." He wasn't proud of that. "We'd fall back into bed and then I'd regret it because I knew it wasn't fair to him. He wanted more and I didn't think I was in the right space mentally for that. But after a while, he wore me down and we got back together. And again, things were good. Then a couple of months in, a woman walked up to us while we were out on a date."

He stopped then, reliving that moment. It'd been a slap to the face, a rude awakening that took a long time to get over. "She was visibly pregnant. She just stood there next to our table, staring at Ty, waiting for him to speak. When he didn't acknowledge her, she got loud, telling the entire restaurant she was carrying his child and that she hated him for fucking her and leaving her." He shook his head. "What she didn't know was that not even twenty minutes before that, Ty had asked me to marry him and I'd said yes."

"Fuck," Gideon muttered. "I'm so sorry."

"It felt like this weird dream that I just couldn't wake up from. I didn't know he was bisexual, which was honestly not an issue for me. I also didn't know he was seeing anyone else while we were broken up. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but I deserved to know. It happened while we were on a break, so again, I wasn't mad, but I needed that information."

"That shouldn't have been the way you found it all out."

"No, it shouldn't have. And I tried to be understanding. I forgave him and stayed once he explained. Started planning a wedding. I tried to be accommodating. I tried even though she made it so difficult, always showing up at my house and calling our phones all random hours of the day and night. Demanding he be with her, telling him their child deserved to have both parents present when they were born." He chuckled dryly. "Man, she did not make it easy."

"And how did Ty handle it?" Gideon asked.

"He didn't." That had been the biggest bone of contention between them. "I think he was afraid of her maybe keeping the child from him, so he didn't want to anger her, but he also didn't want me to leave, so he would walk on eggshells around me without addressing any of the issues I kept voicing. I insisted they get a DNA test done because I didn't trust her. She fought it for a while but eventually gave in. And when it came back that the child she was carrying was indeed his, I resolved to have her be a constant presence in our lives. I mean, I was gonna marry this man."

Gideon hummed. "But you guys did eventually break up. How and why?"

"She gave birth and Ty took one look into that child's eyes and decided that was where he wanted to be."

"What?" Gideon stared down at him. "Are you— He broke up with you? Seriously? "

"He did, and I was devastated because I was trying so hard to make it work. I had silenced all my issues with his child's mother. I kept to the background, allowing them to deal only with each other."

"As they should."

"I forced myself to tolerate so much, to put my values aside for him. And then he decided, nah, I'm good over here." André sat up, shaking his head. "Not gonna lie, I was a mess. Especially when I would see them, since, like I said, Ty lived nearby. So there they would be, the perfect family, him looking at me with shame and regret while she would smirk, all self-righteous and smug. She'd taken him from me and there was nothing I could do about it, you know?" He rubbed the middle of his chest. "Then one day I heard she'd died. And suddenly Ty is back knocking at my door."

"He wants back into your life."

"Yep." But that was never gonna happen, even if he didn't have Gideon. "There's no space for him though, not now and not ever. I'm never spinning that block again." He and Ty had run their course. There would be no more return trips. "Now, it's your turn to tell me why you were holding secret meetings with him."

Gideon's eyes widened comically. "It wasn't a secret meeting?—"

"Secret from me," André pointed out. As if he didn't know.

"Okay, maybe. I knew you wouldn't want me to speak to him, but I needed to. I've been getting multiple reports a day of him going to the precinct about your disappearance, demanding they investigate. We can't have him out there drawing attention to you and Jules." Gideon paused, then continued grudgingly. "Or to his dumb ass, because if your sister even remotely thinks he could be someone important, she wouldn't hesitate to take him out. I know I wouldn't."

André stared at him.

"What? I'm just saying."

"Uh-huh. And this has nothing to do with him being my ex, someone I cared for at one time?"

"I mean… No?"

"Right." André couldn't maintain a straight face at that, and he chuckled as Gideon's phone vibrated. He checked it, then laughed softly. "What is it?"

"Jules just sent me our itinerary for the day."

"Oh God." André slumped back against the couch, pressing a palm to his forehead. "I don't even want to know."

"A helicopter ride is the very first thing on there. Plus a spa session, a picnic outside on the terrace, and we end with dinner and a movie."

"That's not so bad."

"It's not." Gideon leaned over, kissing him loudly. "I told you I trusted Jules." He stood and held out a hand. "We need to shower, somebody got us all sweaty."

André took his hand, allowing himself to be hauled to his feet. "And by somebody you mean you, correct?"

Gideon tugged him into his chest, wrapping him up in his arms, lips landing on his again. "Sure. Sure."