The disgust in Cooper’s voice was only a measure of what Gideon felt for himself. He wrenched a paper towel from the holder and wrapped it around his hand. It would have to do. He wasn’t taking his sorry ass to the emergency room.

Bottle in hand, he took the stairs two at a time, trying to ignore the fact that Cooper followed.

He snatched his jeans off the floor, feeling Cooper’s glare. “She wasn’t damned yet, hadn’t taken a life,” he snapped, sliding into his jeans.

“Doesn’t matter. You know that.”

“That’s how you see things. I disagree.”

“Since when?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say since Claire, but he held back. He didn’t want Cooper to know he’d fallen for a lycan.

Yet it seemed Cooper had reached his own conclusions. “Since you tripped and fell into bed with her?”

He pinned Cooper with his gaze. “Careful, Cooper.”

Cooper stared at him for one long moment before rolling his eyes. “Shit. Even better. You’re in love with her.”

Gideon pulled his shirt over his head and stuck his arms through the sleeves in rough, angry movements, not bothering to answer. He didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know if it was true. Did he love Claire? It certainly explained why he couldn’t bring himself to kill her.

“Where are you going?” Cooper asked as Gideon tugged on his socks.

“To find her,” he answered simply.

“You need to get that hand stitched up,” Cooper repeated, his voice grudging, as if he hated to reveal that he cared.

Gideon glanced at his hand as he took another swig from the bottle. Blood already soaked the paper towel, but it didn’t matter. He’d live. Claire, on the other hand…

His gut clenched. “Your concern is touching, but I’ve got shit to do.”

“You mean find her?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you get the plates?” Cooper asked.

“No.”

Cooper shook his head. “You’re not using your head. How are you going to find her? You might need a little more to go on than a silver Tahoe.”

True. Gideon didn’t know anything beyond the legend of Darius. But he couldn’t just sit around and wait. “NODEAL has records. I can run through the profiles in the database—”

“No,” Cooper cut in. “You can’t.”

Gideon cocked his head. No?

“You’re suspended, Gideon,” Cooper decreed, his mouth a hard, unsmiling line. “Until further review. You’re denied access to the database.”

“I have to find—”

“Oh, we will find her. We’ll find both of them. NODEAL will take care of business. Like always. Only without you,” Cooper assured him, nodding. “Your involvement in the organization ends here.”