Page 207

If Pax lost control… If anyone found out what he was capable of…

Howdangeroushe was… Darien had been arrested at the age of fifteen, when cops had deemed him unstable when they’d witnessed him unraveling beside his mother’s corpse.

They would not hesitate to do the same, or worse, to Paxton, if they had even an inkling of what he had done out front of the Wanderer.

He prayed his suppressants would work.

The officer on his side knocked again. “Open up.”

“For me,” Roman added. “Can you do that?”

It took him a moment, but Paxton dipped his chin into a nod.

Roman took a deep breath…

And flicked the button on the door. The tinted glass lowered, spring air so warm it was suffocating wafting across his sweating face.

The cop was a warlock, the rings around his pupils glinting like quicksilver in the sunlight as he glanced between Roman and Shay—then at Pax in the back seat.

“Roman Devlin?” the cop inquired.

“Yeah,” he replied tightly. There was no point in lying. All the evidence this cop needed was right here in this car, staring him—quite literally—in the face.

The cop backed up. “Step out of the car, please.”

Shit.

Fuck.

‘No,’Sayagul gasped.‘Roman?—’

Roman couldn’t feel his body as he opened the door and stepped out onto the road that was packed with traffic. The world looked distant, as if he were peering in on a stranger’s life.

He couldn’t kill them. Killing cops and MPU agents was the one thing a Darkslayer avoided at all costs. At the end of the day, Darkslayers were criminals, and the quickest way to end a Darkslayer’s life was to throw them in jail.

If he killed them, right in front of all these people, he would have to say goodbye to Pax. Forever. He couldn’t protect his brothers from behind bars, so he’d do everything in his power to stayoutof them.

On the other side of the car, another officer was giving Shay the same orders. She stepped out of the vehicle and turned around, slowly flattening her hands on the roof.

“Turn around slowly and put your hands on the roof of the car,” said a male voice. It took Roman a second to realize this command was for him.

He obeyed, his eyes locking with Shay’s as they were pat down, their weapons and phones confiscated. Cops were directing traffic, making room for other squad cars and?—

A prisoner transport van.

His soul left his body.

So much for staying out of jail.

“You are under arrest for the abduction of Paxton Slade,” the officer was saying. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you…”

Roman’s eyes shuttered. His hearing was muffled, but he managed to comply when the officer requested that he move his hands behind his back. A pair of cuffs bit into his wrists, clicking shut.

The brimstone sucked his magic dry, like a sponge sopping up water. His ears rang, and he felt off-kilter. Weak.Wrong.He’d never been cuffed with these before, but he’d heard enough about them to recognize what they were straightaway. Brimstone was rare and very expensive—and only legal when in the hands of law enforcement.

Hands pinioned his arms, hauling him away from the vehicle.

Roman’s eyes snagged on Shay as she, too, was dragged away from the car.