Page 27

A familiar voice broke through Roman’s thoughts. “Still here, mon ami? I thought you would have fled town by now. Must be a very special something keeping you here.”

Lucien.

Roman should have been paying close attention to his surroundings, not losing himself in pointless reminiscences. Now Luc was standing at the mouth of the alleyway, blocking Roman’s exit. He looked as elegant as ever, if one ignored the fangs and black eyes.

Well, Roman had wanted a confrontation. Here it was. “You already know why I’m here, Luc. Why are you ?”

Luc took another step into the alleyway. “Oh, I think you know that too. Nice suit, by the way. Still trying to convince yourself and everyone else you’re a civilized creature?”

Figured he wouldn’t want to get straight to the point. Lucien had always loved to play with his food. Roman straightened his cuff. “You are the one that taught me looking respectable is half the battle in evading suspicion.”

Luc laughed at that. “But evading suspicion from whom? Your human boy? Does he think you’re a white hat, just one with an unfortunate blood-drinking habit?”

Roman’s demon did not like Luc bringing up their mate. “He knows what I am.”

“Does he really?”

“Really.”

Luc seemed to take in the deeper meaning.

He always had understood Roman easily, except regarding the one incident that had torn their lives apart.

His black eyes narrowed on Roman. “Are you telling me you’ve shown your little boyfriend your demon side?

You must be very serious about him. Is it possible that Roman, the nonbeliever , thinks he’s actually found a mate? ”

Roman said nothing. It was taking all his effort to keep his demon inside.

Luc carried on regardless. “Aren’t you the one who told me this was it? Demons driven by blood and sex and violence—no magical solution, no human calming balm?”

For a semiferal monster, he had a good memory. “I was just saying what I thought,” Roman defended. “I did not know any more than you did. You were hopeful; I was cautious.”

“And now you’re a true believer, are you?” Luc jeered.

“I could not tell you what I believe, Luc.” He didn’t want to tell Luc what he believed. He didn’t want his relationship with Danny poisoned by past mistakes.

Lucien laughed then. It wasn’t the exuberant laugh Roman had heard so often in the past. It was a harsh sound.

Grating. “You doubt yourself, don’t you?

You doubted me, and now you doubt yourself.

Always so consistent, Roman.” He stalked closer.

“Afraid you’ll turn him and he’ll be just another monster? A sadistic disappointment like me?”

Roman held his ground. “This is not something I feel the need to discuss with you, Luc. Why are you here ?”

“Why am I here?” Luc smirked. “I thought that was the deal we made. You and me. Whither you go, so do I. Right, mon ami?”

“I think that deal was broken when you tried to kill me, Lucien.”

”Psh,” Luc scoffed, “what’s a little disagreement between friends? You’d broken my heart. I wanted to break yours. I just took it a little more…literally. Besides, I haven’t tried to kill you in decades. Over half a century.”

It was true. Although, Roman hadn’t been letting him get close enough to try.

Roman wasn’t exactly sure what Luc wanted with him anymore. His old friend’s goal in recent decades seemed to be to try and annoy Roman more than anything. Drive him out of town after town, either by his presence alone or by piling up the bodies and threatening to break Roman’s cover.

Was his whole goal just to remind Roman of past sins, future madness?

Roman couldn’t take that risk. Because if anything was going to set Luc off, break the armistice they’d found themselves in, it was going to be discovering that Roman had found himself a mate. The very thing Luc felt so sure that Roman had deprived him of.

Roman’s hope now was that it was worth trying to talk it out. That perhaps his former friend could still be reached.

“Lucien,” Roman breathed out. “About Victoria…I am sorry, all right? I tried to honor what she wanted.”

Luc was by all appearances unmoved by the mention of his former love’s name. “I see Soren’s been sticking around,” he announced in an abrupt change of subject.

Roman shrugged. “Yes. He comes around from time to time.”

“Ah, but not just that,” Luc contradicted. “Living together now, aren’t you?”

That answered the question of whether Luc had been watching Danny’s house. Roman felt his blood quicken and his demon seethe at the thought.

They needed Luc gone. They needed their mate safe.

Roman forced himself to focus. “We stay together for the time being. Not for long. He will move on soon. And you should do the same.”

Luc glanced over his shoulder. “Is that right, Soren? Moving on soon?”

Roman started as his blond friend stepped out of the shadows at the edge of the alleyway. First he’d been too absorbed in memories to notice Luc’s approach. Now he had been so distracted by his confrontation he hadn’t even noticed Soren nearby.

Goddamn it.

It was sloppy. Inexcusable.

Soren said nothing in response to Luc’s greeting. Just leaned against the wall at the end of the alley, hands in his pockets.

“So what’s this?” Lucien questioned brightly. “The two of you are finally going to kill me? Put me down for my own good? The righteous Roman and his little sidekick.”

Roman decided to try for reason one more time before violence broke out. “Victoria—”

“Fuck Victoria!” Luc roared, black eyes flashing and fangs gleaming. “This isn’t about Victoria. It was supposed to be us ! After all your promises, all your assurances, you left me. You abandoned me.”

“You tried to kill me!” Roman protested.

Luc snarled at him. “I was angry !”

“And what was I supposed to do? Just let you end my existence?”

Luc was pulling at his hair with both hands, lost to his own anger. “You were supposed to help me.”

Familiar guilt rushed through Roman. “I did not know how , Lucien! I did not know what to do with you. For you. How to reach you. Without-Without losing my own life in the process. The first time I thought it was your grief, but then you tried again . So tell me. Tell me how to help you.”

As sudden as it came on, Lucien’s rage seemed to evaporate. It was disconcerting, the rapidity of the change. “Oh, it’s far too late for that,” he whispered.

Two things happened at once then.

Roman heard police sirens, growing louder.

And footsteps sounded at the mouth of the alleyway. A passerby.

Faster than even Roman, with his heightened senses, could process, Luc had closed the distance between himself and the man walking by the alley. Black eyes on Roman, Luc bit into the man, draining him in large gulps before tossing the body at Soren and springing out of the alleyway.

Luc was gone in seconds, and Soren was left holding the drained body as two police cars blocked off the entrance, trapping Roman and Soren inside.

Merde.