Page 61 of Roman

Soren’s thoughts were on another track. “You’re going to have trouble with that one now.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. “Gabriel?”

“A different century and he would have a torch in one hand and a pitchfork in the other. He thinks we’re monsters. Not everyone is as understanding as your little human love, it seems.”

“He was attacked, Soren. He is in shock. Danny will get through to him.”

“You think?” Soren’s head was down, and he was scuffing his shoe against the sidewalk. He looked so…young. He wasn’t—he was far older than even Roman—but there was a vulnerability there he still hadn’t lost after centuries of living. Roman wondered, not for the first time, what it was that kept Soren running from place to place. He wondered if his friend would ever tell him.

So full of secrets, Roman’s little friend.

“Gabe will not hate you forever, Soren.”

Soren stopped his scuffing and glared at Roman. “He will if we let his little brother get killed.”

Never. “Do not even jest about that.”

“I’m notjesting. Figure out a plan, Roman. Stop letting Luc call all the shots or one of those shots is going to hit Danny.”

There was no way Roman was letting that happen.

But his options were narrowing, and it seemed any path he took, he would be tearing out a piece of his heart to do it.

fifteen

Danny

WhenDanny’sdadhaddied, driving home from the airport after a red-eye flight, eight-year-old Danny had been woken in the middle of the night by his mom. “Your dad’s been hurt,” she’d whispered, shaking him gently. “We need to go to the hospital.” There’d been no warning of how bad his crash had been, and nothing had prepared Danny for the fact that, by the time they’d gotten to the hospital, his father’s heart had stopped.

Driving to see his brother—Gabriel was hurt—Roman hadn’t pushed Danny for a reaction. He’d let him stay silent, and Danny was grateful for that. He hadn’t realized how deeply entrenched the trauma of that night was until he’d felt it being repeated. Hadn’t known how to process the fear Roman’s whispered words had evoked.

Walking into Gabe’s hospital room now, Danny only realized how truly numb he’d been since hearing the news of the attack when a painful mix of guilt and relief washed over him at the sight of his brother.

Gabe was hurt. Gabe was alive. Gabe would be okay.

His brother had already been moved out of the ER and was lying in a hospital bed with his splinted right arm resting on a stack of pillows. He was free from any obvious cuts or bruises—Soren’s work, Roman had told him—and the only clear injury was the broken arm. His eyes looked vacant though, and his body was trembling slightly, almost imperceptibly. Even when he finally noted Danny’s presence, almost a full minute after Danny had stepped into the room, the vacant look didn’t leave his eyes. As if Danny wasn’t really there.

“Gabe?” Danny kept his voice soft. Gabe’s eyes, a more golden color than Danny’s own, slowly focused from their empty stare and finally settled on Danny properly.

“Danny.” Gabe’s voice was hoarse.

“How-How are you feeling?”

His brother gave a slow shrug with the shoulder of his uninjured arm. “They’ve given me a good amount of pain meds, so…” It didn’t really answer the question, but it seemed all he was willing to say on the matter.

“That’s good,” Danny said inadequately. “I’m glad—I’m glad you’re not hurting. Are they going to keep you here overnight?”

Gabe stared at him dully. “It was an open fracture. They need to do surgery. I had eaten before—before all this happened, so they’re waiting a few more hours.”

An open fracture, meaning the skin had been broken, the bone having torn through it. Luc must have snapped Gabe’s arm violently. Danny’s stomach churned at the thought.

The silence became strained, but Danny didn’t know where to begin. In the end, Gabe was the one who broke the it. “Where’s your shadow?” His voice was bitter.

“My shadow?”

“That guy who’s always around you lately.Roman.” Gabe said the name like a curse. That didn’t bode well.

Danny cleared his throat. “I thought maybe you and I could use a moment alone.”

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