Page 39 of Roman

An explosion rocked the warehouse.

“Fuck me.We will finish this later.Lucian, blow a hole in this wall so Declan can get Charlotte to the mansion.”

Lucian nodded, slinging the bag off his back and digging around in it.He started placing things on the wall and then sticking wires into them.

Oh my god, they really are going to blow it up!

“Um… you… you know I’m not like you guys, right?I will die.”

“No, you won’t,” Roman told her.

Lucian finished fixing the explosives on the wall, giving Roman a nod.All three turned, looking at her, and then they all approached.

Roman gently moved her backward until she was almost touching the crates stacked on the pallet.He wrapped his strong arms around her, pulling her up against his chest.Her breath hitched at the feel of his warm, hard body.

“Bury your head in my chest, block your ears, and close your eyes,” he whispered to her.

Charlotte nodded, watching as Lucian walked up to Roman’s right and Declan stepped up to his left.Charlotte was now surrounded by these strong, immortal men.

An immortal sandwich.She almost giggled at the thought.Oh, how Ava would love this story.Charlotte closed her eyes, placing her hands over her ears and sinking into Roman’s chest.

The explosion hurt her ears, the ringing severe.The three males had barely moved as a mountain of iron, bricks, and rubble covered them.Charlotte coughed as smoke and dust made it almost impossible for her to see or breathe.As the dust slowly cleared, Roman’s beautiful blue eyes came into view.He was trying to talk to her, but all she could hear was the horrible ringing.

Charlotte placed her hands over her ears to ease the sharp pain, only to pull them away, feeling the thick, sticky liquid.She glanced at her hands.Her ears were bleeding.

No wonder theyhurt so much.She frowned.

Roman gently grabbed her head, looking both ears over with an agonizing frown.Realizing she couldn’t hear him, he motioned with his hands.He pointed at her, then to Declan, who stood looking at her, concerned, then he pointed toward the now gaping hole in the wall.

She nodded, understanding.Roman gave her a small smile, then stepped back, allowing Declan to take her hand.Declan gave her a gentle tug toward him, pointing at the hole.

Ready,he mouthed slowly to her.Charlotte nodded.

She gave Roman a quick look, mouthingthank youto him.He simply nodded.

Roman and Lucian held up their guns and disappeared as Declan pulled her over the rubble, through the hole in the wall, and into the darkness.

13

Roman moved like a blur through the warehouse.He snapped orders to Phoenix, Cael, and Marius as he passed, telling them to finish taking out the reinforcements the demons had called in.When he spotted Grigori, he told him to keep two demons alive for questioning as he shot two more demons blocking his path.Black fog swirled up above them before seeping back into the ground.The Lycan had been true to their word about the new guns they’d delivered.Every bullet was sending the wretched things back to Hell.

He continued on, mowing through the demons.They were no match for him as he punched, kicked, and shot his way through a dozen until he finally laid eyes on what must be his prize.The Archdemon.

As far as he knew, he’d never crossed paths with one before, but there was no doubt this demon was not of the lower ranks.On the other side of the warehouse, beyond a floor of dead demon corpses, stood a giant man as tall as Roman himself.He had dark-colored skin, short black hair cut neat, and wore, of all things, an expensive black pinstripe suit, reminding Roman of the old-school gangsters back in the 1920s.His crisp white dress shirt had the top few buttons undone, revealing his upper chest, but his glowing yellow eyes gave away the demon in him.

He stood surrounded by some of the fallen, who were trying to take him down.He bared his teeth, revealing sharp fangs… another thing that set him apart from the regular demons.But it was his strength that really gave him away.

Sabriel, Ramiel, Ariel, and Maalik were all attacking him, fighting as one, trying to take him down to no avail.The Archdemon grinned like a madman, fending off blows and dodging bullets and blades.Roman was shocked.Never had they come across anything that had been superior to them in strength, not since they’d been in the heavens and trained with the Archangels.

He rushed over, aiming his gun and firing off four rounds at the demon, joining in the fight.The demon dodged the bullets like they were slow-moving snails.Then, in one swift movement, he slammed his fist into Maalik’s face, blood spurting from his brother’s nose as he flew through the air.

Sabriel, her white-blonde hair shimmering in the warehouse lights, moved like a dancer, a samurai sword in each hand, slicing through the air as the demon dodged and weaved each swing while kicking backward.Ariel moved in to attack from behind, her fiery red hair gleaming as she ran.The demon, in his ridiculously expensive dress shoes, landed a kick perfectly center in Ariel’s chest, sending her soaring across the room as Maalik had just done.

Sabriel, like a beautiful avenging angel, her silver and black wings now spread wide, sliced through the air, ducking, spinning, and weaving with her swords.

Roman ran from the right with Ramiel coming from the left, his wings tucked tight against his back and a gun in one hand with a knife in the other, the lights above enhancing the tattoos on his clean-shaven head, making him look frightening.

Roman threw his weight behind his right arm as he swung his fist, connecting with the Archdemon’s cheek while he was busy dodging the bullet Ramiel just shot and jumping over Sabriel’s swords as she lunged and swung at his legs.He didn’t even flinch, turning his yellow-eyed gaze to Roman in an unnerving movement that sent chills down his spine.

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