Page 38 of Roman

Danny shook his head, and Roman pushed his chair back. “Stay here with Soren. I will answer it. You will run if I tell you,” he ordered.

Danny opened his mouth to protest, but Roman cut a fierce look his way. “Youwillrun if I tell you.” There was steel in his tone. Danny nodded. What use could he be in the case of some feral vampire storming the house anyway?

He was—how had Soren put it?—breakable.

Danny listened closely to the sounds of Roman approaching the front door but kept his gaze on Soren, who was holding his body with stillness that was unnatural. Inhuman.

They heard the door open.

And both immediately relaxed as Gabe’s deep voice rung out. “What areyoudoing answering Danny’s door?”

Oh Jesus. Gabe never came over. He very obviously couldn’t stand being in their family home alone with Danny. Butof coursehe would decide to barge in now, when Danny had two supernatural guests over.

Danny forced a neutral expression on his face as the two men entered the kitchen, Gabe still grumbling complaints about Roman under his breath.

“Gabe, what are you doing here?” Danny demanded.

Gabe looked momentarily startled to see Soren seated at the kitchen counter with Danny, but he recovered his composure quickly. “I want to know what the fuck is going on, Danny. Why you three were acting so shady about the dead guy in the alley. I want to know whatyou“—he turned to Roman then—”have my baby brother involved in.”

Danny fought the urge to roll his eyes—they were really going to get stuck up there with how often Gabe drove him to it lately.

“It’s not some nefarious plot,” he reassured his brother. “I recognized the body. He was someone who tried to mug me the other night. Roman fought him off. We were just freaked out that we knew him.”

Gabe’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you tell the police?”

Danny shrugged, forcing nonchalance. “Cops are assholes. I didn’t feel like being questioned for hours about someone I barely knew—someone who clearly wasn’t a nice guy.”

“And that’s all?” Gabe looked at each of them in turn, trying to find answers in their faces.

“That’s all,” Danny concluded.

Gabe turned quickly to Soren, tone accusatory. “Why wouldyourecognize the dead mugger when you weren’t even there at the mugging?”

Soren looked back at Gabe, a look of surprisingly convincing wide-eyed innocence on his face. “I didn’t recognize him. I was just freaked out by the body. I thought Roman would know what to do.”

Roman had meanwhile walked around the counter to Danny and was stroking his side gently in reassurance. Danny breathed in deeply, surrounding himself with the comforting scent of his vampire. It was so strange—sonice—to have outside support when dealing with his family.

Gabe turned from Soren and eyed the two of them, clearly unsettled by their closeness.

“Aren’t you supposed to be seeing Mom this morning?” he asked Danny, tone sharp.

Calm the fuck down, Gabe. Danny could feel Roman tensing behind him, preparing to go into protective boyfriend mode.

Wait…boyfriend?

Was that what Roman was to Danny now? Danny wasn’t sure how they went from strangers to some sort of fated mates situation in the blink of an eye, but surely boyfriends should have been somewhere in between. Right?

“Why?” he retorted, tone just as sharp as his brother’s. “Were you actually planning to come with me this time?”

Gabe didn’t rise to the bait. “You always see her Sunday mornings,” he insisted.

Danny hadn’t actually been aware that Gabe was keeping track of his visits to their mom. Interesting.

“I’m still going to see her. We’re just running a little behind. I’m taking Roman to meet her.”

“Meet her?” Gabe huffed. “Danny, she won’t even know—”

That was it.Enough. Danny was so tired of this fight, tired of Gabe acting like a concerned brother only for the brief moments if and when he felt like it.

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