"We're here, might as well get a couple rolls." He opened his door and then turned back to Alex. "Keep the doors locked, and I'll be right back."
“Thanks, Roman.”
“You’re welcome.”
****
Alex was trying hard to not look upset by the events of the day, but he knew he was not being particularly successful. The things he knew about the bank were things he wished he'd never discovered. His entire understanding of his job and his coworkers was a myth, a total façade.
He watched Roman look around and then enter the bakery. Alex noticed Leon, one of the new tellers hired a month ago, was walking his dog. Without thinking, Alex opened the door and stepped out, calling for Leon and jogging a few feet towards him when all hell broke loose.
There was an explosion so loud and so powerful that Alex felt himself rise off his feet and fly through the air and slam into the brick front of the bakery. He heard glass breaking and people yelling. He was on his knees trying to get to his feet, but the wind had been knocked out of him. Then there were arms around him, and he was being carried away. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck. "What happened?" He tried to say, but it came out as a garble of sounds, nothing coherent.
****
Roman had stepped to the counter, ready to place his order, when a wave of dread washed over him. He turned and made for the door just as an explosion lit up the peaceful Sunday morning. It was his car on fire, blown to pieces, and his heart stopped. He ran to the sidewalk and, amidst the confusion, he saw him.
Alex was there, he was alive, and Roman ran to him, sweeping him up into his arms and rushing back inside the bakery. The brick façade of the bakery protected it from the explosion, although the two front windows were destroyed.
He held Alex, crushing him to his chest, and his arms were locked around him, pressing him into a corner as Roman scanned the area. "I thought you were . . . he couldn't finish that sentence." His voice shook, and so did his hands. "How did you survive?" I was a miracle. He lifted Alex's face and looked at him, checking to make sure he was okay, and he was.
"I recognized Leon from the bank; he's a new teller. He was walking his dog he walked past the car, and I recognized him and got out. I called to him, but he didn’t turn around. I started to jog up to him, and then the car blew up. It knocked me off my feet." Alex was as shook up as Roman, both realizing how damn close they came to losing everything.
Roman pulled out his phone, and within minutes, another SUV pulled up, and Roman half-walked and half-carried his beloved out to it, being careful and alert to any further danger. He pulled the door open and quickly seated Alex inside. Samuel was driving, and he looked at Roman with sympathy and understanding.
"Take him to the coven house and keep him safe until I return." He said as he buckled Alex into the seat. Alex's eyes went wide, and he started shaking his head.
"No, don't go." He begged, and Roman pulled him in for a fierce hug.
"I must deal with this, and then I will meet you at the coven house. Please do as I ask; I can't split my attention. I have to know you are safe. Samuel will keep you safe." Samuel nodded as he glanced between the two of them. Alex held tight to Roman’s shirt and stared at him with a desperate gaze. “I’ll meet you at the coven house. Wait for me there.”
“Okay, be careful. I’ll wait for you.” Roman kissed him hard and then nailed Samuel with a hard stare.
"I'll take good care of him, don't worry," Samuel assured. Roman closed the door and took off down the street. He had a scent, and it was still strong enough to follow. Whoever did this was going to pay with their lives.
****
Police had arrived and were going over the scene. Roman disappeared into the shadows following the scent of the man who placed the bomb under the SUV while he was inside the bakery. It was fast, and whoever it was, they had been following them, and Roman had not noticed.
He should have noticed this was the kind of misstep that got people killed, and it nearly took his beloved from him. He underestimated the Castile people, misjudged their anger, and their reach, all things that led to this moment. The scent, earthy and rich, brought him to a corner not far from the incident. He left in a vehicle, and he knew who it was. It was Alex's coworker Leon and Finnian's right-hand man Karl.
Things had not gone as planned; everything had happened too fast. Alex had exited the SUV, and the bomb had not been powerful enough to take out the bakery and the surrounding area, which was the plan. Their bomb maker, Leon, did not meet expectations. All they managed to do was destroy the SUV. They didn't have time to scrub their scent because they had to get away fast.
He found Leon's address with help from their tech department. They were wizards at getting whatever was needed, and he needed Leon and Karl's backgrounds and locations. He would take care of this himself, for it was his beloved who was targeted, and it was he who would make them answer for it in a very bloody and violent fashion. He would make them feel the pain they had planned for Alex.
****
Alex sat in the passenger seat, shock and confusion filling his mind. He couldn't talk, and he couldn't move for quite some time, and Samuel, too, sat silently, his face looking pensive and dark. They pulled into the alley behind the Blood Rose, and Alex wondered where they were going, and then he turned, and the wall of the rundown warehouse opened, and he drove through.
It was a front; it was not an unused warehouse, it was an occupied building, it was alive with activity. They drove through the underground garage and parked by a bank of elevators. "This is the coven house?" He asked.
“Yes, I’ll take you to Roman's quarters, you can wait for him there." Samuel did not explain further.
“Thank you.” He said as he exited the vehicle and was following Samuel to the elevator.
"You're welcome." His face softened. "He'll be fine, don't worry. Roman is very adept at taking care of situations like this." He was working very hard at not saying what he really meant, and Alex appreciated his wordplay. He had a good idea what was happening. This was Roman's world, and life was different here, but not so different. Violence was everywhere, and fighting for yourself and those you love and serve is an act as old as time.
Samuel brought him to an apartment that was large and stately. It made his place look like a dump, a very small and sparsely furnished dump. Roman had taste and style that was obvious. He turned to Samuel when he spoke.