Chapter 45. Few Clothes

Roman’s phone buzzed twice before he answered it. His face shifted, calm but tense, and Lucien knew before he spoke that something urgent had come up.

“I have to go,” Roman said simply, already reaching for his coat. “Emergency at the hospital.”

Lucien gave a small nod. “Be careful.”

Roman’s hand lingered on Lucien’s shoulder for a second, with a brief, grounding squeeze — then he was gone, the front door closing quietly behind him.

Silence fell over the room, it’s was thick and uneasy. Lucien exhaled, his chest tight. He stood there for a long moment, staring at the empty space where Roman had been, before finally heading toward the bathroom.

Halfway towards the bathroom, the memory hit him again.

He could see it again: the sneer on Mark’s face, the heat of his grip, the way the air had seemed to shrink when Mark had cornered him. The panic. The cold sweat. The way his voice had died in his throat.

Lucien’s body reacted before his mind coul