I wanted to kill him. "Leave her out of this!" I growled out, preparing myself to launch forward and attack. Robbins put an arm around my shoulders with the purpose of restraint, but her strength was nothing compared to mine. 

It was logic that made me stop myself. Carmen's life was at stake now. I needed to be more careful.

But that thought did little to calm the rage within. 

"Did you hurt her?" I snarled at him through gritted teeth, knowing exactly what this man was capable of. If he had even touched one hair of her pretty head then he was dead, regardless of who had the upper hand currently. 

He grinned evilly at me. "Oh no, not yet." 

"What does that mean? Why is she even here?" I was surprised my mouth wasn't frothing from the amount of anger I was experiencing right now. 

He chuckled to himself. "Miss Summer over here may play a very important part in this tale. You see, Lord Satan had a feeling you might need a bit more persuasion to go back to our cause, so when I found out about darling Carmen we realised you had another weakness we could exploit. I took her when you were busy looking over Il Libro Dei Demoni and wrote the note as soon as I got back. All the while you had no idea that your girl was in enemy hands." 

I was stunned for a moment and I lost the steely edge to my voice. "You didn't leave then?" 

Maximus was about to answer but Carmen realised the question was directed at her. "No. Of course not. After our argument how could you think that?" 

"I thought you were angry with me and that's why you walked away." 

"I was," she told me, her voice soft and quiet. "But I told you I'd never leave." 

We stared at each other for a few moments. If I didn't know before, I definitely knew now that the girl standing opposite me was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. There was no one in this universe that I cared about more, and I wanted to be with her forever. 

But forever wasn't an option anymore. Only death was. 

Maximus made a coughing sound to get himself back into the conversation, but he was once again interrupted. 

This time it was Satan who decided to take his spotlight. "Restrain yourselves from flirting. We have a deal to make. If you agree to my terms, then I will allow you to continue to see this woman after you have completed your obligations. She will be kept safe for you and you only, in return for your continued service as a demon. No harm will ever come to her." 

"And what happens if I don't agree to the terms?" 

Lucifer laughed coldly. "Then I will allow my men to do whatever they like to her and force you to watch, before I get some human to kill her." 

Carmen visibly trembled and I inhaled sharply, pain and tragedy hitting me so hard I almost buckled under the strain. This situation was just so fucked up. 

I could either give Satan two of the most powerful weapons he could ever get his hands on, or watch the woman I love be raped and tortured until death finally gave her peace. There was nothing else on the table. No opt out. Nothing. What was I meant to do? 

I looked at Carmen in the silence of our surroundings. She was pale and shaky but I could tell she was trying to put on a brave face, trying to raise her chin up in defiance, despite the fact tears were beginning to form in her eyes. She looked so beautiful still. Even though she'd been kidnapped, there wasn't a scratch on her or a mark on her gorgeous face. Could I ever allow that skin to be blemished with such pain?

"Don't do it," she suddenly spoke up, breaking the deathly quiet. "You can't choose me over all the people he'll make you kill and the entire world the Antichrist will destroy. It's not right." 

I sighed and gritted me teeth in anguish. She was correct of course, but I couldn't do that to her. I was too selfish. "I..."

"Roman, no!" She stopped me, her voice choked with sobs. "I...I fell in love with you, but if you sell your soul to the devil then...there'll be no you anymore. And then...then they'll be no us... ever. I would never be yours." 

Again she was exactly right. I knew that after this day we would always be apart, dead or alive. I just didn't know if I could live with the person who condemned Carmen to such a terrible end. That pain should've been mine to bear alone, not hers too. 

Everybody was looking at me, watching me, waiting for me, with eyes that clearly shone with judgement and disapproval. They knew it was weakness that was causing me to stall for my answer. 

I closed my eyes for a moment and let out a sigh. I knew exactly what I had to do, what path I would be forced to follow. There was nothing else for it. 

"I..." 

My pending decision was suddenly interrupted by a monumental revving noise towards the right of us. I whirled my head around as five more SUV's came hurtling down the field towards us, this time in a silver coating to complement their black counterparts. I scowled darkly. This must have been their reinforcements, although I had no idea why they needed them. We were already outnumbered twenty to two. 

Rex seemed to share my bewilderment. "Did we order backup?" 

"No." Maximus was frowning with apprehension in his eyes. "I don't know who they are." 

"I do." 

In surprise I turned to Robbins, who for the first time today was smiling. "You do?" 

"Of course. You didn't think I'd come here without some sort of protection, right? I've had a dangerous past few months." The cars parked themselves behind us as she spoke. "And by the way, Satan, you are not the most powerful being in this universe. God is." 

I chuckled slightly, surprised at her boldness for a moment. I had to admit Darcy had more balls than most of the guys here. 

"You would say that now the playing field has evened up," Lucifer sneered from below in a cold, condescending tone. 

Robbins' backup started to flow out of the cars, with right-hand man Spence coming out to join us straight away. "Where's Dev? And how did Carmen get taken?" He looked around at his surroundings for a moment, before his eyes settled on the rift Satan was talking through. "And what the hell is that?" 

"Exactly that: a gateway to Hell," Robbins informed him with a shrug. "And as for your other questions, it's a long story." 

"Right," he said with an expression of morbid fascination overcoming his features. "Cool." 

"Looks like quite the party you've got going on there," A voice from behind me spoke out. 

I whirled around in shock. "Victor?" 

He nodded, a small smile appearing on his face as he greeted me with a handshake. "Hello Roman. I'm sorry about our last meeting. I acted too rashly concerning poor Darcy here. My sources were incorrect; it was actually men from the New York mafia that partook in the attack on Bel Air." 

Maximus suddenly let out a chuckle. "Yes, you're looking at the guys who managed to take over part of your estate. I made quite a few loyal acquaintances when I got kicked out of the west coast of America, therefore allowing me at some point to strike. I'd been planning it for years- a small revenge for the disrespect I encountered there, both on the mafia itself and you, Roman, who I knew would also suffer from the loss of power." 

Collectively Victor and I sent him a heated glare. This bastard was pissing me off so much I just wanted to slice his throat and break his sorry bones. But even though we had a gained a bit of defence, I knew they still had the upper hand. I knew we still wouldn't get out of this alive. 

And I knew I still had that decision to make. Because they still had Carmen.