I shook my head and frowned. “No, the fire station gave me that name. I don’t know much else past that.” I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and started the shower. “Can we call this whole thing even?”
I pulled off my pajamas and threw him my shirt. In a flash,he was joining me in the shower.
Worked every time.
We spent the night relaxing and watching movies. We were doing a horror marathon as we caught up on laundry. In between movies,I scooped up clothes for another loadand reached for thepants Desi had worn the night before. I started going through his pockets when I found a folded piece of paper. I opened it and saw that it was a handwritten letter.
“D,
Long time no talk. I heard you talked to Tully. Why didn’t you call me? I might have known where Elvie was. I see how I rank.
Anyway, word has spread about you exploding Corrine’s brain. Typical of the baby of the family to get what he wants. We still all have to follow the rules.
If you haven’t heard, I’ve hunkered down with Tully. We run a little thing over here that I think you’d get a kick out of. You should come. Bring your little lady. What did you tell Corrine she was? Your soulmate? How romantic. Bring the girl and have a good time with us. If you’re going to break the rules, we want to meet the reason for it.
See you soon,
Dante
After I read the letter,I glanced back at Desi, sorting socks on the bed. I cocked my head and asked. “Who’s Dante?”
His head shot up so fast,and he saw the letter in my hand. He tried to lean forward and snatch it,but I stepped back.
Dante must be someone important.
“Is he one of the Sins? Tully, you’ve said that name before. No, I think you’ve said Dante too. It is!” I bounced excitedly as my brain started working out the puzzle. Desi’s eyes grew wide with horror as he watched me figure it out.
He stood up and went to me, taking the letter back. I didn’t fight it, but I didn’t need to. I had read it already.
“They know about me. Desi, they are inviting us to go visit!”
He rolled his eyes, but I could see his resolve softening. His lip twitched with irritation, but he said nothing. When I continued to plead with my large eyes,he responded.
“We’re not going. Dante and Tully are not two people I want you to meet.”
“You always say that. Which ones are they?” I brought my hands up to try to count. “Pride, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, I’ve met those,” I paused to look directly at him on the last one. He had hidden from me that he was Wrath for months. It still was a surprise sometimes. He sighed deeply and crossed his arms as I continued. “So that leaves Lust, Envy, and Gluttony.”
“That is correct,” he replied dryly.
“Well,I won’t be able to guess unless we meet them.”
He shook his head again, but I continued to plead with him.
“Desi, come on. Please! For me. I had such a crappy weekend. You owe me!”
He blinked and let out a laugh. “Ioweyou? I thought we were even?”
“Yes, but now I want to do this. Can we please?”
He stared up at the ceilingas if weighinghis options. He’d be irritated the entire time if he took me,and we’d probably fight. If he didn’t take me, I’d be irritated,and we’d probably fight.
“I have absolutely no good reason to take you to meet them. They’re bad news.”
I scoffed. “You say that about all of you guys. I call bullshit.”
“Really? You don’t think we’re bad?” He stepped up to me, urging my legs apart with his foot. My heart skipped as my body pulsed with the thought of his touch. “One of us has an illegal fight club in his basement, another runs a large drug ring across the country, and I murder people for a living. I think you’ve gravely misunderstood things.” He bore his gaze down on me,but I didn’t flinch. I steeled myself and grinned up at him.
“I don’t think so.” I put my hands up and placed them on his bare chest. My fingers traced the blood-red bat tattoo that told me who he was and what he did. It marked him as a Seven Sin. A large shiver went through him with my touch. “And even if I am wrong, I don’t care. I love you anyway.”
