“She runs everything here, sir. Now please, I’d appreciate it if you lowered your voice and left the lobby.”
“Look here, you little shit.” I reached over the counter and grabbed the Bloodshed by the shirt collar. I was really racking up a body count here. “I don’t think you realize who you’re fucking talking to.”
“Desi!” Scout’s voice caused me to snap out of it. “Let’s go. We’ll figure something else out.”
I let go of the kid, and he stumbledbackward, shaking with fear. I could smell it on him.
“What about a vampire named Ludovica? Is she still here?” I demanded. He shook his head.
“She was also escorted out. Do I need to call someone?”
Scout stepped forward and pushed me back. “No. Thank you, we’re leaving.”
Scout grabbed my arm and began pulling me out of the hotel. I followed begrudgingly, and when we were outside, I called Elvie immediately. It went straight to her voicemail. I swore.
“Desi, the sun is going to come out soon. We need to find something else.”
I nodded, and we returned to my car. I gave Scout my phone, and she began calling around to hotels, trying to find us shelter from the sun. Every time she did find a place with space, the moment we tried to book a room, she was promptly told that our names were not welcome at the establishment.
Ginata worked quick.
“Something isn’t right,” I mumbled as I processed what was going on. “She’s turned on us, but I have no idea why. Ginata has never been like this before.”
“She told me you’d never come to her territory because you were afraid of her.”
I laughed loudly. I gripped the steering wheel as I glanced at Scout. “Scared? I’ve never been afraid of the Sin of Gluttony. If anything, it would be reversed, but even then, it’s a stretch. We’ve always been close. All of us.”
“She’s the one who gave me the Sunshine,” Scout revealed.
“Elvie gave me the cure. Hmm. Maybe she knows something.” I was thinking out loud when my phone rang.
“It’s Ludovica.” Scout flashed the screen at me.
“Answer it.”
There was a click, and the vampire’s voice I considered closer to family than my actual blood, rang through my speakers. “Desiderio?”
“I’m here. With Scout,” I added, glancing at her. “Where are you?”
“I had to get a hotel outside of Ginata’s territory. I have one for you too. There’s something weird with her. I don’t know what, but this is wrong.”
“Yeah, I figured that out when I got kicked out of the hotel. Send me the address, and I’ll head over.”
“Drive fast. The sun is coming.” She hung up with a click, and a moment later, Scout typed the hotel’s address into my GPS.
We arrived just as light orange crossed the sky. I grabbed her bag and hurried inside. I only realized then that the hotel I had been kicked out of hadn’t given me my things.
“I have your bags. I saw them emptying your room as they were escorting me out, and I convinced them to let me have them.” Ludovica’s voice came from the lobby. I blinked and looked around for her. She was sitting in a chair, playing with her phone. She stood and pulled out a key card, handing it to me. “Hello, Scout. Welcome back.”
Scout glanced at Elvie with suspicion, understandably. Last time they had spent any real time together, the Seven Sin of Sloth had her kidnapped and almost murdered. I reached for Scout’s hand, but she flinched away. The movement was so subtle that only I noticed it.
“Hi,” Scout said in a clipped tone. She hadn’t been nice to her at the bar either.
Elvie rolled her eyes. “I really wish you’d get over the whole incident at my home. You aren’t the first person I’ve tried to have killed, and you certainly won’t be the last. But now, I’m here to save you. Let’s go to your room.”
Scout blinked rapidly. I smiled at my friend. I couldn’t have said that better myself. I brought my hand to Scout’s lower back and urged her forward. She started moving then. I looked down at the key card and saw our room number.
As we walked, I raised my arms and cleared my throat. Elvie turned as we reached the elevator. “Can we get into our room and settle in before we start talking about stuff? I need a shower.”
