Page 39 of Angel I Am Not

PINK FLAMINGO.

TONIGHT.

BACK ENTRANCE.

I stared at the screen long enough that the words started to blur. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

Nick pushed to his feet and came over, leaning just enough to read over my shoulder. His tail finally slipped away from my ankle as he moved, though he stayed close enough that his arm brushed mine. “Huh.”

I turned my head toward him. “What does huh mean?”

“Zel.”

I blinked, waiting for more. When none came, I frowned. “Who the fuck is Zel?”

“Beelzebub.”

My eyes widened as I looked between him and Luc. “Beelzebub?”

Luc moved closer and took the phone from my hand before I could stop him, reading the message for himself. His expression changed almost immediately, recognition passing across his face. “Gluttony.”

“Yes, I gathered that part.” I snatched my phone back. “Why is he at Pink Flamingo?”

Nick snorted and moved toward the kitchen, opening the refrigerator like we weren’t discussing another living impossibility I might somehow end up bonded to by tomorrow. “Because Dante has a sense of humor.”

“That explains nothing.”

“It explains a lot if you know Dante.”

I stared at the back of his head until Luc sighed and shifted his weight against the counter. “Pink Flamingo is Zel’s placement.” When I frowned, Luc continued. “Same principle as school for us.” Luc nodded toward the phone still clutched in my hand. “Dante puts everyone somewhere that forces them to deal with the worst parts of their essence without losing control.”

I glanced down at the message again, thinking about the club in an entirely different way now. Pink Flamingo was all loud music, bodies, alcohol, food, lust, people spending too much money and wanting more of everything. Oh. Gluttony suddenly made a hell of a lot more sense.

Nick came back with a bottle of water and twisted the cap off. “Food. Booze. Sex. Attention. Too much of everything in one building.”

“And Dante thought that was a good place to put him?”

Luc gave me a flat look. “Dante put Pride and Wrath in college.”

“Fair.” I tucked my phone against my chest and looked between them. “So, you know him?”

Nick took a long drink before answering. “Know of him. Met him a few times. We’re not friends.”

Luc’s mouth twitched. “None of us are particularly close.”

That fit with what they had already told me. The seven were real, but Dante hadn’t raised them like one giant fucked-up family. They knew of each other, crossed paths occasionally, and apparently that was about as warm and fuzzy as demon siblinghood got. “Alright. Then what’s he like?”

Nick lowered the bottle and glanced toward Luc, leaving the explanation to him.

“Relaxed,” Luc said. When I kept waiting, he pushed away from the counter and added, “Which is the first mistake people make with him. Zel’s easy to talk to. Easier than most of us, probably. That doesn’t make him safe.”

My thumb stopped against the edge of my phone case. “Why?”

“Because Gluttony isn’t just about food.” Luc’s expression grew more serious as he studied me. “It’s appetite. Whatever feels good, whatever someone wants more of. Food, sex, attention, power. Zel doesn’t struggle with knowing what he wants. He struggles with stopping once he has it.”

Nick leaned his hip against the counter beside him. “He’s not going to jump you in the parking lot, if that’s what you’re picturing.”

I stared at him. “That was weirdly specific.”