Page 1 of Sin

Chapter

One

GRIM

Ihadn’t been to a sex club in over fifty years. Not exactly my scene, not even one as posh asIniquity. Then again, it’s not like I exactly had a choice in the matter. I’d been summoned, or rather, we’d been summoned by Lilith, the first demon.

Without conscious thought, I fingered the edges of the smooth black card in my pocket, recalling the words on the back with perfect clarity.

I’m calling in that favor you owe me, Grim darling.

Iniquity. Midnight.

Don’t be late.

L

One by one, my brothers popped into existence behind me until the four of us stood shoulder-to-shoulder staring up at the tasteful neon sign emblazoned with the establishment’s moniker. I said stood, but what I really meant was swayed.

It had only been a handful of hours since we escaped the clutches of my counterpart and former paramour, Hel. She was more commonly known as Death herself, and now, the architect of the end times.

Damn her.

If anyone deserved the honor of that title, it was me. I was the oldest of our kind. The original, you might say. When the horsewomen were created centuries later, we’d thought they were made to help us in our task of bringing about the apocalypse. One for each of us.

They had other ideas, or perhaps ambitions is more accurate. Whatever the word, those four had no intention of playing second fiddle to anyone, let alone us. So instead of allies, we became competitors, all working toward the same endgame.

Hel was the first to ever reach the finish line.

At our expense, no less.

A low growl escaped, my fury at not only being bested but humiliated making me lose my grip on my ironclad self-control.

The wave of discomfort that washed over me had me gritting my teeth and taking a steadying breath. I had never before felt this way. Weak. Damaged. Mortal. Hel had nearly drained us dry of our power, and she’d done it so easily. If I was being honest, I don’t think we ever stood a chance. The second she sprung her trap, it was over. Inevitable.

Death always was.

“Did we come all this way just to stare up at some pretty lights, Grimsby? Or are we actually going inside the place?” Malice’s droll voice dragged me from my spiraling thoughts.

“No one gets inside without a membership,” the mountain of a man standing guard at the door grumbled.

Sin huffed out an incredulous laugh. “We’re the horsemen of the apocalypse. Lilith grandfathered us in. I can guarantee it.”

The doorman checked his list and shook his head. “No, mate. No horsemen on the list. Better luck next time.”

Chaos bristled beside me, his body seeming to swell in size as he took a step forward and demanded, “Check again.”

He crossed his arms over the wide expanse of his chest. The move appeared threatening due to the way it made his muscles bunch and flex, but I clocked it for what it truly was. A way to hide the trembling in his fingers. It was taking everything he had to appear outwardly unaffected. Same as me.

Still using the same bitten-off growl, he slowly and purposefully gave the doorman our names. “Grimsby, Chaos, Malice, and Sinclair. Or perhaps you’d prefer our aliases. Death, War, Pestilence, and Famine.”

The cocky Australian raised one brow. “Get in line. There’s always someone who thinks they’re the most important creature in the world trying to get in. You’re not on the list, and that’s final.”

Pulling the notecard from my pocket, I stepped forward and presented it. The stupid fucker clearly didn’t believe in or understand the power we wielded because as he took the note, his bare fingertip brushed mine. The light left his eyes instantly, his soul absorbed by my power. A chill covered my body as it happened, almost like his energy blanketed me before becoming part of my being.

The doorman crumpled to the ground in an ungraceful heap just as the door behind him swung open, revealing the woman we were here to see.

“Did you really have to kill him? I liked that one. Such a delicious accent.”

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