Page 99 of Sin

I could feel the wind leave our collective sails at that. It was hard to stay mad at someone who was being so sincerely vulnerable. Sort of like scolding a puppy.

“Can we continue this conversation somewhere less... outside?” Sin asked, his shoulders tight and gaze darting from side to side. “I can feel the angry energy coming from Max’s. What happened in there?”

Chaos shrugged. “I ended the fight in one punch.”

“Ah, yes. That will do it.” Mal jerked his head toward the street. “Let’s get a taxi back. We can discuss the dos and don’ts of excursions in the future, Merri.”

As we stood on the pavement waiting for a taxi, I finally let the rest of my tension bleed out. She was safe and back where she belonged—with us.

Merri was less relaxed, caged as she was by the four of us. I could tell she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, that she knew us well enough by now to know that she hadn’t heard the end of this. If I was a kinder man, I might try and assuage her fears, but where was the fun in that?

She had to learn her lesson somehow.

When the taxi arrived, Merri was the first to scramble in, seating herself as far away from me as possible. It stung to know I repelled her so, but it was for the best. Death wasn’t typically welcomed with open arms.

After everyone was settled, I took my place and told the cabbie where to take us. From my vantage point, I could already make out the building that housed my penthouse. I took a risk and glanced at Merri, her beauty calling to me even though it shouldn’t.

Without any warning, a deafening boom rattled the windows and caused the taxi to swerve.

“Christ, not another one!” the driver cried.

“That wasn’t an earthquake,” Chaos replied, his tone ominous.

My focus went to where we were headed, the top three floors of the building now engulfed in flames, black smoke curling high into the sky.

“What was it?” Merri asked, craning her neck to see around one of us and out the window.

“My fucking penthouse.”

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

MALICE

Grim was right. His penthouse was engulfed in flames, the ash raining down on us from where our cabbie had dropped us off across the street. Flashing blue lights reflected off the nearby buildings and the firefighters standing nearby were debating the best way to douse the fire safely. Grimsby was speaking with the police while the rest of us waited off to the side and tried to figure out what our play was.

“Did you hear that?” Sin asked, blatantly eavesdropping on Grim’s conversation. “They’re saying it was a gas leak.”

“That’s no fucking gas leak,” Chaos muttered.

“His poor plants.” Merri’s words were so soft I was sure they weren’t meant for our ears, so I didn’t say anything.

“Plants?” Sin asked, taken aback. “What about all our stuff? I had so many vintage records stored there. Oh man, and my guitar! I’ll never be able to get another one like that.”

“You can buy a guitar at any pawn shop,” I deadpanned.

“Not one played by Hendrix. Not unless Daddy Death over there can raise him from the ground.”

“So check out some auctions. There are lots of other dead musicians with memorabilia you can hunt down. It’s not like you can’t afford it.”

“The world is ending, Malice. You think I have time to go to a fucking auction?”

I shrugged. “What else are you going to do? Your sole purpose was to end the world, and that was already taken care of, so the way I see it, you have nothing but time on your hands.”

“That is not my sole purpose, and you know it.”

“Don’t see you doing anything about yourotherpurpose, so it might as well be.”

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