Page 105 of Seven Deadly Sins

Chapter One

Robert paced theliving room of the house he was quickly starting to hate. Too small and outdated. It’s only redeeming quality was the basement where they now kept Reynold. “How many houses do you own, anyway?” He glared at Lucy.

“One more after this one.” She glanced up from her phone. “I bought a house with my first assignment. Then, as I made more money, I upgraded. I’ve kept all the houses for a time like this one.”

“Great. That means the last house is worse than this one.”

“Yep.” She returned to her phone. “Reynold is trying to gnaw through his ties.”

“Didn’t you zip-tie him?”

“No, because of a video on the internet, he knew how to use his shoelaces to get free.” She cursed and got to her feet. “How long are we going to play this game?”

“I don’t know. I’ve got to work on envy, which is difficult when it’s too dangerous for me to go anywhere.” How could he choose his next target?

“Social media.” She rolled her eyes. “You’ll find someone coveting something on there. Just use a fake name.”

“I’m not an idiot.” He frowned.

“That’s debatable.” She marched to the door leading to the basement.

He snarled at her back and reached for his phone.

~

“Exodus 20:17.Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.” The text Harper received read.

She sighed and set her phone on her desk. She’d hoped that after Robert or Lucy had taken Reynold from the Interstate, they’d give everyone a rest. It didn’t appear so. She picked up her phone again and turned to the live feed.

“Anything?” Liam glanced up from his computer.

“Just turned it on. Lucy entered the basement. Reynold stopped chewing on the cord around his wrists. He looks unwashed and skinny. Same as yesterday.” The boy didn’t deserve this kind of treatment just because he’s a politician’s son. The mayor’s to be exact. Why couldn’t Robert have gone after the father and left the son alone? Because he was a horny teenage boy? The poor kid probably wouldn’t look at a girl for months.

Lucy slapped him, then retied his hands behind his back. Harper didn’t understand the typing up since he had a chain around his ankle, unless Reynold had disobeyed in some way when the camera wasn’t running.

She waited for the sound to come on. They’d left it off for two days, the feed only showing Reynold in the basement. While she was glad for the boring video feed, she really wanted the whole thing to be over with no more death.

Liam came over and massaged her shoulders, his strong fingers kneading away the tension. “We’ll save him.”

“Hmmm.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head forward. “I hate sitting around, waiting for Robert’s next move.”

“I’m with you there.” He kissed the top of her head and watched the video over her shoulder. “The FBI has agents knocking on the door of every house with a basement in a thirty-mile radius.”

“That’ll take forever.” Besides, Robert and Lucy always seemed to know when it was time to flee.

“But it is doing something.” He kissed her again and returned to his desk. “Let me know if there’s anything happening on the video feed. I’m on Google satellite marking off houses without basements and those the agents have already visited. Tedious.”

She wasn’t sure whether she preferred watching the video or if she’d rather do what Liam did? Neither were interesting. She’d stick to the video of Reynold and pray she didn’t watch his murder at some point.

Reynold spit at Lucy and received another slap, this one hard enough to push his head to the side. If looks could kill, the assassin would be on the floor and things would look a lot brighter.

~

Robert couldn’t believe how rampant the sin of envy was on social media. Everywhere he looked, someone would post a “look what I got” or “I just got this” and people would say “I want that” or “I’m jealous”. How would he ever choose?

He sent the detective a quick text that said, “How does one choose the one who should be punished when there are so many?”

Folding his hands behind his head, he stared at the phone in its holder. Where could he find a group of people envying each other behind fake smiles? Somewhere he could get rid of a few at a time?

---