Page 41 of Gluttony
Then her face screwed up and she repeatedly jabbed him until he cried out for her to stop, half laughing at the absurdity of it. He tried pushing her back, but it was like trying to stop a hurricane. He was five again, and his six-year-old sister was punishing him for stealing her favorite rope of raspberry licorice she had been saving for a rainy day. But this was different, or maybe it was the same all along and he was only just getting it. This wasn’t Tony stealing her licorice. This was Tony having what she couldn’t. Because lust made her sick.
He stopped fighting her, braced, and took it. He let his sister punch him until he was sure bruises formed. She needed this.
A man in his forties came up to her open window and peeked inside. “You need a hand in there, miss?”
Her firearm was out of its holster and pointed at the surprised man’s face before he could blink. “I’m a city detective, asswipe.I’mpunchinghim.” Then she rolled the window up and resumed driving, mumbling more curses at the stupidity of men in the city.
For minutes they drove in silence. Tony was almost too afraid to speak. He cleared his throat. “You’ll find someone, you know.”
Her fingers gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles went white, and he knew he’d hit the mark. When she spoke, her voice was strained. “It’s just, you have your person right there. Some of us—me, Daisy, maybe even the arrogant King of Pride—we’ll never have what is staring you in the face. She’s waiting for you to go to her and explain everything, and you’re not going to do it. Why?”
That she might say no, that she would see the real Tony was all an act... it terrified him. So he changed the subject. “I have a theory about our mates. I think they only need to embody the exact opposite of our sin right at the start, right when our powers are triggered. Think about it, Max has embodied his share of sloth lounging in bed with Sloan. Misha has exhibited a touch of wrath and blasted Wyatt on more than one occasion. She’s definitely not always the opposite of wrath, yet he still can’t sense the sin in her. She’s still his haven when they touch.”
A pause. “What are you saying?”
“I know you’re afraid you won’t find someone you can have a relationship without feeling sick every time you—”
“Stop right there. I’m not talking about sex with my brother.”
He shrugged. She was Lust. She got the picture. There was hope. Maybe even for Daisy to overcome her despair. God knew Parker had no chance with his pride. Getting through his thick head would be a chore.
The car pulled up next to Lazarus House. Liza looked at Tony with serious eyes. “Here’s your chance, brother. She’s in the lobby waiting for you. Has been for the past hour. You either head in there, explain everything, or just go straight to Hell and drink your sorrows. Either way, you need to make a choice and stick with it.”
His heart stopped beating.
She was in the lobby.
Baileywas in the lobby.
Here.
It was just a small foyer with a desk to one side where the doorman sat, and an elevator that went up to their apartments, or down to the secret underground base. But it was so much more than that with her in it.
Lazarus House was an impressive multi-story apartment building with the restaurant Heaven on one side of the lobby, and the nightclub Hell on the other. Both places were frequent haunts of his. Good food, good drinks, and good women. Plenty of women, but never enough. Not until Bailey.
He shifted his gaze to the line of patrons outside Hell. Celebrities visited the popular nightspot. It was notorious for its privacy and no media rule. Everyone wanted to see inside and get a taste for themselves. Most of them would be turned away because Parker held a very exclusive list for hand-picked clientele.
“What are you afraid of, Tony?”
As if in answer, the blue in his veins lit up the interior of the car. “Shit. I can’t go out like this.”
“Yes, you can.”
He growled when she reached over him to open his door. He whacked her out of the way.
“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” she said and did it anyway, then gave him a testing look.
The door swung open, giving everyone on the street the perfect view into the car, and to him. He clamped down on his power, suppressed the shit out of it, and ended up sweating from exertion. It felt like his veins had twisted beneath his skin. His body didn’t like being told to wait. It had to. What if he couldn’t control it?
But there he was.
Unlocking his seatbelt, he shot his sister a glare, and then unfolded himself from the car. He made it two steps across the sidewalk when someone called his name and he froze. It wasn’t Bailey. She was still standing inside the lobby, talking to the doorman and unaware of his approach.
He turned and relaxed. It was Peta from the studio.
The tall assistant was almost unrecognizable. She detached herself from the line for Hell and came trotting over, heels clicking on the concrete. A tight navy dress hugged her form from hips to breasts where the straps held the top together in a halter. Out of its usual bun, her hair tumbled down her shoulders.
“Tony!” A grin stretched her red lips. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
