Chapter One
Trinity
New York City is a different place at night than in the daytime.
That’s probably true for all cities, when you think about it. But when the city is suddenly full of powerful people who want to kill you, it definitely becomes a different place. Not just a different flavor of ice cream, but an entirely different dessert altogether.
A chocolate brownie made out of death.
Mmm. Brownies.
Gah. Focus, Trinity!
I’m hungry. It might be affecting my state of mind. I should probably have had a snack before the men and I left Beckett’s penthouse for this mission.
“We really shouldn’t be out here,” Phoenix remarks in a low voice.
“If you’ve got a better plan,” I whisper back, “I’d love to hear it.”
The bounty is still out on my head. Whoever created all those demonic portals in a network covering Earth has offered supernatural mercenaries ten million dollars to kill me.
As flattering as it is to have such a massive price tag attached to me, we’ve got to find a way to get rid of it. A way that hopefully won’t end up with me or any of the seven sins dead. Sawyer had an idea, which is why we’re out here right now, despite the danger—and despite some of his brothers putting up an awfully big fight about this plan.
“Hmm. Another plan. I dunno, maybe just wait it out?” Nix suggests, nudging me playfully with his shoulder. “I can think of a lot of stuff we can get up to while we wait. Hell, I’ve got plenty of ideas to help pass the time, you know what I mean, sugar?”
I’m used to Nix’s various dessert-related nicknames for me by now, so I just roll my eyes at his words. But there’s a fond look on my face—I can feel the smile tugging at my lips. I know I’m not really fooling Nix at all. He and Remi have made it easy to fall into a kind of intimacy with them, one that goes beyond just sex. They’re the personifications of Sloth and Gluttony respectively, so it makes sense. Those are the two most relaxed sins, so to speak.
The others have been a bit more difficult to get a read on, despite the fact that we’ve all gotten close.
Especially Beckett and Ryland.
The former does everything he can to shove me away, and the latter is like a solid block of ice, burning even as he cools.
I’ve kissed all seven of them. I’ve done a lot more than that with several of them. Collectively, we’re starting to feel like a… a unit. A team.
But there’s still something missing. And honestly, I can’t tell if it’s because the men are holding parts of themselves back from me, or if it’s because I’m holding something back from them. They still don’t know my true purpose for coming into their lives.
I’m supposed to redeem them.
No one but Ryland knows that, and the secret of my assignment feels like a heavy weight around my neck. I haven’t outright lied to the men, I just haven’t been entirely truthful. But the closer I get to them, the more that distinction feels like nothing but semantics.
I haven’t told them everything, just like they haven’t told me everything.
And what will happen if I actually succeed in my mission and do redeem them? What will become of this thing that’s building between all of us?
I shove that thought away before the tight ache in my chest can expand any further. I need to be focusing on tonight’s mission and leave the worrying about the assignment Anderson handed down to me for a different night.
“Beckett’s defenses won’t hold forever at the penthouse,” I whisper back. “So even if we decided to wait it out, there’s no guarantee we could wait long enough. And I won’t risk you guys getting attacked.”
Nix frowns, and I don’t think it’s just because his laziest suggestion got vetoed. He looks genuinely worried.
I mean, that makes sense. This is definitely dangerous, going out into the city while there’s a bounty on my head, every supernatural creature gunning for me in order to claim the prize.
But we have to do something.
Being a CEO and billionaire means that Beckett can do things like own a penthouse that takes up the entire top floor of a skyscraper in Manhattan and fortify it with state-of-the-art technical and magical security—but it’s not impenetrable.
And besides, I’d rather be out here doing something about the bounty on my head, fighting back. It’s better than sitting around waiting to