Lux took a deep breath. “Just try to think outside the box, okay?” I shrugged and he continued. “We are the physical embodiment of the seven deadly sins given a redemptive second chance at life because the big guy is not so bad.”
“The big guy? You mean God?”
“No, the Devil. Who we were in our former lives meant we were relegated to his domain,” Sam explained.
“The Devil is the good guy? This isn't thinking outside the box, Lux, this is thinking outside the stratosphere.” I was beginning to understand how Alice felt in Wonderland; I was definitely tripping my way down a rabbit hole right about now.
Oz had moved away from the table and laid on Valery's couch. “I wouldn't say that he was a good guy. He's still the Devil. He's just a lot more forgiving of humanity's foibles than the other guy. But he isn't someone I'd trust in a bar fight, you know?”
Uh, no. I didn't know. I'd never been in a bar fight or met the Devil. There was literally nothing in that statement I could relate to.
“Just a quick recap guys, just to make sure I've got this all. You are all dead, as in formerly alive people.”
Lux nodded.
“You all went to hell and met the Devil.”
This time Eli nodded too.
“And now you are zombies back in the world to atone for your sins, so you decide to become models and UFC fighters?”
Tolliver laughed mirthlessly and shrugged.
I sighed and stood up from the table, walking over to the couch where Oz was lying. I was tired, mentally and physically. Today had just been too much. I could hear the scrape of chairs as everyone stood to follow me. I eyed the only sofa and Oz moved to sit up, offering me his spot. It was kind of sweet. I sat down where his feet had been, tucking my own feet under me.
“Other than some musty old books, can you prove what you are saying?”
Eli sat down on the armchair opposite me. “Well, yes and no. Normally, if we went out amongst the humans, we would instill part of our sin in them, causing them to act a certain way.”
I frowned.
Say what, now?
Oh, good. I wasn't the only one who was confused as hell about this.
“I'm not explaining this well. Think of our sin as contagious. We infect those around us with it.” He pointed to Ri. “Take Orion for example-”
“Wait, Ri is short for Orion? That's… a pretty nice name,” I quelled my enthusiasm a little.
The man in question gave me a lopsided smile. “Thanks, Beautiful Girl.” His eyes looked at me as if he wanted to devour every inch of my body with his tongue, and my body was a very willing victim right now.
Oz gently took my feet out from under me and placed them on his lap and I turned so I was more comfortable as he began massaging. No sane woman turned down foot massage, especially when it felt so good. I bit my lip to hold in a sigh of pleasure. Zombies gave great foot massages apparently.
Eli cleared his throat. “As I was saying, Orion was sentenced to hell for the sin of Lust. Now, if he goes into a crowd of humans alone, people will stop what they are doing and immediately start fornicating with each other, despite their mental consent. Or if there is no crowd, they will try to have relations with Ri himself. If one of us goes out with him, the results of two Sins together seems to dampen the effects of either one. So while the human would still feel lustful, they wouldn't be inclined to act on the sensation against their will. ”
Okay. Ri was Lust in the Seven Deadly Sins. My body's willingness to jump on him and ride him to Timbuktu kinda made sense now.
I stared at Ri, who stood there and let me peruse his body with smug grin. His body was broad and strong, with thick muscular thighs, and an ass that would make grown women weep, strong arms and biceps wrapped in swirling tribal tattoos and that face. Strong jaw, dimples, and eyes that promised your every naughty fantasy would be fulfilled.
Yep, I could see how he would be the sin of Lust. He certainly set my libido on fire.
“I can see that.”
Ri grinned so wide I thought his face was going to crack. I was drawn to him like a moth to a neon sign.
“Ah, you see, that's where you come into this.”
I turned back to Eli, pinning him with my gaze. This was the part I needed to know. The rest of this story had been cuckoo, but I had no idea what it had to do with me.
“The redemptive part of our deal with the Devil states that we have to find the One, the Redeemer, and that she will help us find our redemption and be our salvation. We will know her because she will be immune to our sins.”
I could feel the eyes of every one of them burning against my skin, but I needed a minute just to wrap my head around this madness. Oz had stopped rubbing my feet, but was still clutching them tight like a life buoy.
“What makes you think it's me? I mean, I seriously want to jump Ri’s bones, so I can't be immune to his Lust juju or whatever it is.”
Orion smirked again.
Lux made a strangled noise from where he was sitting on the ground beside the couch. “I knew it was you because you were polite to me in the subway. I confirmed it when I touched your face and you didn't try and take my eyes out. I am Wrath.”
I studied him, his warrior body and gentle voice, his face marked with old silver scars. Wrath. Vengeance. Such negative emotions in such a beautiful package.
“So you think I'm the Redeemer, because I have good manners?”
“Coupled with the fact you didn't press yourself into Orion like a cat in heat when he touched you. That confirmed it. What you feel for him now is just ordinary attraction. It has nothing to do with his sin.”
That explains the smirk. Ace sounded smug.
That's all you have to say to this whole thing? This doesn't sound crazy to you?
Ace snorted.
Okay, wrong choice of words.
Look, Arcadia. There had to be a reason I was saddled with you, and maybe this explains it. Maybe you are this ‘Redeemer’ character who is meant to help them find… whatever it is they have to find, and maybe you aren't. But, girl, you're already a dead woman walking. What do you have to lose?
She was right. I could just be a temp worker until I eventually dropped dead from heart failure, or I could help these guys and go out with a bang.
Hopefully literally and figuratively with a bang, Ace purred. My unholy attraction to them all was a problem for another time.
I mentally scrabbled for any knowledge I had on the Seven Deadly Sins. Lust, Wrath, Sloth... Bashful? No, that was one of the Seven Dwarfs.
A small giggle escaped my lips and turned into a full blown belly laugh as I imagined them each as a dwarf.
“I think you guys broke her,” Oz/Dopey said.
I took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, trying to get the giggles to subside.
“Sorry, sorry. I was just trying to remember all the deadly sins and thought of something funny.” I pointed to Ri and Lux respectively. “So you're Lust and you're Wrath.”
I pointed to Eli.
“Pride,” he said.
Hmm, made sense.
“Valery?”
“Gluttony, of course.” He gave me a self-deprecating smile. There was a quiet brokenness to Valery, his eyes permanently sad even when he smiled. I wanted to fix him. But later.
I pointed to Sam and Tolliver, who were being super quiet, letting the whole thing play out.
“One of you guys has to be Envy, but you are both ridiculously beautiful I can't tell which one.”
Sam laughed. “I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted. I'm Envy, Tolli is Greed.”
Tolliver shrugged and stared at me in the eyes, daring me to judge him for it, hurt and anger simmering beneath his outwardly beautiful exterior. I wanted to hug him, but I'd sooth his hurts another day. I looked at Oz.
“I can't remember the seventh sin.”
“It's Sloth. I am Sloth.” There was an anxiety in his face, a fear of rejection. I pulled
my feet away and watched his face fall but I quickly swiveled so my head was lying on his lap instead. “I think better when someone's playing with my hair.”
He smiled down at me through his ginger beard, his green eyes sparkling with an emotion I couldn't name. But he obligingly started running his fingers through my short hair. It was still growing back from my chemo, so his nails gently scraped against my scalp. I resisted the urge to purr.
I stared at the ceiling, sorting through everything I'd learned.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Tolliver echoed with disbelief.
“Okay, I will help you guys. But I'm not sure how you think this will work.”
Oz pulled me up into his arms like I weighed nothing and held me tight against his body. “We’ll take care of you too. You'll never feel lonely again.” I pulled back and looked into his face. He was surprisingly perceptive for the joker of the group. I gave him a smile and let myself succumb to the insane urge to snuggle into his chest. Just for a little while.
“I think I'm ready for that brandy now.”
Chapter Four
I'd never been good at math but apparently if you get seven buff guys and tell them to empty an apartment, they can do it in two hours, including spackling the holes where my paintings had hung.
After they'd dropped me home last night, I'd fallen into a deep dreamless sleep, the best sleep I'd had in a decade. Then I was up at dawn, more resolute than I'd been the night before.
I couldn't explain it, but it was like I knew these guys, that we were all part of a matching set, except I'd been the missing piece up until now. I knew things about them instinctively; their hurts and their hopes, although their stories were still a mystery. It was the feeling of completeness I had around them, the magnetic draw that I felt to each one, which had convinced me to abandon caution and commit to their offer. Like the whole thing was fated.
I'd given notice to my landlord, who'd grunted his assent and handed me paperwork to fill out before slamming his door in my face. I'd packed up all my worldly belongings, which equated to six boxes, three of which were just books, and left my old life behind before lunchtime.
Although they hinted that I could quit my job and they would take care of me, I refused. I would take a sabbatical from accepting any temp jobs for a couple of weeks, but I was going to stay on their books because I wasn't an idiot. I'd made up some lame excuse about traveling Europe and my boss was excited for me. I only felt a minor guilt for lying. She would never believe the truth, or even the watered down version of ‘seven rich hot guys I met yesterday asked me to live with them and they'd bankroll me out of the goodness of their hearts’.
I called Clary and told her voicemail that I was moving, and gave her my new address.
And that was that. My old life was stored away in less than twelve hours.
I was putting my books onto my new bookcase, in alphabetical order, when there was a knock at my door. When I pulled it open, Oz was standing there, his shirt untucked and his hair in messy waves to his shoulders. He held a cardboard box in his hands.
“I brought you your own home management system. You can use it to access any technological features of the apartment.” I ushered him into my apartment and he pulled the little round machine from the box and placed it on my hall table.
“The guys have all given permission for you to have complete access to their apartments, too. You just have to say ‘Mini-Oz, let me into user: Oz’s apartment’ and it'll unlock the door. No one has the permissions for your apartment though, I promise. It's also programmed with everyone's phone numbers, control over the TV and lights, and I gave you permission to my entire iTunes collection. I just need to program your speech patterns.” He pressed some buttons. “Okay, now say ‘the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’.”
I repeated the sentence into the speaker of the sphere.
“Now say, ‘chicken soup’.”
“Chicken soup.”
“Now say ‘Oz is the hottest, most amazing person I've ever met’.”
I laughed. “Dude, have you seen Sam? That guy is basically a wet dream made real.” Oz pouted. “But you are definitely the sweetest, hot guy I have ever met, and you are definitely amazing.”
An automated voice came over the surround sound. “User: Arcadia has been identified.”
This was so exciting. “That's some pretty sophisticated tech you have there.”
Oz fiddled with the buttons to finish calibrating my machine. “Thanks, I wrote the code for it myself.”
“Is that your job? Computer programming?”
He gave me a wan look. “Sweetheart, my sin is Sloth. I don't have a job, per se. I make my money by creating YouTube vlogs of me playing video games. Twitch TV on occasion as well.”
“People pay to watch you play video games? Are you naked?”
A giant laugh burst from his body like a sonic boom.
“No. You can't see me, just the screen I'm playing on. God, you are so damn cute. Okay, all set up here.” He took a step back from the bench. “Give it a whirl.”
“Mini-Oz, turn on the TV.” The TV turned on. “Mini-Oz, turn off the lights in the living room.” The lights went off. “It's like something out of a sci-fi movie.”
Oz just shrugged one shoulder self-consciously. “Someone else made the tech, I just built on it. I've programmed it so if you say the word ‘Help’ twice, it will send an alert to everyone. You don't need to say ‘Mini-Oz’ just ‘Help’. This is the only time we'll be given permission to enter the apartment without your say-so. Mini-Oz text the guys to tell them I'm running a test.”
“Text sent,” came from the speakers.
Oz walked out, and I watched the tight muscles of his back move as he left. The door shut and I heard a muffled “give it a try!” from the other side.
“Uh, help! Help!”
Nothing happened, but I could hear Oz's phone ringing and the lock on the door clicked open. He strolled back in, a pleased smile on his face. “Worked perfectly.” He reached back into the box and pulled out a bright pink wristband. He looked… nervous.
“Are you gonna propose or something with that thing?”
He laughed and went down on one knee. “Not a bad idea. Cady, will you wear this wristband which monitors your heart rate and blood pressure, so death don't us part?”
“Why?”
“It's connected to Mini-Oz and will send the help signal and your GPS coordinates to us if your heart stops or your vitals seem like you are in distress, no matter where you are. If I sync it with your phone, it'll work wherever you have phone reception.”
I chewed on my lip as I looked down at him on his knees. I could understand the concept of it, but did I want them to be able to track me all the time?
It was the earnestness on his face that sold me. He was doing this because he genuinely cared, and didn't want me to drop dead tomorrow. Besides, if I didn't want to be tracked, I could always take it off.
I put my hand out and he strapped it on. “It's waterproof and shockproof. You shouldn't need to take it off unless you want to.”
I pulled him to his feet. “Did you just have this lying around the house?”
“Nah, I picked it up this morning on my way to your apartment.”
Sloth, my ass. He was going above and beyond for me. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his chest. “If you are Sloth, how are you so damn buff?”
I could feel his chuckle vibrate through my cheek, and his arms came around my back, holding me close.
“If I go to the gym with Sam and Eli, enough of their sins rubs off on me to get me lifting weights for about half an hour or so a day. Wrath needs a sparring partner who doesn't need a pretty face to make money, so that's either me or Ri. Val keeps me on a calorie controlled diet and voila, this couch potato remains a red hot spud.”
I groaned at his bad pun. I looked up into his eyes, and felt the warmth of his body against mine and suddenly I despera
tely want him to kiss me. Maybe more.
He leaned down, brushing his lips lightly against mine, his beard tickling my chin. Then he pulled back.
“You just got here. As much as I want to kiss you right now, then lift your beautiful body onto the bench and make love to you like you deserve, it wouldn't be right.”
I pouted, but I knew he was probably correct. Still…
“Mini-Oz, play ‘songs for sex’ playlist,” I called out to the room.
“Did you mean ‘songs for sex with a pretty girl’ playlist?”
I raised my eyebrows at Oz. “Is there a ‘songs for sex with an ugly girl’ playlist?”
“Access denied. This playlist does not apply to user: Arcadia,” the automated voice replied.
Laughter bubbled up and Oz looked amused.
“Even your AI has great pickup lines!”
The moment passed, and I took a small step back but still kept an arm around Oz’s waist. I didn't know what it was about Oz, maybe it was because he was born in modern times, but I felt the most comfortable around him. Like we could be besties. I missed having a bestie around since Clary took her post overseas last year. I hadn't ever been able to keep close friends. I missed a lot of school as a teen, so I never had a chance to make that lifelong friendship group. Besides which, it took a certain kind of person to befriend someone who was inevitably going to die and break your heart. Same with boyfriends. I hadn't ever had a boyfriend that lasted more than six weeks. They ran as far and as fast as they could when they learned I was dying.
I hadn't even told Clary the full extent of my myocardiopathy, because I was petrified deep down that it would just be too much. I didn't want to die alone.
I looked over at Oz, who'd moved over to unpack my dinnerware into the small kitchen. He'd promised I would never be alone, and I trusted that he meant it. I would break his heart, but he didn't care.
“Mini-Oz, give Oz permission to enter my apartment at any time.” He looked at me and gave me the most radiant smile I'd ever seen and my heart swelled with an affection I didn't know could happen so fast.
Hell's Redemption- The Complete Series Boxset Page 3
