“You have no idea.”
Greed tipped back its head and laughed, the sound resembling ice cubes clinking in a glass. “I would have thought your tête-à-tête with Gluttony would have cured you of this foolish quest. Your time is limited, Clarissa. Why squander it this way?”
“If I can stop you from contracting even one soul, it will be worth every second lost.”
One blood-red nail scratched along the rim of the champagne flute. “You will never be able to stop me. The sooner you accept the reality of that, the better off you’ll be.”
“What, like Jack? Like them?” She waved her arm, indicating the sea of gamblers surrounding them. “They have no idea the reality you have planned for them. I can’t just stand by and let you dupe them with a few years of whatever bullshit you’ve promised in return for their endless stint in purgatory.”
“Why?” Greed’s eyes sparkled with an icy malice. “Tell me, sweet Clarissa. Do you think that by saving them you’ll find redemption for your sin? For the pain you brought upon your father seven years ago?”
The question was like a knife twisting in her soul. It took every ounce of strength she possessed not to let her stare waver from Greed’s. “No. Nothing will redeem that.”
“Finally you’re speaking some sense.” Carelessly upending the crystal flute on the pull handle of a nearby slot machine, Greed sashayed down the aisle. Lines of irritation bracketed the sin’s mouth when Clarissa fell in step beside the creature. “Your foolishness is really beginning to piss the hell out of me.”
“I can tell.”
Greed visually gave her a disdainful sweep. “It’s beyond my comprehension why Envy is so besotted with you. Your puny magic is hardly any match for our abilities.”
“I don’t need magic to defeat you. Only faith in humankind.”
A snort fell from Greed. “You might as well sprinkle that belief with pixie dust. They’re both made of the same flimsy illusion. As far as I can tell, you humans are nothing more than hairless apes. Only with less intelligence.” Giving her a dismissive glance, Greed stepped around an enormous slot machine and poofed out of sight.
Panic momentarily getting the best of her, Clarissa whipped her head around, trying to see where the sin might have gone. She stumbled sideways, banging into a token machine. Ignoring the burst of pain in her elbow, she hurried out onto the main thoroughfare. She spied a flash of champagne silk ascending the adjacent stairway. Dodging the steady flow of pedestrian traffic, she dashed after Greed. She reached the ship’s upper level just as the sin disappeared into the lounge area. Her heart still banging from her mad chase, Clarissa tailed the creature to a booth where a young male sat. Greed paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder, her jeering smile indicating that she’d been aware of Clarissa’s pursuit all along. More than likely the sin relished the thought of rubbing a fresh conquest in Clarissa’s face.
Clarissa steeled her spine. Game on, bitch.
Greed slid onto the bench beside the man. Hell, if you could call him that. He barely looked old enough to vote. The kid sent Clarissa a perplexed glance as she ducked into the booth on the other side of him.
“Tanner, prompt as always.” Greed’s fingertips trailed up along the young man’s bare arm and snuck beneath the sleeve of his T-shirt in a flirtatious way that gave Clarissa the creeps.
The kid shivered, leading Clarissa to believe that he felt a similar sensation. He swallowed, his wide-eyed gaze still pinned on her. “A-are you one of them too?”
“Good goddess, no,” she quickly reassured him while Greed’s chilling laugh floated around them. “I’m here to stop you from making a terrible mistake.”
A frown tweaked between his dark blond eyebrows. “You are? Why?”
“Because sweet Clarissa here envisions herself the savior of mankind. Amusing, isn’t it?”
Tuning out Greed’s sarcastic barb, Clarissa leaned closer to Tanner. “Can I ask why you’re doing this?”
His gaze dropped to the table, and a ruddy flush crept across his cheeks. “I don’t have any choice. My ma and I have been living on the streets for the past ten years. I—I just want her to have a good life with nice things for once. Not whatever we can scrape out of the dumpsters.”
The deep shame thickening his voice filled her with sadness and empathy. But mixed in with those two emotions was an even stronger one—fury at the despicable proof of Seven’s heartlessness for preying on this family’s misery. The creature was a monster, in every sense of the word.
She continued staring at the top of Tanner’s bent head, a plan formulating. “There is another choice. I’m the mistress of a coven outside the city limits. You and your mother can come live with us. For as long as you want.”
An angry hiss came from Greed as Tanner lifted his head and gaped at Clarissa. “You would do that for us? Why? You don’t even know me.”
“You’re willing to sell your soul to give your mother a better life. That tells me all I need to know.”
Greed’s face turning a livid red, the creature slammed its palms on the table, shaking it violently. “Don’t listen to her. She can’t offer you the things I can. Untold riches. A life of luxury such as you and your mother have never known.”
“It’s true. The coven isn’t wealthy. But we will gladly take you in and never expect anything from you in return.”
Tanner’s gaze swiveled between her and Greed for a long moment. Finally he gulped and returned his attention to Clarissa and nodded. “I—I accept your offer.”
An almost demonic growl rumbled from Greed as the sin shot to its feet. Eyes blazing with malevolence lasered into Clarissa. “Nobody messes with my contracts. Nobody.” A waft of that strange saline-spiked air blew across the booth and the sin disappeared.
“Ar-are you in trouble now?” Tanner stammered.
Probably. “No.” She reached for a nearby beverage napkin. “I’m going to write down the address for the coven house. You and your mother are welcome to come whenever. But I have to ask you a favor.”
A look of weary resignation crossed Tanner’s youthful face, and she tucked the address into his hand. “It’s not what you think. I meant it when I said this invitation comes with no strings attached. But I need you to tell no one about this meeting.”
He watched her quietly for a second, those soulful eyes filled with the weight of the world. “You made a deal too, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“What for?”
She gave him an answer that she knew he would well understand. “I wanted to give my father a better life.”
By the time the ship docked, it was well past five. Still riding a high from her victory over Greed, she drove back into the entertainment district and tried her luck at a couple of the nightclubs. When that didn’t pan out, she dug in her purse for the directions to the sex club. Less than ten minutes later, she pulled into the parking structure for The Velvet Cuff. Praying she didn’t look as out of place as she felt, she beeped the alarm on the Miata and took the rear alley to the club’s hidden entrance.
Inside the cavernous building, exposed industrial pipes overhead and brick walls painted black created a mysterious atmosphere. The throbbing electro-beat of the techno music piped through the veritable maze of rooms only added to the mystique.
“What is your fantasy, my lady?”
She turned and eyed the tall, overly muscular guy who was flicking a crop against his palm and staring at her with a tad too much interest. Um, not you. “I’m here to meet a friend.” She gave him her most threatening look, and he shrugged before strolling away.