Bad Influence (Seven Deadly Sins #2) ✅ Completed

Chapter Thirty: The Sweet Bite of Heartbreak

The Sweet Bite of Heartbreak

We sat quietly in the car, the only sound in the confined space the low intake of our breathing. We’d pulled up to the Andersen house nearly fifteen minutes ago, but neither one of us had made a move to get out of the vehicle. I wasn’t sure who was going to bite the bullet and speak first, but I did know there was no way we’d be able to go in and face off against Dolores Andersen and her messed up daughter without getting a few things lined out beforehand. Still, I was too chickenshit to make the first move, so when Dante had turned off his truck, I just sat there, waiting for him to say something…anything.

I quickly discovered Dante was a master at the Quiet Game. Knowing him, he’d probably invented it. The thought alone almost made me laugh, which was a heck of a lot better than feeling like I was about to drop dead from a heart attack at any minute.    

Back at the Emporium, I thought my ticket had been punched when I heard Asher’s voice break through the whirlwind of Dante’s kiss. Asher’s appearance was an ice-cold bucket of water thrown in the hot shower of Dante's embrace – chilling, unwelcome and totally unexpected.

I was pretty sure Dante thought so too considering how quickly he’d shoved me behind him as he wheeled around to face his brother. He’d reminded me of a coiled cobra ready to strike. His shoulders had tensed, his back going straight and rigid, the muscles under his shirt bunching as he readied himself. Then after about a second, his shoulders relaxed, the muscles rippling back down into something more normal even as he made sure to keep himself in front of me. It was at that moment I’d heard a small urgent whisper inside my head as Lust explained Asher was only a mirage – an astral projection of sorts.

She hadn’t made a peep while I’d been lip-locked with Dante. I wondered if Lust had been as surprised as I was over Dante’s sneak attack, but since she wasn’t really talking I couldn’t be sure. The only thing I did know with any degree of certainty was the female sin was more than a little relieved over the fact that Asher wasn’t at full strength. Through her emotions I understood this image was all he was capable of, and a full appearance on the mortal realm wouldn’t be happening for some time. Whatever Dante had done to him, it was pretty serious and Lust was more than a little thankful for it.

I was too.  

Still, the image of Asher had been enough to put me on edge. Lust was with me in that regard too. I felt her take a few steps back inside my head, not quite trusting he wasn’t capable of hurting her in some way from wherever he was. Her capacity for self-preservation was enviable. No doubt honed from years of having Asher as a master and God only knew what else to deal with.  

Not wasting any time with niceties or formalities, Dante demanded to know what he wanted.

Asher’s eyes had glittered as they swept lazily from me to his brother and back. He was wearing the familiar black cloak I’d first seen him in, only he hadn’t bothered to put the hood up to cover his face. For some reason, watching the mirror images facing off was more than a little unsettling.

“Just checking on my latest prodigy. I was getting worried,” he’d explained, smiling. The effect had sent chills down my spine, the fine hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Even in astral form he had the ability to creep me out. That knowledge was not a welcome one, though it appeared Dante wasn't as affected as I was.