Page 6 of Love At the Gates of Hell (The Seven Sinners Trilogy #1)

four

Benny

Steam filled the shower, the hot water cascading down Benny’s back as she pressed her hands against the slick tile.

She hovered there for a second, leaning against the wall, letting the heat work out the kinks in her muscles.

It was like a little bit of the filth and pain of the last few days was circling the drain.

A wince passed through her lips as she reached for the shampoo bottle on the ledge.

She really did feel like she was one giant bruise.

The combination of sandalwood and eucalyptus smelled faintly familiar as she scraped her fingers against her scalp. But before her brain could make the connection, the bathroom door burst open and she nearly fell out of her skin.

“Benedetta?” The voice was bright and sing-songy. “Don’t mind me, babe! Just droppin' off your clothes.”

But when she didn’t hear the click of the door closing, Benny pulled back the shower curtain just enough to peek out into the bathroom.

A striking woman with deep red hair and smooth fair skin perched on the edge of the vanity’s counter, one long leg crossed over the other.

She twirled at a strand of hair, and Benny could see a faint scar along the crown of her head that ended just before her brow.

She had friendly brown eyes and a smile Benny could only describe as dazzling.

Sprawled out on the counter in a pair of black denim jeans and a white tank top, she looked a little like an off-duty model.

Cleo, she presumed.

Benny’s clothes were in a neatly folded pile on the toilet seat beside her.

“Just dropping off clothes?” Benny asked, brushing back soap from falling into her eyes.

“You caught me,” she laughed, hands up in mock surrender. “But I’m a real curious bitch, and you were, like, completely out of it the other night.”

The corner of Benny’s mouth twitched as she resumed her shower.

“Anyway, it’s nice to see you standin' on your own two feet! You’re taller than I expected,” Cleo continued from the other side of the shower curtain. “You were like a limp little rag doll in Gideon’s arms.”

Benny grimaced. Had Gideon had to carry her from the pier?

She was rich in embarrassment this morning.

“I heard I have you to thank for cleaning me up,” she said, ignoring the visual of those arms carrying her. “I really appreciate it. I’m sure it’s not a normal part of your usual…” She paused, fumbling for the right word. “Business?”

“It sure wasn’t,” Cleo replied. “But we’ve grown accustomed to some unusual jobs recently. The world’s become a lot bigger for us since Luke’s change.”

Change. An almost quaint way to refer to a vampire transformation.

“You doin’ alright, Benedetta? Maybe that’s a dumb question considerin’ but—”

Benny could immediately tell her yes, she was fine.

She had said as much to the Crawford brothers.

But she wasn’t sure she could lie to the woman who saw every bump and every bruise.

She worked the conditioner through her hair, two points to the Crawford brothers for not going with a two-in-one shampoo situation, before pressing into her temples for a moment.

She had never been very good about talking about her feelings.

“It’s just been a weird couple of days, I guess.”

There was a bright shock of laughter from the woman on the other side of the shower curtain. “Weird undersells it. Have you even seen the true crime puzzle board out there?”

“The…what?”

The other woman blew out a raspberry.

“You’ve been on the wall out there for days,” Cleo said. “I know your class schedule, your coffee shop, the name of that little old lady that lives next door to you— Agnes is a gem, by the way. Very chatty. Makes incredible cinnamon buns.”

Benny did love those cinnamon buns.

“You should try her sourdough,” she said, suddenly feeling incredibly hungry.

Maybe she should have asked for breakfast instead of just coffee.

“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” the red head mused.

She couldn’t help but laugh.

“I think I am figuring out how I feel,” Benny said, then. “But at least I’m capable of functioning like a real person now. I don’t do well if I’m out of the sun for too long.”

Like she was some kind of houseplant.

A bruised, coffee guzzling houseplant.

“Oh yeah,” Cleo said. “You’re a… oh, what did Lucas call it?

A light witch? You know, I saw a tarot reader once at some festival when I was younger.

She told me I’d never have a fulfilling relationship with a man until I sorted out my daddy issues but my daddy is dead so I think I’m probably screwed. Do you read too?”

“Sometimes,” she said, caught off guard by Cleo’s openness.

“Every witch has a speciality, somewhere they naturally lean. I read but it’s not something I’m very good at.

It’s not intuitive to me. Stregas can straddle a couple of lines.

Healing, energy transference, it all kind of depends.

Only vampires call us light witches. Because of how we benefit them. ”

How she would benefit them.

She was the only Strega she knew. Alive, anyway.

Her knowledge about herself was unfortunately kind of limited.

She lost a bit of the lore when her mother died.

She picked up what she could from her father and from the historians that worked with the Caruso family, but even they looked at her like some kind of zoo exhibit.

A rare Strega witch.

And considering the way some of the world’s darker creatures liked to harvest her blood for their own benefit, it was better to keep her true abilities a secret.

“There’s energy everywhere,” she continued. “In everything. My magic allows me to control that. To pluck the light from even the darkest room…”

She thought again about what happened on the docks. Maybe it was more than that now.

“I’m like… the magical equivalent of a microwave.”

She laughed in spite of herself.

She would replace the Crawford’s broken appliance herself.

“Oh!” Cleo let out a quiet snort. “That makes enough sense.”

Benny sighed as she turned off the water.

“I can count on one hand the amount of people who knew what I was before this,” she said. She wrapped herself in the soft white towel left for her before stepping out of the shower. “And suddenly now, that number is so much higher.”

Her father had to know this would be the outcome of hiring someone on the outside to find her.

Only the most senior members of the Caruso family knew her secret, and the penalty for betraying that secret was so high— She hadn’t even told her own coven.

The two women in the world who knew her best. She’d wanted to a million times over.

She hated hiding this part of her. But the risk was too great.

As evidenced by the last few days.

Her brow furrowed as she considered what that meant.

Someone in the family was responsible. The betrayal of it all sinking in.

The ones that would hurt them the most when they found out who it was that sold her out.

The men most trusted by her father. Strategic advisors and consigliere.

It had to be one of their men. It was the only path that felt logical in Benny’s brain. Who else knew?

“Well, you can trust us,” Cleo said, unknowingly snapping Benny from her thoughts. “I know you kind of had a rough start with those two out there, but I promise you, they’re honest.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“A good thief is actually more honest than you think.”

Benny worked another towel through her hair as she considered Cleo.

This was the woman who ran weapons for the Crawford brothers?

She was tall and lean, with a perfect button nose and cheekbones that made her look like she’d be more comfortable on a beauty pageant stage than shooting a gun.

Even the easy drawl of her voice felt charming.

But maybe that was her advantage.

“How did you…”

“End up with the dumbass brothers?”

Benny laughed.

“I was in the wrong place at the right time,” Cleo said. “There was this big score in Chicago that needed my expertise, and Gideon and Lucas, they got into some trouble with a woman.”

Maybe her poker face wasn’t as good as Benny thought because Cleo grinned.

“Nothing like you’re thinking,” she told her with a shake of her head. “She’s not a woman, anyway. Not a human , I mean. Hell, I didn’t even know vampires were real until I was caught up in this whole big—”

Cleo sighed, cutting herself off.

“Anyway, they figured they’d head back here after Lucas adjusted, and I had some connections we could work with.” Cleo shrugged. “It’s worked out.”

“Aren’t you guys technically wanted for like a ton of stuff?”

“You bet.” Cleo grinned as she hopped off the vanity’s counter.

“Now, while I have already seen a good portion of your cute little tush after getting you out of those ratty clothes, I’m gonna give you your privacy while you finish getting ready.

I just grabbed whatever I could find that matched.

I tried to find your phone, but I think whoever took you might have it. ”

Benny frowned. Between flaking on her summer session and the hundreds of student emails she’d have to sort through, she knew her group chat with Olivia and Imani was probably out of control.

She never missed a Friday esbat with her coven.

And Jamie… well, she could only imagine how he was reacting, especially working so closely with her father. She groaned inwardly.

“If you need anything, let me know, okay?”

She nodded, grateful to the other woman.

“Thank you, Cleo,” she managed. “For getting my things and for—well, you know.”

The red head winked. “No big deal, Benedetta.”

"Oh, no, please call me Benny," she almost groaned. Only her father really called her by her full name. "Benedetta is such a mouthful."