“You can’t fool me. It’s too late, New Guy. You’re part of this crew, and you love it.” I reach over and pinch his cheek.
“Thereisno crew,” CJ insists.
I scoff. “Well, there has to be, because now we have to save the world from Hades, I guess.”
“ ‘We’?” CJ asks. “That wasyourmistake.”
I jerk back. “Uh, hello. Who gave Credence the finger bone?”
“Onyourorders!”
“Actually, I specifically told you to wait for me. And since when do you listen to me anyway?”
CJ groans. “I’ve followed you on this unhinged job from the beginning.”
“So, now you’re just going to leave me to figure this out on my own?”
Tolliver shakes his head. “They’re not going to leave you.” He turns to CJ. “You’re not going to leave her.” He turns to me. “We’re not going to leave you.”
“Are you sure?” I snap. “Because you all were pretty okay with leaving me after Dante died.”
“For the last time,” CJ grits out, “we didn’t leave. You sent us away. And for the record, I check on you at least once a month.”
“Why?” I ask. “Because Dante’s pathetic little sister needs to be babysat?”
“What?”
“I’m not Dante, okay? I don’t plan everything out. I’m impulsive and selfish and apparently really bad at remembering to pay bills. And yes, I sold almost everything for this job and kind of lived like a troll this past year. But so what if I accidentally brought Hades back from the dead? I brought someone backfrom the dead! Meaning we can still resurrect Dante. So I’m sorry that I disappointed you and that I got you stuck working with your family again and that I probably brought on the apocalypse. But I’m not sorry for being me.”
The room is quiet for a moment.
“Good,” CJ says. They clear their throat and give me an appraising look. “Now that you’ve admitted this whole thing is your fault, let’s talk about how we plan to fix it.”
An hour into discussing possible ways to prevent Armageddon, there’s a knock on CJ’s door.
We all fall silent, staring at one another, until Ezra finally says, “I don’t think Hades would knock.”
With a dramatic groan, CJ begrudgingly stands. They hesitate for a moment, then open the door. In the breezeway, with an extremely put-out look on his face, stands senior Reaper and Secretary of Health Adam Waring.
“Yikes,” I say under my breath.
“How did you find us?” CJ demands.
“Like it’s hard,” Ezra mutters. “You leave a trail of craft supplies and unhidden IP addresses. It’s a miracle you’ve all survived this long.”
I scowl at the others. “Have you guys not been Googling incognito?”
“Where’s ‘cognito’?” Tolliver asks.
I turn back to Ezra. “You may have a point.”
“May I come in?” Waring asks, adjusting his tie. He’s in a perfectly tailored suit, a briefcase at his side. He brushes a moth from his shoulder, then watches us, unblinking.
CJ looks back at me questioningly. I crane my neck to peek past Waring. I don’t see anyone else.
“Let’s get this over with,” I say.
CJ gestures into the living room, and Waring walks in, plastering on a fake smile.
