“Anyway we can pretend she didn’t just say all that?” I asked leaning my forehead against the door feeling embarrassed over my roommate’s intrusion. It wasn’t the first time she’d said inappropriate things while she was drunk, but normally it was just the two of us and no one around to hear her babble.

  “All of what?”

  I turned offering him a half smile. Having my roommate discuss my virginity with a man I had just met was awkward to say the least.

  “Are we related?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “None of the horsemen are.”

  “There’s more?”

  “Yup. I’m Famine. You’re Death. That leaves Pestilence and War. War’s out of town right now, but I can introduce you to Pestilence when you’re ready.”

  I stared at Derek for a long moment. He seemed to understand that I need a second to process. “You’re serious,” I stated, but he nodded tentatively. My heart sank. “So the end of the world has begun?” Was that why we were here? To end the world? I didn’t care if what he said was true there was no way that I could be apart of destroying the world and killing billions of people.

  “Have you actually read the bible?”

  “I haven’t had the pleasure.” It didn’t mean that I didn’t know about the seals and the horsemen.

  He nodded almost like he was prepared for my answer. “Revelations, you might want to read it to get a general idea. A seal being broken brings each horseman forth. Pestilence, Tyler,” he offered the horsemen’s name while holding up his index finger as if to count them off, “was born twenty-seven years ago. That was the first seal. War, Cam, was born twenty-five years ago.” He added his middle finger then his ring as he spoke again. “Me, I’m twenty-four.” He held up four fingers. “And you?”

  “Twenty-one,” I offered.

  He nodded lowering his hand. “It took them almost two years to break each seal, but it’s been twenty-one years since the fourth seal was broken. We’re not here to start the Apocalypse.” He paused letting his words sink in. “We’re here to prevent it, but we can’t do it without you. We’re a safety that was built in to each seal. The four of us together… Evil won’t stand a chance,” He smirked.

  “How do I know what you’re saying is true?”

  Derek grinned bigger, but appeared sympathetic, before moving to take my hand. He pulled off my glove and I momentarily froze, but I didn’t stop him. Once it was gone, he turned my arm over until the birthmark was facing up. He traced his fingers over it. I exhaled the breath I’d been holding practically sighing contently. I never realized how much I enjoyed being touched.

  “I think you’re gut is telling you that I’m right, but your brain is trying to rationalize it. I can touch you because I am a fellow horseman and therefore your gifts are useless against me. I bare the same brand as you to identify myself as one. You saw me starve those guys of their lust. They’ll be lucky to get an erection again in the next month.”

  I giggled relishing the feel of his skin on mine. He seemed to know this so he didn’t stop tracing his fingertips over my arm.

  “Come with me, Evie, and meet Tyler. Trust me. It’s better to save War for last. Cam can be a bit of a hot head.”

  I couldn’t help the deep bellow laugh that rumbled out of me.

  “What?” he asked genuinely curious as his lips twitched.

  “War’s a hot head?” I laughed. “I don’t know it just seems like that would make sense.”

  He rolled his eyes, but I caught him trying to hide a smile. “We need you, Evie. Will you meet Ty?”

  I nodded feeling the alcohol still coursing through my body. My head began to feel heavy. He stood releasing my hand. I missed his touch instantly, but I was too tired to argue and he seemed to realize it. He laid me back in my bed before covering me up.

  “I’ll pick you up in the morning,” Derek stated. I never heard the door close before darkness engulfed me.

  Chapter 4

  Awaking with a start, the words, “They’re coming,” still lingered in the air. I shook it off wondering about the dream I had where there was a handsome man that could touch me. I thought it strange that even my fantasy world kept things PG. It should have been more thrilling. The man was attractive enough, but he hadn’t given me that quickening that I’d hoped for. I shrugged it off just happy to remember a dream.

  Climbing out of bed, I felt the cool air caress my arm. Glancing down I noticed my glove was missing.

  “That’s weird,” I mumbled to myself. I always slept with them on. Scanning the room, my gaze caught sight of the black glove draped across my dresser. Grabbing it, I hurried to return it to my arm before relaxing. With clean clothes in hand, I headed for the shower. It was still early that I could get in and out before Charlie woke.

  I was washed, dressed and in the kitchen making coffee when Charlie emerged. Her blonde hair was a chaotic mess telling me she passed out before removing the product from it.

  “Hey, Rogue,” she grumbled rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “Coffee?” I offered seeing the aftermath of her drunken escapades.

  She groaned again looking disgusted, but accepted my offering. “Was I hallucinating last night or was there a hot guy in your room?” she asked.

  My body tensed as I eyed her over the rim of my mug. I didn’t know how she knew about my dream. “What?”

  She opened her mouth to reply, but a rap came from the front door. We both looked at each other confused. Charlie was closest so she answered it. Her mouth fell agape as she sidestepped revealing the man from my dream.

  “Am I early?” he asked crossing over the threshold. Charlie immediately started fiddling to tame her mane when his back was to her. Her eyes widened feeling its disarray.

  “Derek?” I wondered. I was almost positive he’d been a dream. No way was there a person that could actually touch me. Then I remembered everything else he told me about the horsemen and the Apocalypse, making me realize that my dream come true came at a steep price.

  He strolled towards me with confidence. Just like last night the room felt suddenly small with his presence. When he reached out to touch me, I flinched. I saw him falter for just a moment before he cupped my face. Charlie gasped still standing awestruck by the door. I sighed feeling the warmth of his skin on mine. Turning my head into his palm, I delighted in his touch. A single tear escaped my closed eye. It really hadn’t been a dream. There was really someone out there that could touch me and not die.

  “Oh god,” Charlie groaned. “I’m so sorry about last night.” My cheeks flushed remembering her comments about my V card. “I was drunk. I thought I was dreaming because Rogue never…” she cleared her throat thinking better than to finish her sentence. “I’ll just be in my room.” She headed towards the hall then froze. I held up a cup of coffee and she scurried over to take it before disappearing down the hall.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  “Not a problem. I like her. She’s…”

  “Inappropriate?” I offered.

  “I was going to say colorful.” His blue eyes raked over me then gestured towards the door. “Shall we? Tyler’s preparing breakfast.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh yeah,” he said leading me to the front door. “His goal is to ply you with whatever you want so you’ll never want to leave.” He tensed then shook his head. “I didn’t mean for that to sound as creepy as it did. I mean he wants to make a good impression. We need you and he just wants you to feel comfortable enough that you will want to stay.”

  We headed to the parking lot of the complex. Derek led me to a black Ford Bronco. I couldn’t help the chuckle.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Behold the black horse.” I gestured to his vehicle.

  “Huh? Never noticed before. I’ve had this baby since I was sixteen. It was originally white, but birds kept shitting on it so I decided to paint it black.” He held my door open for me gesturing me inside. I glanced around and was stunned by the condition of the old SUV. The interior looked almost brand new. Derek took in my awestricken state.

  “I restored her a few years back. She’s been reliable. I figured I should make sure she stays that way,” he explained.

  The ride passed with little small talk. I think Derek could tell I was nervous and he placated me with the right amount of conversation. The drive was pretty long as we made our way outside of Halcyon and into Summery. Charlie’s and my apartment sat close enough to the town line that the cross over was quick, but it was the drive through Summery that took so long that it made it seem faster to watch the grass grow.

  I began to think about how strange it was to end up in this town. I had simply wanted to be away from home and yet I somehow chose the one place on the planet where the other horsemen resided. It was like something had compelled me here. If I hadn’t accidentally killed the guy two years ago, would I still be in Florida? Or would it have been another death later down the road that drove me away? I didn’t know. Perhaps Fate had intervened to bring me here. It was all up in the air at the moment. I still didn’t whole-heartedly believe that what Derek was saying was true. Perhaps he was right and we were horsemen. Or, and the more likely, was he crazy? If that were true then why was I here? I knew because somewhere deep down I wanted there to be validity to what he was offering. There had to be a reason why I’d been forced to live in a state of isolation. There had to be a greater purpose. I wanted there to be, otherwise, the lives I took, the exile I forced on myself, would all be for nothing and that was even harder to accept than being Death to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

  I gazed around suspiciously as we moved into the upper class side of town. The houses grew larger and more immaculate. Soon we pulled up to a gate. Derek rolled down his window, pressed in a code, followed by the gate immediately opening. He pulled the Bronco forward following the curved drive before rounding the front of a house that I could only classify as a mansion. The drive from the gate to the front was ridiculous. It was almost like driving down another street. The white stone covered house expanded across the property showcasing a dozen windows facing the front, but didn’t distract from the multitude of plants and greenery that where flourishing even in this time of year.

  Derek parked the car, but I was too busy gaping to notice.

  “Evie?” he spoke breaking my focus. I ripped my head around hoping that my mouth wasn’t hanging open. “One thing before we go in.”

  I rose my brow questioning. Derek reached over tentatively taking my hands in his. It was a gentle gesture. When he reached for my gloves I pulled back, but he held me firm.

  “This is a safe place for you. I promise you can’t hurt any of us. This is the one place you don’t have to worry about protecting others from yourself and can just be Evie.”

  “I don’t even know who just Evie is,” I muttered no longer trying to pull my hand away. I looked down at where he was holding me suddenly throwing myself a mini pity party.

  “Don’t you think it’s time to figure that out?” He moved again for my gloves but this time I didn’t stop him. He slid the ballroom gloves down my arms one at a time until I was completely bare for the first time outside of the bathroom since I was eleven. “You have beautiful hands.”

  I smiled uncertain, but knew it appeared forced.

  Derek exited the car only to rush to my side and open my door for me. He held his hand out and I reached for it with purpose. I didn’t flinch when my palm grazed his. Instead, I breathed out contently relishing in the warmth of his skin against mine. He folded my arm over his elbow escorting me inside. The outside of the house, if that’s what you could call it, was nothing compared to the inside. It shocked me that three men in their mid twenties lived here. It didn’t look like a bachelor pad. It was like a home out of the catalog for Better Homes and Garden.

  “You guys live here?” I asked gaping around.

  “Just a place to lay our heads,” a voice I didn’t recognize announced. I turned just in time to see a man with a warm caramel complexion and feathery brown hair approach. His green eyes were stunning against his darker skin making them stand out. “Hi, I’m Tyler.” He held his hand out to me. I glanced to Derek hesitantly pleading with my eyes. I didn’t like the idea of testing out his theory that I couldn’t hurt the men that lived here. He nodded approvingly. Biting my lip, I slowly drew my palm to Tyler’s. When I felt the warmth of his skin, I immediately tensed squeezing my eyes shut. I heard a deep chuckle. Opening my eyes, I saw Tyler grinning at me. “You weren’t lying,” he spoke to Derek.

  “About?” I asked curiously withdrawing my hand.

  “One, that you are in fact a woman,” Tyler replied.

  I glanced down at my boobs seeing that they were completely unnoticeable under my tee. “Last time I checked,” I mumbled.

  “And that you still don’t have a handle on your gift.”

  My face fell. “You mean curse.”

  Tyler shook his head. “It is a gift. You just have to learn to control it.” Gazing down at the ground, I fidgeted with my sleeves that weren’t long enough to cover my arms completely. Without my gloves, I felt exposed. Tyler seemed to realize this so he sighed before letting off a slight chuckle. “Wow that’s getting heavy. Let’s go enjoy breakfast. We can talk about horsemen stuff afterwards.”

  The kitchen was a dream with brown and gray speckled granite counters. The cabinets were a cream colored that blended with the white brick backdrop. There was a set of glass French door off to the left casting natural light. Off to its side rested a stone fireplace. In the center sat an island that had matching cabinets surrounding it. Across the way was a large set of three windows that connected to one another brightening the room with natural light. All the appliances were stainless steal from the stacked double ovens all the way to the microwave. The kitchen was so out of my league that it even had a wine fridge.

  “Wow,” I breathed.

  “It’s pretty great, huh?” Derek asked as we trailed behind Tyler.

  “Great is an understatement,” I muttered admiring the sink that sat in the middle of the island. “What do you guys do for a living?”

  Tyler glanced at Derek. They shared a look.

  “I thought you told her?” Tyler whispered.

  “Told me what?” Oh god. Were the guys drug dealers or something?

  “I did,” Derek stated. Ignoring the accusation in Tyler’s voice, he turned to me. “Evie, I told you we’re The Horsemen. We fight evil to stop the Apocalypse.”

  I chuckled. Both men exchanged confused looks. “I know. I mean how do you afford this?” I gestured to the grand house.

  “Oh,” Derek looked away bashfully while Tyler busied himself setting out dishes checking out of answering. Oh great. Here came the drug dealer speech. “Uh, well Tyler here is Pestilence, as I’ve said. His gift extends further than just humans. He’s a pretty amazing computer hacker.”

  “As in computer viruses?” And then it clicked. “You’re stealing people’s money?” I asked disapprovingly.

  “Well…” Derek sheepishly rubbed the back of his blonde hair causing his arm muscles to flex and show off their definition. Man candy wasn’t something I had ever been deprived of thanks to Charlie, yet I couldn’t help but notice the fine specimen before me. “Yes,” he stated then continued quickly when my brow shot to my hairline. “But it’s only a dollar or so.”

  “A dollar?” I couldn’t hide the disbelief in my tone. Glancing around the house, there was no way his statement could be accurate.

  Tyler set down platters of food as he explained. “There are over seven billion people in the world. Over three hundred million in the US alone. Just over one point five in just Manhattan. If someone was to say hack one of the largest banks in the world, after getting past the firewall and encryption and say took one dollar from every person in that bank, then transferred it through a variety of places until it finally settled into several separate untraceable accounts, each time passing through a new set of encryptions… Well, then said hacker would in turn have enough money to buy a house to serve as home base for him and his buddies who silently fight the evils of the world while said people go about their mundane existence.”

  “But you’re stealing?”

  Tyler shrugged. “I prefer to think of it as them paying a small demon hunting tax.”

  I took a deep breath then slowly let it out. I could see his point. Stealing was wrong, but how else were these guys suppose to do the job assigned to them by a higher power if they still had to handle mundane tasks, such as jobs, to be able to survive. I couldn’t cast a stone. I killed people that didn’t deserve it. Stealing was much lower on the totem of wrongness.

  “I know it may not seem morally sound,” Derek explained. “But it’s a necessary evil. This may seem like a lot.” He gestured around the house. “We tried living in smaller confines and we almost ended up doing the demon’s job for them. So…” He waved to the large house.

  “I get it. I suppose it is better than trying to hustle people out of money or gambling.”

  Derek and Tyler both chuckled. “That only works in the movies. Real life we’d be living off of Ramen while trying to murder each other,” Derek said.

  “Plus we wanted something that would fit all four of us comfortably,” Tyler mumbled handing me a plate of French toast.

  “Four?” I asked wondering who else lived here. My fingers brushed against Tyler’s thoughtlessly and for the first time for as far back as I could remember, my heart didn’t immediately skip a beat thinking I hurt him. He smiled seeming to read my mind. I was safe from hurting them.

  “He’s talking about you,” Derek answered.

  “Me? Why would I…” I asked dumbfounded, but Derek cut me off.

  “Because you’re one of the Four Horsemen,” he explained. “We’re strongest together and we’ll need you to stop who ever is opening these damn seals.” When I didn’t respond, but stared wide-eyed at him he sighed and continued taking my hand in his. It was warm and comforting in a way I hadn’t experienced. “I know this is a lot. You just found out who you are and why you have the gift you do. And I wish we could take time and ease you into it, but we don’t have that luxury. The demon’s aren’t going to wait for you to get comfortable.”