Page 20 of Wicked Little Tricks

Before I could think better of it, I started walking. Once we reached the gates, I shifted to go through. I walked down a winding path until we hit the street beyond, then I frowned. With my watch still dead, I couldn’t call Braxton, or a ride.

I briefly considered Sebastian’s calling card, then shook my head. “There’s a diner near here,” I said to the now closed flap of my messenger bag. “Maybe they’lllet me use their phone.”

At least I had some cash in my wallet. It had mostly dried out from our dunk in the pond. Food first, then Braxton,thenI’d deal with the devil. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be satisfied with the scant information I’d acquired.

But let him be pissed. I was more curious why he had sent me all the way to the Citadel to begin with.

The diner had not beeninterested in me using their phone, though they had been happy to sell me a burger and fries. Most of the fries went into my bag for Ringo, but the burger had made me feel a little bit better. And I managed to hail a cab to take me home. Maybe my luck was changing.

But probably not.

I kicked off my boots just inside my apartment door, leaving little clods of drying mud all over the linoleum. With Ringo still in my messenger bag, we made a beeline for my bedroom. After all the walking—and running away from trolls—I was ready for a nap. I made a little bed on my bookshelf for Ringo, took off my jeans, slid on an oversized shirt, then flopped onto my mattress.

I studied my ceiling for a few minutes, letting the full reality of the freak show my life had become settle in, then I was out.

It didn’t feellike I had been asleep long, but when I woke, there was darkness at the edge of my blackout curtains. I rubbed my eyes, then sat up straight, realizing there was someone in the room with me. I blinked against the near darkness until the devil’s face came into view.

“Can’t you just call like a normal person?” I groaned.

He crossed his arms. He was far too close to my bed for my liking, though I didn’t imagine he was about to try anything. He just wanted to know what I had learned. “Why were you gone so long?”

“I’ve been sleeping here most of the day.” Realizing that my bare legs were showing, I snatched up my blankets and covered them.

“What did you learn?”

What to say… I guessed there was only one thing Icouldsay. “Celeste isn’t anywhere in this realm, so you’re out of luck if you want to collect your debt.”

“Then you will simply have to find out which realm she’s in. What else did you learn? Why were you gone all night?”

“None of your business. I already told you what I learned. And you’re the one that sent me in there to find a high goblin on my own. Of course it took as long as it took.”

He stepped closer to my bed, making my pulse kickup a notch. He hadn’t offered me any violence, but he was a devil alone with me in my bedroom.AndI wasn’t wearing any pants. I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked up at him.

There was a flash of fire in his eyes, emphasized by the dark room.

My pulse kicked up another notch. “If that will be all…”

“You’re hiding something.”

“I’m not.” I definitely couldn’t let him know about my new deal with Mistral. Or could I? It wasn’t like the goblins were any more trustworthy than devils, and keeping it a secret hadn’t been part of the bargain. “I did your job. Now will that be all?”

He knelt before me, gripping my knees through my blankets and looking straight into my eyes. His intensity should have been frightening, but all I could suddenly focus on was the feel of his hands on my legs. I sensed the pull of his magic clamping down, compelling me to tell him the truth. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to admit everything. My heart raced and I started to sweat.

Calm, Eva. Just remain calm. I leaned back, then shifted slightly, breaking his mental hold on me.

He tilted his head with his hands still on my legs. “How do you do that?”

I blinked at him. “You mean, you don’t know?”

His hands slid a little further up. “It’s quite intriguing.”

I knew it was about time for me to tell him to get the hells out, but my heart was still racing, and it wasn’t just from fear.

His hands slid a little higher. “I wonder what other tricks you have.”

“None so wicked as yours.” My voice came out more breathy than intended.

His hands slid higher still. “No? For some reason, I don’t believe that’s true.” His hands reached my waist and the edge of my blanket.

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