Page 63 of Wicked Little Tricks

I lifted a hand to my lips, still feeling the tingle from his kiss—remembering how badly I wanted more of his touch. It was ridiculous. He was an absolute jerk,anda devil. And yet, part of me wished he would appear again so we could finish what we had started.

The other part of me wondered if Mistral knew that his touch would awaken my magic. If he knew that it would make me capable of finding what he wanted, while also making me vulnerable to others.

I wasn’t sure, but I intended to find out.

A light knock on my door made me jump. I had forgotten about Braxton. I quickly stripped down, tugged on a pair of sweats and a baggy white T-shirt, then went out into the living room.

Braxton stood near the sofa, waiting for me, an open bottle of beer in each hand. He extended one my way. “I thought this might be better than evening tea.”

I took the cold bottle. “You read my mind.” I looked him up and down. His hair was wet, and he’d washed away the blood. I didn’t see a scratch on him. “Feeling better?”

He shrugged and slumped onto the couch. “I’ve been roughed up worse, but what a weird experience. I’ve never been held hostage before.”

I sat on the couch beside him. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Did your devil take off?”

I wrinkled my nose. “He’s notmydevil. But yes.”

Braxton sipped his beer, watching me expectantly. “So,” he said after a long quiet moment. “Your mom.”

I slumped against the cushions. “Yeah. I should have known she’d be behind all of this.”

“At least now you know why she’s been so difficult to find. You’re not the one she’s hiding from. Or notonlyyou, at least.”

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, balancing the beer bottle against my leg. “She sent angelics to kill night runners in the city. She had to know I might become a target. And she didn’t care.” Maybe I had beenhidden, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t at risk.

Braxton was silent for long enough that I finally opened my eyes to look at him. “I’m not the one who should be complaining right now. I’m sorry you got caught up in it, Braxton. I’ll do my best to keep you out of it going forward.”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s not the issue, and you know it. What are you going to do, Eva?”

I sipped my beer and thought about it. “Well for starters, I guess I’m going to meet the elf king tomorrow.”

“Bet you never thought you’d be uttering those words.”

I smirked. “Yeah, but I also never thought I’d be working with a devil, and spending nights in the Citadel.”

His brows shot up, and I realized I had a lot to catch him up on.

“But I imagine you want to get to bed…” I gave him a sidelong glance.

He stood quietly, then walked into the adjoining kitchen. He opened the fridge, and I heard bottles clinking.

He came back with two more beers, handing me one. “I want every gory detail.”

I laughed, feeling better despite all I had learned. Maybe my mom hadn’t cared enough to think of me when she sent killers after other night runners, but it didn’t really matter. I knew who my family was, and he was sitting right next to me.

I woketo the sound of my door creaking open. My heart raced as I tried to tell who it was. I had suspectedmaybe Braxton, or Sebastian, but I had not expected someone whose head reached the top of the doorway.

I was preparing to slither inconspicuously from my bed when Gabriel’s features caught a hint of light from the living room. Then he flipped on the light switch, momentarily blinding me.

I winced, taking a deep gulp of air to chase away the rest of my panic. “What are you doing here?”

He approached the bed as I blinked away the stars in my vision. “Your rodent let me in.”

I felt a sudden weight on my feet as Ringo climbed onto the bed. I glared down at him. “I was wondering what happened to my spare set of keys.”

Gabriel knelt beside the bed. “You faced the vampires. Were you harmed?”

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