Page 142 of Married to the Devil

The disturbance in my middle hums against my magic, and I move to soothe it without thinking.

“Grandma loves you,” I say and inhale, letting the worst of my expectations disintegrate. For all that I lectured Stoneheart about expecting the worst from people, I’m not much better. “And one of your dads is ready to go to war to protect you. We aren’t alone.”

I can do this.

I look out on the streets as they pass. The paranormal beings who notice the car tilt their heads in acknowledgment.

“Everything is going to be okay,” I say more to myself than the barely-there baby.

I frown. It takes a full minute to clock what feels off.

The car is going the wrong way.

I press the intercom button. “Hey, Andrew, the charm delivery is nearer to the Firefly, not farther away.”

Connors isn’t in the passenger seat. How did I miss that?

The hair on the back of my neck raises.

“Just sit back and enjoy the ride,” Andrew says. It sounds like him, but the tone of his voice sounds wrong. There’s a cruel mockery to it when he’s usually painfully respectful.

I keep my breathing even and check my phone. No service. There’s probably something blocking the signal.

No calling for help.

Now that I’m not distracted, the protective magic that usually intertwines around the car is off. The charms instead of just keeping people out are now tightened to keep me in.

I’ve stepped into a trap.

47

REMY

I sit backin my seat as Silas leads the mayor from my library. The meeting went well, but I’m distracted. If Stella wasn’t out delivering charms, I’d head to her workshop and justbewith her.

But Stella isn’t the only one I’m courting.

I have time before my next meeting, and I’m going to make it count. I hit call button on my phone. Unsurprisingly, he hasn’t responded to any texts.

It’s been a week. He should be grateful I gave him that long.

He doesn’t answer the first call. I’m willing to make this official and go through Kalos to talk to him, but that would be messy, and the dragon is hardly going to welcome me right now.

I dial again.

“What do you want?” Ben answers the phone.

“Is that how you answer the phone for everyone, or am I just special?” I purr.

“Is this business related?”

“Do you want it to be?”

“Remy,” Ben hisses in annoyance.

My eyes close at the sound of him saying my name. I miss him. We both do, even if she doesn’t bring it up. “Stella thinks you’re not coming back.”

“I’m not.”

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