Page 9 of The Devil in the Details

Zelda failed to see any actual clothes.

“Malgraxon—”

“Mal,” he corrected.

“Mal, I can’t afford this,” she whispered.

“Nonsense.”

“Not nonsense,” she said.

Malgraxon didn’t listen and grinned as a clerk approached. “My companion requires a selection of gowns suitable for a gala. My account,” he said, handing over a credit chip.

The clerk gave Zelda a critical scan. “I see. Does madam have a preference?”

Something cheap, she nearly answered.

“I’m not sure,” she eventually said.

“Hmm. Measurements first, and then I’ll check our stock.” Out came the tape measure, followed by clipped orders to raise her arms. “Have a seat and enjoy some refreshments,” the clerk said before vanishing in the back.

Malgraxon settled onto the couch, resting his arms along the back like he was in his own home. Another clerk brought Zelda a steaming cup of coffee served with a chocolate wafer cookie on the side.

“This is too much. I’ll pay you back,” she said, unsure how, exactly, she would do that. Her wages from the pawn shop barely covered her bills.

Malgraxon raised a hand to silence her. “Cease your protests. It is tedious. This is part of the contract. You will be paying me appropriately.” Zelda’s back stiffened. Before she could tell him and his high-handed, cocky attitude to get stuffed, he continued, “When stalking prey, it is necessary to blend into the environment. In this instance, you are my companion to an exclusive party at the home of Amiron Yan. As charming as I find your current outfit, you must look the part.”

Zelda resisted the urge to wrap her cardigan around her like a shield. “I guess that’s reasonable,” she said, though she still worried abouthowexactly Malgraxon would insist on being paid. A kiss. “Do you have a plan once we get to the party?”

He waved away her concern. “I will sort out the rest of the details, but the bait in the trap must be irresistible.”

“Is it more or less complicated than throwing a bucket of red paint on Walker?” she asked, completely ignoring the fact that he implied she was irresistible. And bait.

His eyes swirled, and his lips twitched with amusement. “Slightly more complex than that.”

The clerk returned with a rolling rack stuffed with options. Zelda gravitated toward a simple black dress with long sleeves. Malgraxon proclaimed it was too ordinary. She loved the way the teal green dress with puffy sleeves fit her, but Malgraxon declared that it would draw too much attention. She needed to blend in.

“This is the one,” Malgraxon said when she emerged from the dressing room in a midnight-blue satin dress with a fitted skirt and lantern sleeves.

The shiny fabric went against everything Zelda had been told about fashion rules for her body type, but the dress hit her waist just right. She turned in front of the mirror, admiring the reflection from all sides. She was afraid to ask the price. This was the kind of shop that didn’t put price tags on the merchandise.

“It’s missing one thing,” Malgraxon said. He reached into his pocket and produced the meteorite necklace.

“I can’t—” she protested.

“Why?” He hesitated, the golden chain stretched between his hands. When she couldn’t explain why accepting the necklace felt wrong, like that gift would make this a date and not a business transaction, he stepped closer to place the necklace around her throat.

Zelda held her breath. He was so close and smelled so good, of impossible things like rain and blue skies.

“There. It traveled to Earth and back for you,” he said. He lingered, his fingers brushing the back of her neck. Was he going to preemptively claim his kiss? Did she even mind? No, not really.

He smiled, a real one that touched his eyes.

All this for a kiss. That didn’t seem balanced. At the end of this, when Zelda got her vengeance and Malgraxon got his kiss, she’d still be in debt to him.

None of this made sense.

CHAPTER 3

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