Page 14 of One Hell of a Deal

Lulu shifts forward and cocks her head at Daphne. “But how come you ain't a demon anymore? And why the hell are you with Max now? This shit doesn’t make any sense.”

I turn to Daphne. “Let me handle this one.” She nods, and I am struck by the melancholy of her expression.

I clear my throat as I search my brain to find the right words. “I went and conjured her. I wanted vengeance for Garrett. Through several mistakes of my own, which I don’t want to get into, I ended up freeing her from her contract. She is human now and staying with me until I can get her on her feet.”

“Looking at her, it makes sense you would free her. She’s a sexy little prize, isn’t she?”

I’m annoyed by her accusation. “It’s not like that, Lulu. She is a decent human, and she’s trying to help me out of the deal…” I snap my mouth shut. I didn’t mean to say so much.

“Oh, I see,” Lulu says, nodding. “You made a deal, too. That explains why you’ve been in my dreams as well.”

“Seriously?” I ask, a tightness building in my throat.

“Yup,” she says, her face dropping into a frown. “It all makes sense now.”

Another hush falls over the room, and I want to leave. This was not the visit I expected, and I know if I am feeling this uncomfortable, it must be ten times worse for Daphne.

I’ve never believed in psychic abilities and prophetic dreams, but then again, I never thought that demons were a real thing either. The existence of special abilities doesn’t seem like such a big stretch anymore. But Lulu? She is the last person I would’ve imagined having this kind of gift. This is all too strange.

“Putting all of this unfortunate information aside,” I say, doing my best to sound pragmatic, “is there anything I can help you with? We can’t stay as I have an early morning meeting that I need to be home for.”

I can feel Daphne’s eyes burn into me. I quickly look at her, pleased by the look of relief on her face at our new plans to leave early.

“I suppose I could use a couple bucks,” she says without looking at me. “Got nothing but tea and eggs to last me till my check comes in. But only if it’s no trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” I say, as I stand and pull my wallet from my back pocket, adding, “This should hold you over,” as I hand her two crisp hundred-dollar bills.

“Thank you, love,” she says, somehow her old self again. “You always take such care of your old Lulu. Now give me a squeeze before you go.”

I take a few steps closer and bend down to hug her, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch Daphne heading to the door. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Maxy,” she says, smiling at me and completely ignoring Daphne as she opens the door and steps out. “Visit again soon.”

I nod and don’t look back as I head outside, not surprised by the deluge of rain falling from the sky. Despite making a run for it, I’m soaked by the time I get in the car. I looked over at a drenched and grimacing Daphne. “You okay?”

“I will be,” she says. “Thank you for getting us out of there.”

My gut sinks. “I wanted to get out too.”

She drags a sleeve across her face as I start the car, and I’m not sure if she is wiping away tears or the rain. I don’t think it’s just rain.

“Well, now that we have some extra time, how about we do something fun?” I ask, desperate to cheer her up after the ordeal.

“You don’t need to do that,” she says, turning to stare out the window. “We can just drive back.”

“Nonsense,” I say, trying to sound chipper. “You’ve been in the apartment too long. Let’s get some food, and I’ll bring you to a beautiful trail along the Susquehanna River. I think the rain should be lifted by the time we get there. Then we can get a room for the night. How does that sound?”

“That’s fine,” she says flatly. “We can go through the papers more, later in the room.”

Her response is making me feel even worse, but I won’t give up so easily. “I think you could use a piece of Buster’s Pie.Buster's Diner has the best pie in Pennsylvania, and it’s only an hour up the road.”

She turns to me, and relief floods over me as she passes me a slightly pathetic smile. “As long as I never have to drink that tea ever again.”

I allow myself a small laugh. “That, I promise you. No more of Lulu’s nasty tea or anything else. I made a mistake bringing you here, and I am sorry.”

She puts her hand on my shoulder, and it sends a rush through me. “Sounds like Buster’s pie will make things right.”

Chapter Thirteen: Daphne

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