Page 71 of Deal with the Devil

It was a massive tome bound in skin. Stitches oozed with some clear, foamy liquid as three eyes opened on the front of it. Swirling voids of yellow and orange stared back at Knox as he studied the tome Amelia bared down on Kyle. Teeth, crooked, yellow, and stuck in inky gums lined the edge of the book as pages fluttered in its maw. Drool hung down from its open mouth like a beast spotting a buffet.

“Mmmfhmm!” Kyle’s words were muffled and mangled as Knox realized his jaw was crushed inward. Amelia snarled, pushing harder.

“Zavros—”

Before Knox could give the order, Amelia barked, “No!”

Both men held back as she grunted, putting all her weight on her arms. Kyle held the book open by the dripping edges, carefulof its teeth, tears and snot streaming down his mangled face. Amelia cried out louder, “No one else can touch it.”

“And…how do you know this?” Knox tiptoed to the other side of her.

“Don’t ask me questions I can’t answer right now, Knox!” she growled, Kyle’s arms quaking with force.

“Well then…Zavros, shoot Kyle in the arm.”

“Fine by me!” Kyle’s muffled screams were cut off as Zavros whipped out his whirling, copper firearm and shot a single round bullet into the bookie’s arm. Kyle’s arm gave in, and Amelia buried his face into the pages. The book screamed out much like a fox does in the woods—far too human to be natural. Knox and Zavros immediately covered their ears, stumbling away from Amelia and the book. However, in the blink of an eye, Amelia was clutching the book to her chest and Kyle lay dormant on the ground…headless.

“Are…are we gonna talk about how the book ate his head?” Zavros blurted out, motioning at the corpse.

“It has teeth,” Amelia huffed breathlessly.

“For the love of…” Zavros trailed off, stomping away from the fiend and his bookworm. Knox let him go.It’s been a day.

Knox waited till Amelia’s cheeks cooled off and she had gotten enough air in her lungs. But not a moment later. “Amelia…why do you know no one else can touch the book?”

His blue-haired, round faced, beautiful pet turned to face him slowly. Her arms were wrapped around the book, stroking it like a cat. It purred and left Knox unsettled. She swallowed loudly before she shrugged. “It told me.”

“It…told you?” He cocked a brow.

“Well, not like it cantalk-talk, but yes. Look, Kyle was running for his life as best he could, I chased him down. We got to fighting and the briefcase burst open. It lunged for him first and I just sort of…grabbed it and it told me that no one else can touchthe book. It called me the Librarian or something in a super spooky voice.”

Fuck me.Knox groaned, eyes rolling in his head.Of course.“Well, I called it,” he grumbled under his breath.

“What?” Amelia eyed him. Knox didn’t answer, snatching up the briefcase and holding it open. Amelia glanced down at the book before looking up at him defiantly.

“Amelia,” he warned. She pouted, hugging the book tighter. “Amelia, put the fucking book in the briefcase.”

“Why?” She begrudgingly set the book onto the leather seconds before Knox snapped it shut. He locked it tight and then handed it back to her. She gasped, blinking rapidly as if awoken from a dream.

“Because if it bites me, we’re fucked, now…let’s go before more of Declan’s creations come out of the woodwork.”

“Literally,” Amelia snorted. Knox glared at her out of principle as she giggled to herself. It was smoothed over as she looped an arm through his, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Now what?”

Knox stopped to glance at Kyle’s body with interest. His flesh had already begun to fall off the bone, leaving nothing but a mess of rotting fat and dusty bones. “The book will kill Declan.”

“Well, that’s what he gets for sticking his nose in the wrong book, am I right?”

Knox ripped his arm from hers and slapped his palm as hard as he could against her left ass cheek. Amelia yelped, cackling loudly after as she rubbed her backside. Knox couldn’t hide the proud smirk curling on his lips as he purred, “Keep it up, pet.”

“Fuckin’ ow,” Amelia whined as he dragged her through the trees. There was a mischievous glee on her face as she looked around. “You know…”

“No,” he laughed, tapping her backside for good measure. She winced. “Normally I’d indulge in your favorite activity, but this time I’m telling you not to run. If the book gets loose and I’mcaught pants down, balls deep in you, we’ll never make it out of here.”

She huffed, pouting just as she always did when she was denied.Just like she had that first night…in the kitchen…legs trembling, cheeks flushed, bottom lip jutted out.Knox’s heart fluttered as he tugged her close. Except, this time when he purred in her ear, she didn’t try to fight him.She was his now.He nipped on her ear lobe softly. “Such a good, obedient pet.”

Amelia snorted, rolling her eyes…even went so far as to playfully bat at his chest…but she was his. Leaning into his touch and walking side by side with him. They both peeked up as they heard someone clearing their throat. Zavros was a good ten feet away, waiting on the path toward the car. They closed the distance before noticing he wasn’t alone.

“Gael?”

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