Page 87 of The Final Deal

When I shut the door behind me, I freeze in place.

The devil sits behind my desk, his matte black boots perched on top of it and his hands behind his head, like he’s chilling out in a hammock instead of a business.

“What’s going on?”

The devil gestures toward Adrian. “He came to me with a proposal. Thought I’d run it by you first.”

I make a confused face. “You’re the devil; what do you care about what I think?”

“Think it might be in both our best interests to keep one another appeased. So.” His boots hit the floor, and he claps his leather-gloved hands together. It’s eerie how his face is always obscured by shadows. “He’s asked to resume being my left hand so he can run Devil’s House in Ty’s stead.”

My eyes bug out of my head. “Excuse me?”

Adrian steps between me and the devil with an outstretched hand that grasps mine. “Listen: I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you have—I’mveryfamiliar with what people will do in exchange for something they don’t believe they have. Me helping you run all this just makes sense. Plus…” He glances toward the door. “That’d mean there’s no reason for Ty to be here. We both know live engineers that are way better than his sorry ass, anyway.”

I raise a brow at the reason why we’re here having this discussion—why we’re here at all. “Did you fail to mention Ty’s name is all over the paperwork?”

The devil breathes in deeply. “No,” he begins in a weirdly gentle tone, “but that isn’t my problem to handle.”

“Then why?—”

“We’ll figure it out,” Adrian interrupts, facing the dark entity that has bossed him around since Timeless first signed to a label. “But you need me here running this place. She’s too new at this, and I can guarantee fuckwad out there won’t do what you want and is gonna escape at the first sign of trouble.”

The devil points at me with a gloved finger. “She’s done a far better job in a single night than you ever have. Give her the credit she deserves.”

Adrian rolls his eyes like he’s talking to an old friend rather than a deadly foe. “Yeah, fine. But you still need me.”

They stare one another down, silent and unrelenting.

Eventually, the devil is the one who breaks by facing me. “Well?”

I gnaw on my bottom lip. “But I got you out of this.”

Adrian nods. “I know, I know. But… I always kinda liked what I did.”

The rush of sheer power I felt pulsing through my veins at New Year’s Ball is a high of my own I’ve been chasing, and tonight only serves as another hit.

With Adrian by my side, there’s no telling what sort of hell we’d raise together here at Devil’s House.

The signature Ramos smirk quirks his lips. “Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, baby.”

I half-smile, but it falls as I realize the decision is up to me.

Adrian Ramos is more than willing to throw himself right back into the fire for me—and there’s no one else I’d rather burn with.

“Okay.”

The devil rises from my chair and approaches Adrian with an outstretched hand. “Glad to have you back, old friend,” he says before striding toward the door.

The question burns my throat. “Wait!”

He pauses with his hand on the doorknob and turns his shadowed face to me. “Hm?”

I swallow the sudden dryness growing in my mouth. “W-what should I call you? I can’t keep calling you ‘the devil’ every time.”

He moves so suddenly that I take a quick step into Adrian, who catches me by the waist to steady me. But the devil simply takes his black cowboy hat off and shakes long, super wavy dark brown hair loose.

I gape at the familiar bearded face with a silver ring in his nose.

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