Page 5 of Wicked Little Tricks
I glanced back toward the casino, then gave her my full attention. “Purple.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Purple isn’t a flavor.”
I crossed my arms and shrugged. “Well it sure as shit doesn’t taste like grapes.”
3
Braxton leanedback in his seat, letting out a low whistle. He ruffled his curly brown hair and shook his head. “Wow, Eva, angelics and a devil in one night. You sure do know how to get into trouble.”
I fiddled with my disposable coffee cup. “It’s over and done with. And I got my payment this morning, though now more than ever I’d like to know who it actually came from, and what the angelics wanted from them.”
Braxton glanced around the small coffee shop. It was our regular haunt, cute with its pink interior walls and coffee beans stored in large purple glass containers across the counter. “No you don’t, Eva. You really don’t want to know.”
I smirked, leaning back in my seat. “You’re probably right.”
I had fallen into bed as soon as I’d gotten home,thanking my lucky stars I was still alive. It wasn’t every day that one ran into so many powerful beings in one night.
I looked up as the coffee shop door opened with a jingle, expecting someone I knew since we knew most everyone in the neighborhood. “Oh hell,” I muttered under my breath.
Braxton perked up. “What is it?”
I darted my gaze toward the window, not wanting to look directly at the new arrival. “It’s the devil. He’s here.”
Braxton turned around, being horribly obvious, but the devil was already looking our way regardless. He wore a similar suit to the night before, and I had almost managed to forget how handsome he was. His full lips were sensual—I really couldn’t think of a better word for them—and a hint of fire burned in his eyes. I hadn’t noticed it the night before, or else I would have been more quick to guess what he was. But he had been playing human, probably for the benefit of the gamblers at his table. I wondered how many of them still had their souls come sunrise.
The devil walked past us and sat at a vacant table. He leaned back in his seat, crossing an ankle over his knee, then gestured me over.
I turned my attention back to Braxton to see his eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline. “Do you want me to go with you?”
I shook my head. I could break the devil’s hold onme. Braxton might not be so lucky. Seeing him starting to rise from his seat, I said as much.
He paused, thought about it, then sat back down. “Yeah, but Icouldbreak his face.”
"I'll keep that in mind.” I stood and approached the devil’s table, and fortunately Braxton stayed behind.
Straightening my spine and trying to look intimidating, though appearance-wise it wasn't something I could really manage, I looked down at the devil. “What do you want?”
He gestured for me to sit. There was no compulsion to it. He simply waited patiently. I wondered how he found me, but the answer was obvious. He had followed me from the Circus, which meant he also knew where I lived. And I definitely didn’t want him to visit methere.
I sat.
He leaned his elbows on the table, steepling long fingers in front of his mouth. “I have a job for you.”
“I don’t take jobs from devils. I’m not here to get paid in souls.”
He smiled, drawing my attention to his full bottom lip. “I assure you, I pay cash. Much more than you’re used to seeing outside of your agency.”
My heart did a nervous flip. “You know who I am?”
He lowered his hands, smoothing them across the table, showing me how harmless he was.Yeah right. “I asked around.”
The only people he could have asked about mewere the angelics. "I didn't think devils associated with angelics.”
He gave me a coy smile. “Where practicality demands, we are not so particular.”
Silence stretched between us. I broke first, feeling the need to fill it. “Well if that’s all...”
“The job I have for you has nothing to do with souls.” He leaned forward in his seat. “I want you to collect a debt, nothing more.”