Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
Iheld onto the devil’s sleeve, panic rising with every breath we stood there, him looking like a statue carved out of deliciousness. I licked my lips. “But nothing like souls, or my firstborn children, or anything like that.”
My words broke the spell, and he patted my hand and subtly pulled my jacket from his grasp as he settled back into his seat. “I don’t deal in children. At least not often. It’s bad enough to deal in animals. Do you like them?” He gazed at me expectantly, like he’d asked a very important question.
“Children?” I said, sinking back down slowly, folding my hands in my lap and feeling the slight sting of rejection for no reason. Not like I wanted to touch him, but he clearly wanted me to touch him even less than I didn’t want to touch him. Er.
“Animals.” He gave me a polite smile. “I have a judgmental white rabbit. Thus, the Wonderland theme, because otherwise it would be entirely ridiculous to have a white rabbit hanging around all the time.”
I blinked at him again. “You have a white rabbit? You’ve had it longer than you’ve had Wonderland? It’s been here as long as I can remember. How old is the rabbit? Don’t rabbits only live for a few years?”
He gave an elegant shrug. “It’s a magic rabbit.”
“Ah. Interesting that I’ve never heard about Wonderland’s magical white rabbit. You’d think it would be commented on.”
He waved a graceful hand dismissively. “It blends with the rest of the nonsense, oversized toadstools, the tweedles, and so forth. I hired a cat shifter to play the Cheshire cat, but she hated smiling, so I hired a different host. He’s an incubus. He loves smiling.”
“What happened to the cat shifter?” I asked, although none of this was remotely relevant. Did the devil always go off on tangents? It probably helped disarm his victims.
“Mrs. Rawley’s working security. Actually, head of security. So, do you like animals, Miss Charles?” He leaned forward, frowning at me like this was life and death. Was it? Would my answer propel him in one direction or another? Was he as unstable as the Mad Hatter in the stories?
“I don’t really know. I’ve never had a pet.”
He smiled like a Cheshire cat. “I can work with unknown variables. May I offer you a solution to your problems that would dovetail perfectly with my own needs?”
I blinked at him. “Sure. Offer me the deal.” Making it sound like everyone was winning was doubtless his first step to a truly devastating scam.
He pursed his soft lips. “I dislike telling people what they need, but it would be better if we wrapped up business so we can have dinner.”
“Dinner?’
There was a gleam of the diabolical in his eyes before it vanished. “Are you shocked? I eat dinner, lunch, and breakfast. I also have tea in between.”
“You made it sound like we’d have dinner together.” I stared at him while he stared back.
He raised a brow. “Well, if you accept the deal, it would be convenient to eat while we discuss the further details.”
“Right. What’s the deal? Go ahead and tell me what I need. And what you need.” And then I’d probably have to accept it no matter how atrocious it was unless I wanted my dad to stay in a cage for the rest of his life. Which would be short.
“You need a place to live and work. You are truly good with customers, but where you shine is in your baking. I have a shop with an apartment above it that could be your bakery and home. It’s next to The Cat’s Pause.
You went there for sushi yesterday after you went to jail. Isn’t Lieutenant Sato a delight?”
I blinked at him while my heart raced. He’d been watching me.
And of course a devil would unbury all my secret, impossible dreams and use them to devour me.
My whole life, as long as I could remember, I’d wanted to own a bakery and bake magical treats for everyone who was sad.
“You want me to work in your bakery? What’s the catch? ”
“There are several,” he said, offering me a soft smile.
“I don’t want a bakery. What would I do with an adorable shop?
No, I want a bad investment to finally turn a profit.
The last person who had the shop used it as a cover for printing fake money.
I want a wholesome shop that is absolutely respectable. ”
“So you can use it for money laundering?”
He gave me a look of horror, all wide-eyed with a glint of amusement underneath.
“No. You are a person who wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t for your father.
You personally wouldn’t make a deal with a devil.
But here we are, so let’s make the best of the situation.
I don’t like tormenting those who don’t deserve it.
You truly do not deserve to be tormented.
” He winced. “But there is one more catch included in this deal.”
I gripped the bench and nodded. “Right. What is it?”
“The rabbit. I’ll need you to take care of it while running a bakery. He doesn’t do much, just keep him fed and watered.”
I blinked at him. “You want me to keep a white rabbit with me while I run your bakery?”
“Your bakery with a plan to pay off your investor, me. Five years should do it.”
“Is this like a vampire rabbit or something?” There was no way this deal of having my own bakery would include a rabbit if it were normal.
He laughed, and it was like a magical rain of happiness plunking all over my skin. “No, my dear. He’s just judgmental.”
“Does he talk?”
His eyes sparkled with amusement. “No. At least not to me. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t seen him do any magic, but he wouldn’t still be alive if he wasn’t something.”
“That’s it? You want me to have a bakery and a rabbit?”
“Also dinners.”
I stared at him. “Is there any end to this deal?”
He smiled demurely. “Dinners with myself are required to both check on the rabbit and demonstrate our connection. You see, your nature is dynamic enough to cause quite a stir, and you’re going to use that to lure customers.
The downside of being open about your goblin-fairy blood is that it will put you at risk of being bagged and tagged, sold for parts.
Your father will help protect you, working as a guard in your shop with you, but it won’t be enough. ”
I chewed on my lip as I considered. He’d let my dad out of the cage to be my guard?
That was what I wanted. But dinners with the devil?
It wasn’t like he was unpleasant to look at, but he was so dangerous.
The rabbit was certainly worse than he made it sound.
But having my own bakery? And in five years?
My baking was the only thing I was truly confident about.
If I could get people to try my baking, they’d keep coming back.
And no one could fire me for being a goblin-fairy or not aesthetically thin enough if it was my own shop.
To be honest about who I was? To not have to hide? And to have my dad with me?
I swallowed hard. “That sounds too good to be true.”
He smiled slightly. “You can have your father go over the contract if you’d like. He’s very clever. Of course, he would never want you to sign a deal with me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m a devil. However, I’m also cursed to be sum-positive. And I don’t dislike you.”
“You dislike most of the people you make deals with?”
His smile sharpened. “Yes. Those who are desperate, lacking in discipline or a willingness to accept the consequences of their actions are always irritating. You’re only here for your father.”
I hesitated while my heart thudded under my ribs. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it all the way. I sat up as straight as possible and forced myself to hold his amused gaze. “And my mother’s medical bills. I want you to pay off all the debts, not just yours.”
He wouldn’t say yes. Her medical bills were endless. He studied me for a long moment, leaning back while my heart beat faster and faster. I should accept what he gave me, take it and run.
He slowly nodded. “Of course. But if I’m taking care of that, I suppose I won’t be able to have dinner with you to go over the shop’s details after all.
” He snapped his fingers, and a woman stepped out of the shadows.
She looked professional in a beige suit as she came forward with a clipboard and a sheaf of papers.
“Sir? Where should I put the documents?” she asked, ignoring me.
He stood and, with a wave of his wrist, the chair collapsed in a flurry of cards that ended up in his hand. He tucked it into his inside pocket, but when his hand came out, it was holding a ribbon. The ribbon kept coming, shiny periwinkle, and then my favorite cake box came out of his jacket.
He handed it to me and bowed as I gaped at him. “Miss Rawley’s going to sit with you and go over the details. Opening a bakery will take a great deal of equipment. Be sure to get everything you need. This deal will only be as good as you make it.”
“What about the rabbit?” I stammered, clinging to the box that was so distracting. Where had he gotten it? Did he know the vampire? No, I had to focus.
He hesitated. “All in good time.”
I raised my chin. “I’m not signing anything until I meet him.”
He sighed heavily then crouched in front of me before reaching past my legs so his face was pressed against my shin where it had been cut.
I gasped at the contact and would’ve tried to kick him, but he pulled back, dragging a mangy creature out with him.
He held a rabbit by the nape with a twist of dissatisfaction on his soft mouth before he dropped it into my lap. “You can see that he needs feeding.”
I gulped as I grabbed the creature and stared at the thing, dull grayish white with bare patches and scrawny ribs.
I carefully shifted my grip, and his fur—where it wasn’t gone—was very soft.
His heart beat fast in his chest, matching my own, and his breathing was raspy, like he was taking his last breath.
This was the creature I was supposed to take care of, when he looked like he was already more than half dead?