Page 27 of The Final Deal

The anger flickers on Shannon’s face as he focuses on me. “And you couldn’t stay home, why?”

My expression falls. This evening has been fun, but reality has suddenly busted the illusion like the Kool-Aid man jumping through a brick wall.

Adrian’s arm snakes around my shoulders, and he pulls me in close. “Dude, take it easy on her. Found out Mom used her as a bargaining chip for NYB.”

Shannon’s eyes bug out of his head. “What?”

I laugh mirthlessly. “Our running joke is true, after all: someone did make a deal for NYB.”

He takes a step back like he’s been stunned. “Jesus Christ. And she gaveyouup?”

“Yeah, well…” I trail off, looking around at the trees. Something flutters, and I quickly avert my eyes. “It doesn’t really matter that I’m here because the devil got what he wanted.”

Shannon shakes his head and ambles toward the road with us trailing behind. “That’s fucked. I’m sorry. But you still shouldn’t be here.”

“Hey, can you blame me?” Adrian says. “I’m just tryna keep her safe.”

Shannon swings around and flies into his face. “By bringin’ her back to places that endanger her? After the shit she just went through?” He jabs a finger into his chest. “Maybeyou’re the fuckin’ problem, dude. Not Z.”

Adrian’s nostrils flare and he huffs, shoving Shannon away. “You have no fucking idea what he’s done to her…”

They continue to bicker and point fingers, so I slowly inch away and bypass them to venture onto the road.

There isn’t a soul out here, even though there’s a small neighborhood around the curve where Ashley Road turns into Espada. Lights poke through the trees and brush from those houses, but night consumes Devil’s Bridge and House in a darkness that makes my stomach churn.

If Shannon and Adrian hang out around the bridge, that must mean the devil himself hangs around here somewhere, right?

I pause at the gate blocking off entry to Devil’s House and peer into the shadows. Shannon and Adrian argue loudly in the creek, so I take the opportunity to go on the hunt.

Night sets in a little darker the second I hop over the gate. My eyes dart back and forth with each step, distrustful that the crunching underfoot is coming from me.

Breath catches in my throat. Tears stir in my vision; I stop in my tracks when all I can see is the devil crouching to my level, leaning so close to my face that I could almost make out his own beneath the shadows.

I shake my head so hard to get away from the memory that my temple throbs—right where Ty struck me.

The thought of his name dislodges the breath stuck in my throat, and my vision turns a little red. I wish he’d come out here so I could fucking kill him with my own two hands.

“Steph, where’d you go?” Adrian hollers in a panic. “Steph!”

My feet move toward the guys’ voices calling for me until the same fluttering from earlier in the corner of my eye makes me pause.

It takes a second to readjust to the darkness, but then I find it: the barred owl settling on a pecan branch, staring at me with the blackest eyes.

I freeze in place. Maybe if I don’t move or breathe, it’ll let me go unscathed.

Branches and twigs snap and crash in quick succession. “Steph, you better fucking get out here!”

The owl doesn’t move, so I cautiously move forward. I wait a moment, and it remains frozen on the branch. Slowly, I make my way back to the road, all while keeping track of the owl in case I need to run.

It never leaves the branch as I leave its line of sight.

“There you are, Jesus,” Shannon says, out of breath like he’s been running around. “You’re not gonna believe this.”

“What?”

Adrian points at the bridge, where a small, bald, dirty figure toddles at the end closest to us a few yards away in a dirty diaper that’s so brown it’s practically black.

“Oh, my God—is that ababy?” I panic and start to rush toward it.

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