Page 74 of The Final Deal

My mouth runs dry. I run my tongue over my lips in a poor attempt to wet them. “If Ty’s not involved anymore, I’ll do whatever you want.”

That gives the devil pause, but Ty hollers, “We have a fucking deal!”

The devil takes one step forward, then another, slowly advancing closer until he’s right in front of me. His gloved hand reaches up, his fingers hovering over the scraped-up side of my face as he traces the outline in the air.

“You can’t go back on our deal,” Ty continues. “My name is on all the paperwork.”

In the blink of an eye, the devil has Ty’s throat in his grip and lifts him up until his feet dangle midair. He thrashes, gurgling and scratching at the gloved hand around his neck.

“Donotdamage the prize cow,” the devil grits out.

Ty is thrown clear across the room, exactly like he was at the bridge, and lands with a stomach-aching “Oof!”

The devil readjusts himself in his duster jacket. “Your legal paperwork is a little more complicated to finesse than my contracts are. But do as you’re told according to your deal and I will make it worth your while.”

My bottom lip trembles. I snivel as fat, hot tears slink down my cheeks.

“You’re a smart girl,” the devil says as he withdraws. “Don’t get dumb on me now.”

Maybe if I prove how valuable I am to him without Ty, he’ll see it’s best to leave me to my own devices, and I’ll get rid of Ty somehow.

I have to find a way, or else all of this was for nothing except continuing a miserable life.

Sniffling, I dry my tears and skirt past the devil, heading for the front of Devil’s House. “I’ll prepare the official announcement.”

Ty huffs. “Finally!”

I shut the door of my rideshare and face a yellow folk Victorian with decorative metal teal columns. Maybe I could’ve dared to go home, but I’m not sure if that would do any good or make things so much worse.

Instead of taking a chance, I walk up the overgrowing brick pathway to my best friend’s house, hoping he won’t hate my guts as much, although I’m the reason why the last time he saw his wife was cut short.

I take a deep breath and knock on the door.

It opens a few seconds later. Shannon immediately hones in on the fucked-up side of my face and frowns. “What happened?”

One of my shoulders lift up. “Ty didn’t take me breaking his nose too kindly.”

He quirks a brow and crosses his arms, leaning against the doorframe. “Why should I help you when you’re the one who ran my wife away?”

The sniffles restart. “I… I tried to tell her to come home, to help Zak with his transition…”

His hardened eyes begin to soften. “Transition?”

I nod and admit, “He’s el lechuzo.”

He runs a hand through his mussed dirty blond hair, blowing a heavy breath through his teeth. “Fuck.” After a long moment of watching me carefully, he asks, “Why is Ty back? And don’t bullshit me.”

“H-h-he set me up,” I whisper. “He found a way to fuck up my life, a-and…” I sob softly. “Nobody’s gonna believe me.”

“Dree said he thinks you’re tellin’ the truth: that you were forced and didn’t want to.”

I huff in relief. He’s pissed, but he still believes me—I can work with that.

“Why didn’t you tell them anything?”

“Because they would’ve broken up with me either way,” I say softly. “They’re not gonna want me as long as Ty is around.”

“So… is he sticking around, then?”

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