Page 38 of Devils Don’t Deal

I crashed into bed, closed my eyes tight, and willed myself to sleep.

I had five years to pay off my debt and not fall for a devil without a heart who could be my undoing.

Chapter

Twelve

Ismiled at Lieutenant Sato with a basket over my arm overflowing with the sweets I’d made that morning. I didn’t have as much energy to expend on magic as before the accident—it was an accident that I wasn’t dead—but they should still work.

“I wondered if I could talk to your prisoners.”

She frowned at the basket. “Are you trying to bribe an officer?”

I shook my head and put the basket behind me. “These aren’t for you. These are for the goblins.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And why would you want to give macarons and fudge to goblins?”

“It’s my magic. I baked helpfulness into them. If the goblins eat it, they’ll be more likely to help me.”

She scrunched up her face. “And you want their help why?”

“I need to know why they wanted the Lady of the Wild Woods released. And I need to know if she’s actually dead or if she’s coming back.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “You think she’s coming back?”

I shuddered. “I hope not, but I’d sleep better at night if I was sure she were staying dead.”

She leaned her chin on her fist. “This is highly irregular, but I would also like reassurance that the monster isn’t coming back.” She stood up. “So, I’ll take you to the Granite. They’re being held in my husband’s dungeon.”

“The goblin king has a dungeon in the bank?” And suddenly my great plan was a sticky morass.

“He has a lot of dungeons, but he calls them vaults.” She looped her arm around mine, gave me a wide smile, and tugged me toward the door.

I’d snuck out of the shop after I’d baked my goods, without telling my dad or the devil about it. I’d even left the rabbit dozing on the pretty green velvet chair instead of taking him with me. If he was the devil’s soul, he could stay in my kitchen while I did what I could to get to the bottom of the goblin’s deal to release the Wild Woods psycho.

I climbed into Sato’s black car, trying not to stare at the goblins in the front as well as in the car behind us. Bodyguards. Lots of bodyguards. Someone took her security seriously. The goblin king’s bride was precious, at least until she had his child.

“Why did you marry the goblin king? You don’t seem the type to run away from your life,” I murmured. I suddenly realized how incredibly rude that was and got all flushed and horrified. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business, it’s just…” I met the eyes of the goblin driving the car and suddenly had a difficult time swallowing. He made the goblin band that had been chasing me look like gentle creatures.

“Don’t worry about it.” She patted my arm. “We started writing a long time ago, and he fell in love with my prose, so he decided to become respectable so I could love him back.”

“That’s…” Impossible. “Unexpected.”

“That’s the goblin king. He was also tired of war all the time. So much blood, so little of anything else. He hasn’t mentioned that you’re a goblin-fairy, which I find suspicious. I’m going to watch him look at you at the bank and see if I can read anything into it.”

“Why are you telling me that?”

“I’m on your side. I’m the goblin king’s bride, but I’m also Lady Justice. You don’t have to smell of fear when I mention him, because he isn’t going to do anything to hurt you.”

I gave her a shaky smile. “You can smell my fear?”

She tapped her nose. “I’ve got a goblin nose. I can also see in the dark. I could tell you what you smell like when you look at your devil, but I don’t think you want to hear it.”

Denial never helped anyone. I straightened. Ow. Maybe not quite so straight. “What do I smell like when I look at him?”

She smiled, mischief in her dark eyes. “Admiration, the softy fuzzy kind that gets people into trouble.”

“I’d be crazy to date someone who put my father in a cage.”