Page 38 of The Flame Game

The Devil showed up, and he wore another one of his beautiful suits. Smiling, I kissed his cheek, as I’d learned he liked affection almost as much as archangels, gorgons, and the other oddities in Quinn’s family. “You need to stop wearing suits I want to see Sam wear. When you wear suits, I wonder if Sam will wear it better.”

“This one he’ll be spectacular in, especially if he’s displaying his wings for you.”

My eyes widened at the thought of my husband wearing a suit while in his gorgon-incubus doohickey form. “Oh. Oh, my. Please?”

“Invite my wife over for some of your coffee. Coffee is life for her, and she likes it iced with cream and sugar.”

“I make a mean iced coffee.”

“That was a factor in establishing this bargain with you.”

Oh, well. I’d just cope with the scolding when Quinn found out I was making deals with the Devil to get him in a wickedly sexy suit. “I hope she likes kids, because we’ll be outnumbered and surrounded.”

“She loves children.”

Well, then. “Deal. Bargain struck!” I held out my hand to seal the deal. “I’ll even give her back sometimes, although with the number of kids we have around, you may have to bargain with me to get her back.”

The Devil frowned.

“You lost that one, my dear brother. Now, for the matter of the roses.” Sariel pointed at the one with the best blossoms, big, red, and delicious. “This one is her favorite, and it is the first she sampled when she came home to my little grandson for the first time, so it is quite special for them both.”

The Devil crouched beside the roses and touched the charred branch. “Did you see?”

“I did. She heard the description already.”

“It’s totally something my asshole father would do, and he’s not smart enough to do the job right. I mean, the house is made of brick.”

“And has been fireproofed to my little grandson’s standards,” Sariel added.

I wrinkled my nose. “Yeah, that didn’t help matters for that asshole at all. Now I’m wondering if we can fireproof our poor roses.”

Valorie emerged from her house, and it amused me how the cops scrambled to make sure the older woman didn’t fall making the hike over.

“I love that old woman,” I confessed.

The Devil chuckled. “She loves you as though you were hers. She is a sweet woman who has no place in one of my hells, although don’t tempt me into bringing over one of my devils. He might be able to keep up with her.”

Sariel smacked the Devil with his wing. “Do not play matchmaker right this moment. She is slated for elsewhere.”

“But she’d make such a fine little demoness,” the Devil complained. “Don’t ruin my fun.”

“If you hurt my roses even more than they’re already hurt, I will teach you both the true meaning of pain and fear,” I warned.

To my amusement, the archangel and his brother turned their attention to the poor plants. Aware I might eat snow or bruise my ass again, I slid along the sidewalk.

Chief Barfield intercepted me at the end and kept me on my feet. “Your husband would kill me if I let you fall. Stay in the snow and off the ice, you.”

“Valorie!” I waved at the old woman, eyeballing how to reach her. I opted to take the long way around, crunching through the snow until I reached the street, which had been questionably salted.

“Welcome home. How did you enjoy your trip?” she asked, coming towards me. I met her at the halfway point, and accepted a hug from her, as she’d trained me well. “Your poor roses.”

“They better be fine,” I hollered at the archangel and the Devil.

Valorie held up my phone. “This looks a lot like him, yes. Who is he?”

“The shitty father. It turns out I have more parents than normal, and the Gardeners are the shit ones. The other pair is far cooler. I’ll bring them over so you can meet them. Was there a woman with him?”

“Yes. She was driving the car.”