My Stepbrother Is a Demon novel · Chapter 12 of 32

Chapter 12: The Broker

"Stay inside," Ivo said.

"Is that a night rule?"

"It's morning. It's a request."

"Denied."

I opened the front door before he could stop me.

He swore and came out after me.

The gravel was loud under my sneakers.

The man in gray didn't move while we crossed the lawn.

Up close he looked like a banker from an old movie.

Gray suit, gray hat, gray silk tie, a gray leather folder under one arm.

His face was pleasant and forgettable.

His eyes were the only thing that wasn't gray.

They were black all the way to the edges.

"Miss Beale," he said, and smiled. "Thank you for coming out. I don't like to knock. People find it upsetting."

"Who are you?"

"I hold the paper on you."

He said it the way the bank says it about a car.

Behind me the mower droned and turned and came back.

The gardener never looked at us once.

"You're the one Zane made the deal with," I said.

"I am the one he came to, yes. Ten years ago, at the back of a concert hall, in a terrible hurry."

He tilted his head at Ivo.

"Hello, Ivo. You've grown. Do give my regards to your father."

"Give them yourself," Ivo said. "He's at the market."

"Then he's buying tomatoes and I won't spoil his morning."

The broker looked back at me.

"Your stepfather and I worked together a long time. Different desks. He was very good. He stopped. People do."

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