Free The Devil She Knows by Kira Sinclair

For a twenty-year-old the easy lifestyle had been seductive, and only two months after meeting him Rose had eloped.
    Willow’s mind spun back to the past, one she tried hard to forget. Things had seemed fine for a few months. Rose settled down a bit. She spent her time getting her nails done and going shopping. She was happy.
    And then it all exploded. Rose began staying out all night again. She got into trouble, even calling late one night so that their parents could bail her out of jail. Several times her husband showed up at their house in the middle of the night looking for her. Willow remembered the loud, angry voices.
    She’d tried to talk to Rose, but her sister had been tight-lipped, telling her everything would be fine.
    And then the rumors about her and Wick had started...just days after he’d walked away from her. She’d confronted Rose. With dreamy eyes, her sister had said Wick was her ticket out of Sweetheart. And Willow had been devastated.
    But she shouldn’t have been. She knew his reputation, a scandalous loner who never stayed with anyone for very long. They’d never even dated. Aside from that one night on her porch, he’d never touched her.
    She’d felt like an idiot, but couldn’t stop it from hurting.
    He hadn’t even stood by Rose. Within days of the scandal breaking, Wick was gone.
    And that pissed her off more than anything. He’d been playing with Willow. She accepted that. But he’d destroyed Rose’s life and then walked away as if it was no big deal.
    Willow’s heels slapped against the pavement as she walked down Main toward her store. It was dark already, and she wished she’d grabbed her coat before slipping down the street. When she’d locked up the studio and noticed Dev’s truck sitting in the diner’s lot she knew she needed to talk to him.
    She was only half a block from the diner when Levi Waite materialized on the sidewalk beside her. Before she knew what was happening, her back was pressed against the crumbling brick and his hands were lodged on either side of her body. He leaned into her personal space, although he didn’t actually touch her, at least not after he’d caught her by surprise and spun her around.
    “Now, Willow, if you’d wanted company last night why didn’t you just call me? I’m a much better choice than Warwick. I wouldn’t have been sneaking out of your house before dawn. If you’d taken me home we’d still be locked up tight inside your bedroom.”
    That first kick of surprise sent a burst of adrenaline through Willow’s blood, but her brain quickly realized there wasn’t a threat and cut off the reaction. Levi Waite was harmless, if rather annoying.
    She reached up to elbow him away, but before her sharp elbow could connect with his soft belly the man was flying backward. It was as if an invisible string had been tied to his waist. His body folded in half, arms and legs flailing as he lost his balance and found himself ass-down in a heap on the pavement.
    “Keep your hands off the lady,” Dev growled, staring down at Levi with enough barely checked heat to keep Sweetheart warm through winter.
    Levi wasn’t smart enough to realize he was outclassed by Dev, who was bigger and carried more muscle. Or maybe he did and his pride wouldn’t let him stay down. Either way, he reacted on instinct, scrambling up from the ground and lunging for the man who’d knocked him silly without warning.
    With a sigh, Willow stepped between the two men. With a hand to Levi’s chest, she said, “Stop.”
    Dev grasped her by the waist and tried to pull her out from the middle of the testosterone sandwich. But that wasn’t going to work for her. She dug her heels in and grounded her weight. Tossing a glare at Dev over her shoulder, she warned, “Back off.”
    Something in his eyes warned her he wasn’t going to listen.
    Instead, she turned her attention to someone with the potential for a level head.
    Looking Levi in the eye, she said, “Get out of