Free The Devil You Know by Marie Castle

leave you to rest.” She tilted her head toward the guest room, free now that Grey, the Tiger Alpha, and his family had gone home.
    “Do you want that?” I asked uncertainly.
    Jacq didn’t hesitate. “No, but it’s not always about what I want.” She smiled slightly.
    I grinned, my confidence returning, my watery eyes beginning to dry. “You would follow me into a car full of demons but not into my bedroom? Join me in my rest, Detective, before I find myself insulted.” I held out my hand.
    She chuckled softly, taking it. “Never that.” Jacq smiled that roguish one-dimpled grin.
    Crossing the threshold’s silver wards reminded me of something else I was thankful for, something I’d neglected to express. Seeing Jacq strip down to her slate-colored bra and hip-cut panties almost made me forget my resolve, my urge to thank her—and every other thought.
    But as we climbed into fresh cool sheets, I remembered what I needed to say. Jacq’s warm, underwear-clad body slid behind my similarly clad one, and I looked to the now locked door, eyed the silver glow, and softly said, “Your wards, whatever their purpose, saved Aunt Helena’s life.” I yawned, my eyes closing as her musky sage and sandalwood scent enveloped me. “I can never thank you enough for that. But once I get a bit of energy, I’ll try. Hopefully soon.” Soon, we would have that talk, then find our way to being in the same bed at the same time and both of us would be whole, healthy…and awake. Very much awake.
    Jacq pulled me close, kissing the top of my head before resting her head behind mine. In my ear, her voice was slow with approaching sleep. “I meant them to protect you. But if they protect the ones you love as well, all the better.” She sighed, her breath evening out in slumber.
    I joined her, but even as I drifted away my mind repeated her words. Protect the ones you love. My beautiful, caring, often infuriating, auburn-haired phoenix had protected them. Protected me. Over and over again. My family had thought they were doing the same when they had tried to take part of me and lock it away, presumably protecting me when they had hidden the truth for decades. Jacq had protected them. Had protected me.
    Perhaps she could protect them from me. Because I wasn’t quite sure they were going to be safe in my presence. If nothing else, the warm woman wrapped snugly around me was a capable healer. After the “debriefing” I had planned with Nana and Aunt Helena, we might need to resuscitate them both. I wondered if I should lead with my entering into a lesbian relationship with an immortal of unknown species? With my new demon grandmother coming for dinner? Or with their use of forbidden magic, black magic, to tie part of my soul—and inadvertently my heart—into knots?
    I pulled Jacq’s warm hand above the cotton sheets, holding it tightly as my consciousness fled, never determining how the conversation would begin. But I already knew how it would end.
    I didn’t need the power of premonition to know things were about to change…and possibly not for the better.
    * * *
    White sheets rushed upward from the bed, ruffling softly in the open windows’ breeze before being taken outside by Helena, their dust whisked away by the wind to parts unknown as the cotton was shaken and tossed into a pile of others waiting to be washed. Helena returned to the house, looking around at the remnants of a life. Black-and-white photos of a happy couple and young girl were spread across the mantel. More recent snapshots of the old man and two toddlers littered the tables. Scrawled drawings were proudly displayed on the fridge. A stack of forgotten books towered on a table, their spines long broken by use.
    Knowing the Were phers still surging in her system made all her emotions stronger, even the unpleasant ones, Helena sniffled, wiped away a tear, and tried to smile. Her old friend, Arno Wellsy, would be happy his house would be a home again, especially