Free The Devil You Know by Marie Castle Page B

night. In fact, you two looked pretty chummy.” My eyebrows scrunched together. “Why is that?”
    “He’s a vampire.” Jacq pointed into the shadowed woods ringing the house. “That creature is a demon.” She said this as if that should make all the difference.
    Something in my chest started to hurt, and I resisted the urge to rub the spot over my heart. “So am I.” I lowered my eyes then forcefully raised them, not wanting to see the affirmation in hers but unable to hide from it. “But then, you already knew that. You weren’t surprised by Van’s announcement.”
    Jacq nodded once and sighed, pulling me tightly to her chest, linking her arms over my shoulders as my own circled her waist. Our bodies met nearly from head to thigh. I started to push away but her arms tightened and my urge to fight fled. I needed her, needed her warmth, her comforting touch. My greedy skin sucked in her heat. But more than that, her presence warmed me from within, keeping my heart from becoming the cold fortress it had once been. The one it wanted to again become whenever I remembered the secrets my family had been and were still keeping from me.
    Face pressed to her neck, I murmured, “How long?”
    “From the very beginning.”
    I started to shake my head in denial but stopped as Jacq continued.
    “The night we met, I stood near the garden, watching you fight with Mynx. By the sun, you were so beautiful.” She held me tightly, softly saying in my hair, “So mouthy, too.” I felt her smile against my temple, and some of my tension eased. “I was smitten. I moved to announce myself. Then fire flowed from your sword. Not many would know it as hellfire, but I’ve had experience with demons like Vanguard and your…” Swallowing hard, Jacq paused, having trouble with the word grandmother , finally adding, “Queen Kathryn.”
    Until the last, I had been lost, seeing that night through her eyes, feeling through our link the rush of appreciation, shock, and finally resigned sadness she had felt. I was puzzling over the last when I realized what she had said.
    “Who?” I squeaked, jaw dropping. I leaned back to look at Jacq’s serious face.
    “That’s her name, Cate. Your mother obviously thought much of the Demon Queen to give you her name.” Jacq’s warm fingers moved through my loose hair as I let that sink in. I didn’t understand. Why would my mother tie me so to a world she had fled? I shook my head. I wouldn’t be getting that answer anytime soon, if ever.
    Though this was the excellent distraction it was meant to be, the wheels in my mind kept turning, eventually working their way to the other things Jacq had shared. Her body stiffened, fingers stilling as she felt my thoughts shift.
    Moving my palms in slow circles over her back, I felt the softness of her blue-gray cotton shirt and murmured, “This history you have with demons…does it have something to do with your wish that I not feed the hound?”
    Jacq stared into the distance, her normally husky voice unusually deep as she said, “Yes.”
    “Are you going to explain anytime soon?” I asked gently. It felt like our roles had somehow reversed. It was Jacq who longed to run and me asking her to stay.
    She looked at me and tried for a smile. “I will…someday soon. But not yet. Will that be enough for you?” There was fear in her eyes.
    I stepped back, letting my hands slide down her arms until my fingers twined with hers. I smiled in reassurance. “I can live with that. But I’m going to keep feeding the hound. I have the feeling she’s not going away, and if she’s fed, she’s less likely to drag up a deer carcass.” I thought of the bones she had left for me Monday morning. “Or take a bite out of something she shouldn’t.” I nodded toward my grandpa’s ’83 Silverado parked nearby. My new demonic doggie had eyed its tires more than once during our first meeting. Hopefully she would find the food I’d left more palatable.
    “She?”