Jenna Black - The Devil You Know

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The beautiful. The bad. The possessed.

Some people worship them. Some people fear them. And some people like Morgan Kingsley go up against them toe-to-toe, flesh to flesh, and power against power. An exorcist by trade, Morgan is one of the few humans with an aura stronger than her possessor, even though her demon can tease her body senseless. She's also a woman who has just discovered a shocking truth: everything she once believed about her past, her identity, may have been a lie.

With a family secret exploding around her and a full-scale demon war igniting, Morgan is a key player in an unsettled world. Then a rogue sociopathic demon enters her life with a bang. His name is The Hunter. And since she is the prey, Morgan has only one choice: to hunt The Hunter down no matter what heartbreaking truths she uncovers along the way

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THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
Morgan Kingsley Series, Book 2
Jenna Black

For Gayle, one of my first critique partners, whose courage and positive attitude have truly been an inspiration

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to Anne Groell, my fabulous editor, for helping me make this a better book, and just for being fabulous in general. Thanks to Miriam Kriss, my agent, whose enthusiasm always helps keep me motivated. And my heartfelt thanks to the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, who are, in my admittedly biased opinion, the most talented and supportive group of writers on the planet.

CHAPTER 1

Theres no denying Dominic Castello is a treat to look atthe classic tall, dark, and handsome. Soulful hazel eyes framed by thick lashes, warm olive skin, muscles in all the right placesBut on seeing him standing in my doorway, my first impulse was to slam the door in his face.

He must have read my expression, for he wedged his foot in the door and smiled at me. He has a sweet, disarming smile that would turn most women to jelly, but Im not most women. Besides, his equally good-looking boyfriend was the sadomasochistic demon host whod shot my brother. That put Dominic near the bottom of the list of people I wanted to see, with only his boyfriend, Adam, and pretty much my entire family below him.

Unfortunately, with him being over six feet tall and at least two hundred pounds, I wasnt keeping him out of my apartment now that Id been stupid enough to open the door in the first place.

Giving in to the inevitable, I moved away from the door, letting him enterthough I didnt actually invite him in. I headed to my minuscule kitchen, where a half-full pot of coffee left over from breakfast still sat on the warmer.

Wanna cup? I asked without looking at him.

Sure. Thanks.

I filled two mugs, noticing that the coffee was dark as ink and smelled stale. If it were just me, Id make a fresh pot, but I didnt want Dominic staying that long.

Cream and sugar?

Dominic looked at the tar-scented swill in the cup I handed him and shook his head. I doubt it would help much.

That almost made me smile. So, what brings you to this part of town? I took a sip of the coffee to prove it was drinkable and tried not to gag when I discovered it wasnt.

When Dominic didnt immediately answer, my nerves went on red alert. Apparently, this wasnt a social call, which I suppose Id known all along.

Maybe we should sit down for a bit, he suggested.

I really hated the sound of thatand the way he wouldnt quite meet my eyes. My stomach gave an unhappy gurgle, and my fingers clenched on the coffee cup. I put it down before I took a sip by reflex.

For the last few weeks, Id been trying my best to live under a rock. Id had enough stress lately to last me a lifetimeor three. Realistically, I knew my problems were far from over, but Id been determined to hold them at bay for as long as possibleideally, until I was on my deathbed.

See, heres the thing. Im an exorcist. My calling in life, my very raison dtre, is to kick demon ass. Only the ones who possess unwilling hosts or who commit violent crimes, of course, but in reality I dont like legal demons much better. So as you can imagine, my life became a little complicated when I found out I was possessed by the king of the demons, who was embroiled in a war for the throne of the Demon Realm.

For reasons neither of us understands, the demon king, Lugh, cant take control of me the way a demon normally dominates a host. Even though Im possessed, I remain in total control of my body. For the most part, Lugh can only take command when Im asleep, and can only communicate with me through dreams.

From the moment Id found out I was possessed, my life had shot straight to hell and stayed there. My best friend had tried to kill me. My house was burned to the ground. I was thrown in jail for murder. My boyfriend, Brianactually, hes my ex-boyfriend now, though I have yet to convince him of this factwas kidnapped and tortured in an attempt to get to me. And to win his aid in rescuing Brian, Id let Dominics boyfriend whip me bloody for his own amusement.

All in all, I was desperately in need of some R&R. But since I wasnt getting Dominic out of my apartment through brute force, I figured the quickest way to get rid of him was to listen to what he had to say.

Im sure I looked pretty sulky and mulish as I led him into my living room and gestured him toward my couch. I dropped into the love seat and suffered a momentary pang of yearning for the homey, comfortable furniture that had been destroyed when my house burned down. Id rented this apartment furnished, and nothing in it reflected my tastes. This love seat, for example, was hard enough to numb my ass. I hoped the sofa would have the same effect on Dominic.

So were sitting down, I said, folding my arms across my chest. Why dont you tell me why youre here?

He put his cup on the coffee tableI dont think hed been stupid enough to take a sip, like I hadthen turned so he could face me full-on. I didnt like the intensity of his expression, so instead of looking at him, I idly tugged at a loose thread on the arm of the love seat.

Adam has found out something he thinks you should know, Dominic said.

I pulled on the thread a little harder, and the fabric started to unravel. With a grunt of disgust, I stopped fidgeting and gave Dom my best steely-eyed glare. If Adam thinks I should know, why isnt he the one sitting here?

Dominic grinned. He thought I was more likely to get through your door.

I couldnt help a rueful chuckle. There have been times when Ive said some terrible things to Dominic, but hes never deserved them. When Id first met him, hed been a willing demon host, and I had despised him for being the kind of weak-minded, suicidal fool who was willing to give up his entire identity to host a demon. Because the human personality was (in all cases except my own) completely buried beneath the demons, Id considered the human hosts as good as dead. Many peopleincluding my entire familyconsidered those who sacrificed themselves to host Higher Powers, as they called demons, to be great heroes. Because demons are so much stronger and so much more resilient han humans, the hosts can take on extremely dangerous tasks. But Id always considered them sheep.

After some of the things he had done for meand for Brian, a man he didnt even knowI now believed Dominic was a genuine hero, even without his demon. And despite my feelings about Adam, I had to admit that, most of the time, I rather liked Dom.

Adam could have tried phoning, I said, attempting to maintain my grumpy demeanor.

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