Jenna Black: The Devil's Due

There are only a couple hundred exorcists in the U.S., and many of them would have alibis. I imagine if someone were stupid enough to take the Brewsters’ money, they’d find themselves behind bars in no time.

“So what do you suggest I do?” Claudia asked bitterly. “Just write my son off as dead? Watch that. . that thing live out my son’s life?” She shuddered. “I can’t do that. I won’t.” A tear snaked down her cheek, and she swiped it angrily away. She did’t strike me as the kind of woman who cried easily, but it’s amazing how much pain family can cause.

She stood up, snatching her purse from the seat beside her. My heart ached with sympathy, the situation with my brother making me feel her pain all the more keenly. Now some might argue that the world was better off without one more God’s Wrath wacko tromping around burning people alive, and I might even agree with them. But I’d rather see that wacko in a brick-and-mortar prison than imprisoned helplessly within his own body.

“Look, don’t do anything drastic,” I advised as Claudia strode to the door.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to free my son. He’s had a hard enough life already. I won’t abandon him.”

“Yeah, I get that. I’ve got a, um, friend in the police department.” Calling Adam a friend was a world-class stretch, but I didn’t have any other way to describe him that wouldn’t take five minutes of explanation. “Let me talk to him and see what he suggests.”

“The police have already said they can’t help me.”

“I know, but my friend might be able to pull a few strings. Maybe at least get them to look a little more closely at the case and see if they can find any evidence of coercion.”

Actually, Adam was the Director of Special Forces, the branch of the police department responsible for all demon-related crime. He also had a habit of playing fast and loose with the law, which meant he might be able to get things done that a more by-the-books cop couldn’t.

Claudia looked skeptical, but managed a nod of acquiescence. “Thank you. I will, naturally, compensate you for your time.”

I could have used the money, but I didn’t feel right charging her when Adam was going to do all the work. “No need for that. If I end up performing a legal exorcism for you, you can pay me then. Meanwhile, can I have your assurance that you and your husband won’t try anything illegal while I’m looking into this for you?”

She hesitated, then agreed with a nod. “All right. I appreciate your help, and I’m sorry I asked you to risk yourself like that.”

No, she wasn’t, but I couldn’t entirely blame her, so I accepted the apology.

I put off calling Adam for so long that when I finally talked to him it was nearly six, and he invited me to come discuss the case over dinner. Like Pavlov’s dog, I began drooling at the suggestion. Adam’s boyfriend, Dominic, is very possibly the world’s best cook, and I found it almost impossible to turn down a chance to sample his wares, despite the unpleasantness a visit to Adam’s house would likely entail.

Adam just loves making me uncomfortable. Enduring public displays of affection and sexual innuendo was the price I’d have to pay for the free meal, but when I considered the contents of my own kitchen, temptation overwhelmed me.

I arrived at Adam’s house at about six-thirty. As soon as he answered the door, I knew it was going to be one of those nights, the kind that made me regret letting my stomach make decisions for me. His eyes were dilated with excitement, and he was slightly short of breath, which told me my arrival had interrupted something I didn’t want to know about. Of course, he’d known I was on my way, so my interruption wasn’t exactly an accident.

He smiled his typical wolfish smile, and I hoped I wasn’t blushing already.

“Come in,” he said, stepping aside to let me through the door.

I might have backed out if I hadn’t caught the scents from the kitchen at just that moment. My stomach gurgled loudly, and like a zombie I followed that scent, Adam close behind me as if to block my escape.

Dominic is a seriously good-looking guy, tall and olive-skinned, with a sculpted body and meltingly warm eyes. Despite his sexual orientation, he exudes masculinity even when standing over a hot stove. Tonight, he was wearing a chef’s apron, which I’d never seen him do before, and he greeted me with a wave of his hand rather than turning to face me.

I suspected immediately he was hiding a boner, and my cheeks flushed. They flushed even deeper when I saw the paddle Adam must have set carelessly on the counter when he went to open the door.

Yeah, “carelessly” my ass. He loved rubbing my face in the more unconventional aspects of his relationship with Dom.

Adam and Saul, Dominic’s demon, had been lovers, though from what I could tell they hadn’t actually been in love. In a moment of candor, Dom had once told me it had always been him, not Saul, who’d loved Adam, though when Dom had been possessed, he’d only been able to love Adam from afar.

When Saul had been declared rogue after his control snapped during a God’s Wrath attack, I’d been called in to exorcize him. The fact that I’d exorcized Saul hadn’t endeared me to Adam or Dom, but, in my admittedly biased point of view, they were clearly better off without him. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that they were devoted to one another, though I knew that there were aspects of their physical relationship that Adam found less than fully satisfying.

Demons are incorporeal in their own world, and some of them—like Adam and Saul—find all physical sensations, even pain, fascinating. Adam’s fascination, however, was more in the giving than the receiving. When Dominic had been possessed by Saul, Adam could inflict as much damage as he liked, because Saul could heal his host’s body. Saul could also shield Dominic so his host didn’t feel any more pain than he found pleasant. Ever since I’d exorcized Saul, Adam had to be content with what Dominic could tolerate as a human being, and I knew sometimes he missed the thrill.

That didn’t mean he and Dom didn’t have a jolly old time together. And, to my never-ending embarrassment, thoughts of the two of them together really cranked my engine. They were just so incredibly sexy, both of them, and they were so hot for each other I swear they sometimes leaked pheromones.

“I’ll have dinner on the table in just a moment,” Dom said, his back still turned.

As I moved to the kitchen table, which was set for three, I saw that Dom was dishing out jumbo servings of lasagna. Manners prodded me to offer to help him serve, but I knew from experience he wouldn’t let me. The kitchen was his domain, and he wasn’t about to let a culinary barbarian such as myself intrude.

I waited in silence—and hunger—as Dominic brought the plates to the table, then retrieved some aromatic garlic bread from the oven, popping it into a napkin-lined basket. I had to wait even longer as Dominic poured wine for himself and Adam; then he finally removed the apron—it seemed the delay had calmed him—and took his seat.

I dove for the basket of bread. Naturally, it was homemade, and would have been delicious even without the butter, garlic, and spices. I practically moaned in ecstasy when I bit into it.

“Have you ever thought of starting your own restaurant?” I asked with my mouth full.

Dominic had been a firefighter when he’d been possessed, but he’d quit once Saul had been exorcized. He still had all the training and experience from his time with Saul, but because of Saul’s inhuman healing ability, Dom’s experience could very well have led him to take unacceptable risks. I’m pretty sure that it was Dom who’d made the final decision to quit, but I’m also pretty sure his department had encouraged him to get out. I didn’t know how long he’d be happy as a full-time housewife, or whatever exactly he was right now. I knew he’d given up his crappy house in South Philly and moved in with Adam, but I had no idea what his long-term plans were.