The Devil Inside

By TK Eldridge

Caela wasn't a 'nice' girl.
As a PI for her father's firm, Caela Hughes had been trained by the best. Now she was the best.
The mystery client wanted to know what Mykos Adamos was up to, and Caela was hired to find out.
A rich playboy, son of a Greek tycoon, Mykos went from the darling of the paparazzi to the man girls were warned to avoid. What tragedy had turned the playboy into a bad boy? What was he doing, socializing with Saudi princes known for their exotic tastes, or European jet-setters who played in the shadows?
What happens when death stalks Caela and those around her, threatening to bring it all tumbling down?

• Language: English
• Publisher: TK Eldridge
• Release date: Aug 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005242398

TK Eldridge

TK Eldridge retired from a career in Intelligence for the US Gov't to write. The experiences from then are now being used to feed the muse for paranormal romance, mysteries, supernatural, and urban fantasy stories. When they’re not writing, they are enjoying life in the Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina. Two dogs, a garden, a craft hobby and a love of Celtic Traditional music keep them from spending too much time at the computer.

Book preview

The Devil Inside

TK Eldridge

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Graffridge Publishing

(Previously published under the Preston Holt Wilder penname)

First published by Graffridge Publishing 2020

Copyright © 2020 by TK Eldridge

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

TK Eldridge asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

TK Eldridge has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

Cover by Lizzie Dunlap of PixieCovers.com

Editing by Donna A. Martz of MartzProofing.com

Contents

1. Chapter One

2. Chapter Two

3. Chapter Three

4. Chapter Four

5. Chapter Five

6. Chapter Six

7. Chapter Seven

8. Chapter Eight

9. Chapter Nine

10. Chapter Ten

11. Chapter Eleven

12. Chapter Twelve

13. Chapter Thirteen

14. Chapter Fourteen

15. Chapter Fifteen

16. Chapter Sixteen

17. Chapter Seventeen

18. Chapter Eighteen

19. Chapter Nineteen

20. Sample of The Devil You Know

About the Author

Chapter One

Caela

Caela lifted the glass to her lips to let the whiskey wet them, but she didn’t swallow. Her attention was on the mirror over the bar, showing her exactly what Mykos Adamos was doing at the table behind her.

The man was gorgeous, no denying, but the company he currently kept, lost him major hottie points. Dusky skin, dark eyes, curling dark hair, and a close-trimmed beard gave him the look of a male model. He was trim and fit, dressed in a bespoke suit and custom dress shirt with the collar open enough to show a few dark chest curls. Yet, Mykos’ companion, dressed in Armani with a silk shirt and matching tie, ruined the picture.

Oscar Ruiz liked to take things that didn’t belong to him – mostly young girls and boys – and sell them around the world. He kept a few for himself and fed them a steady diet of drugs and abuse before selling them for less than their fresh-faced counterparts.

The job was to follow Mykos, find out what he was doing, and get the information back to the client. Simple. No fuss, no muss. Just track and tag – a few photos, a log of places he’d been, and she’d made some easy money for Hughes Investigations.

Hughes was her father’s company. Conal Hughes left the military, got his license and started up Hughes Investigations nearly thirty years ago. Caela had been two when her mother had died giving birth to her brother Cavan, and he’d died a few hours later, so it had been just Caela and her Da as long as she could remember. She’d been raised in Hughes, trained and educated from the very beginning, but it was still a boy’s club in many ways and her father’s right hand was not Caela herself, but Franklin Jeffries. Jeffries was an ex-Army Ranger with an MBA who made Caela’s skin crawl.

Movement behind her pulled Caela’s attention back to Mykos and Oscar. A beautiful girl who was probably not legal to drink in the lounge, dressed in an expensive and figure-hugging little black dress had joined the two men. Long dark hair and dusky skin, makeup enhancing her dark eyes, she leaned in to Mykos with a soft laugh. Caela watched in disgust as he flirted back with the girl, one hand skimming her back to tug her close.

Caela turned to the bartender and held out her glass. Take this back and get me a soda with lime, please? As he switched her drinks, she flipped her long blonde curls over a shoulder and turned slightly on her stool. Her own outfit of green silk dress and light cream shrug fit in with the rich clientele, but still allowed her to move easily. Well, she’d move easily once she kicked off the heels. Black Jimmy Choo stilettos gave her four more inches in height, which she desperately needed to take her five-foot-five to a height that wasn’t easy to overlook – and kept her chin from resting on the bar.

She accepted her soda and lime from the bartender and slid her card to him to cash out her tab. A few sips of the soda to quench her thirst and she felt better. Who would’ve thought that fake drinking would leave one so thirsty? Just as Caela signed the slip and tucked her card away, Mykos got up and shook Ruiz’s hand, brushed a kiss to the girl’s forehead and turned to the door.

In seconds, Caela was moving at an angle to Mykos, aimed to slip out another exit and hopefully still see him in the garage. She’d parked near where he had left his car for just this reason.

The click of her heels echoed in the parking garage as she headed towards her car. She paused and looked around, and it appeared she was the only one in the space. Strange – did he go somewhere else and she missed him?

Caela paused next to her car, listening to try and hear if he was maybe coming down the elevator or in from the street. The noise from the traffic outside made it almost impossible. She opened her car door and tossed her purse onto the passenger’s seat. How did she lose him so fast? Was she losing her touch?

The heat of a body pressed against her as hands found her waist and slid her a step sideways to put her against the side of her car. The rumble of his voice was heard as well as felt.

Who are you, and why have you been following me?

Caela turned her head enough to see Mykos behind her. "Me? I haven’t been following you. I’ve seen you in a few places I’ve been, but that’s not following. That’s just circumstance."

Right. Who are you? Mykos asked, then slid his hands expertly up and down her torso, clearly checking for weapons.

Caela. Who are you?

Uh huh. Stop following me. It’s not safe for little girls to be around men like me.

Caela could certainly agree with that. The brief search he did had her body tingling from head to toes. What the hell was wrong with her? Maybe she just needed to call Ian and scratch an itch tonight. Get her mind clear so she could get this damned job done.

As I said before, I’m not following you. I’ve been getting out more and trying new places.

Like behind the pawn shop on Market street? That’s a new social hot spot? Mykos’s tone was full of sarcasm. You’re not exactly the kind of person that blends in, even if your car was common and your outfit average and dark. That hair wasn’t all under the cap and your face is memorable.

Caela pushed back against him to give herself enough room to turn around, then leaned back against the car, a teasing smile on her lips. I’m that memorable, huh?

Dark eyes settled on her bright green ones, and Mykos wet his lips with his tongue. I’d say yes, but I already told you you were memorable. I’ve seen you in places a princess like you should never be found, and yet you tell me you’re not following me. Why were you there, then?

Fate, Caela replied, her gaze settled on those lips. Why was she so distracted by this man? She could feel heat building between them and instead of taking control of the situation, she just wanted to lean up and kiss those lips.

Mykos reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shook his head gently. Little girl, stop following me. I don’t want another broken soul on my conscience, okay?

Caela gave him the tiniest of nods, then slid to the side and down into the driver’s seat. He didn’t say anything, just kept that intense gaze on her as she pulled her feet in and reached for the door handle.

He shut the door for her and watched as she buckled in and started the car. He didn’t leave the spot until she’d pulled away, and Caela could see him still watching her in her rear view mirror as she drove up the garage ramp.

What the hell was that? Caela whispered to herself. Her body still felt electrified and her panties were damp. She’d never had a man affect her that way before. Men were tools to be used for various purposes—training, entertainment, or like Ian, itch-scratching, but never allow them to distract or impact one’s focus and drive. Hell, even Ian just made her feel relaxed with a couple of good orgasms. There had never been any heat or intensity between them. Well, not on her side of things anyway.

After she verified she wasn’t followed, Caela pulled into the garage under the building that housed Hughes Investigations and pulled her things from the car. She needed to get a wig, a different outfit, makeup, and a different vehicle, then get back out there. Ruiz and Mykos had met and that meant they may have agreed to a transaction. Caela hadn’t been able to get a mic on the table, so she only had the bits and pieces she’d picked up from reading their lips in the mirror. If she could reconnect with Mykos this evening, she might finally end this assignment.

The elevator dumped her off on the fifteenth floor where she and her father had their separate apartments. They’d split the top floor into two penthouses when they’d had the building constructed and Caela loved the views, the wide balcony with lots of plants and the infinity pool-hot tub combo she and her father shared. Walls of windows looked out onto the city and the ocean beyond, and the soft hues brightened with deep jewel tones comforted her as she peeled off her clothes and dropped them in their respective baskets before she stepped into the shower. Multiple jets massaged her aching body and reinvigorated her for the night ahead. At least she could leave the Jimmy Choo’s behind and wear jeans with her low boots. Soft leather boots with a Vibram sole were perfect for looking casual and still being able to run or fight. Her jeans were fitted but stretchy so she could kick up over her head.

Caela loved being fussed over and pampered once in a while, but for the most part, she preferred to take care of her own beauty regimen with a low fuss, low muss routine. Hair dried and braided, the ends pinned securely, Caela got dressed, then went to look for a wig. The shoulder length black one would do. A simple curled-under bob with bangs would help hide her features. A slouch cap, some makeup putty and shadowing, and she’d be hard to pick out in a crowd. One of her teachers had spent nearly thirty years in the special-effects business for movies and had taught her how to do both quick changes and more elaborate ones. This was a mid-range one. Not something that would take hours in a chair, but not just a ‘turn the coat inside out and find a hat’ kind either. Mykos had made note of her features. She had to change those now.

Nose broadened, eyes shadowed, cheeks padded, lips re-shaped with makeup, fake lashes and a realistic looking scar from temple to jaw line made her look very unlike her usual self.

Damn, I’m good, Caela muttered to herself, then pulled on the wig. A short leather jacket and a gray wool scarf finished the look.

A pause in the kitchen had her stuff two bottles of water and a handful of energy bars into a battered backpack that she slung over a shoulder. A shoulder holster held a Glock 9mm while an ankle holster held a .38 snub-nosed revolver. A selection of keys in a drawer and she found the ones she wanted, grabbed her helmet, and headed out.

The gleaming black Ducati Panigale waited in a fenced spot in the garage. One key unlocked the cage door, the other started up the machine. Helmet secured, backpack tucked away, Caela left the garage and headed towards Mykos’ latest hangout – a bar that sat on the edge of where the ‘good side’ of town slid into the not-so-good side of town. She parked her bike in the alley, facing out towards the street and locked it down before she headed inside. A table at the end of the bar allowed her to sit and face the room and the door, so she ordered a beer and a plate of nachos and sat down. Like every other person her age in the bar, she kept her phone near to hand, answering a few emails and texts while she waited. The nachos were good, the beer cold, and Caela wasn’t in a rush. She’d done less comfortable stake-outs before. At least this one had bathroom facilities and hot food. About an hour after she’d sat down, Mykos came in with two other men. He’d also changed out of his suit to jeans and a sweatshirt under a leather jacket, and Caela could tell he, too, was carrying. The slight shift in the way his jacket fit and how he moved his arms told her where he had the gun placed and that he wasn’t used to wearing one like that. Using her phone, she took a few pictures of Mykos and the men he was with, sending them to her cloud server and deleting them off her phone right away. A few bites of nachos and a sip of beer before her phone was back in both hands and a few more images captured, sent, and deleted.

A text sent to Ian with a good image of the two men with Mykos and a note. Facial rec, please, asap.

Five minutes or so went by and she got a reply. Stephan Adamos, Mykos’ cousin, and Kade Browning, college roommate of Mykos. Dossiers to follow. Then a second message from Ian, Want me to deliver in person tonight?

Sounds good, Caela replied to him. Will text when headed home.

Well, her evening was looking up even more. After being made by Mykos in the garage earlier today, she had felt off her game. The change in her appearance and the ride on the Ducati had helped somewhat, but there was still something not quite right, and Caela couldn’t put her finger on it. She finished up the nachos and the one pint of beer over the next two hours, then watched the men leave separately until Mykos was the only one left. His attention had been locked on his phone for the past half hour and his beer was about empty. Caela made a trip to the ladies’ room and back out, and he’d still not moved. She leaned against the bar, ordered a soda and lime, and watched him more openly than she had dared before. He glanced her way, looked her up and down, then turned back to his phone. Seemed she didn’t warrant any concern from the legendary Mykos Adamos in this rendition, so she knew it was a good one to maybe reuse around him one or two more times.

Another hour passed before he finally got up, tossed some money on the table, and headed out the door. Caela sighed in relief and moved to follow him. She stopped at