Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(21)

Christine pressed a glass of something cold in my hand. “Drink it up, fast as you can.”

“Witchcraft?” I asked, hoping it would knock me out.

“Vodka.” It was Christine’s go-to medicine of choice. I swallowed it before Alexander could stop me.

Alexander’s head shook. “That’s going to go straight to her head. It’s not a good idea.”

“It’ll go straight to her head and maybe she’ll forget you’re shoving a…whatever that is you’re about to shove up her arm.” Christine took the glass from me and refilled it.

“Good point,” Alexander replied as he placed the needle in Dev’s arm. There were several curses in languages I didn’t speak. “Perhaps a dose for this one, too.”

“Just give me the bottle,” Dev demanded.

Christine passed it over and sat down beside me. She took the hand that wasn’t attached to the arm Alexander was working on. “It’s going to be all right, Zoey. Just watch me and listen to my voice.”

She rubbed my cold hand between her warm ones. I felt a great debt of gratitude for the sometimes annoying witch. She started intoning something in Latin in a pleasant sing-song, and I found my world narrowing to the sound of her voice.

“Done,” Alexander said. I was startled by the pronouncement, and when I looked, sure enough, there was a large-bore needle taped securely in my arm. The doctor pulled up on the plunger and bright blood began to flow from Dev’s arm. “All right, get comfortable. This could take a while.”

Dev cursed again and took another long swallow from the bottle of Grey Goose. I laid back and let Christine’s voice soothe me, and before long I was feeling warmth flow inside me again. I don’t know how long the process took, but I was grateful when the needle was sliding out of my arm and the wound was being wrapped. I was ready to fall asleep on the couch when Dev slid his arms under my knees and shoulders and lifted me against his chest. I was completely limp in his arms.

He looked at the assembled room, which now also included Neil. I guessed he’d gotten Daniel settled in the room my father had built for just such an occasion. It was a solid, interior room, with no possibility of that pesky sun finding its way in. Dev turned his gaze to my dad.

“All right, do I go upstairs or bundle her up and take her back to Ether? It’s your choice, Harry, but understand I’m not leaving her here alone with three vampires, even if one of them is incapacitated.” Dev looked to the vampires. “By your own laws, I have the right to care for her. My blood sustains her. At least for tonight, she is mine by right of law. If Daniel has a problem with that, he can get his ass up here and we can handle it here and now. Stay or go, Harry?”

“Upstairs, second door on the left.” My father gestured toward the hall, a grimace of anger on his face, but he allowed Dev to carry me.

Dev turned his back on the room and whisked me upstairs. My old bedroom had been redone as a guest room and now boasted a king-sized bed. Dev laid me down on the bed and stared at me. It looked like he was going to make good on his threat to inspect every inch of me. Normally, I would have gotten a little excited at the prospect, but right now it just pissed me off.

“I didn’t sleep with him, Dev.” I tried to put some fire into my words, but I failed. Though my blood volume was up, I was so tired. Still, it was all he really wanted to know so I decided to put the truth out there. It was good to know my lover wanted to make damn sure my husband wasn’t getting some.

“Right, Zoey.” Dev’s hand found the waist of my jeans. He was an expert when it came to undressing a woman. “I’m supposed to believe he gets his fangs in you for the first time in seven months, but that’s all he impales you on?”

“He was a little concerned about the fact that he was on fire, Dev.” I pushed my hips up because fighting him wouldn’t help. “I doubt he was thinking about how to get in my pants.”

“You would be surprised, sweetheart. I would be thinking about it.” Dev ran his hands up and down my legs before he pulled the T-shirt over my head and dispensed with my bra. His hands smoothed over my skin. Even though I was angry with him, the touch was sweet. He seemed satisfied there was no further damage or evidence of vampiric possession. “On fire, huh? Did the client have a flamethrower?”

I shook my head as he placed me under the covers. Dev stepped out of his slacks and tossed his shirt aside.

“We got surprised. Didn’t know what we were dealing with.” I’d been stupid. I should have never taken that meeting without knowing what I was getting into. I was obsessed with this job, and it almost cost Daniel his life.

Dev was down to his boxers and slipped into the bed beside me. He pulled me into his arms, and I let my head rest on his chest. I was still mad at him, but he felt safe and warm and the events of the day just slammed into me. Tears started to run down my face. I wish I was one of those tough chicks who never cried, but I always do. Dev pulled me closer, his hand tangling in my hair.

“What was it, Zoey?” He laid a sweet kiss on my forehead, his voice gentler than it had been all night.

“Angels. They were angels, and they nearly killed him.”

“Real angels? From the Heaven plane?” Dev asked, his voice hushed with awe. Dev might have contact with all manner of supernatural creatures, but angels didn’t frequent Ether. “Jesus.”