Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(62)

The night after Daniel and I performed the ritual that made us man and wife, he’d been carted off to answer to the Council for his actions concerning Lucas Halfer. I was his companion and I was told there was a seat on that plane for me, but Daniel had forbidden it. He took Neil and left me behind to wonder about his fate. I would have followed him anywhere in that moment. I would have faced anything. I would have accepted our marriage and never thought to even speak to Dev again. I would have been his faithful wife and done the job Stewart said I was born to do. It was Daniel’s rejection that caused me to seek Dev out, but I couldn’t go back now. I realized now that moment when he looked up at me and said “I forbid it” had broken something in me. I was no longer sure it could be fixed.

Daniel’s face fell, his eyes nearly pleading. “I wonder if you’re ever going to stop punishing me for that. I was protecting you.”

Weariness threatened to take over my system. This was an argument that never seemed to end for us. “You do an awful lot of that, Danny. Maybe I didn’t want to be protected. Maybe I wanted to be your partner not your possession. You don’t trust me. Now that I’m standing here, I realize that you’ve never trusted me. The whole time we’ve been working together you’ve been indulging me. You’ve just been waiting for me to make a mistake so you could shut it down.”

“I trust you, Z.”

I sniffled a little, finally coming down from my anger. Only a stark sadness was left. “No, you don’t. When you came back and we decided to try the whole friendship thing out, you promised me no more secrets. That was a lie. You didn’t tell me about the little army you’re gathering until I forced you to. You’re always going to do it because you need to protect me. Because you don’t trust me to be able to handle your world. What you need from me, what you want from me, is sex and blood and the joy of ownership. You want a queen by your side, but you want her to be a pretty plaything.”

Daniel shook his head and tried to pull me into his arms, but I shoved a hand between us to keep my distance. “That’s not true, Zoey. I don’t see you that way. You’re my whole world. Everything I do is for you. Everything I’ve done since I was eight freaking years old has been with you in mind.”

My heart ached as he brought up our past. “You think I don’t remember? You think I don’t remember when we were so much more than this? I was your best friend. I was your lover. You wouldn’t have thought to keep secrets from me. We were partners. When we built something, we did it together.”

Daniel ignored the distance I placed between us and pulled me to him. I stood in his embrace wanting to return it, but if I gave in now, I would become what he wanted. I would be his sweet companion to be coddled and protected. Maybe I could have been that at one point in time, but I was a different person now.

Daniel held me as if he was afraid to let go, but I just stood there. “This is stupid, Zoey. I was angry and scared out of my mind. I was watching the whole time. I watched those witches die, and I just knew you were next. Then I watched them arrest you. We’re both tired and angry. Neither one of us means a damn thing we’re saying. We’ll pick up the conversation when we get back to Dallas.”

He took a step back, but I couldn’t look at him. I heard him walk over to the boys who’d sat silently while Danny and I had blown up eighteen years of our lives. I suppose it would have been politer for them to have walked away, but it wouldn’t have mattered. They still would have heard everything.

“Come on, Chad. We’re going to fly home,” Daniel ordered quietly. “It’ll be faster anyway.”

I finally looked over at them. Chad was shaking his head and Neil remained in his wolf form, a gorgeous arctic wolf at Chad’s side.

Chad’s eyes widened. “I’d rather drive. I don’t really like heights.”

Daniel straightened his duster, buttoning it up. “You’re strong, but you’ve only been a vampire for a week. You can’t be trusted around her.”

“I’m not the one with control issues around your wife, tonight, Master,” Chad said solemnly. He knew that there was no arguing though, and he knelt down to hug Neil. The wolf thumped his tail and licked his lover’s face. “See you soon.”

Daniel turned and our eyes met again. “I’ll call you tomorrow, and we’ll go somewhere and talk. I meant what I said about Vegas, but we can talk about finding alternatives. This isn’t over, Z.”

But it was, at least for tonight, as Daniel put an arm under Chad’s shoulders and they were gone. I slumped to the ground, my back to the van. Neil came to sit beside me and nuzzled my neck. He licked my face until I put my arms around him and let him comfort me.

“You can change back, Neil. I’m not going to yell anymore.” Sometimes Neil stayed in his wolf form to avoid arguments, but I wasn’t angry with him.

Neil thumped his tail twice for no.

I looked down at him and realized what was wrong. “You can’t find your pants, can you?”

One thump confirmed it. I sighed. “Come on, then. We have a long drive ahead of us.”





Chapter Sixteen





I looked down at the amulet in my hand. It felt good to hold the Revelation. In the two days since I’d driven back from the Ozarks, I spent a lot of time with the item. I held it and inspected it often. When I wasn’t using it, I wore it around my neck and found my fingers playing with it even as I thought and did other things. It was mine, and it liked being mine.