Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(92)

I was horrified. “Do you hear yourselves? You’re acting like Neil is expendable.”

Daniel started to speak, but Dev stopped him. “He’s not expendable. He just needs time to adjust. He’s had a shock, but it doesn’t change the fact that we need muscle. You can see that. We just need to get through tonight and when we’re back in Dallas, we can figure this all out.”

Daniel’s eyes wandered back toward the door. “I hate this, too, Z. But I meant everything I said to him. This was Chad’s choice. He and the others made the decision and I promised to honor it.”

“Daniel must honor his soldiers’ wishes, Zoey. You have to know that. And we’ll deal with Neil when we’re back home and away from prying eyes,” Dev concluded.

There was nothing to be gained from having it out here. I knew Neil and unless Chad was given back to him, he wouldn’t back down. They were making sense. I tried not to think about the look that passed between the men. They were taking positions, bulwarking each other’s weaknesses. I couldn’t think about it now. It was time to get ready to do my job. Politics would have to take a back seat. “I’ll get dressed.”

I allowed Kelly to pull and push me around as she fitted me into the dress Dev had chosen. It was more modest than I envisioned. The soft gold color wasn’t what I would have chosen, but even I could see how it made my skin glow. Because of security, I also wasn’t able to carry any weapons. Daniel would be leaving his sword behind. I was completely on my own.

The Revelation hummed softly in my hand, and I let it drop until it hung between my breasts. I looked at myself in the mirror. The dress was vaguely Grecian or maybe Roman. The bodice was low but not vulgar. There was an emerald green ribbon that wrapped and defined my waist. The golden fabric flowed in soft folds to the floor. At least the footwear was reasonable. Knowing Dev, I expected a stiletto, but this was a soft slipper. I could run in it.

“You look beautiful.” Dev dismissed the stylist and the hair dresser.

“I look soft and submissive,” I pointed out when we were alone.

“Appearances can be deceiving. Would you prefer to walk in looking like someone about to commit theft? No one will suspect you, Zoey. When the time comes, we’ll be able to sneak away with no one the wiser. There are rooms for privacy at this party, do you understand?”

“For sex.” I’d been told that pretty much anything went at this party, but when it came to sex, vampires tended to be modest about their companions. First time public presentation aside, a vampire’s companion was carefully guarded. Hence the privacy rooms. I was given to understand the demons were not necessarily so circumspect.

“Yes, for sex. The way we look tonight, no one will wonder why the Nex Apparatus has disappeared with his lovers. I’m sin. You’re innocence. Both are very tempting to this lot.” Dev slid his hands up my arms. “I would prefer to just spend that time using the room for what it was built for.”

I shook my head and grinned at him. “Haven’t done it on the Hell plane, have you?”

He kissed my ear softly. “No, I have not, my mistress. I would love to check it off. If I recall, you denied me the ability to check off Arkansas.”

“Let’s get Sarah back, and then I’ll see if I can help you out,” I replied. He’d started to call me mistress as often as sweetheart or lover. It was the title of a servant to his vampire’s companion, but when Dev said it he meant something different. He added the “my,” and it always let me know what he was thinking. Dev took my hand, and we walked to meet Daniel.

“Wow.” Daniel stared at me for a moment.

“It meets your approval?” There was a satisfied smile on Dev’s face as though pleasing Daniel in some way pleased him as well.

“She looks stunning. It’s everything you said it would be,” Daniel stammered.

“Better than prom?” I asked with a genuine smile.

“And I remember that night fondly,” he replied, our history there in his eyes.

I crossed the room and slid my hand into his. I couldn’t stand him looking so alone. He was right about a few things. I did only get involved when I was telling him he was wrong. I only used my power when it suited me. I owed him some measure of trust. “We’ll take care of Neil?”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, of course we will.”

“After this is over, I’ll take him on a trip, and we’ll shop and party and he’ll be okay,” I said as much to reassure myself as anyone else. I went on tiptoe and kissed my husband briefly.

He looked down at me, squeezing my hand. Dev took my other hand.

It was time to go.





“Seriously?” I asked an hour later as the limo pulled up to the building that housed the physical entrance to Hell.

Daniel shrugged. “They have a sense of humor. You have to admit that.”

The driver walked around and opened the door to the limo. Daniel got out and held his hand for me. Dev followed but at a respectful distance. He wouldn’t join us until after we’d been announced at the event.

“Is this a sign that marriage is hell?” I asked as the lights of the tackiest wedding chapel I’d ever seen blinked away. They even had a drive-through lane.

“Well, it hasn’t exactly been easy, has it?” Daniel grumbled. “Is that thing still not working?”