Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(100)

I remembered Marcus’s words, and they suddenly made sense. Daniel would never allow what Halfer had done to pass. If there was a second war between vampires and demons, it would be fought on the Earth plane and humans would be collateral damage. I could stop that simply by allowing him to stay. Still, if he was going to hang around, we needed to set some ground rules.

“And how is that going to work, Danny? Are you and Dev going to share?” I knew the answer to that question.

Daniel’s eyes heated at the thought, but I watched as he let it go. His voice was even as he pointed out the obvious. “You know, we were friends at one time, Z. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

And he was mine, but I didn’t say it. I didn’t have to. “You think ‘friends’ is going to work?”

“I think I want to try,” Daniel said. “I love you, Zoey. I don’t have to sleep with you to love you. I just know I need to be around you.”

“And you won’t eviscerate my boyfriend?” That was one rule we were definitely making clear.

“No matter how much I want to,” he said as though the thought was extremely pleasant. “You’ll be happy to know the Council is forcing me to see a psychiatrist. I apparently have anger issues. It’s a part of my parole.”

“Parole?”

“Yeah, almost signing away my life to a demon is some sort of crime,” he said. “Who knew?”

“You sound so different.” I shook my head and studied him. The change was astounding. He was more relaxed than I’d seen him in years. He was laughing and joking.

“It’s your blood, Zoey,” he admitted quietly. “I can think more clearly. I was trained to think a certain way and act a certain way. I was taught, rather forcefully, to believe certain things. When I started taking your blood on a regular basis, I just stopped believing. I fully realize that I drank the vampire Kool-Aid. It’s hard to explain, but I think your blood brings out the human side of me.”

I pointed to the T-shirt. “I think it brings out the nerd side of you.”

Daniel shrugged and smiled. It was a gesture I remembered from long ago, and it brought back so many memories. “Speaking of the nerd in me, I’ve been in a cell in underground Paris for four months. Can we watch some TV?”

I laughed, knowing that letting him in was probably a mistake. I also knew I would never be able to shut him out. I opened the door for him.

“Come on, Neil,” he shouted at the darkness. “We’re in.”

“Thank god.” Neil huffed as he carried a huge trunk up the steps. “I thought the two of you were going to leave me out there all night while you worked out your issues. Please tell me you TiVoed my shows. Oh, I got evicted while I was in Paris, but I bought you the sweetest Louis Vuitton bag. Which room is mine? Can we order pizza?”

“Take the last room on the left.” I knew better than to argue. It would be nice to have a roommate. Besides, Neil was a pretty awesome cook.

“So.” Daniel gave me a knowing grin. He looked so right standing there in my rundown house. “When do we go?”

“Go where?”

“To get Sarah, of course.”

My mouth hung open in surprise for a moment. I’d spent the last two of our months apart planning to do just that. I’d been putting out some feelers to people who could make things like this happen. It was tricky, but I managed to keep it from Dev. It wouldn’t be easy to get into Hell and steal a person out from under a demon’s nose, but hey, I like a challenge. And there was no way I was leaving her there.

“I’m in,” Daniel said. “So’s Neil. We talked about it on the plane trip back. Do you have a plan, yet?”

“Yes.” It was an awful plan and would probably end badly. “We go to Hell, get Sarah, and kill everything that tries to stop us.”

When he grinned this time, I got the sexiest hint of fangs. My breath caught, and I knew there was no way this “friends” thing was going to work for long.

“I like it,” he said as he threw that gorgeous body onto my couch. “I always said I’d go to Hell and back for you, baby.”

Daniel started fiddling with the remote, and Neil walked into the room chattering about the clothes he’d had some hot vamp buy him. Any minute now, Neil would realize Daniel was turning on some bad sci-fi movie, and they would fight over the TV. I was going to have to play referee.

The phone rang. I looked down and saw it was Dev. I was surrounded by the people I cared about. They would bring complete chaos to my life and I couldn't wait.

I stood in the middle of my formerly empty house and realized I was finally home.





Zoey, Daniel, and Dev will return in October, 2013, with Steal the Day. Read on for an exclusive excerpt.





Steal the Day

Thieves, Book 2

By Lexi Blake



Coming October 2013!



The world’s most unusual thief faces her greatest challenge—stealing a soul from the depths of Hell…

When a member of her crew is dragged to Hell by a demon, Zoey plans the most dangerous heist of her career. With her team at her side, Zoey intends to sneak onto the Hell plane and steal Sarah back.

The job seems impossible until a new client makes them an offer too good to refuse. If she can find an ancient artifact called The Revelation, she can use it to locate an angel who holds Sarah’s redemption in his hands.