Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(39)

“I am never laughing about that.” Neil frowned and crossed his legs pointedly. “The only reason I’m still speaking to you is because you were under some crazy hex, and I have been informed that you were not yourself. If I have a proper apology, I just might be able to forgive the loss of my manhood. Well, there’s also this blazer at the vintage store that might make me feel better. I’ve been told it brings out the Justin Timberlake in my eyes.”

Sarah stopped and looked at him, her mouth slightly agape. “Seriously? Dude, that hex bag was in your jacket. You were the target. She took the poison for you. It was supposed to be you going all postal on us.”

That made me sit up. The importance of the witchcraft eluded me until this moment. This wasn’t some random thing. There was a purpose behind the plan, and I only had one thing worth stealing. “Oh, god, the money is gone, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Sarah affirmed quietly.

“Why use witchcraft? Why not just break in and rip the door off the safe and take the cash? This seems a convoluted route to take.” I tried to process the enormity of what had happened. I looked out the window. The sun was low. The afternoon was turning into evening. Daniel would be looking for me soon. My stomach knotted at the thought of having to explain this to him.

Sarah held a hand up as though taking blame on herself. “Remember when I put the wards on your bedroom? One of the wards on the bedroom is to keep out anyone with ill intent. It keeps out bad guys and also guys who just want to…you know…some guy who’s going to treat you like crap. I’ve found it keeps out the ones who just want to use you for sex.”

“Tell me you did not do that to my apartment.” Neil gasped, horrified at the thought.

“Of course not, sweetie. You wouldn’t be able to enter your own bedroom.” She turned back to me. “I thought it would help when you started dating again. If you ever started dating again, which you have. So you see, the person or thing that would have stolen the money wouldn’t be able to get past the ward. So they put a hex on Harry to make him believe he needed to take the money to a safer place in order to protect you. His intentions, while magically brought about, were pure, and therefore he could enter. It would be easy for whoever cast the spell to convince Harry to give over the money in exchange for something he would then think of as the money and be willing to die to protect.”

“Which he almost did.” I’d come so close to killing him. “So Dad was holed up in his room protecting the money that wasn’t the money?”

“It was a bag of bird seed,” Neil said.

“Why put another hex on Neil?” If Neil had been cursed instead of me, the results would have been dramatically different. Neil could easily handle both me and Dad without having to hurt either one of us. If Sarah and I had been left to deal with a rampaging werewolf and a crazy Irishman with an arsenal, someone would have died.

Sarah shrugged. “I guess it was a failsafe. If it didn’t work on Harry, then Neil would have done it. Or the witch was afraid Harry might be able to identify her and she…or I guess it could be a he…was worried about reprisal.”

“He or she should be.” If I ever found the person who had done this, I would have a bone to pick. “I don’t suppose he remembers anything, does he?”

Sarah shook her head. “Not a thing. Whoever it was, she was good at her job. It was just chance, really, that saved us.”

I took a deep, steadying breath and wondered where my other vodka had gotten to. I was still a bit shaky from the effects of the hex. I could still feel faint echoes of the insanity that had threatened to overtake me. Too often we discount the power of the witch in our world. When you’re surrounded by werewolves and vampires, a little witch growing her herbs and casting her spells seems harmless. It’s easy to forget that a spell can make you turn on those you love, and even yourself. A werewolf can tear you apart, but a spell can make you tear yourself apart and smile while you do it.

I sat back in the chair. The money was gone and with it any thought of pulling out of the job. I couldn’t give the money back, so to renege on the contract was to break it, and then Halfer owned at the very least me and Daniel. Daniel’s life might be unnaturally long, but I suspected he could meet with an untimely accident if the demon wanted him to. I suddenly felt like a rat in a maze, and someone had set it on fire behind me. The only way out was through, and to get through, I needed some information.

“I need my cell.” I needed to do something about the situation, and there was only one person who could help. I had to hope he’d found that name. “I need to call Albert.”

Neil smiled finally. “No need. Dev’s already here. He called earlier and said something about some information. He wouldn’t give it to me, though. He said someone was coming by to deliver it in person.” He looked back at the study door. “She’s awake. You can come in now.”

The door to the study swung open, and Dev walked in. He looked perfect in his dark suit and sunglasses. He pulled the aviators off his face and looked straight into me with his unnaturally green eyes. They seemed to glow with some inner fire, and for a moment, I was lost in them. If I’d thought that last night was just the aftereffects of his spell, I was wrong because I felt his pull and knew it had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with him.