Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(59)

Daniel curled himself around me until I could barely breathe.

“Stop!” There was a chuckle. “I don’t think we need to waste more bullets. Haul that corpse off her and get the box.”

There was the comforting sound of a low, guttural canine growl and then the girlie-like sounds grown men can make when faced with a werewolf.

Bullets started to fly again, but Daniel wouldn’t move. I couldn’t see anything from my vantage point. There was a loud roar and then the sound Neil makes when he guts someone.

Then I felt a warm liquid hit my hands. I looked at the floor I was pressed against. Blood was everywhere, rivulets beginning to form rivers and pools. It was a rich, dark red, so red it had a purple cast to it. It was Daniel’s blood, and it was everywhere.

“Daniel? Daniel, please talk to me.” Was he already dead? Had he given his immortal life to protect my dumbass human one? I couldn’t stand the thought.

“I’m okay, Z. Idiots used regular bullets.” His voice shook, giving fine tremors to his words.

“Yeah, but they used a lot of them.” I could hear the tremble in my voice and realized I was on the verge of tears. I couldn’t afford to break down. I needed to stay calm and rational, so I took a deep breath and tried not to think about the fact that Daniel was losing his life’s blood.

“I just need a little blood, and I’ll be fine.” There was a small pause. I could hear the struggle continue, but the guns stopped firing. Daniel’s hands tangled in my hair. “God, you smell good, Zoey. You have to stay away from me until I’ve fed, baby. That smell…it’s been so freaking long…”

He growled a little, the sound skimming across my skin. He was dying and yet my skin lit at the sound of his hunger. I could feed him.

After what seemed like an eternity, he shifted his weight off me. Even through the obvious pain, he helped me up to a sitting position.

I winced as I realized I was sitting in Daniel’s blood. It covered me.

“Dev,” Daniel said, not looking up. His hands shook, and he stared at me with a focus I found a bit frightening. And arousing. The world had just exploded around us and I focused on Daniel and those alien eyes. I was staring at his fangs and wishing he would kiss me. “Nice of you to join us.”

Dev’s low gasp pulled me out of the moment. Dev stood in the living area. He held a gun in his hand, and his eyes widened at the sight of Daniel. “Holy shit, man, what the hell happened to you?”

“Flesh wound,” Daniel said.

“You can’t feed off her.” Dev's hand clenched around his gun and, for the briefest moment, I thought he might raise it to Daniel. But it stayed at his side. “You know what it would mean.”

It would mean he would live. “Danny, you have to.”

He turned away from me. “Tell Neil to leave a couple of them alive, please. I need them alive.”

Dev nodded, waiting a second before he turned and stalked off after Neil.

Daniel stood, his whole body shaking slightly. He stared into the room where Neil was playing with the men left over, treating them like chew toys. “Zoey, I need to help Neil and Dev. Promise me you’ll stay down. And, baby, please keep your eyes closed. I have to…I can’t do what I need to do with you watching. I just can’t.”

“All right.” I closed my eyes as he walked away. The sounds were terrible, but I kept my promise. Daniel needed to feed or he would die, and he hated it. I could handle it because it meant he would live, but if he didn’t want me to watch, then I would keep my eyes closed. There were grunts and groans and then there was just a sad moan and silence.

After what felt like an eternity, there was a tug on my arm, and Daniel hauled me up.

“It’s all right now, Z.” He looked no worse for the wear. In fact, he looked terrific. He practically glowed. His clothes were ruined, but he stared down at me with his alien eyes and his fangs extended, and, just for a second, he was a dark god.

“I’m so sorry, Zoey.” He shook his head and his eyes cleared. “I didn’t want you to see me like that.”

I ignored him because I didn’t have time for his undead angst. I could have told him I didn’t care what he did as long as he was alive. I would have gutted all five men myself if it would have spared him a moment’s pain. I took silent satisfaction in the fact that he was alive and they were not.

I moved from my spot and surveyed the battleground. There had been five men and they looked to be fully human. Hardly a fair fight. Someone had sent them in without silver bullets. Cannon fodder. Whoever sent these men meant them to be the first wave, and I had no doubt there was more to come.

The previously lovely suite now looked like a battlefield littered with corpses. The man who had tried to shoot me lay at my feet, his throat sporting two prominent marks. His skin was an ashen gray. The blood that previously filled his body now ran through Daniel’s veins and I thanked the universe for it.

Neil paced the floor of the room, his wolf body twitching and low growls coming from his throat. I rarely got to see him in his full wolf form. When we ran normal jobs, Neil usually just changed an arm or a hand. When he fully transformed, we were usually in deep shit, and I didn’t get a chance to stare at him when we were running for our lives.

The wolf before me really was a thing of beauty. He was huge but perfectly proportioned. His fur was arctic white and looked like it would be heaven to touch.