Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(62)

“Oh, are you stuck, dear? How much farther should I go? I could stop your lungs or your heart.” He turned to Daniel, a smug smile on his face. “You see, vampire. I am strong. I do what it takes to be strong. I don’t let little things like a conscience keep me weak. You should have taken her whether she wanted to be taken or not. You are Vampire. She is chattel.”

I glanced at Daniel, who stood staring at the demon with no emotion at all in his eyes. He was relaxed and still in a way only a vampire can be. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he was ignoring all that went on around him.

Neil helped Dev up. He stood on shaky limbs, a smear of blood on his face. I’d led everyone into this. They all depended on me, and I couldn’t move my feet.

“Now, I will have that object on your back, little bitch,” the demon said with a snarl that went against his gentlemanly persona. “After that, I will kill you, and there is nothing your weak-ass vampire can do about it.”

My heart seized, and I worried he’d decided to stop it. He started to come toward me when Daniel moved. I didn’t so much see him move as felt the effect after he was done. One moment Stewart was coming toward me with a look of inexplicable evil on his face, and the next Daniel was behind him, turning his neck in a way the human neck doesn’t turn. There was a horrific crack, and the demon slid to the tile, his borrowed body limp.

“Even weak ass, I’m still faster than you.” Daniel looked at the slumping human form on the floor.

I could move again. I stumbled toward Daniel. He caught me, his arms encircling my body. Deep blue eyes stared down at me, lust plain in the alien orbs. The smell of blood still hung heavily though the room. There was an air of death and decay that was unmistakable, and it called to Daniel’s beast as surely as it had called to Neil’s. Now I was stuck, but for a different reason. Lust flowed between us. I would have sworn I could feel his heart beating, calling to mine.

“We should go.” Dev broke through the moment. He wiped the blood on his face off with his sleeve. “You want to protect her, right? He’s going to be back. It’s your job to protect her.”

For a moment, Daniel looked like he would argue. His fangs were out again, the violence of the moment bringing out his beast. His eyes were on my throat. I remembered how he’d handled Neil. Contact. He’d touched him. I placed my hand on his face. I heard Dev’s shocked intake of breath but caressed that cheek anyway. I let both of my hands run across his face and down his neck, reveling in the contact. His eyes closed as though the touch brought him pleasure.

“Daniel, we have to go,” I said as calmly as I could. He pulled at me, but my logical brain insisted we leave. “I need to go now. It’s dangerous for me to stay here.”

Daniel swallowed, and just like that, the menace in the air was gone. He shook his head as though ridding himself of bad thoughts. “Right, we have to get her out of here. Let’s move. He’ll be back any time now. If not in this form, he’ll find another.”

His eyes slid away from me, our moment, our connection, gone. I could breathe again, but there was a part of me that resented Dev for breaking it.

Neil went first, scenting the hallway to make sure Stewart hadn’t brought along more friends. Dev followed him, then me. Daniel watched my back. An eerie quiet reigned as we made our way toward the stairs. I could hear my footsteps on the carpeted floor. The path to the stairs was illuminated by well-chosen lighting, each perfectly lit sconce another road sign to where we needed to go. We were utterly alone, the wards we’d placed on the floor now working against us. No one had taken notice of the struggle that had gone on in the room so close to them. We could fight and bleed and die and the world around us would sleep right on.

Neil opened the nondescript door that led to the stairs. We were fifteen floors up, but at least at the bottom there would be a certain amount of freedom. We had cars parked in various places to aid in our getaway. Neil gave the clear sign, and we started through. Neil and Dev were halfway down the first flight when I picked up the pace. The pack on my back felt heavier than before, but I needed to keep moving. My crew was only as strong as the puny little human. I hit the first stair at a run, which is precisely why I fell so hard when I hit the ward protecting it.

I flew back, hitting Daniel in the chest, causing both of us to fall back. So much for hoping we could get through this without dealing with magic.

“Zoey!” Dev crossed the barrier with no trouble. Neil came fast behind him.

Dev put a hand out, hauling me up.

“It’s the box,” Neil said. “Leave the box, and we can get out of here.”

Daniel pulled the box off me before I could protest. He threw it at the barrier, and sure enough, it bounced back, flying right at his face. Daniel caught it.

Daniel pushed me at Dev, securing the backpack to his own back. “Get her out of here. I’ll meet up with you after I figure out how to get out of here with the package.”

“Daniel, leave it.” I had no intention of stranding Daniel. We could figure something else out. Dev took my hand to pull me down the stairs.

Daniel smiled, a sad little expression. “Not on your life, baby. This is your soul. I’m not leaving it behind. I’ll figure out a way around it. Neil, get her as far away as possible, and don’t let her out of your sight. That’s an order.”

Neil nodded, and even as I struggled I felt myself being pulled toward the first step, and then Dev was on the step and I was face first on the floor.