Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(74)

Dev smiled as he walked in, but the minute he surveyed the room, I watched a dark look fall across his face. His jaw clenched, and I realized that he was going to take this harder than I’d bargained for.

“Well, that was inevitable. I guess I should have gotten into the car after all.” He let the bag drop to the floor. He glanced at the bed where Daniel lay, still as death, and I didn’t like the look on his face. I remembered what he said to me earlier. He would stake him if he thought Daniel was seriously trying to make me a companion. I’d made myself a companion last night, but I doubted Dev would see it that way. “You were forced to feed him, I suppose.”

“He was dying.” I tried not to really think about what happened. I’d been able to put it out of my mind the night before, but it would catch up to me eventually. I would see him again and again, so pale and close to dying.

“He died a long time ago, Zoey.” Dev stared at Daniel for a moment and shook his head. “I’ve got another bag in the car. I’ll be back.”

Neil whistled. “He’s going to be bitter, that one. Oh, well, he’s the ex now, so who cares? You’re back with Daniel where you belong, and Dev just has to deal with it. Okay, so baby? Anybody gonna explain little Miss Sunshine here, or do I get the speech? You know the one where a mommy and her vampire love each other very much…”

“Neil, obviously she found a baby,” Sarah said with a hint of annoyance. “The question is why hasn’t she turned the baby over to the authorities yet?”

She looked down at Daniel and studied him for a moment. He wasn’t like a human sleeping, as Daniel didn’t move at all. There was no restless movement or squirming. He was just there.

“Was he really dying?” she asked quietly.

“Yes, he was,” I replied. “That damn demon kept switching bodies. Daniel got shot full of silver and one of the bullets was close to his heart. He managed to hold on long enough to save us, but I had to haul him into the car. The bullets came out, but the silver was in his blood. It was terrifying. I did what I had to do to save him. He needed blood, and I couldn’t trust anyone else. And I didn’t find the baby. She was in the box.”

“What?” Sarah turned pale. It was odd to see Sarah scrubbed clean of all makeup. It made her look younger than her years and easier to read emotionally. She was tired and shocked at the prospect that the baby had been in the box we stole. I was with her on that one, but I’d had hours to get used to just how screwed up the whole situation was.

“She was in the box. I know it sounds crazy, but that damn box is magic. It was bigger on the inside than the outside. It was kind of cool,” I explained as I patted Baby Girl’s backside.

It seemed to soothe her. Her little bottom was covered in a pillow case I ripped up and tied off. The motel was going to need to rethink that whole “no credit card on file” allowance. I hunted through the first bag and pulled out a package of diapers.

“She’s the Light of Alhorra?” Sarah asked, her voice sounding shaky.

“I guess.” I settled her on the bed next to Daniel. She tried to turn around and climb on him. I pulled her gently back and wrestled with her to get her into the diaper. She kept twisting and turning and trying to look back at Daniel.

“That baby came out of the box?” Dev asked from the doorway. He set down the car seat he was holding. “The faery box?”

“Yep.” I finally fit the diaper around her little bottom and got the sides to close. Now random urine was one less problem I needed to worry about.

“You idiots.” Dev walked over to the box and examined it. He looked at it for a moment, his eyes going over the inscriptions. They were in some form of Gaelic. Not being able to read Gaelic myself, I’d ignored them. Dev seemed to think they were important. “Let me guess the sequence of events. You fed him. You f*cked him. Then the box pops open and suddenly there’s a baby. Did you not notice when the box started to glow and move around on its own?”

I stood up and settled her on my hip again. She tried to wriggle toward Daniel. I was a little fed up with the attitude I was getting from Dev. It wasn’t like we had a commitment. “Sorry, I wasn’t really looking at the box. My mind was on other things.”

“I bet it was.” He walked up to me and touched my neck. He examined it for a moment, running his thumb up and down the skin. “Doesn’t like it from the neck, does he? What part of you did he tear up, Zoey?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but he did bite my neck. He’s gentle about it.” I felt the need to defend Daniel. What we’d done together last night had been beautiful, and I wasn’t going to feel bad about it.

Dev caught his breath and took a step back. He looked horrified, and I tried to think of what I said to put that look on his face. “Zoey, I need to talk to you in private.”

“This isn’t the time or place to have this conversation. I have things I need to get done.”

Time was getting away from us. Halfer would be coming for the baby in a couple of hours, and I needed to do something about it. There was also the little thought in the back of my head that if I pushed it far enough, I would never have to have this conversation with Dev. I would be in Hell, but at least I would avoid the awkward discussion about my sex life. There was an upside.

“Now, Zoey.” Dev said firmly. His face was set. “Or I’ll just have it out with you in front of everyone, and this isn’t a conversation you want made public.”