Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(11)

“Just how wealthy is your new husband?” Marini muttered the question, running his finger along a thick stack of hundred dollar bills. There were several piles of gold coins he had used as currency when we were in Faery as well.

“He does all right.” I reached into the back. I wasn’t about to give Marini a detailed accounting of Dev’s numerous business holdings. His human father had left him a multinational company that produced god knew what. I only knew that it produced cash and Dev took it and turned it into even more cash.

“Yes, I can see that. No wonder Daniel is willing to share. Vampires as young as Daniel usually struggle for money, but he’s found a way around that. It seems the prince has more wealth at his disposal than I could have imagined. And all that wealth would come to you, his wife, should anything happen to him,” Marini said, finally backing off me as I turned and handed him the small velvet bag that contained the Blood Stone.

Marini quickly had it opened and was holding the red stone up to the light to inspect it carefully. His dark eyes were possessive as he stared at it. I closed and locked the safe while he was distracted with the stone.

“It’s been a very long time since I held this stone. I suppose there is only one way to make completely certain.”

The vampire held his left palm open and shoved the pointed tip of the stone into it with a violent force. He grunted as he pierced his own skin with the stone and shoved it in even further. I watched as the stone pulsed slightly and seemed to lose just the slightest bit of its luster.

When I looked up at Marini, his eyes were completely black. He dragged a long breath in and steadied himself. It was like he’d taken a nice hit off a particularly good bong. He smiled as he let his head fall back.

“I had forgotten,” he said more to himself than to me.

“What is it?” I hoped he would tell me the truth since he seemed a little out of it.

“Just a taste of what your husband feels every day,” Marini said enigmatically.

He growled and there was no way to miss what it had done to his fangs. They peeked out from behind his lips. I took a step back. His hand shot out to stop me, and I finally realized just how much danger I was in.

“Yes.” Marini licked his lips. “I can hear your heart beating. You’re terrified. It’ll make your blood even sweeter.”

I managed to twist my arm out of Marini’s hand. “You forget yourself, Mr. Marini. I belong to Daniel.”

I could see plainly that the stone had done something to him. I thought maybe it was bringing out the beast that seemed to reside in every vampire. I could handle Daniel’s beast because Daniel loved me. Marini didn’t love me. Appealing to vampire laws was the only shot I had.

“Do you know who Daniel belongs to, sweet little Zoey?” His voice was slightly slurred and his accent heavier than before.

I shook my head but took a guess. “Marcus. Marcus is his patron.”

“No, companion,” Marini said, his face hard. “The Nex Apparatus is mine. He made his oath to me. He’s my creature.”

I knew that ritual well but hated the thought of Daniel being forced to go through it with Marini. Still, I knew what it meant and what had been promised. “If you’re truly Daniel’s master, then you owe him as much as he owes you. You’re supposed to protect him and everything that belongs to him. I belong to Daniel.”

He snarled my direction. “Don’t seek to tutor me on my duties. You know nothing. I’m the oldest vampire in the world. You’re the brightest companion I’ve ever seen. Why should a seven-year fledgling have you? It rankles, Zoey. Do you know what I was doing seven years after I turned? I was serving my master. I was his creature to do with as he wished. I was his to beat, to ignore, to f*ck as he wished. That’s where your Mr. Donovan should be, but no, I have to tread carefully. I have to elevate him and treat him with respect. I’m supposed to respect his claims. You should belong to me. Daniel should have given you to me in hopes I would not crush him. He’s my vassal and he owes me.”

“You’re not his king, Marini,” I spat and very quickly realized my mistake.

Louis Marini got very still. “Does Daniel believe he can take the crown? Does he seek to take what’s mine?”

“What are you talking about?” I had used the exact right word to piss the man off. I had to play as ignorant as possible. My heart thudded in my chest so loudly I wouldn’t be surprised if they could hear it thundering downstairs. I wanted out so badly. “You said he was your vassal.”

But Marini was already pulling that little box out of his coat. He held it up for me. It was the tiny box that haunted my nightmares. “I’m his god, Zoey. I have the power to kill him in an instant and then perhaps I can simply take what should always have been mine.”

“Please,” I said breathlessly, praying he wouldn’t press down. I knew we were in range. Daniel was completely helpless, and I was the only one with any hope of protecting him. “Please, don’t.”

“And what do I get for forgetting I can solve my problems with the single push of a button, companion?”

“I gave you the stone,” I insisted. “I did the job. I’ll do the next one. You promised that you would deal with me fairly.”

He shook his head. “I’m not feeling very fair tonight. And there is the problem of your lies. You were supposed to call me the minute you returned from Faery. I think you were trying to find a way out of our deal. That’s unacceptable. You will not defy me like that again. Now what is your punishment to be? Should I press the button or can you think of another way to placate me? I think perhaps we should play a little game, you and I.” He slipped the box back into his jacket along with the stone, then he took the jacket off and laid it over Dev’s desk. He rolled up his shirt sleeves. “I think a little exercise is called for. I would run if I were you.”