Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(115)

“Please,” I said, looking down at my wolf. He was pledged to me. He was mine, and he was dying. “Please take the blood, Lee. I need you.”

He smiled sadly. He was a realistic man. “They can’t let me live, Zoey. I can’t let them take you. If they brought me back, I’d just try to kill them all over again.”

“No,” I said through the tears that were running wildly down my cheeks. The world seemed so quiet now. It had been so loud before and now it seemed to narrow to just me and Lee. I knew Dev was there and the vampires looked on, but they didn’t seem to matter much right now. I reached for Lee’s hand, holding it. “You can just run. I’ll be fine, Lee.”

He coughed and it was a wet, ugly sound. “I could never run.”

“You could be free.” I was willing to promise him anything if he would live. “You could just run and you wouldn’t have to look back. You always wanted to roam. You could roam. Zack is safe with Danny, and Dev will take care of me. You just run.”

“Ah, darlin’,” Lee said with a little smile. He managed to make his arm move and his free hand cupped my cheek lovingly. “I’d never leave you. I’d never leave Zack. I love you. I never loved anything but the two of you. It was enough, Zoey. It was enough.”

“I love you,” I cried, pulling his head into my lap. I cried shamelessly and smoothed back his curly hair.

“Devinshea,” Lee growled but his voice was getting weaker and Dev had to lean in.

“Yes, Lee.” Dev was quiet and solemn.

“You take care of her,” the wolf said.

“I promise,” Dev replied. “And Lee, thank you. For everything. We couldn’t have asked for more.”

In the dim light, I could see Lee fading, his energy, his life force waning. “Take care of Zack, Zoey.”

I nodded and felt his chest heave as he tried to breathe. “I will. He’s my brother now.”

His chest rose and fell with a rattle. A great smile came across my wolf’s face, as though he had seen something amazing. He stared past me and his voice was filled with wonder. “Now, that’s something I didn’t expect…”

The light went out of his brown eyes and Lee was gone.

I held him to me but there was nothing left and I could feel it. It was just a body in my hands. Whatever spark had been Lee was lost to me now.

“Prince, I need you to bring Zoey.” Louis was talking but it seemed distant as I cried out my grief. “We must leave now. You’ll be permitted to come with us if you promise to behave. If you step out of line I will be forced to kill you, and I don’t think Zoey can handle any more grief today.”

“I just want to be with her,” Dev said. “You’ll find me very helpful, I promise. I can help her transition if you let me.”

“Bring her, then,” Marini said. “You will be left alone in the boat until we reach France and then the new rules go into effect. You have until then to get her under control. This isn’t how I wanted the evening to go. Allons-y.”

Dev pulled me up and I felt boneless as he hoisted me into his arms. He gathered me close and I could feel his shock at the events of the last few minutes. He rested my head on his shoulder and I glanced back.

Lee’s body was still there. It wouldn’t rise again. He wouldn’t growl at me and tell me not to pet him. Neil was gone, dragged somewhere by a demon we never should have trusted in the first place. Daniel and Zack were on the run, and I didn’t know how badly Danny was hurt. I hadn’t even gotten to tell him good-bye.

Dev carried me onto the vampire’s boat. As the boat pulled from the dock, I heard the thud of a helicopter in the distance. Dev’s message had gotten to Sir Ronald, but it was far too late for any of us.





Chapter Twenty-Eight





Dev held me tightly against him as we heard the lock click into place. There would be two guards on the door should I try to pick the lock. We’d been escorted to the boat and then forced to climb down a small ladder to get to the locked room that would be our quarters for the trip to France. We’d been told to expect that we wouldn’t make our destination before morning and then we would be in lockdown while the vampires slept. There were several large human slaves willing to do their master’s bidding, so Dev settled on the narrow cot and held me close.

I just cried for the longest time. I cried while we entered the boat and I cried while Louis explained to Dev that I was his to take care of for the night. We could stay together until we reached the Paris stronghold. After that, Louis would decide when and where and how we could be together. I cried when Louis locked the door behind him after destroying both of our cell phones so there was no way Daniel could track us. Dev held me, saying nothing beyond how sorry he was. I cried until I fell into a fitful sort of sleep in Dev’s arms. When I woke up, Dev was still awake. He was staring into space, but I could see his mind was working.

“Can we?” I gestured to my mouth, silently asking him if it was all right to talk. I didn’t know if the room was secure.

“No bugs,” Dev said. “And the guard on the door changed about an hour ago. I think it’s day, so no vampire ears.”

“Do you think Danny’s all right?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

Dev looked down, his eyes tender. “Yes, my wife, I believe he is. I believe that Zack got him away, and the Order will find them. They’ll take him to headquarters and he will heal. When he’s strong enough, he’ll come for us.”