Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(125)

The enormity of that hit me. “They froze his accounts?”

Dev nodded. “Marini isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. Almost all of his cash was in those accounts. They can’t do the same to Daniel. I’ve set up our cash in so many different places, under so many different names, they can’t get it all. Daniel understands the whole of it so he will know where to go for cash if Marini attempts to hit us financially. This war will be fought on several fronts and Daniel and I intend to win on all of them.”

“I bet he was pissed,” I said, giving Dev an opening.

Dev pulled me back down so I couldn’t see his face. “Yes, lover, he was angry. Elof and Niles were angry and Niko had to play along.”

“Did they hit you?” I didn’t ask the other question. I knew Marini was very attracted to Dev. He’d propositioned him on several occasions. I knew that being used in that fashion was one of Dev’s worst nightmares. It had happened before and that single incident had a profound effect on his sexuality.

“Yes, sweetheart,” Dev replied simply. “He beat me so badly I’m surprised I’m walking this afternoon. Daniel’s blood kept me alive.” He was quiet for a moment while I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. “Dan can’t let up. He can’t stop. He has to apply as much pressure as he can. You have to give Marini everything he wants and that includes your body. Give him no reason whatsoever to hurt you. I’ll take the punishment. I can handle it.”

“I have Danny’s blood, too.” I didn’t like the thought of Dev being forced to take all the pain.

Dev’s hand found the center of my pelvis. “You also have our children deep inside your body. You have to let me do this. It’s not only for you. It’s for our family. Please just give him what he wants. Do you know how much it kills me to ask this of you?”

I hugged him tightly to me. “I know, baby. I’ll do it. I’ll do it for you and Danny and our babies. I promise.” Maybe if Louis was happy with me he wouldn’t take out his anger on Dev.

“He’s going to come for us,” Dev said with absolute certainty. “Daniel will come for us when the time is right. He won’t leave us here.”

“He would never leave us here,” I agreed. “It’s killing him that we’re here. You have to know that. He’ll do anything he has to in order to get us back. But we have to live here and buy Danny some time. I found out where Louis’s safe is.”

“How did you find that out?”

“Rose,” I replied. “She has a vested interest in f*cking with Marini. She’s seen him use the safe before. It’s in his office behind a painting.”

“I saw that painting yesterday,” Dev mused. “It’s behind his desk. The office is across from the bedroom in his apartment.” His hands smoothed down my hair. “Perhaps we can convince him to let us sleep with him tonight and then in the morning we can slip out while he sleeps and you can take a look at the safe.”

My gut clenched. “We’ll sleep with him tonight?” I knew there would be no sleeping involved.

Dev sighed and hugged me tightly. “I promised we’ll perform a ritual tonight for him.”

“Is that such a good idea?” I asked. “When Daniel feeds off that magic he can daywalk. Do we really want Marini to be able to do that?”

Dev shoved a frustrated hand through his hair. “I don’t see a way around it.”

“Is there anything Bris can do?”

“I could withhold the magic,” Bris said, his eyes changing so suddenly I found it shocking. Even the way his hands moved on my body felt different. “But I believe that would be potentially dangerous for my host. If Marini isn’t getting something from Devinshea, then I believe he’ll kill him just to prove a point to Daniel. He needs something from you, my goddess. He needs your blood. I need to give him a reason to keep my host alive.”

The door opened suddenly, and I heard Trent’s deep voice. This time he was damn serious and that tone brooked no disobedience. “Your Highness, I need you ready to leave in three minutes. Sunset is twenty minutes away and you have to shower and change before Marini is awake. The Prince must do the same.”

“All right,” I said, pushing myself up.

Dev was back and he pulled me close again. His mouth closed over mine and he kissed me deeply. “Try to remember that you’re supposed to be relieved to be away from Daniel’s plotting. You can be upset about Lee and Neil, but never show Marini that you miss Daniel. I’ll see you in a while. Know that I will be with you. I can’t stand the thought of his hands on you, but I’ll be with you. I’ll keep you safe.”

I didn’t say it to him because it would only have worried my husband, but I silently promised to protect him as well. I would do whatever I had to do to keep us together and whole until Daniel could come for us. I stood up and got dressed again. I was already thinking about how I could organize the job on the safe. I couldn’t just rip off the door and run. I needed to crack the safe and beyond that, I needed to fool Marini into thinking everything was all right until Bris could lead us out. I wasn’t sure how to do that but I would think on it.

Dev smiled from the small cot. “I love that look you get when you’re working on a job.”