Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(143)

Every moment of the day Dev was in the back of my mind, his memory constantly pulling me back to grief. I wondered if there would be a moment of my life that I wouldn’t miss him, that some piece of me wouldn’t be waiting to see him again.

I did end up getting those clothes we ordered, and I was already sucking in to get my pants closed. It was a daunting prospect that I was already gaining weight even with my morning throw-up sessions, but three weeks into my stay with Marini I began to see my belly starting to gently curve. I was barely a month along and my boys were making themselves known. The changes were subtle, but I worried if I had to be down here much longer, Louis was going to notice.

I had my final six combinations shoved in the pocket of my slightly too-tight Rag and Bone jeans as Neil sighed and sat back in Louis’s big chair. “Is that it?”

“I think so. What time is it?” I asked, wondering if I could try them out now and figure out which one worked.

“Just after sunset,” Neil replied. “Sorry, Z, but it’s show time.”

Not two minutes later Louis walked in. He smiled down at us. He was becoming fond of Neil, who had been true to his word and caused no trouble. “I like knowing exactly where you will be, Zoey.” He helped me up and kissed me lightly. “I find I like this routine of ours. Perhaps I should think about moving you into these rooms with me. It seems silly that you should have to walk to your own rooms each morning when you would rather be here.”

It would make it easier. I hugged him and nodded. “Neil could sleep with me in the big bed.”

He smiled down indulgently. “Yes, chère, I’m accustomed to your little pet now. You can stop worrying. I know he has no designs on your person.”

“Now that’s where you’re wrong, sir,” Neil said. “I have lots of designs on Zoey’s person. If you think she could dress herself, you’re wrong. She needs me to look her best.”

“She always looks beautiful, so I will thank you for that,” Louis murmured.

Neil walked up and kissed my cheek. “Night, Z. See you in the morning.”

The door closed behind Neil and Louis was on me immediately. He sat down in the chair Neil had vacated and his lips met mine in a ravenous kiss.

“I dream of you all day,” he whispered.

He was starting to play with my neck when there was a long knock on the door.

“Go away,” Louis growled.

“It’s important,” Niles said, opening the door anyway.

Louis’s eyes narrowed. “It had better be.”

The Brit frowned. “Well, I’m sure as it concerns your companion, you might be vaguely interested.”

Now Louis was paying attention and so was I. I jumped off his lap and waited for Niles to tell me what was going on.

“Is it Donovan?” Marini asked, his voice tense. Everyone was waiting for Daniel to make his push. The weapons had come out of the armory and everyone walked around armed to the teeth.

“No,” Niles said. “It’s much stranger than that. I can’t tell if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. The Queen of the Seelie is at our gates, requesting entrance.”

Louis went paler than normal and he spewed a litany of curses in his native language. He took my hand in his, squeezing tight. “She can’t have Zoey.”

Niles rolled his eyes. “I don’t think she’s here because she loves Zoey. I went down and talked to her and heard that son of hers cursing Zoey’s name. The heir doesn’t like your girl.”

Now I felt really sick. Declan was here. The last words I’d exchanged with my brother-in-law hadn’t been pleasant ones. He’d warned me that there would be hell to pay if anything happened to his brother. Grief pulsed through me. How was I going to face Declan? How could I face Miria?

“I should warn you,” Niles was saying. “I was taken by surprise. The heir looks just like his brother. It’s eerie. Of course, once he opens his mouth, the differences are vast.”

Marini turned to me. “What do you think they want?”

I shrugged. “I guess they want to know how Devinshea died.”

“No.” An evil little smile lit Niles’s face, unsettling me. “The queen told me she knew why her son died. He died because he followed her. The queen blames Donovan and your companion for her son’s death.”

I gasped because I really hadn’t expected that of my mother-in-law, but then this had been her greatest fear. She’d been terrified of losing her youngest son since the moment she learned he was mortal. She had to be devastated. It must be worse knowing how they had parted.

“I won’t give her to them,” Marini said again. I wondered how long it would take him to start worrying about fighting a war on two fronts. He needed the Seelies to stay out of the fight.

Niles laughed, a wholly nasty sound. “They don’t want your bitch, Louis. They want the babies in her belly.”





Chapter Thirty-Five





There was a loud cracking sound and I hit the ground as I took the full brunt of Louis’s slap across my face. The shock of it hit me and then the pain. I tasted blood and my hands shook.

“Tell me it isn’t true,” Louis barked, pulling me up by my hair.

I hurried to get up so he didn’t pull it all out. So much for loving me. I braced for the next blow.