Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(163)

“Thank you,” I said gratefully. “So how exactly do I get home?”

Felicity gestured to the balcony. “Do what you do best, Zoey. Take a leap of faith.”

I laughed. I had promised myself I would never jump off a perfectly good building again, but that was one promise I was going to break. I glanced back at Lee and his brother watching me.

“I love you. See you soon, Mom,” Lee said, his arm around his brother’s shoulder.

I nodded at my sons, too filled with emotion to speak. Then I turned and ran, my heart pumping with joy. I leapt over the balcony and I was free.





When the pain came I took every instant of it because it meant I was back. I opened my eyes to see the bright lights of the arena all around me.

“Oh goddess, Daniel, it’s working,” I heard Dev say, his voice hoarse. His hands were on mine and I felt him squeezing. “Give her more. She’s coming back. She’s coming back.”

I swallowed and tried not to gag because my mouth was already full of blood. I breathed deeply through my nose, ignoring the pain in my chest. The blood slid down my throat and immediately went to work.

Daniel wasn’t waiting. He shoved his wrist against my mouth for what was probably the hundredth time. I could tell from the relief in his face that he’d been opening his wrist for a while. He was pale and I knew that he would have sat there until he was empty trying to bring me back. I reached up and touch his cheek.

He brought his forehead down to touch mine. “Don’t you leave me, Z. Don’t you dare leave me.”

He’d been crying and I could see Dev was emotional as well. His face was stark and his eyes were red. I drank for a moment, letting the blood heal me and the child Marini had injured. After a minute, I pushed Daniel’s arm away.

“Are you sure?” he asked, perfectly willing to give me more though I could see he was low.

“Yes, baby, I’m fine.” I let him help me sit up. I was still wicked tired. Dying will do that to you, so I leaned against his chest. Dev was right there, folding his arms around my waist and laying his head on my shoulder. We sat together in the sand for a moment.

“She’s all right?” I heard Neil ask.

“Thanks to you,” Daniel said, and I heard the gratitude in his voice. He looked down as he stroked my hair. “Neil heard you screaming. He punched through the hidden door and tracked you down.”

“You were face down in the water, Z.” Neil’s voice was shaky as he spoke. “I had to get you to Daniel. It was hard, but I stayed me.”

I knew what he was talking about, but the others glossed over his last statement. The blood and adrenaline had almost brought out that strange new side of him, but he’d kept it together for my sake. He’d saved my life. I mouthed the words “thank you” and “I love you.”

My father put a grateful arm around Neil and thanked him himself.

“Marcus.” I’d been forced to leave him. I couldn’t stand the thought that he was a pile of ash somewhere in those sewers.

“Is feeling better, cara.” He stepped into view and I was happy to see him. He was pale and his hands shook slightly, but he was walking around. “Neil took note of my almost-corpse and sent Hugo and Henri back to find me. They revived me in no time at all. I’m very old. I can take a lot of damage. I heard everything Louis did while I lay there, Zoey. I was so sorry I could not help you.”

Daniel hugged me tightly, thinking about what could have happened. “You did everything we could have asked for, Marcus.” He looked over my head at Dev. “The babies?”

“They’re fine,” I tried to assure Danny but Bris was already laying hands on me. His warmth filled me. I hadn’t known just how cold I was.

“Our goddess is correct,” Bris said. “The babies are fine. But something has changed. I can’t put my finger on it, but one of them has been slightly altered. They’re no longer completely identical. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. They’re strong and active.”

I would take that. I happened to know my boys were more than fine.

My wounds had healed, and Dev laid his head down over my stomach. “We almost lost you.”

I let my hands find his hair and thought of how much our sons would look like him. “I’m not going anywhere, baby.” I glanced up at Neil, who was surrounded by my dad, Christine, Sarah, and Felix. Zack moved in to get close to the action. I had a story for that wolf. “But I think I’ll need that bail fund.”





Chapter Forty





Eight months later



“Just a little bit more, my goddess,” Dev said, holding my hand.

I stared at my husband. He looked close to perfect while I was a disgusting, sweaty mess. “You think it’s just a little bit more, Dev? You really think so? Well, if it’s so f*cking easy, Dev, then I’d like to see you do it, you son of a bitch.”

I ground out my words as another contraction hit and I pushed as hard as I could. The other thing I did was squeeze Dev’s hand until I thought it would break.

“See, you are doing so well, my sweet little goddess.” Dev grimaced and winced as he let me squeeze his hand. He’d managed to keep that soft, encouraging tone for all ten hours of my labor, even when I screamed obscenities at him and promised he would never touch me again.