Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(22)

“Well, I ain’t talking about a white, frilly wedding, boy. Ten minutes at the courthouse will do. If you’re willing to put a baby up in her, then you better be willing to sign a paper that says you’re responsible for her.”

“I don’t need him to be responsible for me, Dad.” My father was, for the most part, a modern man, but sometimes he went back to the Middle Ages.

Dev ignored me. He looked like an eager puppy who had just realized he might not get kicked this time. “I am. I mean, I will sign the papers, of course.”

“All right, then,” my dad said, looking Dev over and coming to a decision. “Come on up then, son. I’ve got a nice bottle of Irish whiskey that needs opening. I’ve heard you can handle your liquor. That’s a talent I can appreciate. We need to talk about that hair, though. It makes you look like a girl, son. You’ll be needing a haircut before we go to the courthouse.”

Dev started walking up the stairs, following my dad, who was going on about the joys of a buzz cut. He stopped as he reached the step I was standing on. “Do you think the whiskey is poisoned, my goddess?”

I’m pretty sure he was only half joking.

I shook my head and leaned over for a little kiss. “No, baby, he just realized he’s probably getting grandkids out of our arrangement. He really wants some rugrats to corrupt.”

“My sexual prowess wins everyone over in the end.” He ran after my father, and I only hoped he didn’t let Dad cut his hair.

Christine stood at the bottom of the staircase wearing a pink button-down and a pair of khaki shorts that came to her knees. She looked like a suburban housewife about to call everyone down for dinner. The brilliant smile on her face immediately put me on edge.

“Dear god, what does she want to do?” I asked, looking at Neil, who walked up behind her.

He made the universal sign for insanity. “Well, what do you think, Z?”

I knew what her favorite thing to do was. Most women liked shopping or having lunch with friends or going to the spa. Christine liked calling demons. “We have to call up Hell why?”

“It’s the only way, Zoey,” Christine said with no small amount of glee. “I’ve given it careful consideration and this is the only thing I can come up with. Tell Dev I’ll need that magic of his.”

I walked past her and into the living room.

“Tell her no, Zoey,” Lee said before I even sat down beside him on the couch.

“I don’t really know what I’m saying no to, yet.” I wasn’t sure what ringing up a demon would do for us.

“You’re saying no to inviting a demon to kill us all,” Lee supplied helpfully. “That crazy witch is acting like calling up the demon is like looking up movie times on the Internet.”

Nim crossed one leg over the other and sat back. “It might work. At least it will be faster than digging up half of England.”

Neil threw his body onto the seat next to me. “Christine thinks a demon will be able to locate the old guy a lot faster than a witch. She says demons can sense other demons and should be able to get us pretty close to where the prison is. We could go over to England and hope Nim remembers something or we can call up a demonic GPS and know where the hell we’re going. I don’t suppose Nim stashed him under Harrods, huh?”

“I doubt it was anywhere so fun, sweetie.” I turned my attention to my other wolf, who was already frowning. “Come on, Lee. Do you have a better idea?”

“Yeah, we all just shoot each other,” Lee offered sarcastically. “It’ll be faster and way more pleasant than the disemboweling we’ll all get on the Hell plane when the bugger gets loose. Have you asked yourself something, Zoey? Why would this random demon want to do your bidding?”

“Because he isn’t random.” I had one and only one option on who to call. He was the only demon whose name I knew and that was a requirement. At least he was a known quantity. “And he owes me a favor. Danny and Dev killed his biggest rival, so maybe he’ll be…I was going to say grateful but that doesn’t seem right. Maybe he won’t do that thing where he rips peoples’ throats open.”

Neil was already groaning. “I hate Stewart, Zoey. He always comes on to me and then he sics something big on me when I turn him down.”

“Unless you know some other Hell lord who owes us big time, I suggest you put on your best manwhore clothes because you’re the bait, buddy,” I explained, patting him on the shoulder reassuringly.

“I hate being the bait,” Neil replied with a pout.

The trouble was he was really good at it.





Chapter Six





“I don’t think Daniel is going to be happy with this plan, sweetheart.” Dev turned into the parking garage about an hour before the sun went down. He seemed to think Daniel would object to working with Stewart, the demon. It might have had something to do with the fact that the last demon I’d had a working relationship with had killed both me and Dev, and done his damnedest to take out Danny, too.

“Then he can come up with a better one.” I wasn’t sitting on my ass any longer. If Stewart was our best hope for finding Merlin’s prison, then I was willing to take the chance. “I want that thing off his heart. We need Daniel able to fight Marini because he’s closing in. Marini wants the two of us in Paris next month.”