Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(26)

“Where the hell is he?” Daniel glanced down the sidewalk as people moved past.

“I don’t know,” I replied tartly. “Maybe he had to clean up after someone trashed his club.”

“Yeah, Z, he’s doing that cleanup himself,” Daniel said sarcastically. “He‘s wielding a broom right now. Dev is so hands-on. You weren’t there, baby. You were up talking to Harry, getting us a place to call a demon. He had like twenty maids working less than ten minutes after he made a call. It’s like he had a plan in place just in case I went berserk.”

I didn’t doubt that. Dev was a big planner. He always thought ahead. It wouldn’t surprise me if I discovered that Dev kept a playbook in his office for things like Daniel going into a rage and destroying half the club. I chose not to mention that to Daniel. He had felt bad enough when he’d finally gotten his beast under control.

Once we all decided that we were going to deal with Daniel’s heart problem, we didn’t want to wait to get started. Dev and Zack made our travel arrangements and Christine and Nim were working out the long-distance rates for our little call. Midnight was approaching and we’d divided up the list of things we needed for the ritual. Lee and Zack were at my father’s with Christine and Nim, making sure the place was secure while the witches drew the circle. Daniel, Dev, and I were getting the proper herbs and…stuff I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what it did. Neil was out getting Stewart a little gift because one doesn’t call a demon without having a thoughtful gift on hand. It tended to piss the demon off if he got nothing out of the experience.

So we were in the doorway of the small used bookstore that acted as a front for a creepy weird witchcraft store waiting on Dev, who’d had a mysterious errand he had to run. I let the music from the club across the street flow over me. The Granada was a renovated movie theater and it reminded me of my all-too-brief time in college with Danny. We’d gone to a few clubs to see friends of ours play. We’d been young and in love and he’d been human. Sometimes I felt like that time happened to a different person.

Daniel slung an arm around my shoulders and tugged me close. He kissed my forehead. I glanced up and he was watching the young people walking by. They were chatting and laughing, and many of them were half drunk. They were enjoying their lives.

“You should be doing that, Z.” Danny’s voice was melancholy as he watched the men and women stroll down the road. “You should be running around on a Saturday night partying with your friends and having a good time. You shouldn’t be trying to call a freaking demon so you can go find another one.”

I grinned up at my husband. “Danny, how old do you think I am? I’m twenty-eight. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not exactly retirement home time, but I hardly think I’d be out clubbing every night. If I wasn’t getting ready to call a demon, I’d probably be studying for a job.”

He shook his head. “I was just thinking of what you and Dev would be doing if I wasn’t around.”

Wrinkling my nose, I gave the question a little thought. “Well, I would probably be on the run from vampires who want to munch on me or make a quick buck selling me to older vampires who would munch on me. As for Dev, he’d be dead because he was trying to stop the vampires who wanted to munch on me.”

“I would be, lover.” Dev snuck up behind us. “Daniel and I are the only ones allowed to make a meal of you. I would have proven that point tonight had anyone allowed me to use my flamethrower.”

He was incredibly dapper in black slacks and a snowy white dress shirt that was open at the throat. He walked with the supreme confidence of a man who knew he looked damn good and the people he loved were going to approve. I also knew what his errand had been.

“Thank god, you cut your hair,” Daniel said with a sigh of relief.

“You cut your hair.” I couldn’t help but pout a little because I really liked his long, thick hair. I liked getting tangled up in it and brushing it for him. Though I had to admit the current long, sort-of-spiky look suited him perfectly. It was the type of style that seemed messy but actually had taken a lot of work to get just right.

“Harry told me to and since I am now the good son, I chose to honor his request,” Dev said with a satisfied smile.

Daniel shook his head. He’d talked to Dad earlier in the evening and seemed relieved that he finally knew what was going on. I never realized how hard it was for Daniel to keep secrets from his father-in-law.

Daniel walked up to Dev and inspected him, walking around to see it from every angle. He reached up and his hand found the back of Dev’s head, running his fingers through the thick hair there. He playfully tugged at it. “See. That’s perfect. It’s just long enough I can pull it and get you in the right position to take a bite.”

Dev grinned at me, and I was sure he liked the look on my face. I greatly enjoyed it when the boys teased me. “That was my plan, Dan. I know how important having a firm grip is to you.”

I wasn’t the only one interested in the boys’ little flirtation. The crowd on a Saturday night on Greenville isn’t the most conservative group. They were young and decadent and a whole lot of them weren’t anything close to straight. Men and women alike watched my husbands with covetous eyes. I couldn’t blame them. I often drooled when they walked into a room.

They were two opposite visions of hot masculinity. Daniel was big and broad, with thick golden hair that was perfectly overgrown. His eyes were a deep blue and I loved the way his cheeks dimpled when he smiled. He looked dangerous in jeans, a T-shirt, and a leather jacket. He wasn’t a guy you messed with.