Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(32)

“Zoey!” Daniel barked as I walked toward him. “Where were you? Why can’t you stay put? You said you would be just outside.”

Dev frowned down at me. “You went into the sex shop without me, didn’t you?”

“No, I did not.” I turned to Daniel and patted the lovely leather bag/weapon at my side. “And let me tell you something, buddy, the bag stays.”





Chapter Nine





“Why would he try to take her now?” Dev asked quietly hours later. “I mean it doesn’t make sense to me. Have we been found out?”

“I don’t think so.” Daniel sat down on the couch beside Dev.

I was lying down on the sofa opposite them in my father’s house. From the den, I could hear the hum of Christine preparing the space. Nim busily chopped herbs in the kitchen. The boys had been waylaid by my father the instant we entered the house. He had been standing on the stairs like he’d been waiting for us.

“Upstairs, boys,” he’d commanded.

Daniel’s face had fallen slightly, like he had been dreading this conversation for a while, but Dev had been up those stairs as fast as his long legs could carry him. Danny had gone up slowly, and when I tried to join them, I was told no girls allowed. This was a boys only talk. I was certain Danny and Dev had told my father all about my recent almost-kidnapping. I’d gone over the entire event with them in complete detail on the car ride over. While the boys filled my dad in, I tried to help out with the witchy stuff, but Christine kicked me out of the kitchen. I’d been relegated to watching Lee drink beer and trying to toss M&Ms into Neil’s mouth. Sometime after two, I’d settled down on the sofa and fallen asleep.

I was still drowsy as I listened to my husbands talking softly.

“If we’d been found out, they would be doing a hell of a lot more than sending some idiot demon to try to pick Z up off the street.” Daniel sounded confident, but I heard the worry underneath. “He would have come after me. No, I think Marini just got a dose of medicine he wasn’t counting on.”

“He’s tasted her before, Daniel,” Dev admitted. “Once at the ball a few years back and then again the night he forced her to become his thief.”

There was a low growl. “And you didn’t tell me?”

Dev’s response was immediate. “Daniel, he had the right. It’s a formal greeting between Council members and companions. The other Council members used the informal greeting, but you had no right by law to challenge Marini over it.”

“I hate that,” Daniel groaned. “I hate all of it.”

“I know and we’ll change it when we take over. But it doesn’t explain Marini’s sudden obsession with our wife.”

“You don’t understand, Devinshea.”

“Then explain it to me.”

There was a long pause. “You don’t know what it’s like to crave her. Don’t tell me you do, man. I’m not talking about wanting to make love to her or even needing to be with her. I need her like you need to breathe. That little taste Marini got is nothing compared to drinking his fill. Her blood invades your soul. It makes you want to do nothing but protect her. She’s the most important thing in the world. Everything narrows down when you get that first taste and then suddenly nothing else matters. As long as she’s there, the world is fine.”

“And when you can’t have her?”

Daniel let out a discontented sigh. “It’s f*cking awful. I go more than three days and I start to get the shakes. I can’t take regular blood for a week because the very taste makes me throw it back up. I’m weak and I just feel lost, like it isn’t worth living without her. I never did hard drugs when I was alive, but I can’t imagine breaking an addiction is any harder than getting off her blood. The good news is if she’s my heroin, you’re kind of like methadone. It’s not perfect but you keep the shakes away.”

“It’s good to know I can help,” Dev replied with an amused chuckle.

“There’s a reason your mom closed the sithein to vampires,” Daniel said. “I think if we asked your brother he would say I’m the villain of the piece. He thinks you’re addicted to my bite.”

“I’m addicted to having a family. I’m addicted to belonging somewhere. Besides, we don’t have to worry about my brother anymore. He has his wife and son. He no longer needs his perverted brother around to embarrass him.”

“Dev,” Daniel began but quickly let the matter drop.

There was a long pause before Dev changed the subject. “Have you ever considered that the universe always seems to find a balance? You’re a king because of the strength of your blood. It makes you stronger than other vampires. It holds up its influence when pitted against even much, much older blood. Why wouldn’t there be an equivalency in companions? As you are a king, perhaps Zoey’s blood makes her a queen. Her blood influences vampires when she uses it properly. We have to consider that her blood is stronger than other companions’.”

Daniel sighed. “It makes sense. It’s hard for me to tell. She’s the only companion I’ve ever had, will ever have. I only know that I find myself fighting my every instinct in order to keep her happy. My instinct tells me to hide her away, to protect her at all costs. You have no idea how hard it was for me to share her with you.”