Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(33)

“Was?” Dev asked.

“Yes, I used the past tense. Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of it as sharing and it all just became mine. You and Zoey, you’re my precious blood. The two of you belong to me. I’m sorry to put it that way, but I’m a possessive man.”

“And I accept that about you. I’m possessive as well. I’ve often found it curious that my particular brand of magic is so dependent on true love and passion and yet I slept with Zoey for a year without it coming back to me. It was the night the three of us came together that brought me into my magic. I was content. I needed you both and I had you and that’s where my power lies. Now it works when Zoey and I are alone because I trust that you’re there.”

“I’m always there, Dev,” Daniel said with quiet determination.

There was a long pause and I opened my eyes to watch them. They sat a foot or so apart but they seemed content to merely share the space. It was like they left a place for me between them.

“So you think Marini got all addicted to me?” I asked quietly.

Daniel’s mouth tugged up at the corner. “Yeah, baby. You’re like the flu, extremely contagious.”

I frowned as I sat up. “That’s romantic. Will he send someone else to try to take me?”

“I have no doubt if they send someone else you’ll handle him with your Chanel sunglasses, my love,” Dev replied, grinning at me. “You’re much more formidable than Marini believes. He has no idea what you can do with a tube of lip gloss and a well-placed heel.”

Returning his smile, I had another thought. What if Marini decided the way to get me to comply was to target my loved ones. “What if they send someone after Daniel?”

“They can send whoever they want, but unless Marini uses his final option, I doubt they can take Dan. Of course if he wanted to bring Daniel in alive for some reason, then his best course of action would be capturing you and using you to lure Dan out,” Dev said.

Groaning, Daniel fell back against the couch. “I don’t want to think about that.”

I leaned forward to let him know I was serious. “If that happens, you have to know that he won’t kill me. He would never waste all that blood. You have to bide your time, baby.”

Daniel’s eyes started to bleed blue, a sure sign that even talking about the subject was making him angry. “Z, you can’t expect me to leave you with him. He wouldn’t just lock you away somewhere.”

“No,” I agreed. “And I could handle anything he does to me. You can’t risk everything we’ve worked for. If he takes me, you have to be patient.”

“It won’t come to that,” Dev interjected. “Lee is on full Zoey patrol again. You are not to go anywhere without Lee and Neil if Daniel isn’t with you. And no more walking off by yourself. We received a stern lecture from your father tonight on how it is our sacred duty to keep you alive. And I was informed my hair is still too long.”

Now that was a serious discussion. “No way, Dev. That is as short as it gets. I swear you cut another inch and I’m cutting mine into that bob I think will look good on me. You know, the one that makes Neil stick his finger down his throat when I mention it.”

“Not another centimeter, lover,” Dev agreed and Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.

“Is she talking about the bob again?” Neil asked, walking into the room. “Do you understand how curly your hair would be without all that weight? You would look like a poodle. I have personally threatened every decent stylist in the DFW area with death and dismemberment if they listen to your hair choices. Now, Nim and Christine are ready and they need their nine volt.”

Dev sighed. “All right. Let’s go, guys. If I have to listen to thirty minutes of chanting followed by the smell of brimstone and regret, you at least have to be in the room.”

We all got up and followed Neil into the den, passing my father and Lee as they headed into the kitchen for another beer. Neither my father nor Lee was big into witchcraft. It had been a necessary evil my father used on the occasional job, but Lee couldn’t stand any of it. Lee would stay close enough to get to me if he had to, but he wasn’t about to sit around listening to a bunch of chanting. Zack, on the other hand, sat in a chair beside the door, watching the scene intently.

I shivered as I walked in, though I knew the room was warm. I could feel the power pulsing through it, a cold, dark wave. Nim and Christine stood just outside the circle on the floor on opposite sides from each other. Nim was completely still, though there was something oddly active about her stance. Her shoulders were squared, her hands at her thighs, palms open. Her lips were moving but I heard no sound. She seemed larger than before. I knew her body was still small, but now she seemed to fill the room with her presence.

It was the first time I could truly believe that the funny girl who had bought me as a pleasure slave was actually a powerful, legendary witch.

The entire room was lit with candles and smelled like herbs and incense. The circle itself caught my attention. It was reddish brown and I was assaulted by the smell. Daniel tensed, reacting to that scent.

“You used blood to draw the circle?” I asked.

Nim looked up from her silent meditation. Her face was stark and the charming nymph I knew was gone, replaced with a woman of infinite competence. This was her place of power. “Yes, Zoey. What else would I use?”