Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(40)

“I doubt he’ll even try, Dev.” Chad sounded like the lawyer I’d met so long ago. “I’ve found Louis only tries that crap when he really needs to. It doesn’t come naturally to him and it takes a lot of energy.” He turned to me. “I apologize for my lapse, Zoey. I can only be glad that the demon hadn’t tried to abduct you before I could correct my mistake.”

“Oh, he tried,” I acknowledged. “I kicked his ass back to the Hell plane.”

Chad chuckled but his smile was tight on his face. “I thought he was underestimating you, but he needed to keep it all very quiet. He doesn’t want Daniel to come after him. Zoey, you have to be careful. I don’t know what happened last night…”

“He raped her,” Dev said, his voice cold and hard.

“He bit me,” I corrected. “He took a chunk out of me, that’s all.” I wanted to keep everyone calm.

Chad shook his head. “We consider that rape, Zoey. You’re Daniel’s companion. He had no right. Daniel can challenge him legally over that. This is what Marini is afraid of. He’s afraid of being discovered. You understand who the academics are, Zoey?”

“Marcus is one. I think Henri Jacobs is as well,” I replied.

“No Council head has ever held his seat without the academics. They’re a small subset, but they run our legal system. It’s why Marini must be very careful when dealing with Daniel. If Daniel wants to take Louis to court, it’s likely Louis could lose no matter how much he’s damaged Daniel’s reputation.”

“If we could prove it.” Dev shook his head. “We could show the video, but he could twist it. I don’t think a legal case is going to go in our favor. It would be our word against Marini’s. Daniel’s not well thought of and our lifestyle doesn’t help us in this case.”

“What do you mean?” I didn’t like the way that sounded.

“He means that because we’re a threesome, I’m a bit of an outcast, Z,” Daniel said, his lips a flat line as he considered the problem. “The others don’t approve of me sharing my companion.”

“If they weren’t so afraid of Daniel, some might challenge him over what happened in Colorado,” Chad said. “It’s my fault they even know about it. I don’t know why I told him. As Daniel said, I have impulse control issues. That magic of Dev’s was on my mind and it just sort of popped out. I told Marini that Daniel had made money from the ritual. I’m afraid certain members of the Council likened that to treating you like a prostitute.”

My head was swimming with the depth of their hypocrisy. These were men who stole women off the street and sold them to the highest bidder. How dare they question my lifestyle choices? “Are you telling me they want to save me from Danny?”

“Marini has painted Daniel as a terrible villain,” Chad replied. “Those who know Daniel aren’t swayed but the others…They’ve only heard stories of how he kills for sport and mistreats his beautiful companion. They think even less of Dev.”

“Well, naturally,” Dev said with a frown.

“Don’t think that will protect you. Marini will take you in if he can, Dev,” Chad warned him. “He would love nothing better than having Zoey and the prince under his control.”

Daniel’s eyes were dark, and he was trying to keep his temper in check. I went to his side and slid his hand in mine. “Does Marini know his first attempt failed?”

“No,” Chad replied, wrapping his arm around Neil’s shoulder. He held his boyfriend close. “He gave the demon three days. We’re staying close so he can take Zoey with us when we return to Paris. He’s gathering evidence against Daniel for his own court case. He’s been doing it for a while. The academics won’t have a choice but to break with Daniel. He intends to use the Council meeting next month to declare you an outlaw and marry Zoey himself.”

“He’s insane,” I nearly yelled.

“He’s obsessed,” Chad corrected. “It all makes sense now that I know he got a real taste of you. My master, you’re going to have to kill him. He won’t give up. I don’t know what he was talking about, but he seems to think he can defeat you in battle. He wants to force you into a challenge that he believes you will lose. He’ll use Zoey and Dev if he can.”

“I’m working on it,” Daniel replied, but I could see he wasn’t satisfied with his answer.

“That demon isn’t going to go back to Marini and tell him I got away,” I interjected. “We have a couple of days before he realizes this particular plot failed.”

“We’ll be gone before then.” Dev pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit a single number. “Albert, I need you to get my traveling bags ready. Yes, that’s what I mean. The cleaning staff will be in tomorrow along with the exterminators. I don’t think it will take more than a few weeks. Roman will handle everything. Yes, I promise. I will see you soon, my friend.”

“What was that about?” Chad asked.

“It’s better you don’t know.” Dev went to the trunk of the Audi. He unlocked it and pulled out the false bottom. It was a weapons cache, among other things. Dev glanced back up at Chad and Neil. “The two of you should go. I assume Marini thinks you’re hooking up with Neil.”