Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(41)

“Yes,” the vampire replied, looking a little sheepish. “I’m also supposed to pump him for information on how your household works.”

“Hell, give him the keys to the penthouse,” Dev said arrogantly. “We won’t be there. Now, we have things to do. I would rather Chad is able to say he has no idea where we went and mean it. We’ll be in contact. Neil, call in the morning and we’ll send a car to get you.”

I hugged Neil and then he reached for his boyfriend’s hand as they walked slowly to Chad’s Mercedes. When they were gone, Dev was back on the phone. “Lee, I need you to go to ground. Take Nim and Stewart and stash them somewhere, then meet us. I’ll have the two of them on a flight to London in the morning, and we’ll follow when the jet is ready. I’m sure between you and Zack, you can find us.” Dev shut the phone off, grimacing. “He doesn’t like this plan.”

“What is this plan?” Daniel asked.

“We go to ground until we can leave for England. If Marini can’t find us, he can’t even attempt to take Zoey. I have new identification and credit cards for all of us.” Dev passed out the new cards. “I have several others for each of us if we need to change identities again. Albert is bringing down several bags with necessary items. Guns, knives, cash.”

“I need my swords,” Daniel said quickly.

“Albert will bring them.”

“So Albert is going to call Justin tomorrow?” Daniel asked.

“What’s Justin supposed to do?” I wondered aloud.

“Angelina and the girls will come in during the day dressed as a cleaning crew,” Dev explained. “They’ll clean out the armory and move it to the safe house along with anything even vaguely incriminating. Justin and Jean-Marc will follow tomorrow night and they’ll wipe all the hard drives on the computers. If Marini breaks in, at least he won’t find anything to use against us.”

“We’re not going home.” My heart seized a little at the thought.

Daniel reached out, pulling me close. “Not for a while, baby. We’ll stay with an ally while we’re in London. Marcus is making sure the place is safe. We’re going to take care of you. He won’t get anywhere close.”

“Where are we going to stay until we leave?” I asked, thinking of all the nice hotels in town.

“I’m taking you to the safest place I know,” Daniel said, nodding at Dev.





Chapter Eleven





“This might be the safest place, Dan, but it’s also the most uncomfortable,” Dev complained quietly. He kept his voice low because he didn’t wish to insult our hosts.

Daniel nodded at Ingrid and Halle as they lay down to sleep for the night. We were under a bridge on the outskirts of the city. It was one of those places that people had forgotten. The world had moved away from this bridge and the road over it. It was a small bridge but I found it comfortable. We had a little makeshift bed and blankets. The incline we were on actually seemed comforting to me. Danny and I had slept like this many times in the past. I could trace the summers of our teen years by how close we’d slept. When we’d been thirteen, we kept several yards apart, and we’d gradually gotten closer until our eighteenth year when Danny had given up hiding anything and I started sleeping in his arms.

“Wimp,” Daniel shot back quietly. “Z and I lived like this every summer of our lives for years. It’s not even hot, dude. I think it’s funny that we’re way more Fae than you are in this instance.”

“I’m not a troll, Daniel.” Dev squirmed as he tried to find a comfortable position. He bumped against me as he rested his head in one hand. “I’m a royal sidhe. We don’t sleep under bridges. We sleep in big, comfy beds with our warm wives and many, many servants to take care of our needs.”

“Danny’s right.” I shook my head as I looked up at Dev. “You’re a wimp. You wouldn’t have lasted a summer with us.”

“I most certainly would have,” Dev replied, a little offended. “Believe me. If I had met you when we were seventeen or so, I would have walked after you and never once complained.”

“So your seventeen-year-old self was way tougher than you at twenty-nine?” I asked, breathing in the late spring air.

“No, darling. I would have followed you without complaint because I would be trying to sleep with you.” Dev’s voice was smooth and silky in the darkness. “I would have gone through an enormous amount of discomfort to have gotten into your teenage pants. Daniel speaks of those days fondly.”

“Daniel speaks of those days in confidence,” Danny said, half laughing and smacking Dev on the forehead. My vampire smiled in the dark. He seemed to be feeling better now that we had found our godparents and settled in. He was comfortable in this world. “I loved those summers, Z. I couldn’t wait for school to let out so we could find Halle and Ingrid and just walk the bridges all summer long. Do you think our kids will do that?”

“Not if Devinshea has anything to do with it,” I joked.

Even in the dark, I could see Dev frown. “I would never stop our children from walking the bridges in the heat without any proper comforts if that is what they truly want to do. You should just be prepared that our children will be much like me.”