Steal the Night (12 page)

Dev bowed slightly to acknowledge that the lady knew what she was talking about. “You have a keen eye, ma’am.”

“I know a
sidhe
when I see one,” she said, looking me over. She took the glasses she had hanging around her neck and slipped them over her nose. She moved closer and touched the gold medallion I wore. It was the piece of jewelry that marked me as Dev’s wife. “And a High Priest? Seelie or Unseelie?”

“I am Unseelie,” Dev replied without hesitating.

“Good, those Seelies tend to be full of themselves,” the witch, because that was all she could possibly be, said. “Your goddess is human.”

“Mostly,” Dev replied enigmatically.

Daniel’s Italian curses reached a crescendo and the small witch peeked around Dev. Her eyes widened. “No. Is that a vampire?”

“He’s not here to cause trouble.” I had to force the words out of my mouth because I really was mostly human and those wards were making me nauseous.

“You’ll have to take your friend elsewhere,” she said, firmly shaking her head. “I don’t allow unattached vampires in my store. They’re always looking for a free meal.”

Dev laughed at the thought of Daniel prowling dusty bookshops in search of blood. Danny was very particular about his food. “Then feel safe, madam. That particular vampire is very attached. My goddess and I feed him. He has no need to steal a meal.”

Her gray eyes narrowed as she looked between the two of us.

“I’m his companion.” I held up my left hand showing the gold wedding ring I wore. I then flexed my right hand a couple of times. It had started to shake a little. “We promise we’re only here for business.”

“What do you need from my humble shop?” She still seemed unsure, but she sighed and nodded. Dev pulled out the list Nim had given him as the shopkeeper spoke. “You’ll have to forgive me. I had trouble with some vampires last night.”

I frowned and exchanged a look with Dev. Our vampires had stayed in all last night, so she could only be talking about Marini.

“What kind of trouble?” Dev asked, his voice tense.

The old woman took the list out of Dev’s hand. “The typical kind when it comes to vampires. I didn’t recognize these. They seemed to be from out of town. The big one was speaking a foreign language like yours is, though it sounded more like French.”

I wondered if they had come in before or after Marini had played his games with me. “What did they want?”

Her eyes rose from perusing the list. “Pretty much the same as you. They were calling a demon, too. It seems to be the popular thing to do this week.”

“Why would Marini be calling a demon?” Dev asked me when the woman turned to fill our order.

“I don’t know but I need some fresh air,” I said as Daniel made his way toward us. I had started to sweat and I needed to get out of that shop.

“Parlategli voi,”
Daniel barked into the phone. Irritation flavored his every word as he passed the phone to me. “He wants to talk to you, baby. I warn you. He’s in a pissy mood. He better be glad his ass isn’t here or I might have to kick it.”

I nodded and took the phone. “I’ll be just outside. The wards are making me sick. Marini was in here last night. Dev can catch you up.”

I made my way back out into the cool night. I heard Dev and Danny start to talk as the door shut, and I felt a hundred percent better. I took a deep breath and then put the phone to my ear. I noticed a young man staring at me, a lit cigarette in his hand. He stood in the doorway of the Granada, and he turned away when he noticed I was watching. I dismissed him as a curious bystander and got to the apparently annoyed vampire on a transatlantic call. “What’s up, Marcus?”

“What’s up? What is up?” The Italian parroted my greeting. Yup, he was angry. “I will tell you what is up, Zoey. Someone has screwed up a plan I set in motion hundreds of years ago. Someone has managed to take a carefully orchestrated strategy to maintain the balance of power on this plane and blow it all to hell.”

“That’s awful, Marcus.” I sincerely hoped he wasn’t talking about what I thought he was probably talking about. I started doing what I always did when I was on the phone. I had a hard time just standing and talking. I paced. And then I stopped again because I’d promised not to go too far. I stared into the window of the sex shop with its neon condom signs.

“Yes, Zoey, it’s very serious,” he intoned forbiddingly. “Someone has given Marini an object of great power, an object I risked my very life to smuggle off this plane so he couldn’t use it.”

I grimaced. I didn’t point out that he had also risked his virtue since he had an affair with Dev’s mother to smuggle the Blood Stone off the plane. Dev was still very disturbed at the thought. “I’m sure someone had a very good reason for doing it. I’m sure whoever did it didn’t really have a choice in the matter.”

“I’m not an idiot, Zoey,” Marcus said and I could just see him shaking his head at me. “I know exactly where I put that stone and with whom. You run off to Faery with your Lancelot, and when you return, Marini has it in his possession again. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“I saved my husband’s life.” I hadn’t exactly willingly given the fucker the stone. “Marini was going to kill Danny if I didn’t give it to him. Then where would your precious plans have been, Marcus? And while we’re on the subject, you can’t just disappear for months at a time. We needed you. Where the hell have you been?”

There was a tense pause before he continued. “You have some serious explaining to do, Zoey. Daniel says the three of you will be in London in a few days. I’ll meet you there,
cara
. I expect a full accounting of how this came about.”

The phone clicked off as Marcus hung up. I frowned. The whole “being the uncrowned queen of all Vampire” thing didn’t afford me a lot of respect. If I ever got a crown, I was going to do something about that. Now I got to look forward to Marcus yelling at me.

I shoved Danny’s phone into my oversized Gucci bag and pulled the silver chain shoulder strap down. I dug around for the keys to the Audi. I decided to go wait in the car because there was no way I was going back into the shop that made me want to barf. I just had to figure out where Dev had parked. I’d let Danny fly me here, but I doubted I could handle the flight back unless my stomach stopped churning. Stupid wards. I held up the keys and tried hitting the alarm button, but no such luck.

I looked up and down the street before deciding to wait it out in front of the sex shop. I could do worse. It was well lit, albeit the lights were red and blue and ribbed for her pleasure. Without Danny and Dev, I kind of blended into the background, just another twenty-something out on a Saturday night. I glanced back at the front of the Granada, but the guy who had been there before had finished his smoke break and gone back inside.

“Hey, lady,” a masculine voice said.

I was startled because I hadn’t heard anyone walking up beside me. I turned and the man who’d been watching me before was now next to me, and he’d replaced the cigarette with a small pistol. I considered that even more hazardous to my health than the secondhand smoke.

“I need you to come with me,” he said in a deep, quiet voice. “Do it quietly and maybe I won’t waste the human offal walking up and down the street.”

I sighed because I now knew why Marini had called a demon. They were really great kidnappers.

Chapter Eight

I seriously thought about screaming anyway. Danny would hear me and he would take care of the demon, but there were a few things I was uncertain about. The first was how fast this demon was. It was entirely possible that he might get a half a dozen shots off before Danny smashed his head in. Second, I wasn’t sure whether he was the type of demon who could take human form or the type who needed to borrow a body. I would be risking a whole lot of lives for that one or two second scream. Stalling seemed to be the better way to go.

“What do you want?” I asked my would-be kidnapper. I thought about him in this manner because I had no intention of actually being kidnapped. It wasn’t on my schedule, and I didn’t think I would like where he would take me. It might be one thing if he intended to ransom me back to my husbands. It might make them a little more appreciative of all I do for them, but I doubted there would ever be a ransom request. I would be taken to wherever Marini was hiding out, and I would find myself serving a new master. He’d warned me that the next time we met it would be on his terms. I just hadn’t thought it would be quite so quick.

“I want to do my job and get paid for it.” The demon’s tone was calm and even. He seemed very professional, and I appreciated that about him.

Kidnapping as a profession is an infinitely more difficult criminal venture than, say, thievery. The objects I’ve stolen—for the most part—don’t talk back or fight to get away. Once I’ve gotten through whatever security my mark has placed around the prize, it was really just a question of running my ass off to get away clean. The kidnapper’s job has just started once he gets his quarry in his hands. Then he has to deal with the begging and crying and the occasional petite badass who has no intention of allowing herself to be taken off into the night.

Even Danny’s profession of assassin is easier than what this demon was attempting. Danny didn’t have to convince the people he killed to allow him to execute them. He simply showed up with a warrant of execution signed by the Council, and whoever’s name was typed neatly on the order found themselves without a head. It was quick and no one I knew had ever complained.

This poor guy’s job was to get me away from my husbands and manage to deliver me to Marini unharmed. If last night was an indication, I was sure Marini had put in a harsh command that this guy not injure me. He already thought of me as his property, and he was the only one allowed to hurt me.

“Where are you taking me?” I gave him my best helpless, doe-eyed look.

The demon sighed. “No one’s going to hurt you if you play along. Look, just come with me and they’ll explain everything to you. You’re what’s called a companion. Vampires are real and they have a thing for chicks like you. It’s not scary. They treat their companions really well from what I’ve heard, and this guy is rich and powerful. Play your cards right, sister, and he’ll give you anything you want.” He shoved the gun into my side and put his arm around me. To the outside world, we probably seemed like a couple. “Now, get a move on. I need to get you to him so I can get paid and get back home. You have no idea how hard it is to stay in this body.”

Well, that answered one question and posed another problem because now I had to deal with the demon’s host. I thought about the bag I was carrying. What all had I shoved in it earlier this evening? There was at least one handgun and two knives, and a handy can of mace. The question was could I get to them before the demon wrestled the bag away from me? The silver chain was heavy on my shoulder, and I was suddenly really happy that Dev just bought the most expensive version of anything I liked. Daniel had been disturbed by the actual silver in the long chain. I’d taken it out tonight because he was making me return it to Neiman’s for something that wouldn’t burn his skin if he happened to brush against it. Now he was going to have to admit that accessorizing was an art form. I would keep that little plan in my back pocket because I always liked to try reason first.

“Is that the line of crap Marini fed you?” I dropped the innocent girl ploy. This guy needed to know exactly what he was up against.

His host’s brown eyes opened wide as he started to pull me along with him. He kept his voice low as we pushed past the people on the street. “How did you know his name?”

“Because he’s the head of the Vampire Council and I’m a companion. I’ve met the man many times,” I said flatly, letting my stilettos slow us down. “I don’t know what he told you, but I’m certainly not shocked to find out vampires are real. I’ve been sleeping with one for years.”

His whole face scrunched up in obvious confusion. “He told me he’d seen you on the streets and I could have half the money you would bring at auction. Your glow is powerful, lady. You could go for a hundred and fifty, easy.”

I smiled brightly because that was in millions. “That’s so sweet.” If one is going to be auctioned off, you should always hope you bring in a damn good price. The last companion I’d seen having her life, her soul, and her dreams sold off had only brought in half that amount. Danny had gotten me for the bargain basement price of absolutely nothing. He was the first vamp to get his fangs in me and he had the strength to back up his claim.

“Well, it’s true.” He looked up and down the side street before we crossed. “You can’t see it, I’m sure, but I can. You light up the night. I’m actually not into the whole blood-drinking thing, but I bet you taste pretty damn sweet.”

We turned into an alley. I considered my opponent. “You aren’t a full demon, are you?”

“I’m mostly demon. Somewhere in my background, someone liked humans a little too much. I’d love to meet that relative of mine. I’d give them a piece of my mind. The others think I’m weak. We’ll see how weak they think I am when I bring in more money than the rest of them put together.”