Steal the Moon

Chapter Twenty-Four

I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before so it wasn’t terribly surprising that it was just after dark when I woke up again. It was easy to sleep with Neil’s warmth pressed against me, but I heard voices whispering and was pulled from sweet oblivion. I knew it was after dark because someone had come in and lit the gas lamps. Sarah stirred on the other side of Neil. She’d obviously fallen asleep, too.

“It is normal, Felix,” Dev was saying.

“Are you sure?” Felix asked. “Shouldn’t I be more possessive? We’re married. We made very specific vows. I’m pretty sure those vows precluded stuff like this.”

“Dude, your vows were read by a guy in an Elvis costume,” Dev replied.

“They still count.”

I heard Dev sigh. “I don’t understand human marriages.”

“Obviously,” the former angel returned with a chuckle. “Otherwise tomorrow night might not be happening. I’m looking forward to it, by the way.”

“I’m glad to have you there, but you should know that it’s the most natural thing in the world to get turned on by two hot naked chicks in bed together,” Dev protested. “If one of those hot naked chicks just happens to be your wife then good for you, man. It means you chose wisely.”

“I’ll admit that it’s harder to retain pure thoughts with an actual functioning penis,” Felix confided. “It seems to make decisions for me at times.”

Dev laughed. “Welcome to my whole fucking world, Felix. Little Dev is in charge, man, and guess who’s in charge of Little Dev. Little is a misnomer. I’m actually quite large.”

I turned, letting my eyes find the men standing at the end of the bed. I shook my head at Dev. “Don’t you go and corrupt him, you pervert.”

Sarah sat up and gave her husband a surprised look. “Felix, how long have you been standing there?”

He flushed guiltily. “Awhile.”

Dev pointed. “He was here way before I was.”

“I thought you were supposed to be preparing yourself.” I shifted to make sure I was properly covered. Neil was still asleep between us.

“I was, sweetheart,” Dev replied. “I was reaching a state of contemplation when Zack showed up and announced that you and Sarah were beginning a lesbian relationship.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s not what he said.”

“Well, that is what I heard, my mistress.” He had a sweetly salacious grin on his face. “I quickly finished my rituals and got here as fast as I could.” He shifted his attention to the other girl in the bed. “Sarah, I will pay one million dollars if you’ll just kiss on her a little, maybe slip her some tongue and” —his fingers twitched— “play with her nipples. You won’t have to do much. They’re sensitive. Seriously, I can get it in cash.”

I laughed and shook my head because Dev would really do it.

Sarah looked at her husband, obviously expecting a little bit of outrage. “Felix? Are you just going to take that from him?”

“The money, no,” Felix said with a frown. “But if you wanted to do…all the things he said, I’m fine with it, really.”

“Zoey, I need to talk to…holy crap, are they naked?” Daniel asked, walking into the room. His blue eyes went wide.

Males are males whether they happen to be humans, vampires, faeries, or fallen angels. They all have penises and that means they have certain common reactions. They stop at the sight of two unclothed women in any type of close physical contact. Daniel stared for a minute, his jaw slack. I let my eyes roam over his body. He was in soft, well-worn jeans and a T-shirt that showed off those big arms of his. I couldn’t help but remember how good it felt to be held by him, to have him deep inside my body. I wasn’t sure I could handle another sexual encounter where he walked away like it meant nothing to him.

“Is that Neil?” Daniel asked shortly, his lust turning to anger just like that.

I tensed at his tone. “Yes, it is. He was sick.”

He made no comment on that. “I need to talk to you.” He said it in a flat, no-nonsense tone that made me think this was it. This was the fight I’d been waiting to have since the night of the heist when he’d turned away from me. He was going to do this here and now.

“All right,” I said, my voice shaking only a little. “I’ll get dressed.” I turned to Sarah. I didn’t want to do this in front of everyone. “Can you stay with him?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Felix can take your place.” She nodded to her husband.

“I can?” Felix repeated as though he would never have thought of it himself. His wife’s eyes were narrow with irritation. “I can take your place,” he said, now with utter confidence.

The men left the room and I slipped into a robe, not wanting to take too much time. I’d been worrying about this for weeks now and I wanted to get it over with, no matter the outcome.

I belted the robe around my waist and gave Sarah a little smile that came nowhere near my eyes. “Take care of him. I’ll be back one way or another.”

I walked out of the bedroom and Felix passed me on his way back in. Dev and Daniel were standing in front of the room Daniel had been using. The minute he saw me, Daniel entered. It seemed like he wanted to get it over with as well.

Dev gave me a tight smile and led me in. It was lit from the inside by a camp lantern. The atmosphere was ruined by the coffin and the look on Daniel’s face. He was frowning as I walked to him.

“What do you need, Danny?” My heart pounded in my chest. I already had tears threatening. Don’t let him leave me. Don’t let him leave me. Please, please don’t leave me.

He sighed. “Dev, do you mind? I’d like to talk to my wife alone.”

“I do actually,” Dev replied. “If you’re going to have this conversation with her, then I would like to be there. It affects me as much as it does Zoey.”

Daniel’s eyebrows came together in the little V they always got when he was concerned. “Fine,” Daniel said, his gruff tone belying his words. “Fine. I suppose it does concern you.”

Daniel’s arms crossed defensively across his chest. “I’m going to head out. McKenzie wasn’t interested in listening last night, and I just don’t see a way to get him to trust me. It’s a bust. You two are going to stay on and complete the ritual.”

I knew something he didn’t, but I really wanted to see where he was going so I held that ace in my pocket for the moment. “You don’t think it’s worth it to stay and try, Danny? He might be more reasonable after the ritual.”

Daniel shook his head. “No, I think it’s useless. Besides, I have to get back to Dallas. I have to meet someone there.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

I also didn’t like the way Dev tensed beside me. He knew what was coming next, and he thought it would hurt me. “Don’t do this, Dan. We can find another way.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened. “There is no other way. You’re the one who taught me to use the cards I have, Dev. That’s what I’m doing.”

I took a deep breath. “All right, Danny, I’ll bite. Who do you have to meet, baby? Who’s so important that you would leave us behind here?”

He didn’t even flinch. He just looked me straight in the eyes and replied. “Her name is Tamara. I found her in Oregon when I found Joel. She should be at the penthouse by now, but I need to make sure she’s comfortable.”

Getting punched in the gut hurt a hell of a lot less than hearing those words come from his mouth. I could guess just what Tamara was. Danny had solved one of his problems, no doubt. But he was going to have to say it. “And who is Tamara, Danny?”

“She’s a companion, Zoey,” he said, making my fear a real thing. “She’s my companion.”

I quickly searched Dev’s face. It was tight and his mouth twisted down. That told me this woman actually existed rather than being a lie to get me to run away. Maybe he wasn’t trying to get me to run, I acknowledged for the first time. Maybe he was just sick of me. I let myself sink onto the sofa because my legs didn’t want to work anymore. I knew my face was red, and the tears were already filling my eyes when I looked back up at him.

“Did you already perform the ceremony?” I forced the words out of my throat.

“Does it matter, Z?” he asked quietly, his mouth a thin line.

“It matters to me,” I replied.

He nodded, accepting my answer. “No, I haven’t yet. I didn’t actually make contact with her until a few weeks ago. I intended to bring her in for one of the baby vamps. To make them strong. I changed my mind.”

“After the heist.” After I managed to screw everything up and get his vamps torched, I added silently.

He hesitated, but finally acknowledged the timeline. “Look, Z, this hasn’t been working for a long time. It’s obvious to me that it’s best for everyone if I just let you go with Dev. He’ll make you happy and Tamara can give me what I need. I need an easier companion. I need a companion who I never have to call a cleaning crew in for. You can see why I’m anxious to get home. I need to perform that ceremony.”

I was trouble. I was a whole lot of trouble. I didn’t follow directions. I didn’t always do the best thing. I tried to do what was right, but I often screwed up more things than I solved. I had to accept the fact that he might be telling the truth, that he really wanted someone other than me.

I knew suddenly that it didn’t matter. His not loving me didn’t change the way I felt about him. It just made my heart break.

“All right, Danny.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. Fighting wouldn’t change anything. Yelling at him would only make me look like a fool. “If that’s what you want, I can’t stop you. I’m really sorry about Joel, though. I didn’t mean…I never thought trying to steal that artifact would hurt anyone like that. I thought I was helping.”

“You always do, Z,” Danny said with a sigh.

I stood back up. I was going to leave, but stopped because something he’d said finally penetrated the haze of pain the conversation had caused. “Why is she in my house?”

Daniel frowned, turning to Dev. “You haven’t told her what we decided?”

Dev shook his head. “You decided this, and you told me what I was going to do. Don’t you dare pin this on me.”

“I thought we were in agreement that this was the best course.” Daniel had that hard edge to his voice that told me he was getting angry because things weren’t going the way he planned. He was more emotional than he was letting on. His eyes found mine. “You’re going to the sithein with Dev the day after tomorrow.”

Son of a bitch. Bastard. I laughed, a humorless sound, because now I knew his game. “No, I’m not. I’m going home the day after tomorrow, and she better not be there, Danny. I won’t take it well. You should fly back and get her settled into your place because I’ll be damned if I let you toss me out of my home. If we’re getting a divorce, I’m keeping Dev and Dev’s keeping Ether.”

I wouldn’t be relegated to a prison because Daniel found me inconvenient.

“Dev, would you like to explain this to her?” Danny’s every word was clipped and hard.

Dev stopped stooping over and raised himself to his full height. He walked over to me and slipped his hand into mine. “We need to go to the sithein, Zoey. There are some things I need to do. I’ll explain it all to you later, but I have obligations I need to fulfill. If the ritual goes as I hope it goes, I’ll be a true high priest, honored in every way after I make the rounds in Faery. It won’t take more than a month,” he explained and I heard Daniel sigh impatiently, unhappy with what Dev was saying. “But, sweetheart, we have to face certain realities.”

“Finally,” Daniel said under his breath.

“The minute Daniel takes another companion, you become fair game.” Dev neatly explained the impossible situation Daniel was trying to maneuver us into. “I assume he’s going to make a big announcement.”

“I’m required to inform the Council,” Daniel said casually, as though he wasn’t changing my entire life. “It’ll be all right, Zoey. As long as you’re in Faery no vampire is going to touch you.”

Dev ignored him completely. “So when we get back from Faery, I think our best option is Marcus. He’ll let us stay together. We’ll get back from Faery and head immediately to Venice. I already contacted Marcus earlier today and informed him of what’s going on. He’ll have everything ready, and he’ll perform the ceremony the night we arrive. Marini won’t take you away from Marcus. We’ll be safe.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Daniel’s face was stark white and his hands gathered in fists at his sides.

“Give him a call, Dan,” Dev replied, his eyes giving nothing away. “You’ll find everything is ready. I never bluff about a good plan. You should know that. Marcus is more than happy to accommodate us. He’s quite eager to take a new companion. I also find myself unwilling to throw my mistress out of the only home she has left. You’ll remove your new wife from the penthouse. You have a perfectly good apartment. I suggest you use it. I set up an account in your name. It has ten million in it. I think that’s fair. We’ll need the penthouse. Marcus has agreed to split our time between Venice, Paris, and Dallas. Zoey will want to spend time with her friends and family. We’ll keep ourselves out of your life and your line of fire, but we won’t leave our home.”

“Why? Why the hell would you do this? Why would you give her to Marcus?” Daniel practically roared the question.

Dev stood his ground. “She won’t be happy in the sithein forever. I won’t be happy there, either. I like this plane. I’ve made it my home. Marcus is offering us a way to stay together and be safe. He cares for Zoey, and he’s promised to allow us all the freedom we have now. I believe that he’ll be kind to her and tolerant with me. It’s our only option if we don’t want to run for the rest of our lives or be held in a cage. That’s what this little plan of yours leaves us with. We must remain on this plane. She has obligations here.”

“What obligations does she have here?” Daniel asked, confused.

“I have to work for Marini or he’ll kill you,” I responded quietly. “I have to go to Faery and do the job, and then I’ll do the job after that and so on and so on. I’ll do what I have to. Dev is right, though. Marcus can keep us safe.”

“That’s the stupidest plan I ever heard,” Daniel said, stalking toward us.

“Don’t,” Dev warned. “Don’t you dare question my judgment when you’re leaving me all alone to take care of her. You’re leaving both of us. You have no right or say in anything we do after this, Daniel. We’ll be on our own, and we’ll make our own way.”

“Why, Zoey? Why would you work for Marini after I leave you for another woman? Why would you let her, Dev?” Daniel’s face was filled with emotion now. He couldn’t stop it.

I stared up at my soon-to-be ex-husband and knew I was blotchy and red because I looked like hell when I cried. It didn’t matter. “I’ll do it because I love you, Daniel. I always have and I always will. I’ll love you until the day I die. I’ll stand by you even if you don’t love me anymore.”

Love didn’t have to be returned. It only had to be honored. I wouldn’t allow Daniel to turn me into something I wasn’t. I loved him. I would fight for him. I would be kind to him. Even when he wasn’t kind to me.

Now it was Dev’s turn. “I love Zoey and I believe in you, Daniel. I believe in the man you are. I haven’t had many friends in my life. I’m going to miss you. I really am. You talked to me yesterday about how you watched us walk through the valley and how different our reception would have been had you been by our side. I would have walked with you anyway. You mistake respect and need for love, Daniel. I would take my friend over a thousand affectionate strangers. Zoey and I would walk anywhere with you. Leave us if you must. We won’t abandon you. If you ever need anything, just come to Venice.”

Dev pulled me close to him and started to lead me out of the room and down the hall toward the front door. We needed fresh air. I needed to be away from Daniel. I needed to cry for a really long time.

“What’s going on, Zoey?” Lee asked as we walked toward the outer door. I was sure he heard more than I would have wanted as he sat in his chair in the front room.

I shook my head, but he was a brick wall. “I’ll be fine, Lee. Danny is leaving us. Could you please let Albert know that he’s leaving tonight? Albert doesn’t like surprises.”

“I don’t either,” Lee replied, looking behind me with a stern frown. “I don’t like them at all.”

“I don’t think I’ll be leaving until we clear a few things up, Zoey,” Daniel said, following us out into the parlor.

I ignored him. He’d said everything I needed him to say. He’d brought another woman in. She was waiting at my house. I had to stifle a cry because of all the things he could do to me, I hadn’t expected that. I suppose it wasn’t fair. I had Dev. I wasn’t exactly pure, but Dev was part of us. I thought we’d gotten past that.

Dev walked up to Lee. “Zack will be going with Daniel. I hope you’ll stay on with us. Zoey is comfortable with you and she’s going to need your help more than ever. We’ll be doing a bit of traveling, though.”

Lee’s gaze shifted between us and Daniel. “I’ll follow Zoey. I said I would. I’ll take care of her.”

Daniel shook his head. “What the fuck are you doing, Dev? This isn’t what we talked about. You know why I’m doing this, and you’re fucking everything up. You promised me if everything went to hell that you would take care of her.”

Dev turned back and acknowledged Daniel’s presence. “It hasn’t gone to hell, but you obviously have made up your mind. I talked to McKenzie earlier. He found me during my ritual. He was very intent on making sure I knew he’d changed his mind. You have your meeting. The alphas will be gathered at ten thirty this evening in the main house.”

His blue eyes wide, Daniel stared at us. “How? He was extremely negative last night. It’s why I decided to do this now. You said so yourself.”

“He told me he was impressed with Zoey. She saved Neil earlier today from a pack of wolves. She stood up to all of them, McKenzie included. He said any man with a woman like that could probably be trusted,” Dev explained. “Good luck, Daniel.”

I heard Daniel curse as we left the tent.

Dev pulled me into his arms, carrying me as we fled the tent. Even as I started to cry into his shoulder, I heard Lee and Daniel screaming at each other. I lifted my head and turned back toward the sound.

“Don’t, Zoey,” Dev commanded as he walked into the forest. “Lee can handle himself. I think your big brother is giving Daniel a much-needed lecture. I take back everything I said about that wolf, by the way. He’s a perfect guard for you. He’s welcome in our household.”

I held onto Dev for dear life as he walked through the quiet forest until he found the spot he was looking for. It was a clearing near a pond, and he sat down, shifting me in his arms so I sat in his lap as he relaxed on a huge rock. He stroked my hair and let me cry for the longest time.

I finally looked up at him, wiping the tears from my face with the back of my sleeve. “She better not touch my shoes.”

Dev chuckled, holding me close. “I promise you, my love, she cannot fit in your shoes. Her feet are enormous. They’re not sweet and dainty like yours.”

“So she’s really big?” I asked hopefully. “The only answer here is she’s an awful person and she’s horribly unattractive and she’ll make Daniel miserable.”

He smiled faintly. “All of those things, lover. She’s quite mercenary, actually. I’ve only spoken with her briefly on the phone, but Daniel described her to me. He really did think to bring her in for his vamps at first. He’s been negotiating with her. Obviously he would never bring in an unwilling companion. He was going to bring her in and allow her to choose.” He took a deep breath. “Zoey, I’ll take care of you.”

“And I’ll take care of you. So we’re going to Venice, huh? I’ve never been out of the country.” I held on to him so tight. I knew what Marcus was going to want. It made me uncomfortable, but Dev was right. I didn’t see another way to go. I didn’t want to end up on the auction block. Marcus was strong enough to defend a companion, and I knew he cared for me. He would never give me a platonic, marriage-in-name-only arrangement though. He would want blood and sex in exchange for that protection. I steeled myself. If that was what it took to protect Dev, myself, and my dumbass husband, then I could handle it. Even now, when he’d broken my heart so completely I wondered if it would ever be whole again, I knew I couldn’t leave him to fate.

Dev pulled my face to his. His green eyes were serious. “Zoey, I will never share you with Marcus. I would kill him first. I have no intention of selling your body for our protection.”

“But, Dev, it makes sense,” I argued.

“No, Zoey.” His expression was the tiniest bit savage. “I will not have it. That was just a bluff to break Daniel’s game. You wanted me to fight, sweetheart. Well, I don’t fight fair. That’s the way to lose. It still might work. Daniel seemed perplexed that things didn’t go the way he wanted. If it doesn’t work, then I have another plan.”

I shook my head in amazement. “You always do, Dev.”

“It certainly doesn’t involve marrying you off to another damn vampire,” Dev said under his breath. “I’ve enjoyed our relationship with Daniel, but that’s the extent of our experimentation. After tomorrow night, there will be no more threesomes, lover, not if Daniel proves too stubborn. It will be you and me. Daniel said something about using his assets. Well, I intend to use mine. I’ll be making a deal with the Unseelie. When we return to this plane, you’ll be tied tightly to Faery. You’ll have Lee and apparently Neil, and you’ll have an Unseelie guard. I assure you, lover, that I can find some nightmares to protect us. Literally. They’re actual mares, though they have some really nasty teeth. Please, don’t try to give them carrots.”

I nodded. My trip to Faery was going to be educational. There was a certain comfort in Dev’s planning. It left me feeling less bereft. It gave me something to hold on to.

“If all goes as planned tomorrow night, when we get back from Faery, Declan and Padric will return with us and we’ll meet with Marini. We’ll set down all the rules and regulations regarding your employment. He can agree or he’ll have a war on his hands. And, Zoey, if anything ever happens to me…”

I knew what he wanted, and I was willing to promise him anything. “I’ll go to Faery and find Declan.”

“Not Marcus,” Dev reiterated.

I wound my arms around his neck. “Not Marcus.”

Dev pulled me into the warmth of his body and kissed me passionately. There was a lot of emotion between us in that moment. There was love and sadness and an overwhelming sense of commitment. My heart ached at the thought that Daniel wasn’t with us, didn’t want that commitment from us.

There was a rustle in the forest, and Dev shot straight up, shoving me behind him. He cursed as he reached for the gun that should have been in a holster at the small of his back. In the chaos, he’d forgotten it. The SIG Sauer was still in the nightstand where I’d replaced it earlier. We hadn’t thought about safety or weapons when we were fleeing the scene with Daniel. Lee had stayed behind because he trusted me with Dev. He wouldn’t be prowling around.

“I thought I smelled you,” Mitchell Roberts spat as he walked out of the woods. “Are you going to try to shoot me again, bitch? I won’t give you a second chance.”

He snapped his fingers and two large wolves prowled out of the trees, baring their teeth. One of the wolves was a sandy blond, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was Wyatt Roberts. He’d healed from the gunshot wound I’d given him and anything McKenzie had done to him earlier in the day. The other wolf was gray. The fur on their backs was standing straight up. They were ready for blood.

I took a deep breath and held on to Dev’s waist. It was time for us to take care of ourselves, and I had the sudden feeling we weren’t anywhere close to being ready for the task.