Steal the Moon

Chapter Three

I was surprised to see Ingrid standing in the living room. She wore a designer dress and was beyond gorgeous with her perfect ice-blonde hair and lithe figure. It was a glamour, but I’d never seen her any other way. I wouldn’t recognize her troll form. I rushed into the room and was greeted with a bright smile.

“My little Zoey,” Ingrid said with only a hint of Scandinavian accent. She looked me over and took in the sight of the medallion around my neck, her eyes widening. She smiled as she touched it. “It’s good to see you. You’re practically glowing. This is beautiful on you.”

Yes, I was thrilled the see Ingrid, but I was also more than happy for the distraction. Dev had dropped me off at the door and then walked back to deal with the driver. Daniel was practically ignoring me. It was nice someone was happy with me. “Dev gave it to me.”

“Yes, I know,” she explained, studying it. “They did a good job on it. It’s a shame his brother refused to give him the real one. It belongs to Devinshea. It’s his to give to his goddess. I have no idea what his brother is thinking of keeping it from him.”

“His brother’s a jerk.” From everything I knew about Declan Quinn, I was convinced the heir to Faery was an asshole.

Ingrid chuckled at my descriptive language. “I’m certain the future king would disagree. You know there are always two sides to a story, Zoey. You’ve only heard one. Now, where is our Devinshea?”

“He should be here in a minute,” I replied.

I kind of hoped by the time Dev walked in, my dad would be passing out the drinks, but he hadn’t made his way into the living room yet. It was a bad sign. I didn’t think my father was ever going to like Dev, but the situation might have been better if I had talked to my dad about our living situation. Dad still thought Dev was some temper tantrum I was having. Once he realized I was serious about him, he was going to have to calm down.

“What is your father’s objection to Devinshea?” Ingrid asked, looking genuinely confused. “He is an excellent catch in both worlds. He’s of royal blood and well placed. In the human world, he’s wealthy and successful. He’s kind and loving toward you. I don’t understand the animosity.”

I understood it all too well. “Dad thinks that if Dev were out of the picture, I would settle down and do what Daniel tells me to.”

She sighed. “Your father doesn’t know you at all.”

My father wanted me safe, and he believed Daniel was the best bet. We’d been careful not to bring my father into our political games. Dad didn’t know Daniel’s status as the Council’s official assassin, and we agreed to keep it that way. I was just now realizing that Dev was the one who took the brunt of this particular ruse. Dev hated to be the outsider. He’d left his own family seven years before, and though he almost never spoke of them, I knew he missed them. Perhaps what he really missed was a sense of belonging. Well, he wasn’t going to get that tonight.

“Where is Halle?” I glanced around, trying to find Ingrid’s husband. I loved Halle the Loyal. The trolls had been my surrogate family for most of my childhood.

She gestured around the room. “It’s too much for Halle, too much artificialness. He sends his best and wishes you would visit soon.”

It’s difficult for many Fae creatures to be surrounded by metal and even walls. Halle was the weaker of the two. I wasn’t quite sure when I would be able to visit with the man who had helped to raise me, though. I doubted my bodyguards were going to be hip to checking bridges until I found the right one. The limits on my freedom were beginning to chafe.

“Ingrid.” Daniel greeted her with a happy smile. He walked up to the troll and pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy to see you. It’s been too long.”

Ingrid looked at me, her eyes wide. When Daniel let her go, she studied him for a moment. Like me, Daniel had spent a lot of his human life walking the bridges with the trolls. We’d spent every summer with them even after we graduated from high school and went to college.

She brought her hands up to touch his face, a maternal gesture. “I don’t understand this face, Daniel. Your lips are turned up. It’s strange. What has happened to our brooding vampire?”

Daniel laughed, the sound filling the room. “I’m only allowed to brood two hours a day now. Dev put me on a schedule. He gets bitchy if I don’t follow it.”

“What have you been doing, Zoey?” A look of satisfaction crossed her face. She’d been the one to introduce me to Dev. I knew she was fond of the faery prince. She also loved Daniel. If she had a hand in making all three of us happy, she would be satisfied with her meddling.

Sarah rushed into the room before I had to answer the question. “Seriously, Z, I think Dev is going to punch your dad. Felix is trying to talk them down, but they’re not listening.”

My father stalked into the room, his face flushed. “You’re the one who ruined everything.”

“Oh, that’s rich, Harry.” Dev followed my father into the room. I knew I was in trouble the minute I heard Dev’s bad-boy drawl. It told me my dad had pushed the button that always brought out vulgar, rebellious Dev. “Please tell me how I screwed up your daughter’s perfect marriage. It was all going so well until I popped into the picture. Daniel and Zoey were happy together except that they weren’t together when I met her. She wasn’t married when I started dating her. I don’t see how you can blame me. You know she seduced me, Harry, not the other way around.”

I groaned and let myself fall onto the couch. This wasn’t going to go well, and I had no one to blame but myself.

“Now, Dev, perhaps we should sit down and really use this time to talk about the situation.” Felix was studying to be a therapist. It was a fitting occupation for a former guardian angel.

“I don’t think this is the time for a fucking therapy session, Felix,” Dev replied.

“That’s the way to talk to one of God’s pure creatures,” my father shot back, his Irish accent so much worse for his emotional state. Every muscle in my father’s body seemed to be tense and ready to fight. “I’ve got no idea what me daughter sees in you.”

“Oh, I can think of a few things,” Dev began.

I knew whatever came out of his mouth next was going to be awful. Daniel watched the scene with a sort of interested expectation. I suspected he was enjoying not being the object of Dev’s vitriol for once. Usually it was Daniel who managed to push those buttons.

Daniel winked at me. “This is going to be good.”

I shot him a dirty look and thought seriously about punching him.

Dev continued with his tirade. “What could Zoey possibly see in me? Let’s see… I’m filthy rich, have a ten-inch cock, and no sense of shame. What the hell else does she need?”

“Dude, you measured?” Daniel asked, finding the whole thing way more amusing than he should have.

“It’s an estimation,” Dev said between clenched teeth.

“Well, you are known for your generosity.” Daniel sat down on the couch beside me. He tossed an arm around my shoulders. “Hope you’re happy, Z. This is your fault. You could have handled this without an audience.”

My father’s girlfriend entered the room, a tray of drinks balanced in her hands. Christine shook her head at the scene in front of her and wisely set the tray down. “Have we already made it to the brawl portion of the evening?” She picked up two cocktail glasses and handed one to me. “I’m sure you’re at the center of it, Zoey, so you’ll need this.”

I took a long swig of vodka and set the drink back down. Dev and my father were screaming at each other now. The insults were flying as my father questioned Dev’s parentage and Dev questioned my father’s sanity. It was time to own up to everything. I’d made a mess, and it was my responsibility to clean it up.

“Wish me luck. I’m going in.”

“You’re braver than I am.” Daniel saluted me sarcastically as I got up.

“Stop it, both of you.” I had to move between them to make sure this didn’t turn physical. I looked to my father. “Dad, you’re going to have to accept that Dev is in my life. If you want me to come over here, you have to stop screaming at my boyfriend.”

Dad reeled around on Daniel. “What I don’t understand is why you put up with this. Why haven’t you killed the faery? I believe you have the right, Danny. No one in the vampire world is going to question his death. They’d help you.”

“I’m a lover, not a fighter, Harry.” Daniel managed to look as innocent as a guy with fangs can look. I rolled my eyes and heard Dev laugh sarcastically behind me. We’d both seen Daniel fight. “Besides, I don’t think killing Dev is going to make Zoey love me more. I think it would just piss her off.”

“I know that, Danny.” My father softened as he considered the man he thought of as his son. “I know how hard this is on you. I apologize for my daughter. I thought I raised her better. I don’t know where I went wrong. It isn’t fair, but then your life hasn’t been fair, has it? Your dad dies, and then…I just don’t know how such a gentle soul handles becoming a vampire.”

Dev practically fell on the floor laughing. “Gentle soul? Who the hell is he talking about? Has he met you?”

“I’m talking about my son-in-law, you vulgar piece of trash,” Dad spat. He’d always put Daniel on a pedestal. Daniel’s father had been his best friend, and when George Donovan died, Dad took Daniel into our home. “I’m talking about the kindest boy I’ve ever known. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. Zoey was always getting him into trouble, and he always tried to take the blame for her. She was a wild one growing up, but Danny took care of her, he did. I’m sure he’s a good husband, or he would be if she would just let him. Danny was always too good for her, but she can’t see it.”

Yeah, Dad knew how to push my buttons, too. As he went on and on about how I was lucky to have Daniel, I felt all that old childhood anger start to rise. I’d put up with this crap while I was growing up. It was just enough to make me feel like I was fifteen again and getting blamed for everything. Daniel got better grades in school. Daniel was so smart. If I was just a little more like Daniel, maybe I could have a future. Really, it was a miracle I still loved Danny.

Daniel sat up. His look of amusement changed to one of horrified expectation. He held a hand out. “Baby, I want you to think about whatever is going through that head of yours.”

But I wasn’t about to listen to Daniel. “Oh, Dad, Daniel is perfect, isn’t he? Do you have any idea how hard it was to live up to his perfection?”

“Now, girl, I love you,” Dad backpedaled. “I didn’t mean to say I don’t love you very much. I was happy to be your dad all these years. You’re a good girl and a good professional. No one can crack a safe like you, love. I’m just disappointed you haven’t treated Danny with the respect he deserves.”

“I waited years for Danny to get over his ‘I died and rose a freaking vampire’ angst. I stood by him all that time. It wasn’t until I started dating Dev that Daniel suddenly had an interest in me again. I’m so sick of how you kiss his ass, Dad. Daniel’s had such a hard time with the whole big, scary vampire thing,” I said, sarcasm dripping because I was tired of being the bad guy while Daniel polished his halo. “Do you want to know why Danny hasn’t killed Dev yet?”

“Zoey, let’s talk this through. Maybe Felix is right.” Dev sounded far too reasonable for me.

“He hasn’t killed Dev because Dev feeds him.” I reached around and pulled up Dev’s hand, exposing the fang marks. “He doesn’t kill Dev because he’s living with him. Daniel doesn’t kill Dev because they sleep together.”

“Nice, Zoey,” Dev ground out, pulling his hand back. He smoothed down his jacket and frowned at me like I’d planned this out. “That’s going to make things so much easier.”

Daniel had his head in his hands. “Of all the ways you could have told him, this is how you go?”

My father just stopped. He was still as a statue, standing there with his mouth open as his mind tried to process what I had told him. He slowly turned and stared past me at Dev. “You bastard. You stole my daughter’s husband.”

“I give up,” Dev said, throwing his hands in the air.

Daniel groaned and stood, his face a nice shade of pink. “He didn’t steal me, Harry. I don’t sleep with Dev. I mean, I do sleep in the same bed, but Z is firmly between us. Unless she gets up first, of course, but then we stay on our own sides of the bed. There was that one time when he thought I was her, but we got that settled really quickly and there have been no further incidents. None. Dev decided he wanted to keep all his limbs intact.”

“I was half awake, dude. You’ve gotta get over that,” Dev explained. “I can’t help it. I like to cuddle.”

My anger dissipated, and I could easily see that I’d screwed up. It was time to make things clear. “Dad, I’m living with Dev and Daniel. I love them. They love me. You wanted me to get back together with Danny, and the good news is I have. We’re together, and we take those vows we never got around to making seriously. Well, all except for the forsaking all others part. We’re forsaking all others except Dev.”

My father shook his head and walked out of the room.

“Great, Zoey,” Christine said, giving me a harsh look as she walked after him. “I think you broke him.”

I wished I could take it back, but it was done, and now I had to deal with the fallout. Daniel was shaking his head like he’d known this would happen. Dev just stared after my dad. Sarah covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh. It wasn’t the first time she’d witnessed one of my knock-down, drag-outs. Ingrid appeared serene and somewhat pleased. Felix just shook his head.

“When I get my practice up and running, I’ll give you a group discount,” he promised.

****

“All right. So someone is going to have to explain to me how the hell this thing between the three of you works.” My father spoke for the first time in an hour. Dinner had been served and my father had taken his place at the head of the table, but he hadn’t touched the excellent osso buco or said a single word since I made my announcement. “Do you have a schedule? Do you see Dev on certain days and Daniel on others? I’m just not sure how something like this functions.”

“Well, Harry, when two boys love one girl very much…” Dev began.

“Devinshea, you hush.” Ingrid sent him a quelling look. To her credit, he actually shut up. “Harry, it’s a common thing in the Fae world. It’s a committed relationship, much like a marriage. Zoey is at the center. She’s beloved by both of them, and they take care of her. Can’t you see how happy they seem? I’m thrilled for the three of them.”

“We don’t live in the Fae world, Ingrid. We live in this world where marriage means one man and one woman—at least in the state of Texas it does,” my father replied. “If Dev wanted a Fae marriage, he should be with a Fae girl.”

“Harry, give Dev a break.” Daniel sat back in his chair, the only one without a plate in front of him. “He’s not a bad guy. He’s trying to make Z happy.”

My father took Danny’s reasoning seriously. “What about you, Danny? Is this…relationship making you happy?”

“It’s working.” Daniel leaned forward and rested his hands on the table. “In a perfect world, I wouldn’t be a vampire and Z wouldn’t be a companion. We would have gotten married after college and started giving you a ton of grandkids. That ain’t happening. In this world, our current situation works. You have no idea how much trouble she can cause. It takes two of us just to keep her alive.”

“And satisfied,” Dev added needlessly with a salacious grin.

I let my head drop and just prayed the evening would be over soon. My father already knew too much about my sex life. If the night kept going like this, I should just send him a video.

“Dev and I can switch off duties,” Daniel explained, warming up to the subject. “I can handle all the dangerous stuff, and Dev can take her shopping. Don’t forget those pedicures he gets with her, either. Apparently it’s important his toes are pretty.”

“Laugh it up, Dan, with your hobbit feet. I have no idea why Zoey lets those hairy things anywhere near her,” Dev cracked. “And I enjoy shopping with Zoey. I especially enjoy all the time we spend in dressing rooms.”

Daniel sighed. “Man, I should have known there was a reason you did that. I’m going next time.”

“I’m sure Zack will be thrilled to get the day off. Zack is one of the bodyguards I provide for your daughter,” Dev explained my father’s way. “Daniel can’t protect her during the day. She’s precious to me, and I try to give her everything she needs.”

My father watched the byplay with a shocked look on his face. “The two of you get along?”

Daniel shrugged a little, relaxing again. “Once we stopped trying to kill each other, we realized we had a lot in common.”

“We both survive Zoey on a daily basis,” Dev agreed. “It builds camaraderie.”

“Well, I think it’s perverted.” Christine watched the scene with a judgmental look on her face. I thought it was nice that I got judged by a woman who practiced black magic and slept with a man more than twice her age.

“It often is perverted,” Dev said with a big smile. “As often as I can convince Zoey.”

“Zoey, it isn’t normal,” Christine continued, wagging her finger at me and pursing her lips. “You should pick one and be miserable with your choice just like the rest of us.”

“Christine, if you’ll get on board, I promise I’ll speak to your witch’s support group about the time I met Lucifer Morningstar.” I knew how to handle her. Even though I sometimes couldn’t stand her, it would help if she was on my side. It didn’t look like she was going anywhere soon.

Christine sat up straight and patted my father’s hand. She was interested in a little social climbing. Bringing in guests might get her on that committee she’d been angling for. “Honey, I think we should support your daughter’s lifestyle choices no matter how counterculture they are. She’s your daughter, and we can’t really ignore her because we don’t agree with her living arrangements. Maybe I could start a support group.”

“Does Heaven want to weigh in on this?” Dad looked to Felix for advice.

“They love each other, Harry. It might not be conventional, but it is love,” Felix stated sagely. “Now, the thievery on the other hand is something we should talk about.”

My father immediately disregarded Heaven’s opinion. “Are you happy, girl?”

I stared at him across the table. There was a tired cast to his eyes, the lines deeper than I remembered, and I realized how old my dad was getting. I nodded. “I am, Dad. I really hope you can accept it.”

My father nodded and picked up his fork.

Daniel leaned over and kissed my cheek. “See, I told you it wouldn’t be so bad.”

****

An hour later, I made my way up the stairs and out to the balcony. I closed the door quietly behind me and took a deep breath. The heat of the June night rushed over my skin, but it couldn’t possibly be more oppressive than where I’d just come from.

The night had settled into a sort of awkward therapy session. My dad asked an awful lot of questions and Daniel and Dev and Ingrid answered them. I’d been much discussed but my voice wasn’t needed. I had no doubt the people in that room loved me, but they didn’t seem to want my opinion.

It was a lot like the months since Dev and Daniel had made their agreement.

When I left, Daniel and Dev had been discussing my security situation with Dad. Suddenly my father had been interested in what the boys had to say. I’d neglected to mention to him that Lucas Halfer had pledged bloody revenge on me and he was taking it seriously. Dad wanted to know everything about both of my guards and the protocols Dev had put into place concerning my security.

I was breaking those sacred protocols by coming out to the balcony. I was supposed to be in the bathroom, but I just had to get away for a minute. It had been months since I’d been on my own even for a few moments. I wasn’t even alone in the condo. Daniel or Dev were always there, or Zack and Lee were on duty.

It was a hard place to be for a woman who was used to being on her own. I’d been alone for years after Daniel died. Even when he’d come back from his Council training, we lived apart.

The pool light was on, making a silvery glow against the dark of the night. I needed to work. That was the real problem. Daniel had a job. He spent his time training the vampires he found and turned. He educated them in what it meant to walk the night. He taught them how to hunt and how to remain undercover. It took up a lot of his time. He was providing for them out of his funds and the money we made from our last job. It was imperative that those vampires remained a secret to the Council. In addition to caring for his charges, Daniel had work to do as the Council’s go-to guy for executions and other horrible acts. It wasn’t easy being the vampires’ own bogeyman.

Dev ran five nightclubs and was always thinking about expanding. He was a shrewd businessman, and though he’d ceded much of the day-to-day operations to his second in command, Roman, he still kept up to date. He was much more involved in Daniel’s politics now. Dev had become convinced that Daniel should be on the throne and the Council should be disbanded.

Both of my men had valuable things to do with their time. I shopped. I made my bodyguards regret that they had ever been born. I had an awful lot of sex. It was everything I’d been afraid of when Daniel and Dev made their proposal. I was a plaything to them; precious and beloved, yes, but also marginalized in a way. They coddled me and spoiled me, but they rarely treated me like a partner anymore.

I was a pleasure to be had. I was a problem to be handled.

I leaned over the secure railing and the lights of the pool made the night seem serene. It was humid, but the quiet made up for the heat. In the distance, I heard a bird calling a playful little cry. “Tik-tik,” it sung, but it seemed to be moving away. That bird had the freedom to just fly away when it wanted. I didn’t want to fly away from Dev or Daniel. I loved them, but I needed some space.

I couldn’t really blame the guys. I’d allowed myself to get to this place. I knew how domineering each was, and I’d let them have their way the last six months. It had been far easier to give myself over to the pleasure they offered than to fight for the relationship I really wanted. It was simple to just lay back and let them handle everything, but my laziness was coming home to roost now.

I shook my head ruefully as the bird continued to “tik-tik.” When I was running a crew, I’d had to be a badass or no one took the little human seriously. I hadn’t picked up a freaking gun in months. What the hell was happening to me?

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught something moving in the trees. A large black bird sat on one of the lower limbs, its big body perched delicately. It opened its beak and the sound came out again. I leaned forward to try to get a better look at it because something was wrong with this picture. That sound was coming from far away, yet I knew it was the bird making it. It was almost as though the big black bird was throwing its voice.

I was concentrating so much on the freaky bird, I almost missed the woman who moved silently from the trees. She was small, her body slight. Her hair was pitch black, long and disheveled. Dressed in dark clothes, she blended in with the night. I almost called out, but my eyes caught on something that was deeply wrong. As she moved closer to the pool, I could tell that her feet were on backward. She wasn’t wearing shoes, so it was easy to see her toes moving across the deck. In the wrong direction.

That good old adrenaline started pumping through my body because whatever the crazy bitch with the dark hair was, she wasn’t human. I wished I hadn’t seen all those Japanese horror films. She could have starred in one. I kept my eyes on her, not willing to turn my back as I moved toward the door.

She changed so quickly it almost didn’t register. One moment she was a freaky-ass chick who had her feet on wrong, and the next there was a big black bat hovering in front of me. I couldn’t help but stare. Big mistake.

The wings moved slowly, hypnotically. I was caught for a moment, unable to do more than watch those wings and look into her eyes. Obsidian eyes peered at me, like giant holes I could easily fall into. This was not a living creature. This was a dead thing. It might move and change form, but there was no spark of true life in those eyes.

The black bird had joined the bat and I watched, horror coursing through me as they opened their mouths.

The bat’s tongue slithered out, far longer and stronger than I could imagine. It was like a thin arm, and it wrapped itself around my waist. I finally came out of my stupor, struggling as I was pulled toward the edge. It gripped me so tightly I could barely breathe. I shoved at the wet muscle hauling me toward the bat. It was slippery, and my hands just got coated in goo. I could see fangs now, and they were so much larger than Daniel’s. Daniel’s fangs were large but were meant to feed and leave the victim alive for another meal. These had no such function. These teeth were meant to tear and rip and get at soft, sweet insides.

The black bird’s tongue didn’t look at all like a tongue. It was more delicate and rounded. As it came closer to me, I could see it was actually a little mouth, a circular tube, and at the end were tiny, sharp teeth. The mouth knew exactly where it wanted to go.

As the bat hauled me into the air, I lost all footing and any way to fight. I was pulled from the safety of the balcony and hovered over the pool lights. My sense of balance shattered as I fought, trying to punch out as the bird’s mouth sought a place under my right breast, just below the rib cage. It struggled with the layers of fabric. I was lucky that wide belts were in this season.

The tongue tightened around my waist to the point of real pain. I pushed at it, but it just kept going. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t fight. My eyesight started to fade, my arms feeling like useless, flailing things.

Just when I was starting to lose consciousness, I heard a whooshing sound and the bat jerked. The large animal convulsed forward and the black bird retracted that mouth and squawked off. The bat’s tongue released its hold and for the barest minute, I was relieved.

Unfortunately, that freaking tongue was the only thing holding me up, and I found myself in midair without the ability to fly. I dropped, my head hitting the railing as I made my way to the pool. I didn’t even feel myself hit the water.