Steal the Night (48 page)

“I am so, so sorry to see you here, Zoey,” Rose said in her proper British accent, quietly putting both her hands on my shoulders. “Please tell me they haven’t killed your Daniel.”

Rose’s compassion cut through me like a knife, and I was completely caught off guard. Of all the things I expected to find in this place, kindness was the last. I looked at that little mouse whose place I would have to take and I burst into tears.

“Robert,” Rose said quietly, “I think we could use a drink.”

I managed to talk Rose down to a nice cup of tea. Robert seemed more kindly toward me as he poured the Earl Grey and offered me sugar, milk, and a box of tissues. I found myself telling the two of them everything that had happened with Marini. I left out anything personal about Daniel. I still had a part to play. I spoke of Lee and Neil, and Rose listened while Robert fussed over her.

“Then Daniel managed to get away,” she said with what seemed like a relieved sigh.

I nodded, not wanting to give too much away. “I think so.”

“But the prince is with you,” Rose commented.

“Yes, he’s with Marini right now.” I took a small sip of tea and noted that it was getting very late. It was almost four. Even with my nocturnal lifestyle, I yawned. “I believe they’re discussing how my life is going to work now. It would have been nice to sit in on that conversation.”

Rose’s eyes went wide. “No, Zoey, that isn’t the way things work here. I’m afraid the vampires here are all very old.”

“They’re old fashioned,” Robert added. “They don’t think anything odd of a group of men planning a woman’s life. You should be prepared because tomorrow the master will tell you how your life will be. You must nod and do as he says.”

Rose agreed. “You should listen to Robert. He’s been in Louis’s service for many years. He knows how to survive. He has helped me all these years.”

“How long have you been here, Rose?”

She had to think about it for a moment. “I was fourteen when they took me. I was walking to the store for my mum. I believe I am now twenty years old.”

I was outraged for the young girl she had been. “He raped you when you were fourteen?”

Robert patted his charge’s back. “No, she was lucky in that regard. The master’s companion was getting older, but he was comfortable with her. He purchased Rose and she was allowed to be alone to mature until the previous companion died. Rose was seventeen when he married her.”

“That’s still horrible,” I muttered.

“Well, we don’t all get a vampire like Daniel,” Rose said softly.

I wanted to talk about him. I wanted to tell her how lucky I was and how special Danny really was, but somewhere Dev was alone in a room full of old vampires, playing the part we had agreed upon. He was alone and vulnerable and I couldn’t let him down because I was emotional.

“Daniel was like all the rest,” I forced myself to say because while Robert and Rose seemed very supportive, I couldn’t trust anyone down here except my husband.

Rose’s brows rose. “I can hardly think that. I knew him. He was already here when I was brought over from England. The rest treated me like I wasn’t even there but Daniel was kind. He gave me books to read. I always liked him very much.”

“You weren’t his companion,” was all I could say.

“But he seemed to care so very much for you.”

Robert’s old eyes were wise as he stopped his charge. “Rose, dear, it occurs to me that if Mrs. Donovan is to survive this, it’s probably best she plays to the master’s desires. I’m certain the master doesn’t want to hear of her great love for another vampire.”

Rose laughed, a sweet youthful sound. “Of course. That’s very silly of me. I don’t suppose Louis would take very well to Zoey crying over Daniel. It makes me wonder why he allowed the Prince to come along.”

She looked up to Robert for guidance, and I realized the older man acted much like a father to Rose.

“Vampires feed off sexual energy. I have told you this, little one,” Robert explained academically. He turned to me. “Your prince is also a priest, correct?”

“Yes, he’s a High Priest,” I replied.

Robert nodded as though I had confirmed something he had suspected for a very long time. “The rumors are that the sexual energy given off by a faery priest is amazing. It could feed a hundred vampires, make them stronger and capable of doing things they could not when they haven’t fed from the energy. I believe the master wishes to experiment. He believes the
Nex Apparatus
became stronger once he took the faery prince to his bed.”

I sipped my tea and didn’t comment on that. My mind was going in new and disturbing places. Daniel didn’t begin to daywalk until the day after he, Dev, and I came together. The effect had been quick. The next day Daniel saw the sun for the first time in years. Dev’s power had gotten supercharged since then. With Daniel feeding from Bris’s energy, he no longer needed a daily dose. He walked during the day, free from the restrictions of a normal vampire. He still wasn’t as comfortable as a natural daywalker like Marcus, but he would get there. Would a fertility ritual have the same effect on Louis Marini?

“Mrs. Donovan?” Robert asked and I had the feeling he had been attempting to get my attention for a bit.

“Yes,” I said, pulled from my thoughts.

“It’s late.” Robert stood and lent me his hand to help me up from my chair. “I apologize for my earlier rudeness. My only excuse is my affection for Rose. I’ve been her servant since the day she walked into the catacombs. She’s very dear to me as I have watched her grow. The knowledge that she will be someone else’s responsibility soon was discomforting. I’ll attempt to make your stay here comfortable, but I must go and find other rooms for Rose. It will be dawn soon and we must all be in our beds.”

“Will Louis check?” I asked, suddenly not wanting to be alone in this strange place.

“No, probably not,” the servant admitted.

“Then, please, stay,” I asked. “I would rather not be alone.”

Rose reached over and took my hand. “I’ll stay with you. Come along and I’ll show you our bedroom. Perhaps Louis will allow me to stay until he figures out what to do with me. I can show you things. I can help you. No one ever notices me so they don’t bother to hide things from me. You’ll be surprised at what I know.”

“Do you know about the Blood Stone?”

Robert’s wise eyes narrowed. “Yes, madam. We know of the stone. The vampires were very excited when it was recovered. It was when the master called to say he had the stone that they began to seriously talk about a war against the
Nex Apparatus
. They say it makes Marini a king.”

“Temporarily.” I looked down so they didn’t see just how interested I was. “I’m merely curious.”

“It’s important to him,” Robert said seriously. His mind seemed to be working overtime. “He would keep it close to him during the night.”

Rose smiled, the act lighting up her face. “But not during the day. He would put it in the safe.”

My eyes filled with tears because twenty-eight years of my life came into focus with one simple phrase. Everything I had suffered through had brought me to this place. The universe, god, fate, whatever you wanted to call it, had carefully moved me into this position and I knew what I had been born to do. I was a thief. I had sat at my father’s knee and learned how to do one thing.

It wouldn’t be strength or superpowers that won this war. It would be me and the sweet science my father had taught me.

“Rose, I’m going to need to know where that safe is.”

Chapter Thirty

“He put you in a jail cell?” I asked, shocked at the sight of Dev behind bars. I’d spent the day sleeping in a comfortable bed, but Dev had been tossed into a cell.

Dev shrugged and sat up, his eyes eating up the sight of me. “I’ve been in worse jails, lover. In my rankings of incarceration holding cells, this is really just below that little town in Montana I got arrested in. They served pie. It was damn fine pie.”

I walked up to the cell and put my hands around the cold bars. “I don’t want to know how many times you’ve been arrested, baby. It would shock me. It makes me think Neil is right about…”

I almost said our babies’ bail fund but I caught myself. I couldn’t say anything else because of the hulking werewolf who stood in the background. He was enormous, taller than Dev, and was at least two fifty, all of it pure muscle. He’d come to escort me down for my thirty minutes with my husband. He’d introduced himself as Trent, but I kind of thought of him as traitor. I wondered how a werewolf could work for a man like Marini, who was trying to subjugate his entire race. As I’d walked around the Council stronghold this afternoon, I’d seen that there were a lot of wolves and shifters who’d been lured with money to betray their brethren.

Dev had changed clothes and appeared oddly casual in sweats and a T-shirt that didn’t quite fit. He’d managed to slick back his hair and even in a jail cell, found a way to make my heart race. The only problem was the look in his eyes.

“Are you all right?” I wondered how horrible his night had been.

Dev got up and walked to the bars of the cell. He put his hands over mine. “I’m fine. I survived the night, as did you, and that’s all we can hope for. Now Trent, can you open this cell and allow me to hold my wife?”

“Damn it, Quinn, is this necessary?” The wolf growled back. “McKenzie will have my hide if I get caught. I’ve been undercover for six years. I’m not getting caught because you’re horny.” Trent’s accent made me think he was probably a Red Sox fan.

Dev’s eyes narrowed at the wolf and his mouth turned down. He was well and truly pissed off. He looked like he was about to start in on the much bigger guard when an idea struck him. “Sweetheart, why don’t you tell Trent there to open this fucking cage of mine?”

I was beyond thrilled to discover he actually worked for John McKenzie, the alpha of the American wolf packs, but he still looked really mean. “I don’t think he’ll listen to me.”

Dev’s smile was arrogant, and I wondered what the hell had happened last night to put him in this mood. He was in full-on, fuck-with-authority mode. He was spoiling for a fight or something else. He needed to be in control and he could do it one of two ways. He could tempt the big were in to a fight or he could dominate me for a little while. I knew which way I would go.

“What are your orders, Trent?” Dev asked.

Trent’s big, bulky shoulders slumped slightly. “You know what my orders are. I’m supposed to keep an eye out here. I report back to the Lieutenant and let him know what’s going on. I’ve been working my way up for years, and I’m finally getting close to the Council members. When and if the time is right, I’ll assassinate whoever I need to.”

“Lieutenant?” I asked. “Is the army involved?”

Trent shot me a rueful grin. “Sorry, ma’am. I’m afraid once a Ranger always a Ranger. John McKenzie was my team leader when we were in the Army.” His eyes softened. “I also knew your guard. Owens was a good man. I was very, very sorry to hear about his death. Please know we’ll avenge him when the time is right.”

I nodded and Dev squeezed my hand. He stared at the ex-Ranger and got back to his point. We had very little time. “Now, tell me what your orders have been since last summer.”

Last summer, we performed our ritual for the wolves. The babies had been born this spring. It was when Daniel had forged his alliance with the wolves.

Trent’s jaw firmed to a stubborn line, but he answered. “I’m to aid the King of all Vampire in anything he might need.”

“And?”

Trent growled a little. “And his queen.”

I smiled but tried to keep it sweet. “I’m sorry, Trent. I’m going to need this door open.”

And, because a good wolf always follows orders, Trent pulled out the key and opened the door. “Her Highness will have to shower and change clothes. Marini’s senses might not be as good as a wolf, but they’re damn fine. If he smells the Prince on you he’ll kill me.”

“I’ll be careful,” I promised, my hands itching to touch Dev’s skin and remind myself that he was here and alive and with me.

Dev’s mouth was on mine before Trent could quite get out of the way.

I heard his sigh even as Dev pulled me against his body. “You have exactly twenty minutes. I’ll be right outside. If I knock, you two better separate.”

I heard the door close and knew the wolf would stand right outside. He would hear everything and Dev wouldn’t give a shit.

“Take off your clothes,” Dev ordered, stepping back. His hands were shaking and his eyes haunted.

“What did he do to you, baby?” My stomach churned at the thought of what my green-eyed boy might have done to protect me. I’d been unwilling to give Marini what he wanted last night. Had he taken it out on Dev?

His smile was reckless and hid not a bit of his pain to me. “Nothing I can’t handle, lover. Now take your clothes off. Do I have to ask you again?”

I didn’t point out that he hadn’t asked me at all. I pulled my clothes off because whatever had happened to put that look in his eyes had been bad, and this was the only way he knew to handle it. He’d been powerless last night, submissive to someone else’s whims, and now he needed to get his control back. I was willing because he needed it and he would never, never hurt me.