Steal the Night (Thieves)

by Lexi Blake

  Knowing Dev, that meant he would probably buy us an island. It would be worth it to just lie around in a bikini and drink fruity drinks and not worry about who was going to try to kill us next.

  Dev helped me up as the door to the plane was being opened. We would depart right on the tarmac, and I could see the limo Dev had ordered already pulling up. I saw the driver from the window. He was a tall, strong-looking man who might be able to double as muscle. He stood beside the limo that waited to take us into the city.

  Lee stretched as he woke up. He took a deep breath and then he was on his feet, his eyes wide and his hand going for his gun.

  “Close that door!” he yelled at Zack, who was just starting to head out.

  “What?” I asked as Dev started to push me down. He wanted me on my knees, safely out of the range of the windows and whatever bullets might pass through them.

  “We’re surrounded,” Lee said.

  Dev looked out the window, shaking his head. “I only see the driver.”

  “There’s at least ten of them,” Lee said as Zack pulled the door closed.

  “Shit,” Dev cursed.

  I peered over a chair out the window. Sure enough, Lee was right. Two men carrying rifles came out of the limo. Two more flanked the plane, and I watched as three came up from hiding spots in the long grass by the airfield.

  “Who the hell sent them?” Neil asked, crouching down beside me.

  “Louis.” Tears filled my eyes because I was about to be taken in. How would I keep Marini from killing my wolves? My heart thundered in my chest. He would keep Dev alive, but he would try to kill my wolves. I couldn’t take that. I couldn’t imagine a world without Neil and Lee and Zack. They were my family.

  “If you’re referring to the head of the Vampire Council, I assure you he has nothing to do with my Order,” the pilot said, opening the cockpit door. He stood there with a Glock in his hand. “Get that door open,” he ordered Zack. “These bullets are silver. I’m not sure just how many of you they will work on, but I know if you take me out, the others will simply blow up the plane and that should work.”

  “What do you want?” Dev asked tightly.

  “For starters, we want your kind to stop attempting to bring about the apocalypse,” the pilot said in a crisp British accent he hadn’t had before. “You will not be allowed to wake the wizard.”

  “So much for keeping things quiet,” Lee said, crossing his arms defensively.

  I heard three thuds against the side of the plane as soldiers slapped C-4 against the side. Guess they were serious about blowing us up.

  “I’m going to kill Stewart if I see him again,” Dev promised.

  “I’ll help you,” I offered as Dev helped me up.

  “My wife is human and has nothing whatsoever to do with this little plot of mine,” Dev lied. “If you would allow her to go, I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have. We’re seeking out Merlin for peaceful reasons, I assure you. We can explain everything.”

  “I doubt she’s innocent, Mr. Quinn,” the pilot said. “And if you want to live, your explanations had better be excellent. Now get that door open or I’ll give them the signal to blow the plane sky high. Do not doubt my resolve. I joined the Order at sixteen and have devoted my life to our cause. A death in the line of duty is one of my greatest ambitions.”

  Dev nodded, and Zack pushed the door open again.

  Lee glared at the pilot. “If we’re going to die, I would rather take you with me.”

  “I have no intention of killing anyone if you follow orders,” the pilot explained. “We have questions we want answered. We would prefer to talk to you first. We’re not animals. Now move if you want to keep your heads on your bodies.”

  Dev squeezed my hand as we passed the pilot. I studied our welcome party. There were ten of them, each with a high-powered rifle in his hands.

  Looked like gunplay was definitely on the itinerary for this vacation.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Hands up, all of you!” a masculine voice shouted as every soldier-of-fortune-looking guy kept us in their sights. Zack went down first.

  “Zachary, obey them,” Dev ordered. “Do you understand?”

  Zack nodded his old-man head as he walked down the steps to the tarmac with more bounce to his step than a man his “age” should. Neil went next, obediently holding his hands over his head.

  “Lee, stay calm,” I ordered my personal guard. He wasn’t known for dealing well with authority.

  “I’ll try.” It was so weird to hear Lee’s growl coming out of a lanky teenaged boy.

  “Stay close to me,” Dev said, worry in his eyes. I knew what he was thinking. We had hours until Daniel would make it here. He had to wait until dark, when his powers were at their peak, before he would even start the flight. We had to stay alive until Daniel could come for us.

  I followed Lee down the steps, wishing I could hold onto the handrail. It was fine for the boys because they were all in comfy sneakers or loafers, but I was in four-inch Ferragamos. Dev followed after me with the pilot and his gun close behind. I looked out over the private airfield. It was completely deserted except for our small party and the group taking us hostage. It could only mean one thing. This group had power and a plan. They had completely isolated us in a place where that would be hard to do.

  They had us line up and lock our hands behind our heads. Then, one by one, they had us toss our guns their way.

  “I don’t have one.” Neil never carried. In the entire time I’ve known him, I’ve only seen him with a gun once. “Search me if you like.”

  “Don’t touch him,” the pilot ordered. “We have no idea what these beings are yet. Follow standard protocols until we have confirmation of their species.”

  The rest of us gave up our guns. Well, we all gave up one. If they were afraid to touch us, then we could use that to our advantage. They didn’t know how many we were wearing. I knew Dev was practically an armory on his own. They would have to get him naked to find everything he had on him. When they had the guns, the pilot nodded to the limo driver, who opened the car door.

  Two men stepped out. One was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. I would have guessed he was nineteen or twenty. His face had the softness of youth that hadn’t reached its masculine potential yet. The other man was older and dressed in an immaculate suit and tie. His hair was dark, matched by his dark goatee. He was obviously the big guy. Everyone treated him with the utmost respect.

  “Who do we have here?” the older man asked. His voice was strong and sure and his dark hair was just beginning to show lines of silver. He asked the question as though we’d been invited to tea and simply hadn’t been properly introduced yet. He focused on the younger man, who was a good half a foot shorter. “Jacob?”

  The young man named Jacob walked up and down the line, staring at each of us in turn. He stopped and studied me, his youthful face lighting up a little bit. “Who did your glamour?”

  I wasn’t sure how he knew I had a glamour, but there was no point arguing with him. His voice was soft and curious, with a very cultured British accent. I answered him quietly. “A friend.”

  He watched me for a moment. “You’re so much prettier in your natural form. Your hair is truly beautiful. Like the finest mahogany.”

  So he wasn’t human if he could see through Ingrid’s magic.

  “Are you going to hit on my wife all afternoon?” Dev asked, annoyed with the kid. “I thought we had an interrogation to get to.”

  The boy blushed and stared at his shoes for a moment. “Sorry. She’s just very pretty on the inside as well as her outside. She’s tough and practical, but she’s also quite loving.” He turned to Dev. “It’s obvious you love her very much.”

  Dev had that look on his face he got when he was playing poker and trying to get an opponent to muck the best hand. He kept his voice solid, but I knew he was appealing to the boy’s better nature. “I do. I would do just about anything so these m
en don’t shoot her. She isn’t a threat. Please let her go.”

  “I am sorry, Mr. Quinn. I cannot authorize that. We have questions that must be answered,” Jacob said sadly. His face changed and became very professional. His hand encompassed our guards. “Those three are werewolves.”

  The man in the suit nodded and just like that Neil, Lee, and Zack were hit with gunfire. I screamed and tried to get to them but Dev held me back. I could feel his hands shake with anger and fear, but he knew there wasn’t a lot we could do about it. Zack and Neil fell almost immediately. Lee went to his knees, and his eyes watched me bitterly as he finally fell forward.

  “They didn’t do anything to you,” I yelled at the asshole in the suit. “They were doing what you asked.”

  The suit waved off my anger. “They’re wolves. They will inevitably attempt to protect their masters. Calm yourself, woman. I only knocked them out. They were tranquilizer darts. Please, see for yourself.”

  I looked down at Neil and sure enough, there was a dart sticking out of his thigh. I just had to hope it wasn’t too much.

  “Mr. Quinn, please don’t,” Jacob said softly. His look was sympathetic but firm. “It won’t work. They’ll just shoot you and then your wife will be left alone to answer their questions.”

  Shiny green vines crept across the asphalt, working their way toward us. Now all those guns pointed straight at my faery prince’s head. His hands relaxed and the vines curled back up, finding the field once more.

  “Well, I don’t need Jacob to tell me what you are,” Pin Stripe Suit said. “You don’t look like Devinshea Quinn. Is he wearing a glamour? He doesn’t look like the photos we have of him.”

  Jacob walked up to Dev and shrugged apologetically before pulling the amulet he was wearing off his neck. Dev was immediately Dev again, his natural glory back in full measure.

  “Yes, that’s him.” The suit nodded, satisfied. His voice took on an academic nature, like he was lecturing. “Gentlemen, this is Devinshea Quinn. I hope you’ve all read the file on him. Be careful around him. He looks like an idiot male model but, by all reports, he’s quite dangerous. He’s considered a fertility god by the Fae. You’re in the presence of actual royalty. Mr. Quinn is what we call a sidhe. His mother is the Queen of the Seelie. He’s chosen to come to our plane and become a notorious gangster.”

  Dev laughed at the thought. “I’m hardly a gangster. I’m a legitimate business owner.”

  The suit shook his head, not buying Dev’s claim. “We’ve tracked several arms shipments that went directly to those clubs of yours. You buy weapons, explosives. You deal with smugglers. If someone wants something illegal in the supernatural world, they go to your clubs to obtain it. Two of your clubs are strip clubs catering to some of the more predatory creatures on this plane. There are rumors you run illegal gambling rings.”

  “I don’t consider them illegal,” Dev said with a jaunty smile.

  “And the kickbacks you give to certain members of the mafia?”

  Dev sighed as though the man was very naïve. “Are merely one of the costs of doing business.”

  “Who’s the girl? Is she one of his strippers?” the man asked Jacob.

  I reached up, sparing Jacob the trouble of ripping my necklace off. I pulled the amulet off myself and was shocked when everyone took a step back. All those men with the guns seemed terrified of me. “Do I really look that bad, baby?”

  “Find the vampire!” the suit yelled and half the troops ran back toward the plane, looking for evidence of Daniel’s presence. Whoever this Order was, it was obvious they had a file on me.

  “He isn’t in there,” I said.

  The leader looked down on me, his displeasure obvious. “You expect me to believe a vampire allows his companion to fly halfway around the world on her own? I think I know a thing or two about vampires, Mrs. Donovan. Let me ask you something. Are the rumors about your master true? Is he really a Nex Apparatus?”

  “He isn’t my master.” I didn’t like the term. “He’s my husband, well, one of them, and I’m not answering any of your questions until you tell me who the hell you are.”

  The men were coming back now.

  “Donovan isn’t on the plane,” one of the men said. “We didn’t find anything that even vaguely resembled a coffin, though there were a lot of weapons. He’s got some wild shit in there. I don’t recognize some of that stuff.”

  “I’m wondering if Mr. Quinn isn’t an arms dealer himself,” the suit said, shaking his head. “Let’s move this back to base. If the vampire is somewhere close, he won’t come after us until dark. We can get ready for him by then.” He gave a wave of his hand and everyone was suddenly in motion.

  A Jeep pulled up and more men got out and began loading the wolves into the back.

  “Where are you taking them?” I watched as they hauled my bodyguards away. Would I see them again? I couldn’t help the little sob that came out of my mouth.

  Jacob put a warm hand on my shoulder. “They won’t harm the wolves. They’ll be placed in a holding pen while we question you. I promise no one is going to hurt you.”

  The man in the suit seemed deeply disturbed by Jacob’s promise. “Are you serious, Jacob? She’s a companion. Do you understand what that means?”

  Jacob stared at the other man. “I understand it more than you can. I like her. We shouldn’t hurt her. She is to be treated with respect. Trust me, Ronald. Have I steered you wrong in the past?”

  “No, Oracle, you have not,” the man named Ronald answered with a deferential bow of his head. “I apologize for questioning you.”

  Maybe I would have to rethink who was the boss around here.

  “And perhaps we should talk to Mr. Donovan before we attempt to kill him,” Jacob offered. “I’m beginning to see an interesting pattern emerging. I must think on it for a while. I’ll meet you back at the base. I like this field. It’s peaceful.”

  As he started to move off toward the field, I saw his eyes roll back and they were replaced with a glassy white I found somewhat disturbing.

  “Of course,” Ronald said. He gestured to the others. “Let’s move, lads. Take the wolves to the holding pens. I’ll ride with our guests.”

  “Come along, darling.” Dev put his hand in mine and led me to the limo. His head was high, as though the limo really was there to pick us up. He nodded to the driver as he held the door open.

  Ronald sat across from us and we were flanked by two gun-toting guards. Dev sat back, crossing one leg over his knee and inhabiting the seat as though he owned it. I wasn’t feeling a tenth of his confidence. I wished the kid in the jeans was with us.

  “Hey,” Dev said, catching my attention as the limo began moving. I was trying to watch to see where that Jeep was going. He ran a hand gently across my cheek. “It’s going to be fine, Zoey.”

  “Are you on the run from the vampire?” Ronald watched our intimacy intently.

  “I thought the vampire was Quinn’s partner,” the blond man with an enormous scar on his face said. He sat next to Dev and watched us like we were a particularly good TV show and he wanted to know what happened next. There was no mistaking that accent. Pure Sydney. I half expected him to say crikey at any moment. But that might just prove I haven’t traveled much.

  The soldier on my side was even scarier looking, but he remained silent. He was dark to the Aussie’s light.

  Ronald sat back, looking at us in a new light. “It wouldn’t be the first time a woman screwed up a profitable partnership. Terry, you’ve read the file on Quinn, right?”

  “Many times, boss,” the Aussie replied. “He’s a favorite of mine.”

  “And what did it tell you?”

  “That he’s a moneymaking bastard who’ll fuck anything that moves,” Terry said with a laugh. He regarded Devinshea with an amused sort of fascination. “The bloke likes guns and women and booze. And there’s hell to pay if you think about crossing him. I know he took out an entire band of Nagas who tried to steal
from him. They said there wasn’t much left of those snakes when he was done with them.”

  I remembered the incident well. I’d been the one to catch the scam on the very night Dev and I met. I didn’t know anything about him seeking revenge. “Are they serious, Devinshea?”

  Dev’s smile was predatory. “They can’t prove anything, my lover. They’re fishing. Why don’t you cut to the chase? What exactly do you want from me? What is this secret Order of yours?”

  “My name is Ronald James. I represent the Order of Galahad,” Ronald explained. I could see from the light in his eyes that he was a true believer. “We’re a force of knights set up more than a thousand years ago to ensure that Merlin stays put. He was a demon who influenced our kings.”

  “Obviously that isn’t your only job.” I settled in close to my husband and I could feel the SIG Sauer in his arm holster. He’d given up the handgun in his pocket. I leaned in such a way as to obscure the outline of the gun. “Otherwise why would you have files on us? Unless you’re some sort of supernatural vice squad, I can’t see why you care what we do.”

  “Zoey Wharton Donovan,” Ronald said, proving my point. “Daughter of the infamous thief Harry Wharton. He did a few jobs for us over the years. Of course, he had no idea who we were, but we found him helpful in obtaining dangerous antiquities and getting them away from those who might misuse them. We actually thought about approaching you for membership at one time. We’re sadly lacking in female agents and you fit the profile. But then you became Daniel Donovan’s companion after his turn, though by all accounts you lived apart for many years. The Order doesn’t police the supernatural world, though we intervene from time to time when human lives are at stake. We keep a close watch on your world. You have a curious relationship with the rumored assassin. Did you finally give in only to find how cruel a vampire master can be?”

  “I love my husband,” I said even as Dev’s hand went possessively to my knee. I smiled because it was the only indication I had that any of this was bothering him. I didn’t want this man thinking he might do Daniel a favor by killing his rival. “I love both of my husbands. Your file is sadly lacking. I married Devinshea last year with full Seelie rites. The queen sent witnesses and Daniel was there. We’re not on the run from Daniel. He merely prefers another mode of travel. We’re meeting Daniel here and we won’t have separate quarters, if you get my meaning.” They should know right off the bat that they couldn’t get us to turn on one another.