Thieves: Steal The Day Part 11

I parked the car near the larger of the mausoleums, and Dev and Neil immediately got out to stretch. There was a second car parked behind the smaller building, and I silently thanked Daniel's friend Nathan, who had driven the car up here two days earlier. Newlyweds seldom drove minivans. The sedan was just another layer of cover. Dev and I still had to drive a couple of miles north to make it to the B&B, but I wanted to make sure the boys were settled in before we left. We didn't have long to wait as the sun was going down even as I parked the car.

"Zoey!"

I got out of the car and slid the side door open. Daniel was awake, and he really wanted out of that d.a.m.n bag. Neil saw me and went to the other side of the van to wake Chad.

"I'm flying next time." Daniel growled as he shoved the luggage off his legs and scrambled out of the car. When Danny mentioned flying, he wasn't talking about the type of flight that involved deciding between coach and first cla.s.s. He could fly all on his own. "Where's your boyfriend?" He snarled the question.

It was right then that I remembered Daniel could listen in on daytime conversations when he wanted to. It was an easy thing to forget because he looked really, really dead during the day. He'd only mentioned it once, and that was a long time ago. My earlier conversation with Dev came back to haunt me.

"We need to get out of here, Danny." I tried to reason with the jealous, p.i.s.sed-off vampire. "We need to check in and get settled so we can look for the package tomorrow." I mentioned business in the hopes that Daniel's professional side might come out.

"Quinn!" Daniel yelled as he planted his feet solidly on the cemetery ground.

There wasn't even a small part of me that thought Dev would take that as a smart-man's cue to run. He wasn't that guy. He was the guy who walked straight up to the angry vampire and smiled. "Hey, Dan, nice ride?"

"You motherf.u.c.ker," Daniel spat, invading as much of Dev's s.p.a.ce as he possibly could. "I swear to G.o.d, if she gets sick I'll kill you."

Dev dropped the arrogance, his brows coming up in a look of complete confusion. "What the h.e.l.l are you talking about, Donovan?"

"I'm talking about you being a walking, talking venereal disease," Daniel snapped. "I'm talking about you sticking your d.i.c.k into anything that moves."

"Whoa, slow down there." Dev always gave as good as he got. His face flushed with anger. "I'm a f.u.c.king faery. I might not be full blooded, but I've never so much as had a cold, you idiot."

"I don't like my wife being one of hundreds." Daniel continued to try to back Dev into a corner, which in the cemetery consisted of the mausoleum.

"I don't like my girlfriend needing a f.u.c.king blood transfusion every time she has to be in the same room as her vampire husband. Do you like draining her, Daniel? 'Cause you seem to do it on a semi-regular basis."

"Hey!" I yelled, trying to bring some reason to the situation, but Dev was plowing through, apparently thrilled at the chance to get some stuff off his chest.

"While we're talking about it," Dev said with an arrogant smile on his face, "I'll put your mind at ease. I wear a condom when I screw your wife. Not because I'm worried about contracting anything. I know how sweet Zoey is. I would never hurt her, so until we decide to make a baby, I'll wear a condom. You might be shooting blanks, man, but I a.s.sure you I am not. When she's ready to get pregnant, I'll fill her right up."

I groaned because Dev really had Danny's number. There wasn't a single more hurtful thing he could have said. It wasn't surprising when Daniel roared, picked up Dev by his shirt, and tossed him across the cemetery. My green-eyed boy flew about a hundred feet before a tree stopped his progress. He landed with a thud but, dips.h.i.t that he was, he got right back up, shaking off bits of bark.

"That the worst a vampire king can do?" Dev sneered. "I've been in better bar fights."

Chad moved toward Daniel. I prayed he wasn't going to protect his master by taking out Dev.

Neil stopped him as quickly as he could. "What are you doing?"

"Stopping the fight," Chad replied as though it were a foregone conclusion.

Neil shook his head as though Chad really was nave. "You want to stop two really hot guys from putting their hands all over each other and maybe getting a little b.l.o.o.d.y and ripping some clothes off in the confusion?"

Chad stopped and smiled devilishly, proving that even blood-oathed vampires had priorities. "Put like that it seems like a stupid thing to do."

I wasn't getting any help from the gay guy contingent.

Daniel stalked his prey, fangs gleaming in the evening gloom. This had to stop. Danny could kill Dev without even thinking about it. I started to run up behind him, fully ready to plead for my dumba.s.s boyfriend's life, when I was knocked to the ground, my hands grabbing at dirt. I rolled out of the way, instinct taking over. I was surprised to see I'd tripped over some really thick vines that seemed to have a life of their own. The vines moved like snakes, winding this way and that. When I looked up, Dev was on his feet, his hands to the side, fingers spread wide. The thick vines were stalking their prey even as Daniel made his way to Dev. The vines were shiny and green, like new spring plants, but it was almost winter.

"I will kill you if you knock her up," Daniel said. "f.u.c.k any deal we had, Dev. She's not one of your baby mamas, and I'm sure with the life you've led, you have plenty."

"I don't have any children in this world. Like I said, I take care of my lover." Dev was letting Daniel get really close. "I don't put her in the hospital."

Daniel stopped. "This world? How many kids did you leave behind in Faery when you decided to f.u.c.k half the Western world?"

I got to my feet because I was interested in that discussion. It was, however, a conversation that should be happening between me and Dev, not aired for all our crew to enjoy. "The two of you need to stop it."

Then Daniel was the one on the ground, his powerful legs tangled in a flurry of vines and shiny weeds. They wound themselves around his body, starting at his legs but were more than happy to envelope every inch of him. They came from everywhere, springing from the dead ground to hold their master's prey tightly to the dirt.

Daniel struggled against the tide, but there were too many of them. This was often the way Dev's magic went, utterly wild. Daniel couldn't have picked a worse place to have it out with his rival. The woods around the cemetery were thick with plants waiting for a part fertility G.o.d to bring to life and command.

That burst of spring in the winter started to pull Daniel underground. He punched through the vines but more came to pull him back in. I saw a clawed hand attempt to rip through his bindings, trying to clutch the ground as he began to go under. It was like the earth was dragging him down, and I'd had enough.

"Stop it, Dev. You've made your point." My hands shook. The last thing I needed was a p.i.s.sing contest.

Dev's hair was wild, and that perfect male-model image he went for had been ruined to the point that he looked brutal. I'd seen Dev fight before and knew he was more than competent, but now I realized he was just as capable as Daniel of loving the kill. Dev just hid it better.

"I'm serious, Dev," I shouted.

Daniel was completely underground, every trace of him erased by creeping vines. It was too much like a grave, and the thought of Daniel in it gave me the chills. Dev finally dropped his hands and walked to me. There was no tenderness in his eyes as he took my hand and started to pull me away.

"Let's go," he growled. "Wouldn't want to miss c.o.c.ktail hour."

"Daniel." I turned back to where I had seen him last.

"He's a big boy. He'll manage."

The ground quaked as Daniel "managed." He burst from the earth sending dirt and plants flying in all directions. Dev instinctively pulled me close and covered my head with his arms. Daniel flew up and was back on his feet, not caring to brush the dirt from him before he was coming for Dev again.

"You, get in the car," I ordered Dev.

"Sure thing, boss," he replied, sarcasm dripping.

Daniel pointed our way. "Not on your life, Quinn. We finish this."

"Can't," Dev said in a calm tone that would drive Daniel crazy because he wanted a fight. "My girlfriend says I'm not allowed to fight."

"You're gonna listen to her?" Daniel taunted. "You're pathetic."

Dev shrugged as he backed up. "Hey, I might be p.u.s.s.y whipped, but at least I got some p.u.s.s.y. Come to think of it, I got your p.u.s.s.y, buddy."

Dev had the good sense to duck as the several hundred pounds of marble headstone flew at his head. He flipped Daniel the bird as he got into the sedan and started it up.

"Nice, Danny." What a way to start a job. "I swear if the two of you f.u.c.k up this job, I'll leave you both. I'll move to a new city, and I'll find a new crew."

"I'm trying to protect you," Daniel argued.

I shook my head, not willing to go into it with him. Protecting me was Daniel's excuse for everything. He stayed away to protect me. He left me behind to protect me. He lied to me to protect me. Now he tried to start World War III with Dev because it would protect me. I didn't want to hear it.

And, to top it all off, Dev hadn't bothered with the luggage. He was far too busy revving the engine to help me out. Chad came over and was kind enough to lift the two suitcases Dev and I had brought. He carried them to the car and tapped the back. Dev was gracious enough to hit the b.u.t.ton that released the trunk, and Chad slid the luggage in.

"Don't be too hard on him," Chad said quietly.

"Which one?" I had to ask because I was thinking about throttling them both.

"Daniel," Chad clarified. "I was listening in, too. I think Daniel is figuring out what the rest of us already knew."

"And what's that?"

"Dev isn't some fling. It might have started out that way, but you're not the kind of girl who can be that intimate with a man and not have her heart get involved. Daniel is waiting for you to get Dev out of your system and come back to him. He's starting to realize he could lose you. I don't think he's going to handle that well."

I shook my head. Chad had seen an awful lot in a single week. "I can't deal with that right now. I have to go. We're on a deadline. We have to be in Vegas next week, and if I don't have the Revelation, I can't even try to rescue Sarah. We're never going to get a better shot at this."

"He'll be fine." Chad was along on this endeavor because Daniel wouldn't leave the fledgling alone. He was too young to be trusted, but Chad was proving to be stronger than all expectations. "Just keep him and Dev apart, and we'll get through it. I've been told I get to hunt in something called 'the old ways' tonight. I think that involves some form of cattle. Why I have to drain some poor unsuspecting cow when my little piece of hotness over there tastes so good, I have no idea."

"Zoey, let's go!" Dev yelled out the window.

I rolled my eyes. Chad smiled sympathetically. "You know, I used to envy you with your two superhot guys."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be."

Chapter Twelve.

"Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley," Mary Jo Renfro greeted as Dev and I entered some form of pastel h.e.l.l.

The Hideawhile Bideawhile Bed and Breakfast was a rambling Victorian with a large porch and vaulted ceilings. It was also painted pink. The lawn was a meticulously groomed piece of green surrounded by the wild Ozarks. Unfortunately, the lovely lawn was covered in statuary one can only find at the finest of home improvement stores and probably a local Walmart. There were several Venuses, countless cherubs and angels, and I spotted a couple of well-placed garden gnomes. I'd hoped the inside would be better, but I was disappointed.

Our proprietor, and unknowing mark, was a small woman in a long khaki skirt and a fussy b.u.t.ton-down shirt. She wore comfortable shoes, and her non-descript brown hair was in a ponytail. I noticed her necklace, a silver angel. It was a theme of the B&B. Little angel statues littered every available s.p.a.ce. I especially liked the ones where a giant angel loomed lovingly over a small town. I'm sure the purpose was to show the angel protecting her charges, but I just wanted the angel to start stomping out the little town like a big old heavenly G.o.dzilla.

"We're so happy you made it," Mary Jo was saying. "We were getting a little worried about the two of you. We didn't want you to miss our little c.o.c.ktail hour."

Dev smiled, a smooth expression guaranteed to melt the heart of any female within a hundred yards of that high-wattage charm. "We're thrilled to be here, Mrs. Renfro."

Mrs. Renfro actually giggled. "Oh my, you're an exceptionally attractive man, Mr. O'Malley. You should make quite the splash in our little community. All the girls will just be swooning."

Dev slung his arm over my shoulder and pulled me close. "Unfortunately, I'm off the market. My lovely wife and I just got married. I'm afraid I only have eyes for her. You know how newlyweds are."

"I do, indeed." Her voice had a girlish affectation to it. "You're a lucky woman, Mrs. O'Malley, to have snagged such a handsome man."

She gave me a once-over, obviously wondering exactly what I had done to deserve him since I wasn't in his league.

Dev was the lucky one because he was still alive. I thought several times about murdering him during our brief car ride. He'd been sullen and silent throughout the trip, refusing to answer my questions. When I'd ask about the possibility of children left behind in his sithein, I'd been told to mind my own d.a.m.n business. I really couldn't wait to get to our room so I could let my boyfriend know exactly what my d.a.m.n business was.

"I am lucky. It took a lot to get this one pinned down, let me tell you." It hadn't. I'd managed to pin him down the first night we were together, and he'd been happy to do it. I sighed with what I hoped was a look of longing. "I think we'll skip the social hour tonight, Mrs. Renfro. You understand, right?"

We were supposed to be newlyweds after all. It was supposed to be our first night of wedded bliss.

"Now, honey," Dev replied. "We don't want to be antisocial. We've waited this long. We can wait a few more hours."

I quietly brought my entire body weight down on his big toe. I was rewarded with a m.u.f.fled groan. Dev had never waited for anything in his life. I especially didn't like the fact that our hostess was now looking at me like I was a s.e.x-crazed maniac, and Dev was some poor man at my mercy. Dev was going to find out later tonight that I didn't have any mercy.

An elderly man took our bags while Dev signed us in, and then we were shown into the parlor where c.o.c.ktails were being served from a small tray. The backwoods version of c.o.c.ktails was a little different than what Dev and I were used to.

"Where's the vodka?" I whispered as I looked around the room. This was supposed to be a place frequented by honeymooners. Dev and I were easily the youngest people in the room by forty years.

"I don't know," he whispered back.

"Let me introduce you." Mary Jo pressed a tiny gla.s.s of something that vaguely resembled wine into my hand. "Sherry. It's your honeymoon. Live a little."

As p.i.s.sed as I was at Dev, I smiled up at him because this was a story we would tell for a very long time. He graciously took his tiny gla.s.s and let his free hand cup my waist. We were introduced to three other couples. The Milmans, the Ruckers, and the Bells. Dev smoothly managed to mingle, putting everyone at ease. It wasn't long before we were seated for dinner, and Dev had all eyes on him. It was where he felt most comfortable. As I watched him converse with the older couples and our host, I was struck by how polished he was. Sometimes it was easy to see that he was the son of a queen. I rarely thought about it, but Dev's upbringing more than likely consisted of a lot of training in courtly practices. I spent enough time with Fae creatures to know a little about their culture. Royalty in the faery world kicked it old school. There was no democracy. The queen's power would be absolute, until someone killed her or she gave her throne to one of her children. I wondered if Dev was the oldest. Had he been promised a throne only to have it taken away when they discovered his mortality?

"How many children are you planning?" the blue-haired woman I thought was the new Mrs. Bell asked. She and Mr. Bell had recently married after her husband of thirty years had kicked the bucket last spring. It hadn't taken me long to realize this place was popular among the geriatric honeymoon set. They might have mentioned that on their website.

"Oh, now, Mrs. Bell," Dev replied, his voice all teasing seduction. I rolled my eyes as several of the women actually sighed. "That's the kind of thing that sorts itself out. My wife and I will be willing to accept any babies we're blessed with."

"But don't you think we should talk about any possible kiddos?" He needed to know this conversation wasn't finished. "It's too important to just leave it up to fate."

Mary Jo Renfro vigorously disagreed with me. "You just have to have faith, Mrs. O'Malley. You have to trust in G.o.d. He knows best. I've been blessed with four little ones, each a gift. I'm sure you and your husband will have beautiful babies."

I was still wondering if my "husband" already had beautiful babies. Dev swiftly moved the conversation to a thrilling recitation of Mr. Rucker's pa.s.sing of a kidney stone. I glared at Dev the rest of the meal.

We finally made it to the "Seraphim Suite" a few hours later. It was a monstrosity of love. The bed really was a heart completely decked out in ruffles and more pillows than any two people could ever use. The evening had been a complete bust with the exception of planting a few bugs that I was pretty sure would only catch more of Mr. Rucker's health horror stories. I was tired, having driven all day, so my plan was to get some sleep and start snooping tomorrow.

After I settled one little issue.

Dev stretched out on the frilly bed. He looked out of place in this room. I couldn't help but think of his condo. That was Dev's natural habitat. The mixture of nature and the sleek lines of the city perfectly defined Dev. He looked silly surrounded by ruffles and lace. He turned on one side and rested his head in his hand. He patted the bed beside him and gave me that smile. It was the one he had when he knew he was getting some.

"No." I turned away and started shoving clothes in the ornate dresser.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked the question as though no woman in his life had ever said no to him when he was trying to seduce her. It was a viable possibility.

"It means that I'm not sleeping with a man who thinks his children are none of my business." I pulled off my sweater and jeans and exchanged them for sweat pants and a tank top.

"Zoey," came that silky smooth voice as he walked up behind me. His arms surrounded me, and he pulled me back against him, letting me feel every bit of what he was offering. It was a substantial offering. "This is a stupid fight. This is exactly what Daniel wanted to happen. Come to bed and we can play a game. You can be the reluctant virgin bride, and I'll teach you everything you need to know, sweetheart."

It would be so easy to let him pick me up and toss me down and envelop me in his unique magic, but I was falling in love with the man. I couldn't risk my heart on a man who just wanted me in bed and not in any other part of his life. "No, Dev. You can either open up and talk, or we can spend a nice evening sleeping with no touchy touchy."

"I don't take well to ultimatums, darling," Dev replied, his voice harder than I'd ever heard it. "I wish you a good night's sleep." He undressed, sparing me not a moment of his breathtaking body. He slid under the covers and turned away from me. "Now I know why Daniel's p.i.s.sed off all the time. Being married to you really cramps a person's s.e.x life."