Steal the Moon (27 page)

I was ready to greet my boyfriend with a happy hello on my lips when I looked into the weight room and my mouth dropped open. I left it there, helpless for a moment to do anything but drool. Dev was doing chin-ups, his body in nothing but a pair of cutoff sweats and sneakers. His back was to me and it glistened with sweat, making every muscle ripple as he pulled himself up. His legs were crossed at the ankles and he never paused to breathe, just kept pulling his body up and down, up and down. After a couple of minutes he dropped and stretched, pulling his muscles this way and that. He turned but didn’t notice me. He had earbuds in. Despite the hip-hop and dance music he played in the club, I knew Dev was an emo boy at heart.

When I met Dev he was a gorgeous man, but the last few years had been damn good to him. He’d been gifted with excellent DNA and was stronger than a human without the aid of regular workouts. After our experiences in Vegas, Daniel had taken over his physical training and he was now extremely proficient in hand-to-hand and his body…athletes would envy that body.

He adjusted the weights on the bar and settled down on the bench, his long legs on either side. He smoothly started pressing the weights up and down. I sighed and watched him for a moment.

“Are you enjoying the show, my mistress?” Dev asked, replacing the weights and turning his head toward me with the sexiest smile on his face. He pulled the buds from his ears and let them dangle.

I giggled because sometimes just the sight of him makes me a little giddy. “Yeah, don’t let me stop you.”

“You’re just in time,” he said, his voice low. “There’s one last muscle I need to exercise. I’m pretty sure I can press about one twenty-five with it.”

I straddled the bench, putting myself right over that muscle he was interested in exercising. It was the one workout the man never avoided. I playfully squirmed a little and felt his interest rise. “Did you have a good time with your brother?”

“I did indeed have a fine interview with my brother, though I spent the entire time thinking about copulating with your luscious form, my lover. It is so distracting to be constantly assaulted by the mental vision of your body twisted in coitus,” Dev said with a devilish smile, proving he could do a mean Declan impression.

“Yeah, what’s up with the formal speech?” I asked. “It’s weird talking to him.”

“It’s the way they talk at court.” Dev’s hands went to my waist. “It’s a very formal place. I prefer our little court where I can just look at you and tell you to fuck me, baby.” He pressed his hips up, letting me know he was ready to go now. I wondered just what he’d been thinking about during this workout of his.

“Did he order you to come home?” I asked, knowing that had been Declan’s plan all along.

“He did, indeed.” Dev rolled his green eyes. “He treated me like his snot-nosed little brother having a tantrum. He’s generously offered to allow you to come with us, but I think he has ulterior motives. He thinks this plane is far too dangerous for one as gentle as me.”

I laughed because he didn’t feel gentle grinding his hips up against mine. As good as it felt, and my body was ready to go, too, I needed to have a little talk with my boy. “I had an interesting day, too. I have a job.”

He pulled me down and his hands pressed our pelvises together. He rotated his core in a tantalizing fashion that made me groan and almost forget I was on a mission.

“Did you hear me, Dev?” I said, trying not to get lost in that feeling. “I’m taking a job. I’m going back to work.”

“What are you planning on stealing, my mistress?” Dev asked as his hands started to find their way into my shorts. He sounded only vaguely interested.

“A little artifact, nothing big,” I murmured, letting my hands run over his really perfect chest. His whole torso was cut. I thought seriously about locking the door and discussing the whole thing over a little oral sex.

“Is it privately held?” His fingers played at the edge of my pussy.

My answer came out a breathy little moan. “No, it’s part of an exhibit, but I’m not going to rob the museum. Too much work.”

“Then what are you going to rob, you pretty little thief?”

“I’m going to hijack the truck transporting the stuff to the museum,” I explained, leaning down to run my tongue around his nipple. I was rewarded with a husky laugh.

“Is that all? Well, that seems reasonable. I look forward to the experience. How about you take off these shorts and let me play?”

I looked at his amused face, a little surprised he’d been so easy. This was Dev, so I shouldn’t have been. He was the easiest person I’d ever met. Still, I expected a little push back. “You’re saying yes?”

“Of course,” he agreed.

Now I was a definitely suspicious. “I thought you would be worried.”

“Oh, I am worried. I can say yes to you with a completely free conscience because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he—” Dev pointed to the doorway “—is going to say no.”

My head whipped around to see Danny watching us. He leaned against the jamb and shook his head. “No, Zoey.”

I sat straight up, my hand absently slapping Dev on the chest. “Now that’s just rude, Danny. You haven’t even heard my plan and you’re arbitrarily telling me no.”

“Oww,” Dev groaned. “I said yes. Why am I getting hit?”

“I don’t have to hear the plan, baby,” Daniel replied. “It goes something like this. ‘Hey, Danny. I’m going to go and steal this one little, tiny thing that won’t mean anything to anyone. No one will even notice it’s gone, baby. We’ll make some easy money.’ Then just when we get the damn thing in our hands—that’s when the apocalypse starts.”

I swung my legs over the bench and got toe-to-toe with my husband, who had just done a fairly good impression of my entire planned presentation with the exception of the money. We wouldn’t make any cash on this one. “It’s been a long time since I triggered an apocalypse, and I did a fine job of stopping the one I did start.” It was true. It had been a really long time ago when Danny and I had started running jobs together. He was never going to let me live that down. “This is nothing like that.”

Dev had turned on his side and was watching the byplay with his head in his hand. “Of course not, sweetheart. Like you told me a long time ago, you’re only going to do easy jobs from now on. Simple smash and grabs, I think you called them. Then you ran a job on the Hell plane. That was not a simple job, Zoey, and I doubt robbing an armored car is simple either.”

“It isn’t,” Daniel agreed shortly. “It’s incredibly complex. You have to have some good intelligence. You have to know when and where that truck is going to be, which means placing a finger man at the security company. Who are you planning on using? I doubt Lee could get another job. Zack won’t do your bidding, and Felix won’t let Sarah do anything vaguely criminal. Face it, baby. Your crew is gone.”

I smiled because I’d already solved that problem. “I don’t need a finger man, Danny. I had Marcus. The director of the museum just printed out all the info I needed and handed it to me with a smile on his face.”

That last part wasn’t true. It had been more like a catatonic stare, but smile made it seem more like an accomplishment.

“You’re bringing members of the Council into your heists?” Daniel asked, shocked.

“He was surprisingly good,” I admitted. “I told him he could join my crew if you ever decide to give up the game. Besides, it’s not like I have to hide my criminal endeavors from the Council. I’m their officially sanctioned thief.”

“Don’t remind me of that, Zoey,” Dev said with a groan.

I frowned at him. “What’s up with you? You said yes.”

He sat up. “I always say yes. It’s what I do. Situations like this are why we work as a threesome. If either Daniel or I were gone, you would most likely be dead, sweetheart.”

Daniel laughed.

“Don’t discount my input, Dan.” Dev swung his legs around, sitting on the bench facing us. “If you were gone, I would always say yes and then Zoey and I would be dead. But if I were gone, you would have pushed her away for her own good and, bang, same result. Zoey’s dead. Face it. If I hadn’t come on the scene and swept her off her feet, you wouldn’t have gotten jealous of all the sex we were having and you wouldn’t have decided to join us.”

“Well, I am here,” Daniel stated implacably. “And I say no.”

My eyes narrowed, and Daniel looked wary for the first time. “Say no all you like, Danny. I’m done asking permission. I’m informing you that I’m running a job. I’ll find my own crew, thank you.”

“Why is this so damn important, Z?” Daniel finally asked what he should have asked at the beginning of the conversation. “We have a whole lot going on. We need to concentrate on the wolf meeting and we need to find Halfer.”

“If you want to find Halfer, maybe you should figure out what he’s looking for.”

“He’s looking for you.” A ferocious glare lit Daniel’s face every time he mentioned that little fact.

I ignored his scowl. “He’s also looking for an artifact called the Strong Arm of Remus. It’s supposed to be able to control wolves. Sounds like Halfer might be planning to attend your little gathering, too.”

“How the hell do you know this?” Danny asked.

It was time to shove the knife in. “I know because the aswang was hired by Halfer to kill me before the artifact comes to town. You remember that thing that was my alcoholic daydream? I got her to talk before I killed her.”

Daniel moved to take a seat next to Dev on the bench. I softened immediately because a weary expression bore down on him. I walked over and ran my fingers through his thick, sandy hair. “I know you don’t like it, Danny, but I need to do this. I’d rather have the two of you with me, but I’ll do it myself if I have to.”

“All right, Z,” Daniel said, forcing the words from his mouth. “You handle the details and I’ll be there. I have to deliver the new spy to the Council while they’re still in LA. Dev, can you work with her?” I knew the inherent question behind that query was “can you keep her from killing herself?”

“I’ve never hijacked an armored car before,” Dev said with a smile. “Sounds like fun. I’m in and so is Zack.”

I hugged Danny, hoping affection would help. He held me for a moment, but when he looked up, there was a little light in his eyes. He glanced over at Dev.

A sly smile spread across his face. “I think this is one of those times, Dev. She’s made me crazy, and I need to let off a little steam.”

“I agree,” Dev said because he always said yes.

Daniel’s arms became a nice little cage around my waist. “We should get her back home. I feel the need to tie her up and play with her.”

Dev shook his head. “Why wait? Just let me get my gym bag. I’m like a boy scout, Dan. I’m always prepared. I have a nice set of padded handcuffs for just such an occasion. I think you’ll find after all the exercise last night, Zoey will probably be very sweet and obedient tonight.”

I frowned at my naughty, naughty boyfriend. He was taking all the fun out of it. “I’ll probably misbehave a little. If I don’t, you won’t have any reason to spank me.”

Dev growled and kissed me just a little roughly. “God, she’s perfect. Let’s talk about discipline, sweetheart.”

I smiled in anticipation because I was really becoming a glutton for punishment.

Chapter Seventeen

The night of the heist, I crawled in between Dev and Lee, taking my perch on a hill along the highway. Dev passed me the binoculars he was holding. I stared through the lens, the world shifting to that odd green and black that night vision gives you. At this time of night, there were very few people on the road, which made it the perfect time to transport an important load of priceless artifacts. It wouldn’t do to get stuck in traffic, and I-35 could get seriously congested between Alliance Airport and the cultural district.

The shipment from Chicago had come into the airport on a specialized cargo plane built to handle the delicate artifacts, keeping them at the proper temperature and humidity. The plane had come in late and the transfer had been made in a hanger with some super security. The thought of grabbing the artifact at the airport had never entered my mind. Airports are a veritable field of land mines. There are so many layers of security at an airport a thief would have to be crazy to even try it. Stealing from the Hell plane had been easier. I wouldn’t steal a Snickers bar from an airport.

From Alliance, the wooden crates had been loaded onto the truck. Due to the priceless nature of the collection, the museum had taken the added precaution of hiring three decoy trucks. Unfortunately, I had the insider information of knowing exactly which truck the artifact was actually on and the route it was going to take. One of the decoys had driven by not twenty minutes earlier, and I waved as it went on its merry way.

Hijacking a shipment from, say, your local Best Buy is a different proposition from the job I was doing. The mob long ago perfected the cargo hijack. It was made infinitely easier by the fact that the drivers were usually in on the hijacking. Had I had a longer time to prepare, I would’ve tried to get an inside man or woman at the security company. I preferred to have a member of my crew simply drive the truck with all its goodies to the drop. Since I’d had a week to plan, I was going to have to go a different route.