Steal the Light (Thieves) (6 page)

“By god, girl, this is the end of the line. If you think for one minute I’m going to allow you to pull a job for a demon, then you don’t know me at all!” My father had already been red in the face even before I opened the door, so I knew I was in for it. His Irish temper didn’t take much to set off, but when he was this close to exploding, I knew I was in for a fight.

“You should really lock your door,” Sarah said quietly from behind me.

“Wouldn’t make a difference.” I walked into my tiny living room, despite my instincts to flee.

I’d woken up under the bridge sometime in the early afternoon with a massive headache and a slightly altered outlook on life. Halle had taken care of the headache with a mug of something herbal. I didn’t ask about the contents. It worked and that was all that mattered. I bid the pair good-bye and promised not to let as much time pass between visits.

The first call I made when I got back to my car was to wake up Sarah. My blind date was picking me up at eight, and I knew I was in trouble when it came to the fashion department. Old jeans and faded black T-shirts were not going to make the first-date cut. I needed something nice, and there was no way I trusted my own instincts for something this important. It wasn’t important because I thought I was going to immediately fall in love. It was important because it was the first step away from the cycle I had been in since Daniel died. It deserved new clothes and a haircut. Sarah had massive experience in both.

The last thing I needed was a visit from my father.

“What the hell are ya thinking, girl? Do you know the kind of trouble you’re getting yourself into?”

I looked at my father and realized this was a turning point as well. I could cry and beg his forgiveness and ask him to help me out of the situation. He would hug me and tell me everything would be all right, and then he would completely take over. Or I could grow up and take charge. It was far past time for me to take a stand with my overbearing father.

“What do you mean ‘getting myself into,’ pops? According to everyone I’ve talked to, I’m in and there’s no way out, so rest easy. The worst has happened. It’s all downhill from here.” I threw my bags on the kitchen table. I carefully hung up the black cocktail dress Sarah had found at a vintage store.

“Yes, downhill leads straight to Hell,” he continued. “This ain’t something to joke about, Zoey. Demon kind is serious about their contracts.”

“I can laugh or I can cry, Dad. I can’t fix this problem tonight, so I don’t see the value in worrying myself to death over it. Now, who ratted me out?” I turned and immediately had my question answered. Daniel was standing in the shadows looking broody. His arms were crossed, but he let them drop as he took a close look at me. “I should have known. Did you even wait until today or did you immediately go straight from here last night to tattle?”

“Your dad called me. He has the right to know what we’re going into. And why the hell did you cut your hair,” Daniel stated, ignoring my question.

“Well, you should be glad he told me. He’s the only one with any sense,” my father continued, unabated. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“You colored it, too.” Daniel made his observation a veritable accusation.

“I just had Anton pump up the color a little.” Sarah had been thrilled when I called her. She had dropped everything in favor of helping me with a mini-makeover. She had been trying to force me into a girl’s day out for a long time. If I had known how good a deluxe mani-pedi could make a person feel, I would have done it a long time before. Spending the day with Sarah had made me realize how I had been keeping everyone at a distance. It had been nice to share a day with someone as open and happy as Sarah.

My father continued his tirade. “And do you know what will happen when ya do manage to get yourself horribly murdered by whatever is waiting out there? Don’t think there’s not something waiting. When it gets ya, you’ll find yerself on some Hell plane being some demon’s bitch, and let me tell ya that’s worse than any ‘girls in prison’ movie you’ve seen…”

“A couple of highlights and the red in her hair really pops,” Sarah was explaining. “I also had him texturize the hell out of it. It’s thick but now it lies so nicely.”

“I liked it the other way,” Daniel said sourly.

“Do ya know what a demon can do to ya?” My father pulled me back into the primary conversation.

“Yes, Pop. I remember the bedtime stories,” I said. “It’s something no three-year-old should have to listen to. I had nightmares for years. Do you remember when I accused my kindergarten teacher of having ties to Beelzebub? Do you remember the trip I had to take to the school psychologist?”

“I told ya those stories for a reason,” he said seriously. “I was trying to teach ya something that should be evident to anyone with half a brain. Demons are bad. Ya shouldn’t go into business with them.”

Sarah was ignoring our conversation, preferring to have it out with Daniel. “I think she looks awesome.”

“She’s wearing too much makeup,” Daniel countered.

“I didn’t realize he was a demon,” I defended myself. “I’m sorry my puny human senses couldn’t get past his magic. It’s kind of why I bring Daniel to these meetings. It’s not my fault that supervamp got tricked.”

“Her makeup is extremely subtle,” Sarah huffed. “Do you know how hard it is to keep a transvestite makeup artist to the bare essentials?”

“You never take on a client until you’ve looked into his background.” Dad shook his finger at me to emphasize his point.

“Oh yeah, like you would turn down a million because you hadn’t done a skip trace,” I scoffed.

My father’s face went white. “Did you say a million?”

“She didn’t need a makeover,” Daniel said firmly.

“Did Daniel not mention that little number?” I asked as my dad lowered himself shakily to a chair at the kitchen table. “What a surprise since he practically drooled all over the money. It’s half now and half when we turn over the object.”

“This is even worse than I thought,” Dad said to himself.

Sarah was shaking her pixie bob at Daniel. “That’s because you don’t understand the nature of women. We need makeovers. It’s about renewal and feminine power.”

“There’s nothing powerful about mascara and new shoes.” Daniel faced off with her.

My father let his head sink into his hands in what I thought was a complete over-dramatization of the situation. “How could this happen? Where did I go so wrong that my precious baby girl could get herself into a situation where she could go to Hell like this? If I could only switch places…”

Sarah had pulled out one of my brand new, altogether-too-expensive candy red stiletto heels. She pointed it at Daniel. “Let me tell you, buddy, it’s gonna feel powerful when I stake you with it.”

“Yer mother, God rest her beautiful soul, is crying her heart out somewhere in Heaven.” My father managed to squeeze out a single tear meant to induce maximum guilt.

“My mother is in Cleveland. I talked to her Saturday. She and Leonard, the accountant, are doing just fine,” I pointed out. “She didn’t die, Pop. She left when that pissed off client set a poltergeist on your ass.”

Dad set his jaw stubbornly. “Well, she’s dead to me. I prefer my version of the story.” He paused for a moment and another thought came to him. “Are ya telling me ya have half a million dollars in cash just sitting out in the open in this hellhole of an apartment?”

Daniel was smartly backing up as Sarah moved toward him. “I’m just saying I liked the way she looked before.”

“Of course not,” I replied to my father. “I totally hid it under the bed.”

At least that brought the color back to his face. “Under the bed!”

Sarah continued to back Daniel into a corner with the threatening shoe. “Well, it’s not up to you. Her date is going to think she looks fabulous.”

“Date?” Daniel and my father said in unison, the two arguments finally coming together.

I didn’t like the complete shock that both of the men had written all over their faces. “It’s not like I’m some kind of a monster. I can get a date.”

I didn’t mention that I hadn’t actually gotten this particular date, Ingrid had. They didn’t need to know that.

“You have a date,” Daniel said as though he needed a moment to let it sink in.

“Yes, I have a date, with an actual male,” I replied sarcastically. “Someone in the world who doesn’t mind being seen with me in public.”

“You have a date.” A smile crossed my father’s face. “That’s wonderful, darling. I mean, it would be wonderful if ya didn’t have all of demon kind trying to eviscerate ya.”

“I like the positive attitude, Dad. Now I would like to get this one date in before my inevitable death.”

I picked up my dress and walked into my bedroom, glancing at the clock on the wall. I didn’t have much time before my date was supposed to pick me up. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. Sarah had done a damn good job. I looked polished. I looked like a woman about to go on a date and not make an idiot of herself.

The door opened behind me, and Daniel let himself in. He stared at me for a moment. “I think it’s wonderful. The date, I mean. It’s far past time for you to start seeing someone.”

It took everything I had to keep my face neutral when his words cut so deeply. I was glad I had decided to do this for myself and not to make Daniel jealous. It was so obvious that wasn’t going to work. Ingrid was wrong. There was nothing left between us except his need to see me safe. When he was sure I was secure, he would leave, and I wouldn’t see him again.

“Yes.” I agreed, not looking at him. “I should have done this a long time ago.”

He paced a little, walking from the door to the window and back again. “It’s what I want for you. It’s what I’ve always wanted for you.”

“That’s not true. Once you wanted something else.”

“Things change.” Daniel stopped at the window, staring out. “Now I want you to find a nice man and settle down. I want you to find someone who can give you a good life.”

“You mean a normal life.”

“Yes, a normal life where you don’t have to worry about demons or the police or any of this. I want you to be far away from this world.”

“And if I don’t want that?”

“Of course you do,” Daniel replied stubbornly. “You’ll see. You’ll find someone, and this will all seem like a bad dream.”

I’d had enough. “It’s good to know you have it all planned out, Danny. Now leave. I need to get dressed because the white knight who is going to sweep me off my feet and take me away to tract housing in suburbia should be here any moment. God forbid he finds me in jeans and a T-shirt.”

Daniel crossed the room and opened the door but couldn’t resist one parting shot. “It’s for the best. You’ll see.”

I sank onto my bed and told myself he wasn’t worth crying over. I’d done all the crying over Daniel Donovan I was going to do in this lifetime. My pride asserted itself suddenly. There was no way I was walking out there and letting him know I was hurt.

I slipped on my dress and found it to be an excellent form of armor. The jersey hugged my body in all the right places. The
V
of the bodice was deep and showed more of my ample cleavage than I normally would, but I had to admit the girls looked damn good. The bra Sarah had forced me to buy pushed them to the perfect place.

I slipped into the stilettos and admired the way they made my legs look. It had been forever since I dressed up and now I realized I needed this. No matter what Daniel said, there was power in transformation. I was determined to enjoy myself. If Daniel no longer wanted me, then it was far past time to get my butt out there and discover someone who did.

“You look beautiful, girl.” My father was waiting as I closed the bedroom door behind me. “You’re going to make such a lovely corpse when the demon murders ya.”

“Thanks, Pop.” It was likely the most optimism I would get out of him.

“OMG.” Sarah clapped her hands together. “You look so freaking hot. He’s not going to know what hit him. I told you that dress was perfect.”

Daniel walked up to me, and there was something in his eyes. He smiled almost sadly. “You don’t look beautiful, Zoey. You are beautiful. He’s a lucky man, your date.”

“Thank you,” I managed.

A knock at the door saved me from further emotional turmoil. I really hadn’t meant for everyone I knew to greet my blind date. He was going to take one look at this group and run for the hills no matter how great my boobs looked. I was about to yell at everyone to hide in the bedroom when Sarah swung the door open wide.

There was no further discussion as the entire room went silent and stared at the man who stood in the doorway. He managed a smile that told me he was used to such a reception. The whole room was quiet for a moment until Daniel chose to break the silence.

“Oh, hell, no.”

Chapter Five

He was gorgeous. I mean past gorgeous, and moving on to god-like, fall-to-my-knees beauty. And he was shining. He was tall and dark and everything good in the world and my heart opened to him.

I’m pretty sure I actually drooled.