Steal the Moon(14)

That was a requirement for anyone trying to pass as Dev.

“Not a problem, lover,” he replied, sounding exactly like his brother. “As I stated before, I find you attractive. If you would prefer to spend the afternoon in coitus, I would be more than happy to oblige. It would not be the first time my brother and I have shared a woman. Devinshea can be generous with his lovers. Perhaps I will allow him to bring you back to the sithein when we leave, and then we could share you in all ways. Would you like a future king in your bed, Zoey?”

“I think I’ll take a pass on the offer, but thanks.” I already had enough kings in my bed. Between my vampire king and my personal faery prince, my royal dance card was full. Declan sounded far too much like Dev for my sanity.

Zack and Lee were sitting at a table when we reached the bar area. They were having lunch and going over reports. They looked up and Zack frowned. “Mr. Quinn, I thought you were going to call us when you were ready to go.”

“Ah, Zack,” Declan said in Dev’s smooth tones. “There are some things that require privacy.” He let his hand drop mine and pulled me into a more intimate embrace. He gave me a smile that told the wolves I had probably done something naughty. His arm was around my shoulders, and he used his free hand to nudge my chin up for a kiss. I had to play along, allowing Declan to explore my mouth briefly, but I promised myself I would get him back. He nodded to Zack, who had completely bought the act. “My girl here would like to go to the shooting range and practice this afternoon. Would you be so good as to escort her to the armory? She would like to select her own weapon.”

Zack sighed heavily, like escorting me into the armory was the last thing he wanted to do. It probably was. I was sure the thought of an armed Zoey was not a pleasant one for my bodyguard, but then I had given him no reason to believe me competent. He would have no such impression of me after today.

“Of course, Mr. Quinn,” Zack said in his best professional voice. I thought it made him sound like a kiss ass. He pulled the card out of his pants, and I allowed him to lead the way.

As I walked past Lee, he stared at me, brown eyes searching mine, looking for something. I gave him an encouraging smile and he relaxed slightly, but I saw him staring at Declan as I turned the corner. Lee was going to be far worse trouble than Zack.

Zack let his keycard slide into the door to the armory, and he held it open for me. The odor of gun oil washed over me, the sweet scent of home. I smiled at the thought of being well armed again. Today there would be nothing between me and whatever came my way but my own skills and a happy gun. And Declan, since if anything tried to take a shot at me, I firmly intended to jump behind him. He deserved it and he would heal.

“Let’s see, Zoey.” Zack looked around, probably trying to find the smallest caliber possible. “I’m sure I can find something for you.”

I rolled my eyes and went for the specialized Ruger Daniel had modified for me years before. Why I had ever let myself be parted from it, I had no idea. Somehow it wound up in here when Daniel and I moved in with Dev. I opened the box and took a moment to balance the weight. It felt good in my hands. It belonged to me. It meant something to me.

Sighing, I pulled out the second box that contained the exotic rounds the Ruger had been altered to handle. There were silver bullets, cold iron bullets, wooden bullets, bullets that sent salt through the victim’s body, bullets that injected colloidal silver, and the one I was looking for—tranquilizers.

“Zoey, that’s Donovan’s gun. I don’t think you should play with that,” Zack said like the big brother I never wanted.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Zack.” I loaded the gun quickly and efficiently. “It’s not Danny’s gun. It’s mine, and I’m not playing with you anymore.”

I twisted around and shot him squarely in the chest. I have to say I grinned as he went down with a really surprised look on his face. I didn’t move though because I knew exactly what was coming next. The gun might be quiet but there was no getting past those wolf ears. I firmed my stance and waited.

Lee kicked open the door and had a semiautomatic in his hand. His eyes first went to his brother and then to me. “Zoey, what the hell is going on?”

“He’s fine, Lee.” I kept my aim level with his chest. “It was a tranquilizer dart. He’s just going to take a little nap.”

“Who the hell is that out there, and don’t try to tell me that it’s Quinn because I know it’s not,” Lee said, proving his senses were better than any of us suspected. I always thought he had the look of an alpha but this proved it. Not even Daniel had been able to sense the difference between Dev and his twin.

“It’s his twin brother, Declan,” I explained, not quite able to keep the vindication from my voice. “I’m sorry for having to take Zack out, but it was necessary. He can be entirely unreasonable. The boys told you about last night?”

Lee nodded. He still had his gun trained on me. It was a nice little standoff. “I take it they were wrong. I thought we should check into it, but this is Zack’s gig. I let him make the decisions. So the twin was there last night.”

“Yep. We’re going to hunt down the thing that tried to kill me. I would prefer if you came with us but understand this, Lee, this is my mission and I won’t be bossed around.”

He sighed. “Zoey, that’s not…”

The minute I heard the negative, I shot him. I had a distinct advantage on him and I used it. He didn’t want to harm me. It made him slow to act. Like his brother, he went down, though his eyes stayed open longer. I leaned over him. He was in a really uncomfortable position. If I left him like that, he would be sore and while I had no problem with Zack having back spasms for days, I would feel bad about Lee. He was just trying to look out for his brother. I kicked the gun out of his hand and helped him down to a more suitable position to lie unconscious in for several hours.

“Zoey.” Lee managed to speak even as his eyes were getting heavy. He should have been out, but he fought it. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

“I promise. I’ll bring you back a head or something, Lee. You’ll wish you had gone with me.”

“I probably will, you crazy bitch,” he said with a smile as the drug finally took effect.

“Night, night, Lee.”

I stood up and looked around my own little candy store. I would love to have been able to take one of those cool looking P90s, but they were really hard to conceal under a skirt. I would have to rely on handguns and knives. I could probably fit a couple of grenades and flashbangs in my really big bag. Kelly had sworn it was the handbag of the season. At the time it seemed like a bit much for a girl who only carried a wallet, a cell, and some lip gloss, but now I saw the advantages.

“You took out the wolves.” Declan stepped gingerly over my now defunct bodyguards.

“I told you I would.” I steadied my foot on a shelf and hiked my skirt up to mid-thigh. I efficiently strapped on the leather piece designed to hold knives. I selected two, turning them slowly in my hands to test their weight before securing them against my leg.

“I admit I was skeptical.” Declan carefully watched every move I made. He frowned when I smoothed the skirt down. Looking around the room, his eyes widened as he took in the weaponry. “Why does my brother need such an armory? You said this was a club. If I know my brother, he declared it a place of peace. He never did like to take sides, or rather he never liked to appear to take sides.”

I shrugged as I placed the Ruger in my bag. I would have preferred to have it in a handy holster, but it was summer in Texas. I was wearing a skirt and one of those recently outlawed tank tops. I could conceal the knives but not the bulky gun. “He sometimes has security problems. Even a place of peace has to have a security team.”

My logic was sound even as I lied through my teeth. Since Dev had thrown his lot in with me and Daniel, the armory had grown exponentially.

“This is not for simple security. Someone is planning a war. What has my brother gotten himself into this time?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, unwilling to get into that argument. “I’m just a soft, sweet girl. He wouldn’t tell his little mistress about his plans. Now drop the glamour.”

“What?”

I gestured up and down at his perfect facsimile of Dev. “I’m talking about the glamour you’re using to look exactly like your brother. You’ve been apart for a long time. I seriously doubt you tracked down his hair stylist and asked for ‘the Dev.’ You were watching us the other night and you copied him. I want to see the real you.”

The prince nodded and dropped his perfect glamour. I gasped at the quick change. His hold on the magic was damn near perfect. I saw the real Declan for the first time and couldn’t help but stare. Declan still looked exactly like Dev with a major exception. His hair was really long. It created a midnight black waterfall around his handsome face. It reached halfway down his back. It strangely didn’t make him look feminine. It made him look slightly savage, as did the gold circlet that sat on his head. In the center of his forehead was the same sun symbol that adorned my necklace.