Steal the Moon(3)

“He’s been really hard to track.” All the bimbo act had been erased from Jane’s demeanor. “I started in Vegas where Sarah saw him last.”

Sarah nodded and shared a look with Felix. “I wasn’t very helpful, I’m afraid. He hugged me. He told me to ask you to forgive him. Then he changed and he ran off.”

The minute Felix had picked up Neil, he’d come out from under Daniel’s influence and been able to act on his own again. He fled Las Vegas that night with nothing but the fur on his back. I made sure to put money in his bank account, but as far as I could tell, he hadn’t touched it. He was alone with no money, no cell phone, and no friends.

“I suspect he spent most of the winter in wolf form. I have reports of a white wolf wandering the Sangre de Cristo mountains in Colorado. Most of the wolves in the area are gray or brown, so he stands out,” Jane explained. “I tracked him for a while in my wolf form, and I spent a couple of days running with him, but I couldn’t get him to change into his human form.”

I took a long breath. At least he was alive. “How did he seem?”

Jane frowned. “He seemed weak. It’s surprising because staying in his animal form for that long should have made his wolf incredibly strong. It makes it harder when you’re in human form, but his wolf should be solid. Do you have any idea why he was weak? He was thin despite the fact there was ample game in those woods.”

I had a theory, but I suspected Jane wouldn’t like it. “Do you know who my husband is?”

Jane nodded, but her expression was blank as though she didn’t want to give away her real opinions on the subject. Daniel was a controversial figure even in the vampire world. Jane was a wolf, and wolves rarely trusted vampires. What I was about to tell her wouldn’t make that trust any easier. “I know who Daniel Donovan is. Everyone in our world is aware of him. Your faery made sure of that.”

The last bit was said with a hint of salacious question. Lots of people were interested in our living arrangements. I had learned to ignore it. “Neil was Daniel’s servant.”

Her eyes tensed slightly. “So it’s true. Donovan can call wolves.”

There was no point in lying about it. Daniel didn’t. “Yes, he can. Neil took a blood oath to serve my husband several years ago. When he made the oath, Daniel’s control of this particular power was nominal. Since then he’s grown and his power grew with him. When Neil attempted to break his oath, Daniel was able to control him physically.”

Jane shuddered. “I’ve heard of this power, but it’s been many generations since a vampire’s shown mastery of it. You have to understand how this will affect my people’s view of him. They’ll fear him.”

Making inroads with the werewolves had proven difficult despite the fact that he couldn’t control a wolf without the wolf making a blood oath to him. It almost would have been easier if his animal to call had been the panther or the tiger. For sheer numbers, the wolf reigned supreme. “That’s neither here nor there. Our problem is Neil. Neil was justifiably upset by the turn of events. He felt betrayed by Daniel. In my husband’s defense, we were going into an incredibly dangerous situation and Neil was our only backup.”

“I’m not judging anyone, Zoey,” Jane said. “I’m just trying to do my job, and I don’t see how any of this makes him weak.”

“Part of the oath is an exchange of blood. Neil took Daniel’s blood once a week. It made him unnaturally strong. Without the blood, he would become weak, possibly weaker than he was before.” I knew how addictive Daniel’s blood could be.

“None of us knew Neil before he made his arrangement with Daniel,” Sarah said quietly. “We don’t know what he was like before. All I know is how freaking strong he was with the blood. He could control the change down to a single finger, and he wouldn’t break a sweat.”

The blonde wolf tapped a finger against the table. “I can see where that kind of power would be tempting. It certainly seems to have tempted Zack over there. Tell me, Mrs. Donovan, does it make you stronger?”

I smiled wryly because I wasn’t about to let that phase me. I was married to a vampire. What did she expect? “It tends to make me heal, and after some of the damage I’ve taken, I appreciate that. Look, I understand you might not like my husband. Perhaps you don’t approve of my lifestyle. It doesn’t matter. I just want to find my friend. If you can’t do that for me, please let me know so I can find someone who can.”

The private investigator studied me carefully. “Do you really care for Neil?”

That was the easiest question she’d asked. “I love him very much.”

“So this isn’t about revenge,” Jane said as though she had suspected all the while it might be.

I laughed long and hard at that thought. “No. I don’t want revenge. I want to find my friend. I want to let him know I still love him with my whole heart. I want him to come home.”

Her brows met in a V over her eyes. “You’re not at all like I thought you would be. You’ll have to forgive my prejudices. Vampires are a little like bogeymen. We’re suspicious of your husband because vampire kind has tried to enslave us more than once, so when a king comes calling, we have to wonder why. I would have thought his queen would be cruel. I wouldn’t have thought she could love a servant.”

“He isn’t my servant. He’s my friend.” I didn’t explain that I hated the title of queen. I loved Daniel, but there were many times I wished he was just a regular guy because the queen crap got in the way of my life all too often.

Jane nodded, her mind obviously made up. “I’ll go back out and try to talk to him again. If I can arrange a meeting, I will. If I can get him to come back with me, that would be best, but I think a meeting is more likely.”

Hope lit in me. It was the closest I’d gotten in six months. “I’ll take it.” Jane got up to leave but I held her back. “If he needs anything, please provide it for him. I’ll pay for whatever. Just put it on my bill.”

The detective nodded and promised to update me soon.

When she was gone, I sat back and Sarah reached out to squeeze my hand. “We’re going to find him.”

I gave her a watery smile, then cursed foully as I saw Lee Owens standing not two feet away, bulky arms crossed with an amused expression on his bearded face. I had managed to keep Zack out of it, but now I got to deal with Lee. He normally didn’t spend a lot of time with me, but he was loyal to his brother.

He looked from me to the bar where Zack had his tongue about halfway down Lisa’s throat. “Nice, Zoey.”

I shrugged and started coming up with roughly a thousand different excuses.

“So you’re looking for Donovan’s first wolf,” Lee surmised.

Lee wasn’t exactly a fool. I simply nodded.

“I don’t think he wants his first wolf back,” Lee pointed out. “But then this isn’t about Donovan, is it? This is about you.”

“Yes, it is and I…”

Lee held his hand up to stop me. “It can stay between us, Zoey. He’s my boss not my master.” Lee refused to make an oath to Daniel, preferring to simply be an employee. I often thought Lee had only taken the job to make sure Zack didn’t get himself killed. “I think it’s nice you want to find your friend. I also think I’ll deeply enjoy the creative ways you keep Zack’s nose out of your business. I have to say, Zoey, watching you make him crazy is the best part of this job.”

Relief flooded my system. I was just about to thank Lee when I noticed the door to Dev’s office open.

Dev walked out followed by Daniel. Dev was mouthwateringly sexy in black slacks, an olive dress shirt, and a sport coat. He made sure the door was locked behind him, and then his eyes searched the floor until he found me. He smiled and my heart fluttered. Daniel was already halfway down the stairs. He’d dressed for the occasion as well. The jeans were at least a dark wash and his shirt had a collar. I still sighed over his broad shoulders and those dimples he got when he grinned.

“Girl, you’re just a goner,” Sarah laughed. “I don’t know how you keep up with that.”

“It can be really tiring,” I admitted.

“Hey, Z.” Daniel greeted me for the first time that day. He’d been asleep when I left earlier. He pulled me off my stool and wrapped those strong arms around me. “Happy birthday, baby.”

His lips met mine and suddenly I didn’t care about anything but the fact that they were here with me. I let go of my frustrations with Zack and the situation with Neil for the time being. I wanted to enjoy my time with my guys. I let my arms wrap around Daniel’s neck as he held me tight.

He set me on my feet and while he greeted the Days, Dev leaned over and kissed me as well. “Good evening, Felix, Sarah. Lee, I appreciate the work. We’ll take it from here.”

My bodyguard bid us farewell and I turned to Daniel. “Hey, don’t you need to eat before we go?”

While this was my traditional birthday dinner with my dad, Daniel wouldn’t be enjoying whatever my father had catered in.