To Love and Protect (Must Love Diamonds 4)

He shot Lana a questioning glance. “No gift opening for you? I figured for sure you’d be up visiting with Ceels and the guys.” She’d been as close with Loyal and Asher as she’d been with Celia.

“I had my fill of wedding crap yesterday,” she said with an airy wave of her hand. “I’d much rather chill with you guys before heading back tomorrow.”

Washington State was her home base with the FBI, but she’d told them all yesterday she was on the short list for a transfer to the Denver field office. If that happened, it would be the first time they were all living back in Colorado since he’d joined the military twelve years ago. He had to admit, it would be nice to see Lana more than once or twice a year.

Reyes grabbed the coffee pot off the burner to pour himself a cup. “The real question is, bro, what are you doing here?”

“I brought Shelby over.” At his dad’s raised eyebrows, Dev added, “She stayed at my place last night.”

That raised his brother’s eyebrows.

“You and Bells, hey?” Lana said with a sly grin.

“Not like that,” he growled. “I drove her home after the wedding when her bodyguard fucking flaked out. Good thing, too, because someone had broken into her apartment, so I took her to my house.”

His sister’s blue eyes sobered. “Damn. Is she okay?”

“Yeah. The cops are checking surveillance tapes for a suspect.”

His dad sat forward, expression grim as he braced his elbows on the desk. “That’s a scary situation all the way around.”

“Yeah. This guy can’t be caught soon enough.” He motioned toward Reyes’ cup. “Hook me up, man.”

Reyes gave a disgruntled huff, but handed it over readily and poured himself another. “Sounds to me like you took the job.”

“Yeah.” Dev slouched back in his chair with a heavy sigh.

Lana glanced back and forth between them. “What job?”

Rey turned and leaned back against the small kitchenette counter. “Bells’ bodyguard.”

His dad’s eyebrows soared upward once again. “When did this happen?”

“Mark asked me a few weeks ago, but I said no.”

“Why? And what changed your mind?”

“He didn’t think he cou

ld protect her,” Reyes butt in before Dev could even open his mouth. As he glared at his brother, the shit answered the second question. “As for what changed his mind, I’m guessing all it took was one look at baby Bells all grown up in her bridesmaid’s dress.”

If he told him to shut the fuck up, he’d only be confirming what Reyes said. “Shelby has been grown up for years, you jackass.”

Reyes grinned and raised his mug for a sip. A glance at Lana caught her smirk, too. Geezus. There was only five years between him and Shelby, so even if what they were inferring were true, it wasn’t like he was some dirty old man robbing the cradle.

Their dad was still patiently waiting for his answer.

Dev grimaced. “I wasn’t sure I could do the job,” he admitted. “But last night proves I can do a hell of a lot better than the guy she had.”

Dad shook his head. “There’s no half-assing something like this, Dev.”

The warning put him on the defensive. “I know that. I would never do anything to jeopardize your relationship with the Diamonds.”

That prompted an impatient frown. “I’m not worried about that. But you know damn well, when the bar is set low, a hell of a lot better isn’t how you measure your ability to do the job right.”

His pulse skipped as he recognized the truth of those words. Simply being better than Blake wasn’t good enough.

His dad looked him square in the eye. “I have every confidence in your ability to keep Shelby safe, but that doesn’t mean shit if you don’t.”