To Love and Protect (Must Love Diamonds 4)

The curt shut-down morphed her butterflies to anxiety. A glance at Reyes gave her nothing. Whatever it was, Dev didn’t want to talk about it. Or he didn’t want to talk to her about it.

Resentment stiffened her sp

ine. So much for being straight with her. She was about to remind him of his promise when his other words from that day came back to her: Trust me.

Take a breath, Shelby.

Okay. She’d assume he had a good reason for keeping the information to himself. For now, anyway.

Lifting her chin to meet his gaze, she said, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

He gave her a brief nod, a glimmer of thanks in his blue-green eyes telling her he appreciated her not pushing the subject. Her tension eased, and she went to retrieve her purse from her locker in the break room.

Before they parted ways with Reyes in the parking lot, she stepped forward to give him a hug. “Thanks again for staying with me today.”

She’d felt as equally protected with him as with Dev, and was grateful she’d been able to spend the day focusing on work, not her personal life.

“Anytime. Stay safe,” he whispered in her ear before letting go and heading out.

Dev was quiet as he drove, and Shelby began to wonder if this was going to be how the rest of the evening went when they got home.

Home?

No. She had to be more careful. He could call it home, but for her, it was Dev’s house.

Finally, she couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “How’d your appointments go?”

He lifted a shoulder while doing a round of checking the mirrors. “Gus and the police are still working on things.”

Shelby ducked her chin to see the passenger side mirror even as she noted he wasn’t taking a circuitous route this time. “So, nothing new?”

“Not yet.”

Then why had he stuffed that folder behind his seat instead of setting it between them where she could’ve reached over to check it out? He’d said, “Not now,” in the hospital, but even with just the two of them in his truck, clearly, he wasn’t going to willingly volunteer any information.

As she watched the car behind them for the past mile or so make a right turn, it took conscious effort not to grind her teeth. Man, she couldn’t wait for this all to be over. To be able to drive herself somewhere. No more being escorted. No more being afraid of every shadow. No more people telling her only what they thought she could handle.

No more—

No more Dev.

At least, no more Dev as she’d gotten used to. The moment the stalker was caught, her time with him would be over.

A sharp ache tightened her chest as he turned into his driveway.

Once they were inside, he reactivated the security system, and she waited by the door while he did a quick recon of the house. Tension gripped her muscles until he returned from the bedrooms and gave her a swift, reassuring smile.

“All clear. I’ve got some stuff to bring in from my truck, but first I’ll get dinner started.”

Shelby grimaced as she toed off her tennis shoes and moved into the living room. “What if we have something delivered? I just want to take a shower and veg out.”

“Go ahead. You don’t have to help.”

She watched him head to the kitchen, turning to follow his movements. It wasn’t a big deal, and yet it didn’t seem right to leave him to do all the work.

He glanced up after taking a number of items from the fridge and setting them on the counter. “Take a load off while you can, Shelby. Because after dinner, I’m putting you to work.”

“Doing dishes?”