To Love and Protect (Must Love Diamonds 4)

Only if you lay with me.

As soon as the thought entered her head, she got up and spun around to make the bed so he wouldn’t see the heat warming her cheeks. “I’m not going to let this person imprison me more than I already am.”

“Figured you’d say that.”

Something in his tone had her looking up as she moved around to straighten his side of the bed. “You think I should just hide for the day?”

His somber gaze met hers across the room. “Do you trust me to keep you safe?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then we’re going to do whatever you want to do today.”

A smile of thanks faded as she thumped his pillow into place. “Except, it suddenly dawns on me that trusting you to keep me safe also means trusting you to know what’s best. So you tell me what I’m doing today.”

He turned all the way around, clothes in hand as he leaned against his dresser. “Wow. I’m impressed.”

She lifted a shoulder, taking the opportunity to drink him in as he stood there in his T-shirt and briefs, his hair all mussed from sleep.

“You said you normally do the vet checks for Grayson on Fridays, right?”

“Always. I only switched to a Thursday because he’s got some meeting out of town tomorrow, and seeing him is half the reason I go.”

“Then since it’s a schedule switch someone wouldn’t be expecting, I’m okay with sticking with it.”

“You’re sure?”

“I am.” He headed for the hall. “I’ll do a quick security check, then we can both get ready and get going. While you’re doing your thing with the dogs, I’ll give Gus a call.”

Shelby gathered clean clothes to change in the bathroom. The sappy, lovelorn teenager in her wished Dev had insisted they stay home. But that was quickly eclipsed by independence, and the refusal to let fear limit her life. Especially when she had Dev at her side.

Chapter 23

Dev ended up waiting patiently while Shelby took the time to call her sister and make sure she was okay. Then she called her dad to tell him she wanted him to vote based on the principles he’d campaigned on and been elected for, and nothing else.

Her support for her father despite the possible danger to herself raised his respect to a whole new level. Not only was she still sweet and kind and generous, but she was proving to be a determined fighter who wouldn’t be swayed from a fierce belief of right and wrong.

It was nearly an hour later when he pulled into the parking lot of the Cole-Diamond Foundation. Shelby directed him around to the back of the large complex, toward a building with fenced in dog runs off the side. He made a mental note of the layout while sweeping his gaze over the main building that had been built the previous year, surrounded by extensive grounds and some outdoor physical training equipment.

The Diamond fortune being put to good use.

The building he parked in front of featured a prominent sign with the silhouette of a German Shepherd, and the name Remy’s Regiment.

Shelby grabbed her vet bag from the back seat and waited for him to lead the way inside.

A tall, built black guy looked up from the front desk. He straightened to what had to be at least six-foot-six while offering Dev a polite smile. The moment he spotted Shelby, his eyes lit up and a wide grin spread across his face.

“Hey, girl. What the heck are you doing here today?”

“Change of plans, Eli. How are you this morning?”

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“You know me. Always good, but even better now.”

He came around the counter, and when it became evident the guy was going in for a hug, Dev stepped between them with a scowl.

Shelby caught his arm. “Dev—Eli’s good. He served with Grayson.”