Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(67)

Daniel shook his head, but I could see the slightest hint of smile. Danny always had a good sense of humor. It was good to see it making a small comeback.

Neil practically hyperventilated. “I have spa time!”

“I thought you would like that,” Dev acknowledged. “It’s one way to make up for spending most of your time babysitting.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.” I didn’t fool myself that he was talking about someone else. Daniel and Dev had spent endless hours discussing how to best protect me. It was obnoxious.

This time when Daniel laughed, Dev laughed with him. Dev was smart enough to cover his smile with a cautious hand. “Consider Neil an escort.”

“Consider Neil an order, Z,” Daniel said, crossing his arms defensively. “This place is going to be full of vampires. You don’t walk out of that room without one of us. Most of the time, it’s got to be Neil.”

Dev’s eyes widened, and he shot Daniel a look that plainly said “Shut the hell up and let me handle her.” Daniel’s mouth quirked in an obvious “Good luck handling that, dude.”

The men in my life had started having entire conversations about me with looks and gestures. Neil and I made up the dialogue in our heads and compared notes. Strangely we came up with different takes on the same conversation. Neil’s mostly consisted of both of them realizing they really loved each other and throwing down on the floor for some homoerotic bliss. I glanced at Neil and he grinned. I knew my babysitter had a new fantasy about a limo.

“Sweetheart, I would feel so much better about this whole enterprise if I knew you were protected.” Dev slid a hand over mine. Dev was never content to just hold my hand. His thumb made sensual promises against my wrist. “We’re very close to an actual physical entrance to the Hell plane. It makes sense to have a bodyguard.”

“And a shopping buddy,” Neil pointed out. “Hey, Zoey, let’s get those big margaritas you can wear around your neck and then we can storm Prada.” Neil turned to Dev, his mouth turning down. “With the money Zoey and I have, we can probably buy a whole key chain.”

Dev was good-natured about being milked for cash. He pulled his wallet out of a pocket in his sport coat and extracted a jet black card. I thought for a moment Neil was going to cry. His hand whipped out, but Dev held back. “Neil, do you know what this is?”

“The key to my heart,” Neil replied with an adoring smile.

“This has no spending limit. When you flash this card, every salesperson within a two mile radius will come running. They will offer you champagne, caviar, hell, they’ll give you a foot massage in the middle of the store. They will do anything to get you to use this little piece of plastic.” Dev squeezed my hand. “So, what do you say, sweetheart? Should I give your bodyguard the keys to the kingdom?”

I rolled my eyes because I was so perfectly caught there wasn’t even a way to yell at him about it. “Bastard,” I managed to mutter, but it came out as an affectionate grumble. “I’ll shop.”

Neil kissed the card as Dev passed it to him. “I’m going to protect you with my life,” he whispered to the card lovingly. “You too, Z.”

Dev shot Daniel a look that said “See that’s how you handle a woman. You go through her gay husband.” And Daniel wordlessly replied with “Well played, dude with endless cash.” Neil was watching the two of them, and I had a suspicion in his version they were already kissing. I caught Neil’s attention, and he wagged his eyebrows lasciviously to let me know I was right. I couldn’t help but dissolve into laughter.

The boys shifted their eyes between me and Neil and then looked back at each other, trying to figure what we were laughing at. They seemed deeply confused, and it just made me laugh more.

The limo pulled up to the Palms, and Daniel got out, followed by Neil. I waited for Dev. He always got out of the car first and then opened the door for me. He even got pissed when a valet tried to help me out. It was something he enjoyed doing, so I didn’t scramble out of the limo after Neil, preferring to wait for Dev. Instead of getting out, he stopped Neil, tugging on his coat. Daniel was halfway in the building when he noticed no one was following him.

“Neil,” Dev began, completely losing the counselor’s smooth tones and sounding reckless again. “Spend whatever you want, and I mean whatever. Go crazy, buddy, but you have to do me two favors.”

“Anything.”

“One, lingerie,” Dev said. “I don’t mean that pretty Victoria’s Secret shit. I want slutty. I want to be able to eat it off her body, man. If it requires double A batteries, consider that a plus. Two, buy her shoes. She wears a seven and a half. Manolos, Jimmy Choos, good, high-end stuff. She’s going to try to talk you into a kitten heel. Screw that. I want a full-blown cat. Nothing under a four-and-a-half-inch stiletto. I look particularly good in jewel tones. Understood?”

Neil gave Dev a quick salute. “She’ll look like your wet dream by the time I’m done with her.”

Dev let him go and sat back. “You can’t imagine my wet dreams, little boy. Now, go tell your master I’ll have his queen back in plenty of time for the party. I have to debrief her, you understand.”

The limo door slammed shut. When he turned to me, I had to catch my breath. The last two days Dev had been very much in a professional mode. He’d been affectionate but circumspect out of respect for working closely with my husband. That cool, respectful man was gone, and in his place was one hungry boy.