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.
Daniel gave me a slightly sheepish look. “I kinda already did.”
Dev held up his left wrist which sported two neat fang marks. “We were in a Halo match and I was kicking his ass. He whined that he was hungry and couldn’t concentrate.”
“Well, I was,” Daniel replied. “You had a substantial advantage.”
“Yeah, the advantage is I’m way better than you,” Dev shot back with a laugh. “Stick to chess, egghead. Anyway, I had to find some way to shut him up.”
“Yeah and what happened after I had a little snack?”
Dev pointed. “Do you have any idea how much that hurts, asshole? Those aren’t girlie fangs you got there. My wrist still aches. This is my firing hand.”
“Oh, maybe mommy will kiss it better,” Daniel returned. “I killed him like forty-two times after I ate. I’ll give you your rematch tomorrow because I’ll enjoy killing you again.”
I punched Daniel in the arm. “You hurt him? You’re supposed to make that nice for him.”
Both boys backed off with hands held up.
“Not going to happen, Z,” Daniel said.
“I’m with Dan on this one,” Dev agreed. “It’s all fine and dandy if you’re there, but if you’re otherwise disposed, there’s going to be some manly pain involved. It’s okay. I punched him in the face after he was done.”
A grin lit Daniel’s normally somber face. “He did. It tickled.”
Sarah and I looked at each other and shook our heads. Boys. I would never completely understand the male friendship that was blossoming between Danny and Dev. It involved playing a lot of video games, calling each other all sorts of vulgar names, and trying to hurt each other on a regular basis. I’d caught Dev shooting Daniel in the leg just to see how long it took him to heal. They had a bet.
I glanced up at the clock. “We should get going. I don’t want to keep Dad waiting.”
Sarah and Felix took their own car. They were going clubbing after the party so Dev, Daniel, and I found ourselves happily alone in the limo as we drove through the Dallas night.
“So tell me, baby, how did you make poor Zack’s life hell today?” Daniel asked as the limo pulled away from the club. His eyes held an expectant gleam.
“I was perfectly well behaved today.” I lied because I wasn’t about to tell the truth.
“I seriously doubt that.” Dev pulled me into his lap. “I like the skirt, sweetheart.”
He didn’t really give a crap about the skirt, but he enjoyed having easy access to what he did like. He slid his hand up my leg, squeezing my thigh and making me lean against him as I tried to breathe. We had some time before we got to my dad’s and I had to deal with the intricate social situation we were in. Maybe if my guys were satisfied, they would be a wee bit more tolerant when they realized I hadn’t exactly done what they asked me to. I’d promised them I would have a conversation with my dad about our living arrangements. Yeah, I hadn’t exactly gotten around to that.
“I like what’s under the skirt,” Daniel said. He sat across from us, his body relaxed as he watched.