her pride if he spoke out loud of how weak she currently was. You’d say the same thing to others if the situation applied to them.
He let his gaze roam over her. There was something oddly satisfying about seeing her in his shirt, just as there’d been something oddly satisfying about seeing her in his bed.
He’d only ever had two other females in his apartment before now—Larkin and Harper, both of whom he thought of as family. Never had a woman slept in his bed. He wouldn’t have thought he’d like it, but he had. Though that was probably quite simply because it was Devon.
“I think Tanner’s suggestion is a sound idea,” Levi said to her. “This building has all kinds of security measures—technological and preternatural. Apart from Knox’s estate, which you’re insisting you won’t stay at, this is probably the safest place for you to be that’s local to your friends, family, and work.”
“I agree,” said Jolene. “The attempt to snatch you right in front of your guards was bold, Devon. I don’t foresee the asshole behind all this backing off—which makes him stupid, but never underestimate how dangerous stupid people can be. I’d rather you were staying here. Especially since Tanner would be on the floor below you. Having marked you, he’d be alerted if something was wrong and he could get to you in under a minute.”
Devon inclined her head because, yeah, that was a good point.
“He could also give you a ride to work in the morning,” Jolene added ever so casually. “And give you a ride home afterwards—it would make sense for him to do so.”
Devon folded her arms across her chest. “I see where this is going.” Jolene wanted him to chauffeur her around. And as her gaze swept the room, she saw that everyone seemed to think that it was a good idea.
“Twice now you’ve been taken while on your way somewhere,” Jolene reminded her. “I want you to have someone dangerous at your side next time it happens. Not in a car behind you, shadowing your every move.”
“Think of having Tanner with you as carrying a loaded gun,” said Khloë. “A backup weapon, if you will. Only he’s too big to slip into a holster on your ankle. Which is good, because the damn things can rub at your skin something awful at times.”
Keenan turned to the imp. “You’re armed?”
Khloë frowned at him. “We’re not talking about me.”
“We are now,” the incubus snapped.
Khloë ignored him. “As weapons go, a hellhound is mega cool, Dev. Any girl would happily have one.”
“So, you’d be okay with someone chauffeuring you around?” Devon asked the incredibly independent female.
Khloë snorted, her brows drawing together. “Hell n—yes, yes I would.”
Devon shook her head. “God, you’re so full of shit.”
Raini sat beside Devon. “What sounds better to you—dead and proud, or alive and chafing at the bit? Because I’d go for door number two, in your shoes.”
Harper moved closer. “When I was bristling over Knox assigning me a bodyguard, you said it didn’t make me weak to have people looking out for my safety, Devon. You said it made me smart. Well, right back atcha, Clarke.”
Devon looked at the three girls carefully. “You guys haven’t ganged up on me this way since we were eleven and I refused to lie that Khloë dumped Gary Ford when it was the other way around.”
Khloë gasped. “I can’t believe you pulled that out of the vault.”
“Who’s Gary Ford?” Keenan asked, but he was ignored.
With a mock sigh, Tanner stepped forward. “Look, kitten, I know it’s a struggle for you to deal with the undying love you feel for me and the close proximity only makes it harder, but what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
Devon glared at him. “Honestly, sometimes it’s like your brain takes a laxative or something.”
Tanner chuckled, and his hound let out an amused chuff. She was far too easy to rile, which he couldn’t help but enjoy. “You’re not dumb, kitten, you know you can’t go back to your apartment until it’s been cleaned. And since someone managed to get past your protective wards, you can’t claim that you’d be safe there.”
Levi’s mind touched his. I’m thinking that Eleanor could have been the one who wrecked her apartment.
Yeah, I had that same thought, said Tanner, but it wasn’t something he’d mention to Devon until he knew for sure.
“I think it would be best if you stayed here until all this is over,” Gertie said to her. “Or at