Bristling, Tanner flicked up his eyebrow. “You think I’d hurt her?”
“Not on purpose. But you’re a hard man, Tanner. It’s obvious you don’t like emotional attachments. Devon is warm and kind and caring. She’ll give her partner everything she has, and she deserves to get that in return. In some ways, you seem good for her. But I don’t know if you could ever give her what she needs.”
Tanner’s eye twitched. The words far too closely echoed those that Larkin had spoken to him not so long ago. Just like he’d told the harpy … “This is between me and Devon.”
Face hardening, Adam leaned toward him. “She’s my anchor—”
“That’s great,” said Tanner with mock enthusiasm. “But it makes no difference.”
“It does, because she’s very much my business.”
Thinking it would be fun to stab a claw right into the fucker’s eyeball, Tanner ate up the space between them in one smooth stride. “You don’t want to get in my way where Devon’s concerned,” he warned, his voice whisper-soft. “You really, really don’t.”
Looking remarkably calm, Adam gave an innocent shrug. “I’m not in your way. You are. Whatever issues you have about relationships are in your way. Typical male hellhound, really.”
He flexed his fingers. “And, what, you’re going to tell me to end it?”
“I don’t need to. I’m certain you’ll end it yourself at some point. Another guy will come along who’s willing to give her everything she deserves, of course. The question on my mind is … will you let him live long enough to make a place for himself in her life? If the answer to that question is no, well, I have to wonder what it is that you’ll do about it.”
The hinges squeaked as the restroom door swung open. Devon sauntered out, her gaze dancing from him to her anchor. “Something wrong?” she asked.
Adam smiled. “No. We were just talking.”
She twisted her mouth. “Hmm.”
Tanner seized her hand. “Time to go.”
Devon barely got a chance to say her goodbyes to Adam and Hunter before the pooch was dragging her toward the exit of the restaurant, where there was a long line of people waiting to be seated. And that was when she noticed them gathered near the front of the line. Shit.
She would have looked straight ahead and pretended she hadn’t seen them if Finn hadn’t then turned … and instantly spotted her.
He blinked. “Devon.”
Stopping in front of him, she forced a smile and let her gaze sweep over Leticia, Spencer, Reena, and Kaye. “Hello.”
Smiling, Spencer stepped out of the group. “Hi there, you look good.” He gave her a brief pat on the back and then turned to the male at her side. “You must be Tanner. I heard you were guarding Devon.” He held out his hand. “I’m Spencer, her brother.”
Brother? It wasn’t often that he used that word when referring to their relationship.
Tanner shook his hand and gave him a curt nod, but his eyes turned flinty when he slid them back to Finn.
Sensing the two people who’d come up behind her, Devon gestured to them and said, “This is Adam, my anchor, and his partner, Hunter.”
His smile weak, Finn nodded their way. “Devon’s mentioned you a time or two.”
“It’s good to meet you both,” Spencer told them.
“Same to you,” said Hunter, but Adam didn’t speak. Considering his utter distaste for her paternal relatives and how fiercely protective her anchor was of her, it didn’t surprise Devon that he didn’t conjure up even the slightest bit of civility for them.
“We were just, um …” Finn cleared his throat. “We came here to celebrate. It’s Reena’s birthday.”
“I know,” said Devon, her tone even. “I sent her a birthday card with a gift card in it.”
Surprise seemed to ripple around the group, and Reena averted her gaze.
Leticia shot her eldest daughter a hard glare that she didn’t see. “That was very nice of you, Devon. Thank you. Reena’s very grateful.”
Kaye snickered. “Reena’s very embarrassed.”
“Kaye,” her sister hissed.
“You’re welcome to join us,” Finn said to Devon.
She didn’t miss the way Reena tensed, or the way Kaye’s nose wrinkled.
“We’ve eaten,” said Tanner, tightening his grip on her hand.
Purely because Devon knew it would annoy her, she said, “Happy birthday, Reena. I hope you all enjoy your meal.”
Outside, Adam gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze. “I wish we’d picked another restaurant.”
“It’s our ritual to come here. They don’t get to ruin that.” Devon gave both him and Hunter a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much for dinner. Love you both.”
Adam smiled. “Love you, too.”
“Back at you, Clarke,” said Hunter, pinching her cheek.
And then Tanner was literally dragging her down the Underground “strip.” When he didn’t head in the direction of the studio, she frowned. “Harper—”
“Is riding with Knox tonight,” he finished.
People cast them curious stares as they walked through the Underground toward the elevator, hand in hand, his body language as boldly possessive as it was protective. And it was a true struggle not to plant her palm in his face and shove him out of her personal space.
He didn’t say a word during the short elevator ride. Nor did he speak as he led her to his Audi. He maintained said silence as they drove to his apartment building.
She sighed. “You gonna tell me why you’ve got a bug up your ass?”
“I’m fine,” he clipped.
“Oh. Okay.” She turned to the window, deciding to let him brood.
Finally inside his building, they slipped into the elevator. And he was still a silently seething mass of anger. When the elevator paused at his floor, she didn’t step out. “I’ll be upstairs—hey, let the fuck go.” But he didn’t. He all but dragged her to his apartment and into the kitchen, where he switched on the coffee machine. “Christ, pooch, what is your damage?”
He didn’t answer. Just stared out of the window.
She slipped onto a stool and rested her folded arms on the island. “What did Adam say to you? You’ve been pissy ever since you spoke to him outside the restroom.”
He glanced at her over his shoulder, his brows drawn together. “I don’t get pissy.”
“Dude, you’re pissy.” She tapped her nails on the counter. “If you’re not going to tell me what he said, you can at least tell me how serious this thing is that you and the other sentinels are all in a tizzy over.”
His face blanked. “It’s lair business.”
Yeah, she got that. And she wouldn’t expect him to share such information with someone outside of his lair. “I never asked you to tell me what it is. I asked how serious it is.”
He turned to fully face her. “Very.”
“Then you should be concentrating on that, not on what’s going on with me.”
“I’m focusing on both.”