“What is that supposed to mean?” Dev asked.
I knew exactly what he meant and how Dev would take it. Sometimes I could translate for both of them. “It means he didn’t have a biological child, and while that didn’t stop him from loving the ones we did have, a part of himself envied us. The boys look exactly like you, and Evan resembles me. He’s not making light of our family. He’s being honest with us about something he doesn’t want to admit.”
“Okay, I do understand that.” Dev’s tone softened.
Danny sent me a half smile. “Thanks, Z. I was afraid I was seeing something that might not be there. And then Lee said something to me. Not our Lee. This happened when his soul remembered that he’d been…well, our Lee, but older and more cranky. He told me he sensed something different about himself, that he thought something was wrong with him and he was worried. He asked me to watch him. I promised I would. Like I said, I had suspicions already.”
“Suspicions you didn’t bring to us,” Dev accused.
“I had my reasons for that. I explained it to you. What you’re really upset about is that I told Myrddin. I can’t explain that except that he always felt like good counsel. When I would talk to him, I felt more at ease. I felt like I was getting sage advice,” Danny said with a sigh.
“And I didn’t give you…”
I stopped Dev there because we weren’t doing this. “You talked to Myrddin all the time. You asked his advice, too. I’m not happy about this, but you of all people should understand how Myrddin could trick a man.”
Dev took a deep breath. “All right.”
I turned back to Danny. “Have you talked to him yet.”
He shook his head. “To Myrddin? No. I don’t have a thrall stone embedded in my brain anymore. I was going to sit down and talk to you two before I did anything. I thought I might be able to make a deal to heal Zack. Like I could use the meeting for leverage.”
He was so worried about Zack. They’d been a unit for over a decade, Zack always at his side. Dev might hold half of Danny’s heart, but Zack was his friend. It was an easy relationship and one Danny had come to rely on over the years. I moved in and wrapped my arms around him. “We need to find a way to heal Zack without giving you up.”
“Well, to do that I need to meet with Myrddin, but it has to be somewhere safe, and I need to think about how to handle him. How much time are you and Lee going to need?” Danny rubbed his cheek against my head.
“It depends. I’m hoping I can get up to the penthouse and back out in less than a half an hour. But I don’t know what kind of physical security he’s put in,” I admitted. “He’ll have definitely changed the lock, so to speak.”
“Will he?” Dev moved behind me, surrounding me and obviously letting go of his anger. He did that so much more quickly now. “Myrddin didn’t like technology. He preferred to rely on his skills. Would he even know how to change the elevator codes?”
“She’s not going in until we know,” Daniel said. “I can put Myrddin off for a week or so.”
“And then we guarantee he’s changing the locks.” I thought we should move as quickly as possible. Getting in and out as fast as we could was the only way to go in this case. And the truth of the matter was I wanted to know if Lee could still see that book. I hoped he could because then he might stay human a little while longer, to see that there was a reason to let himself enjoy his human life.
A low growl came from the back of Danny’s throat, a sure sign that he was anxious.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Dev crowded me, getting a hand on Daniel’s neck. “We’re going to be all right. Come here and I’ll show you.”
Danny leaned over and their lips brushed.
Dev knew how to calm the king down after a long day.
Danny went from kissing Dev to devouring me, his tongue surging in and dominating mine in the most delicious way possible. My body went electric.
And then there was a terrible slamming sound as the door came open and Neil rushed in. “Daniel, we need you. It’s Zack. He’s dying.”
We rushed out and I prayed we could find a way to save him.
Chapter Sixteen
“He’s stable again.” Daniel walked out of the room where Zack lay on what I prayed wasn’t his deathbed.
“Good.” Dev stood up and straightened his shirt. “I’ll go speak with Albert. Some food might do him good.”
He kissed my cheek before striding out the door. It was good for him to have something to do. He’d been pacing outside the room, his worry evident in the grim look in his eyes.