Dev put an arm around me and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Please try to remember everyone is watching. Keep it civil."

"Zoey," Daniel shouted. So much for civil. "What the h.e.l.l do you think you're doing? You ignore my calls. You don't even bother to go home. Did you think I wouldn't come looking for you?"

Dev smiled broadly and held out his hand. Daniel just looked at it like it was diseased. "Shake my hand, Daniel, or I'll have you thrown out of this club."

Daniel huffed out an amused laugh. "I'd like to see you try."

"Every wolf in town is here tonight." Dev spoke slowly as if he was talking to a child. "You know, the same wolves you're trying to negotiate with. They're all here, and they're all watching you right now. You can take my hand and act like we're friends, or you can throwdown with your wayward wife and her lover in front of the world. Trust me. You don't want those wolves thinking you can't handle your b.i.t.c.h."

"Hey," I protested.

"It's a technical term only, sweetheart," Dev said, his lips quirking up with humor.

Daniel looked around and confirmed that he was, in fact, the center of attention. They were far enough away that they probably couldn't hear over the loud music, but they were definitely interested in us. Daniel took Dev's outstretched hand and shook it.

"Now, kiss your wife," Dev commanded quietly. "Like you mean it." I shot Dev a surprised look, but his face was bland, like this was an ordinary situation. "Don't get stubborn on me, Zoey. It's only a kiss, and it will spare us all so much trouble later."

Daniel looked apprehensive, but I walked into his arms and let his lips find mine. It wasn't our most pa.s.sionate kiss, but I still felt his warmth. Then it was over, and Dev looked down at me. He smiled a slow, seductive smile. He kissed me, snaking his hand through my hair, leaving no one confused about his intentions.

"I had to watch that, why?" Daniel nearly growled the question.

"Because we're creating an illusion, Daniel. Now we all go upstairs." Dev gestured toward his second floor office.

"Why are we going upstairs?" Daniel asked, very confused since this scenario wasn't playing out as he'd obviously planned.

Dev's green eyes rolled, his frustration evident. "Keep your voice down. We're going upstairs because I don't want to do this in front of everyone, you imbecile."

"Look man, if we go upstairs now people are going to think..." Daniel started.

"Yes, that's what they're going to think, and in one swift move, you go from cuckolded husband to a man of some exotic tastes. One is pathetic. The other is infinitely more interesting. It's your choice, Daniel. Now, Zoey, take your husband's hand and try to look like you're leading him to the Promised Land." Dev took my hand and started toward the stairs that led to his office. Daniel slipped his hand into my free one, and the three of us made our way through the very interested crowd.

"Boss." The bouncer at the stairs acknowledged Dev. He smiled at me, but his eyebrows rose at the sight of Daniel.

"Mike," Dev replied as the bouncer let us up the stairs. "I think we're going to require a few hours of privacy. Wouldn't you say, Dan?"

"At least," Daniel stammered.

Dev led us the rest of the way and used his card to open the door. I took one last glance at the crowd. Sure enough, there were very few people who weren't watching us disappear into the office. Dev dropped my hand as he shut the door behind us. He took a deep breath and proceeded to take a seat behind his desk. He held out his hand, indicating the two seats in front of him. Daniel and I sat down because I don't think either of us was sure of what else to do. I personally felt like I'd been called to the princ.i.p.al's office.

"What the h.e.l.l was that?" Daniel asked.

"That was me saving your a.s.s because you were about to make a huge mistake," Dev explained flatly. "I've watched you screw up long enough. I'm done. If you don't start playing this thing smart, you're going to get us all killed. I personally couldn't care less if you choose to commit suicide, but it affects Zoey, and that is my business."

Daniel's face flushed. I knew he didn't like me being Dev's business. "I didn't come here to talk to you, Quinn. I came here to talk to my wife."

Dev slapped a hand on his desk. "You came here to have a knockdown, dragout with your wife in a public forum. Rule number one in a royal court is this: Keep your problems behind closed doors."

Daniel looked at me like I knew what the h.e.l.l Dev was talking about, but I was in the dark, too. He'd been very pensive since we returned from our trip. He hadn't been distant. To the contrary, he lathered affection on me at every given opportunity. He seemed happy I was staying at his place. He took time from his business to have dinner with me each night and to sit and watch whatever I wanted on television. He was trying to keep that boyfriend promise he made to me. It was nice, but the whole time I could see he was thinking. I had a suspicion I was about to find out where his mind had been.

"I am going to make you an offer, Daniel." Dev sat back, and I wondered if this was the way he dealt with vendors and business contacts and employees. There was nothing teasing or reckless about him now. He was all business. "I'm only going to make the offer once. If you refuse, I'll take Zoey where she wants to go and you can do this on your own."

Daniel waved his hand, a gesture for Dev to continue. Condescension was plain in his every move. "Please, let me hear this plan of yours."

Dev's long fingers made a thoughtful steeple as he spoke. "It's not a plan. You already have a plan. It's just obvious to me you don't have the training to carry it to a successful conclusion. What I'm offering are my services as an advisor."

Daniel threw his head back and laughed. "What the h.e.l.l am I supposed to learn from you, Dev? I'm not going into the nightclub business. I suppose you could teach me how to dress like a metro douchebag."

"You have no idea who I am, do you, Daniel?" Dev asked, and I was surprised because there was no small amount of sympathy in his voice. "G.o.d, this is worse than I thought. Everyone keeps a.s.suring me you're a highly intelligent man, but if you don't even have a file on me, I'll have to disagree."

"Why would I have a file on you?"

Dev got up and took out a key. He walked to a large filing cabinet. Dev pulled out a fat file folder and tossed it to Daniel. I heard his shocked intake as he realized what it was.

"Know your enemies, Dan," Dev said, settling back into his chair.

I'd seen that file before. It was just about anything anyone ever wanted to know about Daniel Donovan. I was sure there were things in that file that Daniel had forgotten about himself. He flipped through the folder quickly. I saw the minute Daniel decided this was a serious discussion. His face lost the arrogance, and he settled down, staring at the folder. "And just who are you, Dev?"

"I am Devinshea Conlan Quinn, second son of Miria, Queen of Faery. I am second in line to the throne behind my brother, though I doubt I would last long if I took a crown. I come from a royal line that is so long, no one remembers where it began. I was raised in a royal court and acted as my mother's envoy to almost every type of supernatural creature you can imagine. If you want to know what I can teach you, besides how to dress like a douchebag, I will tell you. I can teach you how to be a king."

My heart nearly stopped in my chest. What the h.e.l.l was happening? They couldn't be in the same room for more than a few minutes without insulting each other. "Dev, why are you doing this?"

Dev leaned toward me. He slipped into the more formal speech pattern he took when he was serious. I guessed it was from his training when he was young. Court was probably a very formal place. When Dev stopped using contractions, I always knew he meant business. "I know one of the reasons you are content with me is the fact that I support your freedom in this relationship. I rarely question your decisions, and I tend to do anything you ask of me. This is not entirely contrary to my nature. I prefer to please you. I am finding it difficult to do that now. You will not be happy if we move to Miami. I doubt that you will ever be happy so far from your home and the people you love. You see my quandary? I can do what you ask of me, but it will not make you happy. I have the additional problem of being able to see that your husband is going to get himself executed by the Council. Has either of you thought about where that leaves Zoey?"

"She would be sold." Daniel confirmed our worst fears. "You could try to defend her. You could try to hide her, but eventually they would kill you and take her into custody. Marcus would attempt to buy her, but I can't promise that he would succeed. Companions are very rare, and she's exquisite."

"If Marcus is even alive at the end of it," Dev murmured. "Tell me if I am wrong, but you had to have a powerful ally in the vampire world to be able to get as far as you have without detection. Vorenus seems the most likely as he's your patron and on the Council. He could provide a certain amount of protection."

Daniel's jaw clenched, and I could see him thinking. He didn't want to see the wisdom in Dev's offer. He wanted to laugh and call him an idiot and walk out of the office with his full pride intact. He didn't want to see Dev as someone who could help him. I watched Daniel very carefully. Stewart's words played through my head. There was a part of me that wanted Daniel to get up and walk out of that room. It would prove that he didn't care about power. It would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Stewart was wrong.

"What am I doing wrong with the local wolves?" Daniel asked, and I knew his path was set.

Just like that my lover became my husband's chief advisor.

"Oh, so many things," Dev replied. "The first is the fact that you bothered with the local pack at all. Mitch.e.l.l Roberts is an idiot. You're never going to get anywhere with him. He owes fealty to the alpha in Colorado. Get that alpha on your side, and Mitch.e.l.l will fall in line. If he doesn't and he breaks rank, we can take him out with no repercussions."

Daniel was nodding, and I suddenly felt invisible. I was no longer needed as the men in my life talked about negotiations and political ramifications and potentially advantageous a.s.sa.s.sinations. They talked forever as I sat there and wondered when the h.e.l.l I had lost the upper hand.

I wasn't mad at Dev per se. He was trying to please me. He believed I would be unhappy if Daniel and I were completely estranged. He knew I would be devastated if Daniel were killed, so he placed himself in a position to stop that from happening. I just didn't see how having the two men I loved working together would be anything but a disaster.

After a long discussion, Dev turned to me. "Zoey, are you listening?"

I wasn't, but it was easier to lie. "Of course."

Dev looked suspicious. "This is about you, too."

"I don't want to be queen." It hadn't seemed real until now. Daniel's war had seemed so far off, and I wasn't really a queen anyway. But now it was right in front of my face. In that moment, I just wanted to go upstairs and go to sleep, and in the morning everything would be back to normal or something close to it. Dev might have been right about my eventual dissatisfaction with Florida, but in that moment I wished he'd just packed up and left with me.

"Zoey," Dev said, but now he sounded more like my Dev. He was cajoling softly. "You're his greatest a.s.set, sweetheart. It won't work without you. The other tribes or packs are going to be suspicious of a vampire. You soften him. Listen, we can all talk about this when we get to Vegas. I'll take care of the plans."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Daniel frowned, looking anywhere but my way.

"If you leave her behind, she'll just do it on her own. You can take her with you and let me help, or she and Christine are going to use me as a magical battery to call up old Stewart tonight. I a.s.sure you he'll be happy to be of service."

"s.h.i.t," Daniel cursed under his breath.

"You don't have to have anything to do with it, Danny." Even to my own ears I sounded petulant.

Dev walked from around his desk and pulled my hand to his lips. "She wouldn't be Zoey if she weren't so stubborn. Again, it's your choice, Daniel. You can go with us and we can run the job as planned, or she takes it in an entirely new and insanely dangerous direction. I will be going with Zoey. We can all go together or you can go alone. I think you'll find me immensely useful in Vegas, but I have to think of Zoey first."

I knew there was a litany of curses running through Daniel's brain, but he took a deep breath and sat back. "Fine. We need to be in Vegas at least two days before the ball. I have meetings to attend. I have a room at the Flamingo."

Dev actually shuddered. "Not anymore, you don't. We'll stay at my place. I have a penthouse at the Palms. My club is located there. The Council has already contacted me about hosting some of the events, so it won't be such a surprise for me to be there. The penthouse has enough room for all of us, including Neil."

Daniel's jaw firmed, his eyes lowering as if he was attempting to contain some well of emotion. "You can't expect me to share a room with you and Zoey."

Dev looked him straight in the face, not flinching a bit. "I don't expect it, Daniel. I require it. How exactly did you intend to explain my presence at this ball? I can be in Vegas for business, but that won't get me into the ball."

Daniel ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Everyone brings their crew."

"Their retinue, Daniel. Stop talking like a kid off the streets," Dev corrected. "Does everyone's retinue include their wife's lover? Think for a moment and you'll realize what we all have to do."

Daniel got up and started pacing. "You want me to take you to the ball as my lover? Dev, no one is going to believe that."

Dev waved a hand toward the club outside his door. "They already do. Every cell phone in the supernatural world has been ringing tonight with the news that Daniel Donovan enjoyed a threesome with his wife and her lover. They're shaking their heads because now it all makes sense. Why would you kill me when you could enjoy me? How do you think a vampire makes his fortune? He doesn't work on Wall Street. He takes wealthy lovers. Hide in plain sight, Daniel. That is the only way this works."

Daniel let out a long, deep breath. He looked over at me, and his expression was one of naked pain. "How the h.e.l.l did we get here, Z?"

The enormity of everything that had happened, that would happen, was crashing in on me. I didn't want this. I didn't want to be a queen. I didn't want to fight the Council. I didn't want to mix my lover up in Daniel's seemingly unavoidable destiny. My fears must have shown on my face because Dev hugged me tightly.

"It's going to be all right, sweetheart," Dev said, stroking my hair. "I know you're used to being in control, and you still are. If you still want to leave, I'll fuel the jet. We can be on the beach by dawn. It's your choice."

I looked at Daniel, who averted his eyes, choosing not to watch. It would be so much easier to leave. I could laugh and play and love Dev. And Daniel would probably die, and everyone I knew and loved would be in danger. Why couldn't I break with him? Even after everything that had happened, I knew in that moment that I would never have gone through with it. I would never have left Daniel. Even the limbo we were in was better than nothing at all. "No. I'll go to Vegas. I'll be what he needs."

Dev nodded. "I'll handle everything. Now you, my love, need to go on up to the grotto and horribly disappoint your father's girlfriend. Daniel and I are going to go back to the club and try to look like two men who just made one woman very happy. I believe the Mavs are playing. Shall we?"

Daniel looked at me for a long time before getting up and joining Dev. When they were gone, I sat back in my chair and wondered if I wouldn't have been better off with Stewart.

Chapter Seventeen.

"What is this?" I stared down at the sheet of paper Dev handed me as the limo pulled away from the airport. I glanced back at the small jet we'd flown to Vegas in. It was a private plane, one he'd borrowed from the corporation he owned. My boyfriend really did know how to live.

"It's your itinerary." Dev pa.s.sed out a schedule to both Daniel and Neil. "There are several things you need to do while we're here."

I scanned the list, grimacing a little. Since Dev took over as Daniel's advisor, I'd discovered he was d.a.m.n serious about schedules. "I have three fittings? What am I trying to fit into?"

"He has me down for fittings, too." Daniel frowned.

"Did you think I was going to let you wear a h.e.l.lboy T-shirt to the ball? And don't try to tell me you brought a suit. You need a tux, and I don't trust you to not buy something in powder blue with ruffles," Dev explained. He turned to me. "As for you, your dress was custom made, and it needs to be fitted."

Daniel was still staring at the itinerary. "And what the h.e.l.l does this mean? This a.s.shole has me brooding every day from seven to nine."

A little smile curled Dev's lips up. "That would be your free time. If you can think of something to do besides brood, feel free. Would you like me to try to fit in some scowling time? Perhaps time to rail against fate?"

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 h.e.l.l 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 h.o.m.oerotic 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 h.e.l.l 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, h.e.l.l, they'll give you a foot ma.s.sage 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. "b.a.s.t.a.r.d," I managed to mutter, but it came out as an affectionate grumble. "I'll shop."

Neil kissed the card as Dev pa.s.sed 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 p.i.s.sed 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."