Page 83 of Devious Corruption

Her eyes widen, and she pulls back slightly.

“A bookstore?”

“Yes, last week, you came in looking for a magazine. A wedding magazine…” My voice dies as dread washes over me.

I’ve ruined something.

“A wedding magazine?” Alexander questions, turning his gaze back on his little sister. “Why would you need a wedding magazine, Elana?”

“Shit,” Kaz whispers and shakes his head. “What’s going on, Elana?”

“Nothing.” She says forcefully, but there’s a little crack in her voice.

“Maybe I was wrong?” I sink back in my chair. “I see a lot of customers, maybe it was something else?”

This was a perfectly good family brunch, and I’ve ruined it for them.

“No. I was there.” Elana admits. “But the magazine wasn’t for me. It was for my friend Nicole. Her boyfriend is going to propose. I wanted to get her some stuff; you know for the planning.”

“Oh, that makes sense!” I laugh. It’s a horrible, awkward sound.

“What man were you with? Because Artem didn’t mention anything about a bookstore way on the west side of the city.” Alexander continues to push.

“Let it go,” Kaz waves a hand. “She was shopping. Leave it.”

“You have to stop defending her.” Alexander argues with Kaz.

“You have to stop treating her like she’s a piece of fragile china that will break if someone touches her. Leave it alone. She went shopping.”

“Without any security?” Ivan continues.

I glance at Megan, who looks like she’s trying to find a spot in the conversation to intervene, then to Elana who’s shooting daggers at her brothers with her eyes.

“They’re like this a lot when it comes to Elana,” Vee whispers in my ear. “Overprotective brothers. You know how they can be.”

Shouldn’t I?

“Yeah.” I roll my eyes, pretending as though I have every idea of what she’s talking about. But realistically, I can’t imagine Joey or Keith caring where I shopped or with who, or if I was in a safe neighborhood at the time.

Every family is different though, so I shouldn’t compare.

But there’s an ache that surprises me as I watch the Volkov siblings bicker back and forth. No matter how stern the brothers’ voices get, Elana rolls her eyes and absorbs it all. As though she’s used to this and is just waiting for the storm to pass through.

Beneath the jibes and arguments, a current of love runs deep. I can sense it, and I barely know them. They would kill for each other. And they’d die for them, too.

“You okay?” Lev asks, moving his arm to rest on the back of my chair. His fingers gently push a stray hair back behind my ear.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” I push on a smile. “Perfect.”

His eyes narrow, that damn lie detector of his is going off in his head, I’m sure.

“Max, don’t lie. They can be a lot when they all get going. If it’s too much, we can go home.” He keeps his voice down.

“No. I wanted to spend some time with Vee. I swear, I’m fine,” I reassure him.

He studies me, like he’s reading a book looking for the context clues.

“Okay, a little longer. Finish eating. You barely had breakfast.” He gives a pointed look at my plate.