Page 84 of Devious Corruption

“You know it’s creepy having your men spy on me and then report back to you. I bet you know exactly what I had for breakfast even though you weren’t around.”

He grins. “A yogurt and an apple.”

I roll my eyes. “See. Creepy.”

“I have something for you,” Vee interrupts us. “Come with me.”

“She needs to finish eating,” Lev grabs the back of my chair when I start to scoot back.

“I’ll finish when I get back.” I shove at his arm, and surprisingly,he relents.

“They’re not going to stop arguing for a few minutes, and I wanted to give you something before Ivan took me away.”

“It’s not forever, Vee.” I try to find some levity, but I can understand her fear.

The men who shot at me, thought they were shooting at her. It would make me frightened too.

She leads me up a set of stairs to the second floor. “Ivan brought us here yesterday after Lev called to tell him what had happened. There’s plenty of security at his place, but this place is a full-on fortress.”

“I noticed the guard tower at the gates.”

She laughs. “That’s only the start of it. There’re snipers on the damn roof. Snipers!” She shakes her head. “I really should think twice about being with him.”

She opens the door to a bedroom, and I follow her inside. I’m wrong. It’s not a bedroom. It’s a full suite. Similar in style to what Lev has at his place. A TV room attached to a bedroom.

“Ivan loves you,” I say as she unzips a duffel bag. “Besides, I don’t think he’d let you go now that he has you.”

She grins like a woman who’s found her true happiness. “No. He wouldn’t.”

“See. So I was right to nudge you in that direction.”

“And what about Lev?” She asks, still digging in the bag. “How’s that going? Still hate him?”

“I didn’t hate him. I just…”

“Thought he hated you, so it was best for you to be thefirst to strike?” She looks up from her search with a knowing grin. “See, I can see through you just as easily as you see through me.”

“Okay, so I don’t hate him. That doesn’t mean anything is going on.”

“So, that’s not his teeth marks in your neck?” She leans over and presses her finger against the spot where he sank his teeth into me.

I slap my hand over the spot, heat crawls over my face. “Didn’t you say you needed to give me something?”

She laughs. “Okay, we’ll talk about it later.”

Out of the bag, she pulls out a cellphone. “Ivan’s not going to let me use my usual number or to call your phone. So take this one. We’ll both have burners that we can talk on.”

“Oh, smart.” I take it from her.

“My number’s the only one programed in.” She taps the contact list. “I’ll let you know as soon as Ivan and I get to where we’re going. And you have to keep me informed of what’s happening here. Ivan will try to keep it from me if he thinks it’s going to worry me.”

“Overprotective oaf.” I sigh.

She laughs. “Yeah.”

As I’m tucking the phone into my back pocket the door opens. Ivan and Lev step inside.

“It’s time to go.”