Page 93 of Devious Corruption

As I crouch down to grab one of the boxes, the front door opens.

“Sorry, we’re just closing,” I call out, lifting the box as I stand. It’s too heavy, though, and a pain shoots through my lower back.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Lev’s at my side in an instant, grabbing the box and pulling it from my grasp as easily as plucking an apple from a tree.

I take a small step back, stretching up to my full height until the spasm in my back subsides.

“I was just lifting the box. It’s heavier than I thought.”

Lev turns me away from him and rubs the spot on my back.

“You shouldn’t be lifting all this, anyway,” he mutters. “You could have hurt yourself. Where the hell is Dmitri?”

He’s only been here thirty seconds and already he’s in a bad mood.

“He doesn’t work here, Lev.” I lean into his warm hands. The pain has already left but having him rubbing my back this way feels too good to let him stop.

“I put him here with you. That means he works with you.”

“No. It means he hangs out, stays out of my way, and makes sure no Armenian or Italian mobsters come in here to kill me.” I gently pull away from his deliciously warm hands and face him. “Which we both know won’t happen, but in order for you to feel better about me being here every day, I’ve agreed to let Dmitri keep me company.”

Lev’s jaw tightens. He turns his attention at the boxes at my feet.

“You shouldn’t be doing all of this on your own. I don’t like you here by yourself all the time.”

“Well, Mr. Miller likes a slim payroll.” I pat his chest, feeling the strong muscles beneath his jacket. “If he hired more help, he’d likely cut my hours.”

“He’s cheap. You do all the work here, and he gets allthe profit. Even the other women who work here don’t do as much as you.”

I never should have let him ask so many questions about my job. But I’d been trying to get him to relent on the whole never-leaving-his-penthouse-again attitude and thought I was doing the right thing.

“It’s fine.” I push another box with my foot. “I’ll just open them on the floor, I think.”

“Keep walking.” Dmitri’s booming voice draws our attention.

It’s the customer he’d been concerned about. A man around fifty with more salt than pepper in his thinning hair and a beer belly leading the way, is shoved out of the aisle. He stumbles, but catches himself before falling, sputtering something under his breath.

“You’re not coming back here. Understood.” Dmitri grabs the man by the back collar of his jacket and drags him the rest of the way out of the store, opening the door and shoving him out onto the street.

I move, ready to argue with Dmitri, but Lev places a hand on my arm. His silent order to stay put and stay quiet.

After the door shuts again and Dmitri watches through the glass until he’s satisfied the man’s gone before turning back to us.

“I told you he was in there too long.” He holds up a book and shakes it. “He was reading this in one of the stalls, jerking off.”

I pull back. “What? Oh my god.”

Lev takes the book from him and looks at the cover, his brow lifts.“Deviant Debutante?This is why you shouldn’t be alone here. What if you had gone in there to check on him, and he was in the middle of jerking his cock?”

For once, he has a solid point. It’s not exactly a sight I would want to see or have to deal with.

“The odds of that happening ever again are small to none,” I say instead of agreeing because once you give Lev an inch he’s going to bulldoze over the next mile. The next thing you know, I’ll be having a full security team here.

Dmitri grabs his coat from behind the counter. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

“Of course you will.” I nod. “It’s a late night tomorrow. Dante Woods is here for a signing at seven.”

“You’re here in the morning all the way through?” Lev accuses.