Page 32 of Throne of Sin

I glare at him. “We can’t all live in the middle of nowhere.”

“I get my work done the same as you.” He crosses his arms, looking perfectly at ease.

“Fine.” What else is there to say or do?

Chapter 17

Demi

It’sbeenaweeksince I moved and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Dante. I don’t know why I expected him to check in on me to see how I’m doing. He’s even been conspicuously absent from work, replaced by his brother Max.

I hope this has nothing to do with me.

The thought is so absurd I roll my eyes and focus back on work. I don’t have that type of power over Dante.

Tonight, I’m waitressing in my black corset and booty shirts.

“Hey, Demi.” Max gives me a smile. He’s been flirting with all the girls. He mightseemfriendly, but I know when someone is trying to gain something. I don’t trust him. His presence puts me on edge.

“Dante!” Sienna calls out. My back stiffens, suddenly nervous.

I can smell Dante before I see him. He places a firm hand on mine and his brother’s shoulder as he positions himself between the two of us. My skin lights with warmth from his touch. I turn my head to acknowledge his presence.

“How’s the new place?” he asks, his hand still resting on my shoulder.

“Um, ah.” It takes a second for my tongue to work properly. “Tanya is my roommate. Her and Robin drew straws.”

“I noticed you’ve been avoiding certain shifts, and she’s picked them up for you.”

I repeat his words, not understanding them. “I work the shifts Sienna scheduled me for.” Tanya needed me to trade some shifts with her for personal reasons, and I’m not going to throw her under the bus. She’s finally accepting me, even though she’s the only girl in the house having to share a room.

“Next time you want to switch a shift, it needs to go through me first.” His hand leaves my shoulder.

“I don’t see the other girls going to you to approve changes. So, I’ll continue doing as them, by taking up any shift changes with your manager, Sienna.” I hold his glare refusing to back down.

“Careful with that tongue of yours, Demi.” I watch as he works the back of his jaw over and back.

“If all of us girls are going to be going to you for shift changes, you should inform Sienna before any of us. It’s called manners.”

Dante’s eyes flare with my back talk.

“Hey Demi, you want to hang out on your day off?” Max asks pushing himself between the two of us.

“I can’t.” I gather up my drinks onto my tray and leave to do my job.

I can feel eyes on me the entire time. When I sneak a look back at the bar, both brothers are staring. It’s unnerving. I don’t want to go back to the bar, but I have no choice.

When I return, Max strikes up a conversation. “Why can’t you hang out?” His posture is relaxed except for a small tick in his left eye. If I had a vision of what a mafia man looked like, it would be Max.

“The girls and I are hanging out.” I grab my drinks, turning my back to him, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

For the rest of my shift, I talk to the customers more than normal, avoiding spending any time near Max. People surround the bar three bodies deep, making avoidance easy enough. The room has become overcrowded and I have to push through people to get Sienna my list of drinks.

My ass gets grabbed at least twice while I try to take my drinks away from the bar, but I’m too busy to see who is responsible. The girls on stage are getting cat called and the bouncer has already had to step in because of coins being shot toward the girls.

I’m happy I’m not on stage tonight. I’m working triple time on the floor because all of our lap dance girls are in the rooms, even the small curtained areas are in use, and it’s leaving less of us on the floor to deliver drinks. This weekend has been far crazier than our normal.

After delivering the most recent round of drinks, I turn to head back to the bar and collide with a hard chest, my round tray falling to the ground with a clatter.

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