Chapter 33

Mike had given Max and Dimitri the phone Sarah had told them about and had been in contact with Viktor’s men. They were trying to work out a deal to get him to meet with Kyle.

Viktor had some conditions that he wanted to be met before Kyle met him. He wanted her to have no contact with the Volkov organization.

Kyle didn’t like that; she wanted contact with Max and Dimitri.

“We can’t devote all of our time to making a deal with Viktor; we have other business to attend to,” Max told Anatoli.

“James hasn’t paid us, and I think it’s time to issue him a warning. Take Kyle with you. I’m sending you instead of Mike or Jason because I trust you with her.”

***

Kyle found herself on the inside of a job, and she couldn’t figure out if she was excited or nervous at this opportunity.

“What are we doing?” Kyle asked Anatoli.

“This man owes us money, as your brother did, and we are going to issue our first warning.”

“What are we going to do to him?”

“He needs to know we are dangerous, so we will need to rough him up a bit, and your job is to do as I say. You are not to hesitate, understand?”

“Yes.”

Anatoli and Kyle arrived at a bar, and Kyle was getting nervous; she didn’t know what to do or what Anatoli expected of her.

Just like any bar, the place was packed with drunk people, and it made Kyle happy that she no longer worked in one.

Kyle followed Anatoli to where the bartender was.

“James, where is he?” Anatoli demanded.

“He’s in the back. He said not to disturb him.”

Anatoli didn’t care and kept walking toward the back to find James.

When Anatoli and Kyle got to the back room, Anatoli didn’t knock and let himself in.

“James.”

“I told Max I’d have his money next week.”

“You told him, but he didn’t agree.”

James went to stand up, but Anatoli didn’t have it. “Stay seated.”

Anatoli sat across from James, and Kyle realized just how intimidating Anatoli could be, but she also noticed this persona made him even more attractive than he already was.

“Where’s the money?”

“I told you I’d have it next week.”

“We don’t want it next week; we want it now.”

“Well, I don’t have it.”

“Then we take something important to you,” Anatoli stated.

“I don’t have anything of value.” James was getting nervous and was starting to fidget.

Kyle stood there thinking about what James could give to get him out of debt, and then it dawned on her. “What about this bar?”

Kyle walked toward James and Anatoli. “This bar brings in a few thousand a night, even more on the weekends, right?”

“You can’t take the bar—it’s all I have,” James begged.

“You should’ve thought of that when you were borrowing money from us. It’s either the bar, or it’ll be something worse than this,” Kyle threatened.

“Hmm. I think you’re right, Kyle. The bar will do the trick.” Anatoli stood up and looked at James. “We’ll be back in a few days with Max for approval.”

Kyle and Anatoli made their way back to the car.

“That was a good idea, ~malyshka~.”

“I may not know how to be mean, but I’m resourceful. I know what a bar can bring in, and with some changes, it could make us a lot.”

“We’ll have to work on you being mean. You have to look at it in a business way. These people defaulted on loans, and we need our money back.”

“I understand that, but how do you purposely harm someone? I did this to try and prove that I was ready for this life.”

“You will have to get used to this, but you won’t have to do it. Stick with your strengths, and you’ll be fine.”

***

As soon as Anatoli and Kyle got back, they went to talk to Max and Dimitri.

“How did it go?” Max asked Anatoli.

“It went better than expected. ~Malyshka~ here needs a lesson on being mean, but she has an eye for business opportunities. You’ll need to visit James; we told him we were taking his bar as payment.”

“Why would we want the bar?” Dimitri asked.

Kyle decided to speak up and explain instead of letting Anatoli do it.

“Well, the bar brings in a few thousand every day and even more on the weekends. With proper staff, food, and equipment, it could make more. You’ll get your money and more.”

The brothers sat back and thought about it. Max liked the idea, but Dimitri wasn’t up for dealing with another business.

“Fine, you’ll take care of everything. You’ll be responsible for making us the money you said it could.”

“Really?” Kyle was a bit excited; she was never put in charge.

“Just know that if it fails, it’ll be on you, little bee.”

“I won’t let you guys down, I promise.” Kyle excitedly gave Max and Dimitri a kiss before leaving them.

“This is a bad idea, Max,” Dimitri warned.

“It’ll be fine; she’s right about the money, and it’ll give her a chance to lead. We need her to be a leader.”

Dimitri was worried about Kyle. He didn’t want to lose the innocence she had toward the world, but he knew that she needed to be tougher for her to stay with them.