Page 11 of Cruel Promise

The inside of the MC clubhouse reeks of smoke.

It was never my preferred method of a bad habit. In fact, I don’t have any. I don’t believe in using substances to get through life.

I got through my shit through sheer will.

Men surround every angle of this place—from the couches on the back wall to the bar seats against the bar, where a beautiful woman serves alcohol. They all give me dirty looks as I enter, and I know why.

I’m the Bratva. They’re just bikers. We’ve never gotten along.

I fix my cufflinks. Looking one’s best is the best thing I can do for myself. I don’t need scary clothes to intimidate people.

My face does that enough.

The president of The Knights approaches me. Lev. Another Russian who took over to gain a fraction of power within thisfucking city. Unlike me, though, he’s let himself go soft from his beer belly to the jowls forming around his face.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Nik?”

“No one calls me Nik,” I remind him. Most people call me Nikolai or Mr. Petrov. “Nik” is too informal. It’s only reserved for the people closet to me.

No one’s close to me.

He rolls his eyes. “Fine.Mr. Petrov, what the fuck are you doing here?”

“I’m here on business.”

“What business? We made a deal about the guns. You got your half, and we got ours.”

“You see, that fifty-fifty deal isn’t going to work for me. You’re bikers. I’m the Bratva. I own this city. So, you’ll pay me a cut for the guns, and I won’t shoot this place up.”

Two men come to stand behind Lev.

“I don’t like that kind of deal,” Lev says.

“You work for me. You’ve always worked for me. Without me, you never would have earned as much money as you have. So, now, I’ve come to collect.”

Lev stands toe-to-toe with me. I’ll give him this—most people wouldn’t. He has balls.

He’s also just plain stupid.

“My men could kill you,” Lev threatens.

“You could. But then you’d be murdering the most powerful man in this city. I have allies, and they would hurt you. Pay me or die.”

“We’ll die,” one of the men behind Lev says. He’s younger, probably in his thirties compared to Lev’s sixty years.

“Maxim,” Lev says in a warning tone.

“We have honor within The Knights,” Maxim says. “We made a deal, and now, you want to renege on it. You have no honor.”

I bypass Lev and stand before Maxim, eyeing him over. We can’t be too far apart in age, and yet, he seems like a boy to me. I’ve lived too much and seen too much to ever be young again.

“I didn’t get where I am in life,” I say, “by having honor. I got where I am by being ruthless. So, I’m taking the money owed to me, or bad things will happen. It’s your choice.”

“It’s my choice,” Lev says, wedging himself between Maxim and me. I don’t move, but Maxim steps up a bit. “You can have your fucking money.” He nods at another man. “Colin, grab it from the safe.”

Colin is even younger in his twenties and looks eager to please. He rushes off down a hallway.

“I don’t like things getting messy,” Lev says.

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