Chapter 21

After cleaning up, Kyle finally made her way downstairs for breakfast. As she was sitting down, Max was getting ready to leave the kitchen.

“When you’re done, meet me in the living room. Dimitri and I have a surprise for you.”

Kyle loved surprises but was never patient enough for them, so she quickly ate her breakfast and ran to the living room. When she got there, Max was sitting on the couch.

“Where’s Dimitri?”

“He’ll be here shortly. You shouldn’t have eaten so fast; you still have to wait.” Max picked up a file from the table and started looking at it, so Kyle took a seat on the opposite couch.

Kyle kept looking at the clock to see how much time had passed.

“You’re like a little child. He’ll be here any minute, so calm down,” Max chided her.

Kyle let out a sigh and decided to concentrate on Max to keep herself from fidgeting.

“Just go in,” she heard Dimitri yell outside. When the door fully opened, Kyle jumped up and ran to her brother.

“Ryan!” She was so happy to see her brother. She missed him and was hoping he would be part of her life again.

“I’m so sorry, Ky,” Ryan mumbled into her hair as he hugged her back. “I failed you.”

“You didn’t,” she said as she broke the hug. “I’m happy; they treat me well.” It wasn’t a lie. She was happy with Max and Dimitri. They made sure she was taken care of.

“I shouldn’t have let you go so easily. I’ve missed you,” he said as he kissed her on the head.

“I’ve missed you too. How long are you here for?” she asked.

“Sit down, ~myshka~.” Dimitri patted his lap, and Kyle took a seat. Her brother gave her a confused look. He didn’t realize that she was with one of them.

“We thought your brother could stay. He had a debt to pay, and we are not going to use you to pay the debt off. He can pay by working for us,” Dimitri told her.

“Really? I’d love that!” She kissed Dimitri as a thank-you. She was happy that she was going to have Ryan around. He’d raised her, and she needed him in her life.

***

Kyle spent the majority of the day with Ryan. She gave him the tour of the house and the grounds and even introduced him to her dog, Elliot.

Ryan was relieved to see Kyle happy; he thought he had ruined her life. However, the one thing he couldn’t get over was how it looked like she was with both Max and Dimitri.

“What’s going on between you and the Volkov brothers?” Ryan asked Kyle.

Kyle shrugged. “I guess they’re my boyfriends.”

“Both?” Ryan said in a disgusted tone.

“Yes,” Kyle bit back. “If you’re judging me, then stop. I have never judged you. I’ve only helped and supported you, and I expect the same from you.”

Ryan was taken aback by her tone and the way she stood up for herself. Kyle was getting a backbone, and he was proud of her.

“If they’re the reason you have more confidence in yourself, then I’ll support you if you want to stay with them,” Ryan told her.

“Thank you. That’s all I’m asking for.”

***

After Kyle went to bed, Max and Dimitri had a private meeting with Ryan. Their goal was to keep Kyle safer with Ryan around.

“Let me start by saying we don’t like you,” Dimitri said to Ryan, “but we like your sister and want to keep her safe.”

“Only like? You do realize that she loves both of you?” Ryan waited to see if either of them would answer.

“We are aware of how she feels,” interjected Max. “Let’s continue talking about the matter at hand. Your sister is in trouble, and we are trying to figure out why.”

“What do you mean?” Ryan was confused; he didn’t understand who would want to hurt Kyle.

“There is an organization that we thought was new, but through some digging, we found out they’ve been around for a while, just in hiding.

“At first, they were out to get us, trying to take over, but they switched to targeting Kyle, and we are trying to figure out why,” Max explained.

“Do you have any Russian descent in you?” Dimitri asked.

“Kyle’s father was Russian, but I don’t see how that matters.”

“It may not, but we need to check everything. I thought you shared the same parents,” Max stated.

“No. My father died, and Kyle’s disappeared after our mother died.”

Max was pretty sure Kyle’s parents were an essential part of figuring this out, and he knew he would have to do more research and cash in more favorites.