Page 40 of The Brigadier

Both Maxim and Danny were outside the front of the restaurant. It wasn’t open yet, although prep work was being done. Thankfully, the warehouse space itself had been made soundproof. That didn’t mean there wasn’t traffic that we needed to be careful not to disturb, deliveries made on a regular basis. The restaurant was popular with tourists and locals alike, their authentic Russian food complemented with one of the finest wine selections anywhere.

And the atmosphere was festive, especially on Thursday through Sunday nights when there was also music.

I shoved my sunglasses into my jacket, surprised how much warmer the air was from the day before. The swings in October were often significant.

“You made it. How was that possible?” Maxim asked. He’d even tried his hand at babysitting a couple of times. That hadn’t gone over well.

“I took Danny’s advice. Chantel seems very equipped to spend time with my son and he likes her. Crazy, but he adores her already.”

“Well, she is pretty adorable,” Maxim said in a low voice. “When she’s not trying to get herself killed.”

I threw out my arm, my index finger close to being in his face. “You touch. You die. Simple as that.”

“He likes the girl,” Maxim laughed. “I wouldn’t dare touch her.”

“You took my advice?” Danny asked, slapping his hand on his chest.

“Yes, I did. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

I thought the two men were going to fall down to the sidewalk. “The earth is coming to an end,” Danny huffed.

“Very funny.”

“The soldiers arrive?” Maxim said, changing the subject.

“They did. We’re all set.”

“It’s almost lunch time,” Maxim said. “Torturing people makes me hungry. Maybe we could grab a bite afterward.”

“I worry about you,” I told him.

He laughed. “What? A guy’s gotta eat. Right?”

Danny looked at me, lifting his eyebrows. “Our mystery guest should be a little bit out of it by now. No water. No food. Likely no sleep.”

“Good. I want him on edge. That’s vital.” The service door on the side was unlocked and we walked in, immediately greeted by the chef.

He came over, shaking my hand profusely. I might own the restaurant, but he was free to do with it what he wanted. Plus, I’d set up a program so he could buy it back. At much lower rates than any bank.

“Mr. Kuzmin. So good to see you. Please tell me you’re joining us for lunch.” His Russian accent was thick, his family and this place the most important things to him in the world.

“I wish I could, Omar. Unfortunately, business in the back room. You don’t have any deliveries today. Right?”

“Just our usual wine delivery around four. I hope Damien is well?” He never ceased to ask about my son, no matter the circumstances.

“He’s doing great. Thank you for asking.”

“Good. Very good to hear. I’ll keep everyone out of the storeroom as well as the warehouse,” he told me.

“Excellent. This shouldn’t take that long.” I waited until he backed away before heading to the locked door. Most of the time, no one from the restaurant needed to head into the back. While a portion was used for extra tables, tablecloths, chairs, and even smaller appliances for the wild hair ideas he’d gotten over the years, the smaller storage facility held most of the dry goods. Only the two huge walk-ins were still in use, normally only one. They’d been purchased because when I’d bought the place years before, there’d been old equipment.

Omar had tried to work with everything, but a single blip as the compressor went and thousands of dollars’ worth of food had been lost. And the man was proud, refusing to allow me to pick up the slack.

However, I had in the form of all new equipment and checking the wiring. In addition, I’d purchased two more state-of-the-art walk-ins to soothe the man’s concerns. As of late, one usually wasn’t running, simply a spare, but both were humming actively like refrigerators would do.

“You turned it on?” I asked when we were close. I could tell they’d had the mystery guest tied to a steel chair, specks of dark blood unmistakable.

“Yeah, why not? No, I didn’t set it at thirty-five or forty, but I just put a nice chill in the air for him.” Danny had an evil streak as well, which usually resulted in my smiling.