Page 15

Radmir leads me towards the rusted heavy door on the side of a derelict looking building.

“Um, is this the right place?” I ask, glancing left and right and seeing nothing but empty, suspicious looking darkness.

He chuckles.

“Trust me, they know how to keep themselves hidden. It’s not like they want the cops busting in on them and ruining the fun.”

He pushes against the door and it groans under his weight.

There is a man standing on the other side.

“Key,” he says roughly.

“Red arrow, gold dragon,” Radmir says, giving him tonight’s password.

The bouncer guy nods and steps aside and we walk through the rusted doorway and into the building.

Immediately, a thick stench of sweat and booze hits my senses and I scrunch up my nose. I prefer engine oil and burning rubber. But ok, I can handle this.

Radmir takes my hand and leads me deeper into the secret lair. Dark passages and stairways take us further underground until I can finally hear a loud thrum of voices and music.

He pushes open the last door and the smell gets stronger, and the noise gets louder.

It’s not what I expected.

It looks like a club. An underground nightclub. Some wild, devious party. Fighters are walking around with their shirts off. Drunk men hold money in the air, shouting their bets out.

In the middle of the crowded space is a cage. A literal cage. And inside the cage two guys are going at each other as though their lives depended on it while people scream instructions at them that no one can make out.

It’s all absolute chaos but somehow organized.

Radmir, no longer holding my hand, now with his entire arm wrapped around my body as he makes me walk in front of him, leads us to a table where I recognize two of his brothers.

“Roman, Ruvim, how’s it going? Has he fought yet?” Radmir asks, pulling out a chair and sitting in it, then tugging me onto his lap.

“Oh,” I say in surprise, expecting my own chair but enjoying the strength of his thick arm wrapped around me.

“Hey, Jade,” his brothers nod towards me.

“No, he’s two fights after this one,” Ruvim says, gesturing with his chin towards the cage.

We have to shout over the music and voices in order to hold a conversation. While Radmir catches up with his brothers, my eyes roam the room, taking in everything, noticing everything.

It doesn’t take me long to understand that this is where a lot of dark business is dealt. It’s clearly a breeding ground for under-the-table transactions. People hardly even try to hide it when they swap money for narcotics and loudly discuss illegal exchanges. One man to my left is asking the guy near him about buying a rifle.

When I’m bored with the people I turn my attention onto the cage.

Radmir’s brother is fighting next.

The men inside the cage are both covered in blood, slick with it, breathing heavily and clearly in pain. But neither of them is giving in just yet.

“What are the rules?” I ask, leaning close to Radmir so he can hear me.

“There are no rules.” He smirks.

“That makes sense.”

“Knock out!” the referee yells into a microphone. I turn back to the fight and one man is lying face down in a pool of his own blood.

Holy fuck. He could be dead for all anyone knows, and people are cheering and screaming excitedly.

Two men run into the cage to scoop him off the floor. One of his teeth falls out as they lift him. I chuckle. He’s still alive, but he is not going to look pretty.

They hoist him onto their shoulders and drag him away while the other man walks in hyped up circles, screaming victory and bashing his chest. So much testosterone and adrenaline.

They usher the winner out of the ring.

“And now, an all-time favorite— the Night Hawk! ” the referee shouts into the mic and if I thought the crowd was excited before—they are literally screaming blue faced chants now.

“That’s Renat!” Ruvim shouts, leaning close so I can hear.

“He’s the Night Hawk?”

He nods. What a cool name.

Renat walks boldly into the ring, wearing nothing but black boxing shorts. His muscles ripple over his body as he moves, lifting his arms and encouraging the crowd even more.

His body is taut with muscular construction, but cut, almost no weight on him. He’s smaller than Radmir and looks like he can move pretty damn fast if he needs to.

I start to get excited for the fight. It’s the atmosphere, building, pushing me higher.

Radmir chuckles behind me when I wiggle on his lap, unable to contain the increase of energy.

“And taking on the Night Hawk, we have a well-known contender— Jackson Black !”

Half the crowd starts to boo, and the other half starts to cheer.

Oh, this is going to be good.

The ref ushers Jackson in the cage and slams the door shut behind him.

Renat doesn’t hesitate, not even for a second. He flies across that cage floor and slams his fist into Jackson’s face. The entire room goes deathly silent for a second, holding their breaths as Jackson’s jaw snaps back. He staggers, blood already flowing from his lips. But then he grins and nods his head towards Renat, who grins back at him.

The fight is brutal.

I hear Jackson’s ribs breaking as he slams into the cage wall. Someone screams at him to stop being a fucking pussy and fight like a man. He sneers at that person and pushes off the wall, spinning towards Renat again. But he’s taken a massive beating already and Renat still looks strong and almost fresh. Oh there’s plenty of blood. The cut above his eye is oozing, blocking half his vision. His chest and side and covered in red welts, already turning bluish as the bruises fade in.

Jackson staggers forward and Renat leaps into the air, like a gazelle, swinging a full circle, he kicks his heel into the side of Jackson’s head.

The man drops like a stone.

His body slaps into the floor and before the ref has even called the victory, people are screaming triumph in favor of Renat.

“Black Hawk. Black Hawk,” they chant and I join in just for the fun of it.

Radmir orders us drinks while we wait for Renat to change and come out from the locker rooms.

“He’ll want a tequila,” Ruvim laughs.

“As usual,” Roman nods.

Just as Roman spots Renat walking towards us, a loud smashing sound makes me jump.

Radmir stiffens and everyone looks towards where a massive brawl has broken out—not in the cage.

“Fuckers!” Roman shouts, standing.

Radmir stands up, pushing me behind himself.

“I’m getting you out of here!” he shouts over the mayhem.

Grabbing my arm, he drags me all the way up the stairs and through the stuffy building out into the night air. He leads me to the car and shoves me inside it. Then to my surprise he turns to go back inside.

“Wait, what are you doing?” I ask, confused.

“I have to go break up the fight. It’s two rival families that always cause shit here and they end up smashing up the place and costing the owner a lot of money. I won’t be long. Keep the doors locked and you’ll be perfectly safe.” He leans into the car and kisses me. It takes me by surprise and sends a shiver of pleasure shooting through my spine. Then he smirks, closes the door and leaves.

I giggle to myself as I flick the lock on the door and settle back into my seat to wait for him.

He’s so fucking sexy. The way he gets me to safety first, always putting me first, but then still wanting to help because he’s that kind of man.

My body sparks with desire and I bite my lip. I am definitely going to have my way with him again when we get home.

I’ll tell him I’m going to shower, and then walk out of the bathroom without anything on. I love the look in his eyes when his gaze trails over my body. He makes me feel so fucking sexy it’s crazy. I never imagined I could feel that confident around someone.

Guilt tickles the back of my mind and I sigh loudly.

Your brother?

Did you forget about your dead brother and how you are here for revenge, to get justice for his death? And now you are playing boyfriend-girlfriend with his murderer?

I swallow hard and squeeze my eyes shut.

This is just physical fun. And besides. It’s part of the plan, my way of ensnaring Radmir. Obviously. It’s pure physical enjoyment. Absolutely no emotions involved whatsoever. I don’t care about him.

I don’t care if anything happens to him and I still one hundred percent intend to carry out my plan.

I do .

A knock on the window has me leaping out of my skin in fright.

Renat is standing outside the car.

I press my hand over my heart as I tug the door open.

“Wow, you gave me such a fright just now.”

“Is that so?” he says coldly.

Something about the look in his eyes makes me feel uneasy.

“Your fight was amazing. That guy didn’t stand a chance.” I smile, trying to work my way around the discomfort.

Renat rests his hand against the door frame and leans into the car.

The sinewed tautness of his arm muscles flex beneath his half rolled up sleeve and I can see the dark shadow of a bruise growing beneath his left eye.

He sneers at me with what can only be described as hatred.

“I’m watching you, girl,” he warns me through clenched teeth.

“What?” I stammer. “Why?” I resist the urge to shift further into the car, away from the coldness in his eyes.

“Radmir might be smitten with you, but I don’t take to newcomers worming their way into our family circle as easily as he does. I want you to be fully aware that I have my eyes on you.”

“I—“ I have no idea what to say. Does he know something about me that he’s not sharing? “I don’t think that’s fair of you—“ I blurt out, trying to defend myself.

He chuckles. But it’s dark and dry, nothing like the warmth of Radmir’s laughter.

“Fair,” he snorts. “Watch your back, Jade,” he warns me one last time and then pushes away from the car. I wait a few seconds after he’s walked back towards the building before I reach for the door handle to pull it closed and lock it. But then I spot Radmir coming out of the rusted metal door and my heart spins in relief.

He grins at Renat, slapping him on the shoulder. “Well done, man. That was great,” he says, completely oblivious to what just happened.

“Thanks, yeah, it was one of the easier ones.”

“They are all easy for the Night Hawk.” He laughs loudly. “Were you just talking to Jade?” He glances over Renat’s shoulder and smiles at me. My heart flips. It shouldn’t be flipping just at the sight of him. Dammit.

Renat’s warning still sits uneasy on my chest.

“Yeah, just saying hi because I didn’t get a chance to inside,” he nods.

“Awesome, sorry we aren’t staying. It’s a mess in there, but at least it’s calmer.”

“No problem, man. I’ll see you soon,” Renat says, waving good-bye to me as though we were best friends. But then, at the last minute, he winks, and his eyes go cold.

I shudder.

Radmir walks towards the car, shaking his head. “Ugh, I need to go home and shower. I feel gross after breaking up that fight.”

I pull my door closed and wait for him to climb into the driver’s side.

It’s dark inside the car so at least he can’t see my tension.

“I’m glad it’s all ok, and that you’re ok.” I smile.

Turning my face away from him, I tell myself again that it’s just physical. I have no feelings for this man. I don’t care at all.

He means nothing to me.