Page 36 of Scarlet Promise

And I’ll fight for her.

“The only reason I’m not going to kill you,” I say, “is this is your place, and your wife is here, and because your sister wouldn’t like it. But touch her and my dog again, and I’ll hurt you so bad you wished I killed you.”

He laughs and lands a vicious punch. Though it hurts, I let him so I can deliver two hard, fast uppercuts.

I could lay him flat, and he wouldn’t see me coming. I take up my boxer’s stance, dance lightly around him, and come in with quick jabs. Demyan, who isn’t a boxer, holds his own.

Soon we’re at each other’s throats, slamming fists with angry energy. Neither of us speaks, and his grim determination matches mine. The sparks of anger fly high.

I sweep out a foot and knock him down, but Demyan isn’t pakhan just through inheritance. He earned it. He can fight dirty, and he takes me down.

We writhe, throwing underhanded, nasty punches and kicks. It takes Erin’s scream for help and four strong men to rip us apart.

I’m sore, bloodied, bruised, and so is the perfect Demyan.

He spits out blood from his split lip. I do the same.

“Get the fuck off my property now.” Demyan glares at Pavel, who stands there, hand on his gun, looking torn between annoyance and amusement. “Shoot him.”

“Sorry, sir, no can do. Mrs. Yegorov scares me, and she asked for help, not corpses. Besides, Miss Yegorov’s been through enough, don’t you think?” Pavel asks quietly. “Are you going, Ilya, or do I need to escort you?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I say, “not until the pakhan here talks this out.”

Demyan glares at me, his eyes burning, and he shakes his head and laughs nastily. “I don’t think so.”

“And you owe an apology to your wife, Alina, and Albert,” I say.

“That fucking rat bit me.” Demyan shows me his hand.

“You were hurting his master!” Alina chokes out. “Who are you, and where’s my brother?”

“I didn’t hurt the fucking dog.”

But he casts a side-eye look to his sister, wife, and dog, and I catch his wince.

He turns back to me. “Get out, Ilya.Idi v’banyu.”

“He told him to get lost, to go to the bathhouse. It’s an insult,” Alina says to her sister-in-law.

It sounds funny, and it’s a mild enough insult, but said with that kind of ferociousness is asking me to bite back. I won’t let him rile me.

I narrow my eyes. “Not until we talk.”

Demyan’s fists curl, which has got to hurt. Mine do, too.

“Idi na hui.” He glares.

“Mudak.” I glare back. “What, you want me to tell you to go fuck yourself, too? Or how about grow a dick from your forehead? Because it’s too late. You’re already a dickhead.”

Demyan tells me to do just that. “Chtob u tebya hui vo lbu vyros.”

“Insult all you want, in Russian and English, but I’m not leaving until we talk.”

“Fine,” he finally says. “You want to talk? How’s this? You’re a fucking asshole.”

“Nice start,” I say. “Really. Can we talk? In private?”

“I’m not inviting you in.” He waves the guards away and looks over at Erin. “I’m sorry I spoke to you like that,lyubimaya. Could you please go inside?”