Page 133 of Bratva Knight

“How does it feel, Dimitri? To finally be beaten by me.”

Father snorted. “You haven’t beaten me, Dominik. And you never will. If you thought you could beat me on your own, you would have challenged me. But instead you hid behind Talon and resorted to subterfuge. That just shows how weak you really are. No wonder Father never gave you a position worth any substance.”

Dominik’s jaw clenched. “There’s different forms of strength, baby brother. There's the physical, and then there’s the mind.” He tapped his temple twice. “Who cares how I did it. I outsmarted you. And once you and your children die, the role ofPakhanwill fall tome. Where it should have rightfully been all along.”

Talon walked in, six A-team guards at his back. He was wearing another expensive tux, his red bowtie slightly askew. A minor detail to notice but it was irritating the fuck out of me.

Dominik smiled and gave us all a pretentious wave. “I look forward to seeing you all very soon. For the last time.” He nodded to Talon and then walked out without looking back.

Talon came to a stop in the centre of the room, his gaze moving from Illayana all the way around to my father. “Hello, Volkovs.” He smiled, and it held nothing but arrogance and triumph.

None of us responded.

“Not a very chatty bunch, I see. Understandable, given your circumstances.” He walked down the line of cells, starting at Illayana’s and going all the way around to my father’s, looking intently at each of us as he strolled past. He stopped when he reached my father’s cell and rocked back on the balls of his feet, hands behind his back. “Ah, Dimitri,” he exhaled. “Dimitri, Dimitri, Dimitri. You know I didn’t want it to come to this. Truly, I didn’t.”

“Really?” Father drawled, sounding bored.

The irritation flickering through Talon’s eyes said that he didn’t like that. “I would have been happy with just you, but then you had to go and send your little herd after me.” He waved through the air at my siblings and I. “Now you all get to be a part of my games.”

“You’re even more deluded than I thought if you think for one second that I’m fighting my children.”

“Oh, come on, give me a little credit,” Talon smirked. “EvenIknow what a pointless task that would be. After all, the love you have for your family is famous,Butcher.” The jealousy and hatred in that one word spokevolumes.

“You don’t like the fact that the crowd cheered louder for my father than they did you, do you?” I asked, the pieces suddenly clicking together. I noticed it the night Father fought, but thought perhaps it was just because the crowd was eager to get the fight going. But that wasn’t it.

Before the first round of the games had begun, Talon appeared on the jumbotron to introduce himself and the games he’d created. He’d received a mild applause. Nothing more than one might receive after delivering a boring speech that put half the room to sleep.

But when my father was announced? The whole arena shook with the roar of the crowd. Some of that could also be attributed to his partner, The Crimson Death, but I highly doubted such a detail would matter to Talon.

“That’s what all this is about, isn’t it?” I cocked my head. “You’re jealous of my father. And what better way to bring him down than to make him fight in your little games.”

Talon kept his composure quite well but the slight tick in his jaw told me my words had bothered him. “It’s ridiculous, you know?I’mthe one that createdallof this.” He spread his arms out wide. “Icreated the games.Imade this island and the Arena.Icreated a safe place for the rich and powerful to come and let loose all of those nasty little demons they keep locked up in the world. And yet,you’rethe one they cheer for?” he sneered. “Why? Because you killed a bunch of people? What the fuck makes you so special, Dimitri?”

My father smirked. “Sounds like you’re projecting what happened all of those years ago into the present. So your father told you he wishedIwas his son. So what?”

That was news to me. Mikhail hadn’t mentioned that either. But then again, perhaps he didn’t know.

Talon’s face reddened with anger. “I brought you here so I could get a front row seat to your death and, not only do I get to watchyoudie, but I get to watch your whole family die along with you.” An evil, diabolical smile graced his lips. “What I have planned will make you beg for your life and the lives of your children.” He turned his attention to Autumn. “You, Miss Devalos, have a choice. You are not involved in this, so I will give you the opportunity to switch fighting partners. Jessica Clifford, the female winner of the first round has…unexpectedly passed away. Samuel is in need of a partner or he risks continuing on in the games alone. Because I amsucha gracious host, I will allow you to untangle yourself from this situation and leave the Volkovs to suffer on their own.”

Autumn said nothing at first, her eyes moving over us one by one until they finally landed on my father. He didn’t speak, but they shared some sort of moment the rest of us were not privy to. Something that was only happening between the two of them.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to have to pass.” Autumn leaned against the side of the cell, arms crossed over her chest. “I’ve seen what Samuel can do, and no offence, but I think I have better odds with this lot,” she finished, hiking her thumb at us.

Talon smiled evilly. “It’s your funeral.” He walked back down the line of cells and stopped in front Aleksandr, admiring him. “You killed three of my men, evenafterthey darted you.”

Aleksandr just grunted.

“I assume I couldn’t convince you to fight for me in a different competition? Could make you a lot of money.”

“I have a lot of money.”

“Moremoney.”

“Not interested.”

Talon hummed. “Disappointing.” He strolled past Lukyan, who was death staring him, his eyes following the man as he continued on and stopped in front of Illayana’s cell. “You lot have proven to be very resourceful, so I think a few extra precautions are necessary to ensure you don’t try to pull off some sort of ridiculous escape plan.” He looked to one of the guards. “Open the cell.”

Panic curled down my spine. My father, Aleksandr, Lukyan and I all slinked forward, watching in dread as Illayana’s cell was opened and four of the guards strolled in, surrounding her. Two of them grabbed her by the arms while the other two slapped a pair of thick, metal handcuffs around her wrists. Then they escorted her out to stand next to Talon.

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