Page 146 of Bratva Knight

Given the amount of bodies lying on the ground all around him, the analogy fit quite well, and I’d pat myself on the back for that later.

He was a small distance away, surrounded on all sides by soldiers with a wall at his back. I took off at full speed, focusing on nothing but him. Getting to him. I ducked and swerved around other people, ignoring everything and everyone else. I let loose a stream of bullets in his direction, being careful not to hit him, then I unstrapped the machine gun from my shoulder and dropped it so I could run faster, the weight of it doing nothing but holding me back.

He was up against the wall, a knife inching closer and closer to his throat as he struggled to hold it back. One last burst of speed brought me right to him and I rammed into the soldier in a brutal tackle, sending us flying into the air and landing in a heap on the ground.

The soldier was taken completely by surprise, allowing me to get the upper hand quickly. We rolled in the sand and I pushed for the dominant position, ending up on top. I plucked a dagger from my waist and thrust it up under his chin, the blade slipping through his skin like butter. His lips opened on a silent scream and I glimpsed the knife inside his mouth. I ripped it out and plunged it deep into his eye before rolling off him and jumping to my feet.

Strong arms locked around my neck and lifted me off the ground, squeezing tight.

Fuck!

I kicked out, thrashing wildly, but whoever had me wasn’t letting go. They squeezed harder and I gasped, scratching frantically at the arm crushing my throat, running out of air quickly.

The body behind me suddenly stiffened, going completely still.

“Let her go.” That voice…I’d recognise that voice anywhere. It was laced with darkness, rage, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was Nikolai.

“Drop the knife or I’ll snap her neck,” my attacker warned.

“Motherfucker, you think I’m playing?” I was jostled forward slightly when Nikolai grabbed a fistful of my attacker’s hair. “I will fuck you bloody with this knife if you don’t let her go.Right. Fucking. Now!”

That threat scared my attacker enough for him to drop me instantly, his hands flying up in surrender. I landed roughly on my hands and knees, breathing hard. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Nikolai sink the knife deep into the man’s neck, right down to the hilt. He literally threw him to the side and then his arms were around me, holding me tight.

“Love, what are you doing here?” he breathed into my hair, his whole body shaking.

I hugged him back, squeezing so tightly that it made him groan in pain. “What a stupid fucking question to ask.” I half-laughed, half-cried. All the fear and anxiety I’d been holding in since the moment I found out he was taken came bursting out of me and I sobbed, clutching him to me like he was going to disappear again.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he chastised, kissing the side of my neck, my jaw, my cheek.

“‘Thank you, Tatiana, for coming to save me’ is what I believe you meant.”

He chuckled softly, grabbing the sides of my face with both hands. He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and just stared at me, those mesmerising blue eyes holding all of my attention. He kissed me softly, full of love and tenderness that made my whole body melt into him.

“Excuse me?!” Both of us snapped our gazes to Vincenzo, who just yanked out his blade from a soldier's stomach and then kicked him away. “Kiss later, fight now!” He ducked under one strike, slashed upwards, ducked under another and spun, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick into a soldier's jaw.

Right.

Nikolai and I jumped up, leaping back into the fight.

“Have you seen my family?” he asked, defending and attacking, defending and attacking.

“Illayana and Aleksandr, yes. Duck.” He dropped and I swung a kick over his head, smashing my foot into the side of a man’s face. “Lukyan and your father, no.” We kept close together, inching our way back across the field towards the hole we’d blown into the Arena. It’s not like it was easy to miss.

Mikhail’s voice blared through my earpiece. “Dimitri secured.”

Arturo’s voice came next. “Illayana secured.”

“Aleksandr and Lukyan secured,” Drea said last.

Vincenzo touched his earpiece. “Nikolai secured. Making our way out now.”

“Rendezvous at the submarine,” Arturo ordered. A chorus of “Yes’’ followed.

I looked at Nikolai. “Your family is safe.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, they—” my eyes widened as I glimpsed a figure appear behind Nikolai, a gun pointed right at his back. I didn’t stop to think, didn’t hesitate. I pushed him out of the way and—

---