Page 63 of Bratva Knight

I walked up to the bed, running my fingers over the boxes. “I have no idea where I’m going to put them all.”

Nikolai leant casually against the doorframe. “Check your closest.”

Frowning, I moved to the walk-in wardrobe at the other side of the room, shock freezing me on the spot for the second time in five minutes. Floor-to-ceiling shoe cabinets now lined the inside of the closet, something that hadn’t been there when I left this morning. There was enough space to fit every single pair of shoes he’d gotten me…and then some.

“You got shoe cabinets installed?”

“No. I built them.”

“You what?” This man continued to surprise me at every turn.

He shrugged, avoiding my eyes as if he was suddenly embarrassed. But that couldn’t be right. I’d never seen Nikolai embarrassed before.

“When did you get the time to do all of this?” I asked, still in shock.

“I came back here after dropping you off. It took most of the day to build. Then I went to my meetings, bought out nearly the entire Christian Louboutin store, came back here to drop off your shoes then picked you up.”

That meant he’d pretty much been running around non-stop all day. That he’d most likely worked himself to the brink of exhaustion. All for me. To give me something because he wanted to make me happy.

He just kept chipping away at that wall I kept between us. Soon it would crumble completely, and I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to build it back up again.

I didn’t even think I wanted to.

Chapter Eighteen

Nikolai Volkov

“Haveyouheardofthe Til Death games?”

I frowned, staring at Mikhail over my brother's shoulder. It was midday and we were in Aleksandr’s office. Tatiana and I had arrived home early this morning for my mother’s birthday.

I was surprised when she offered to come back with me. Actually, “offered” was too tame a word. She’ddemanded. Wouldn’t take no for an answer, actually.

“Have you been dipping into Arturo’s merchandise? Because you must be high as a kite if you think I’m not going to be there for youormy best friend on a day like this.”Then she’d thrown up all over my shoes.

Tatiana never could handle her alcohol very well. She’d had two-and-a-half cocktails at the Trivia Night we went to last night, andpoof—enter drunk Tatiana.

I think it was a combination of the fact that she rarely drank and her extremely low tolerance for alcohol. It was a good thing I’d arranged to take our private plane for the flight, because I highly doubted a regular airline would have let her board in the condition she was in.

She’d spent the entire flight snoring her head off in the cabin. Not that she’d ever believe that. She was adamant that she didn’t snore. Even when I’d shown her concrete proof with a video of her sleeping, her mouth wide open and snoring so loudly that it sounded like a train going over its tracks, she still denied it.

“That’s not me. You edited it.”Then she turned around and went right back to snoring.

My brother’s voice pulled me back into the present. “No, should I have?”

“It’s a fight-to-the-death, gladiator style tournament that’s held once a year on a remote island off the coast of Europe. World leaders, politicians and the insanely rich gather to watch and place bets on who will win.”

Aleksandr glanced over his shoulder at me with questioning eyes. I shrugged. I’d never heard of anything like that before. I wasn’t surprised to hear Mikhail knew of it, though. That man had his fingers dipped into everything. He wasn’t a man I was scared of, but he was definitely one who required caution. He was one of only a few people that had permission to enter the property without prior approval. So, I wasn’t usually surprised when he just walked straight through the front door.

This time, however, was different. During his last visit, he’d punched Aleksandr clear in the face after hearing about what happened to his son. Having lost a child myself, I understood better than anyone what he was going through. That was the only reason why I let the attack go without retaliation. If it had been anyone else, though, they would have been dead before their arm went back to their side.

It was my job to protect Aleksandr. Not only because he was now myPakhan, but because he’d spent his entire life looking out for my siblings and I. It wasmyturn to watch out forhim. The chances of Mikhail doing anything else were slim to none. But I still refused to let my guard down, watching him like a hawk.

“The man who oversees the games is called Talon,” Mikhail continued. “A few weeks before the games begin, he sends out a roster of who will be competing, along with their stats. That way, people can make informed decisions about their bets. He sends little previews of what the fighters are capable of. Videos of them fighting, etcetera, etcetera.”

“Like horse racing?” I asked.

“Yes, but with people instead.” He pulled out a tablet, starting it up. “These people in the games aren’t always there voluntarily. Some are, but most of them aren’t. They’ve been trafficked specifically to enter into the games, to make them more entertaining. Boxers. UFC fighters. Marines. People who’d guarantee a good fight.”

---