Page 26 of Bratva Butcher

Fed up and full of anger, I unlocked that dark, evil side of me. The one that felt nothing. No pain. No remorse. No mercy.

The Butcher.

With a burst of strength sizzling in my bones, I clocked him under the chin with a brutal uppercut. The man flew back, landing roughly in a heap. He jumped right back up and came charging towards me again, never slowing down.

I met him head-on. We threw punch after punch, going at each other with a primal velocity that showed we would fight until our last breaths. I rammed my fist into his stomach, and he groaned, bending over. My hands grasped his face, and I twisted sharply, breaking his neck.

“And we have a winner!”

Relief filled me with those words, and I dropped the dead body carelessly at my feet. None of my other victories had come with such a declaration, which meant that had to be it. The final fight.

I turned.

“Your winner, ladies and gentlemen, the Bratva Butcher!”

The camera panned in close to my face, so close that all I’d need to do was lean forward, and I would touch it. My body was still pumping with so much adrenaline and anger and I snapped. I grabbed the camera and smashed it on the ground, over and over again.

The cameraman screeched and jumped back, abandoning his equipment as I continued to lift it and smash it down. Guards swarmed me, trying to restrain me, but I was still in fight mode, survival mode, and I lashed out at everyone who came near me.

Fuck this. Fuck them.

Fight, fight, fight.

Pain exploded in the back of my head, and I fell forward. Darkness took over quickly, and I welcomed it, sinking away.

Chapter Ten

Dimitri Volkov

My eyes fluttered open,a sharp, piercing sound echoing in my ears. The first thing I saw was the cell bars. Memories from before I was knocked out slammed into me, wiping away some of the disorientation.

It was to be expected, I supposed. Talon couldn’t very well let the destruction of his property go unpunished. Still, it was worth it. I was sick of that stupid camera being in my fucking face all the time.

Holding in a groan, I rolled over to my side and—

“Good morning, sunshine.”

This time, I let my groan slip free, but it was for an entirely different reason.

Exasperation instead of pain.

Sitting on an identical cot to the one I was lying on was that annoying red-haired devil woman, Autumn.

Why?

Why me? Why did the universe fucking hate me?

She sat with her back against the concrete wall, one leg hiked up, her arm dangling over her knee. She was in different clothes than the last time I’d seen her: a black sports bra and short black shorts. The chains were gone, as were mine, but there was a thick metal collar locked around her neck that looked like some sort of mediaeval torture device. The heavy weight around my own neck told me I had the same device around me.

Wonderful.

I sat up slowly, taking stock of my surroundings. Someone had changed my clothes as well. No shirt—which was the same—but I was in a pair of black shorts instead of the pair of grey slacks I’d been wearing when Dominik kidnapped me.

A dozen cages lined the walls, each one home to two prisoners. Some of them, I recognised as winners from the fights in the ring. Others, I’d never seen before. All of them were dressed in the same attire as me and Autumn, including the collar.

My hand drifted upwards to touch it. Thick. Metal. What was its purpose? I tried to take it off—

“Don’t,” Autumn said, shaking her head. “They said that if we try to take it off, it’ll blow our heads off.”

---