Page 57 of Bratva Butcher

Before I could question him on it, music blasted in the arena. Something dark and bassy that fit with the current mood of events. We both turned to face our opponents, letting the moment pass.

Across the arena, standing on the other side of the small stream, Lily and Roger stared us down.

Excitement burnt in my veins. I loved to fight. Nothing got my blood pumping quite like it. I knew it was a life or death situation, but if anything, that made me even more excited. One wrong move and it was all over.

The thought was exhilarating. I was an adrenaline junkie and this… This was the fix I needed.

Dimitri and I spread out as we inched forward, making sure not to go too far away from each other. We had come up with a plan. Whichever pair we faced, I would take the woman and he would take the man. We would keep each other well within our sights at all times. That way, if anything happened, we would be close enough to help if need be.

I honed in on Lily, watching her every move. I noticed two weapons: an axe and what looked like a machete. It would be a race to see who could get to them first.

There was a brief standstill, all of us staring at each other across the arena, the tension rising and rising, and then things kicked into high gear like the flick of a switch.

We bolted across the field, me going for Lily, Dimitri going for Roger, the crowd cheering us on, the music blasting loudly around us. Lily and I clashed in a fury of fists, swinging violently. We kicked and punched, exchanging strike for strike, locked into a grapple to try and gain the upper hand.

She was very good, her training from the Marines coming through loud and fucking clear. She moved well, hit hard and wasn’t showing an ounce of hesitation like I thought someone in her profession might.

“I’m really sorry about this,” she grunted, taking a hit to her gut like a fucking champ. “But I’ve got to win, and that means I have to kill you.” She sounded sincere. Like she truly felt bad about it.

That was the clear difference between us. I didn’t feel bad at all. I would do whatever I needed to do to survive, and if that meant killing everyone, then so be it.

“You think you can?” I ducked and swerved, barely managing to avoid her.

“IknowI can. I’ve seen you fight, but I’m better.”

Was she?

We were about to find out.

We threw more punches and then, by some stroke of luck, Lily slipped, losing her footing. The opportunity to take the lead flashed before my eyes, and I rolled along the grass to pick up the machete on the ground. I swung it towards Lily’s head. She dove out of the way and scrambled back, her frantic gaze searching for something to use. A shield plopped down in front of her,someone from the crowd throwing it down to her. She picked it up quickly and blocked my next strike.

Son of a bitch.

I hacked at it over and over, the sound of metal on metal blasting through the air. She kept it up regardless of how hard I swung the machete, protecting herself. I kicked it away, but before I could strike again, she slammed her foot into my shin.

Pain rocketed up my leg, and I stumbled. She kicked again, this time hitting the centre of my chest, and the force pushed me back far enough for her to be able to get up and charge me.

She tackled me, and we both went tumbling to the ground. The machete flew out of my hands. I used all of my strength to keep her from getting the dominant position, the two of us rolling along the grass. If she managed to get on top, it would all be over.

With one last heave, I pushed hard, slamming her down with my hands on her shoulders. Her head whacked against a log, and she groaned. I clambered over her quickly, going right for her leg. I needed to take her out, and the best way to do that was to incapacitate her. My arms locked around her knee, and then I reared back with everything I had.

Something snapped, and she screamed.

The crowd roared so loudly that it hurt my ears. I thought it was because of us, but when I looked up, my eyes widened in horror.

Everything around me slowed down as if someone had just paused time. Roger was on top of Dimitri, his arm raised in the air with a rock in his hand, preparing to hit him in the face with it. An attack that close from a weapon like that would be game over.

I was moving before I even realised it, sprinting across the field as fast as I could. A feeling smothered my chest… One I’d never felt before, but there was no mistaking it.

It was fear.

Fear for Dimitri.

I didn’t know why, but seeing him like that caused an overwhelming urge to take over. The urge to protect him. Save him. Not to let him die.

I ran harder than I’d ever ran before.

I slammed into Roger with the force of a freight train, tackling him off Dimitri just in time. One second later, and it would have been too late. We rolled along the ground, fighting for the dominant position. He was a lot bigger than me, and heavier, too. Despite the fact that I’d taken him completely by surprise, he still managed to put up a good enough fight to make it difficult to gain the upper hand.

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