Page 43 of Brutal Bratva King

She must still be angry and trying to pick another fight. At this point I might even find a fight a welcome distraction.

I sigh, closing my tired eyes for a moment, then prepare myself for whatever she has to say.

To my surprise, though, she sits on the edge of my bed with her legs pulled up to her chest and starts asking me questions. Not about what I expect her to be asking.

“I was just wondering about this fight club thing. You said your brother fights often. Is it some kind of sport?”

The question catches me off guard. I blink a few times, waiting for my brain to decide if I heard her right.

“Uh—yeah—I guess you could say it’s a type of sport. It’s just a bunch of guys letting off some steam.”

“But you’ve never fought in there until tonight?”

“No, I tried to be the more controlled one. I’ve thought about it a few times. I guess tonight I was just in the right mood.”

“Does Renat do well in the fights?”

She shifts a little further onto the bed. I push myself up to lean against the headboard.

“He does really well. He’s good at it. We hardly ever see him losing,” I chuckle. “If you ask Rad or Rigor they will both tell you he’sneverlost, but I’ve seen him go down a few times.”

She giggles.

“Most people go to gym—or something like that—to let off steam.” She looks amused.

“I guess, itisa bit extreme. But we need it. In the line of work we do it’s a good way to vent off the frustration that builds up so quickly—and it keeps you sharp—focused and alert. It keeps your wits strong.”

She moves even closer to me, also resting against the headboard and wiggling her legs beneath the blankets. She turns to face me, her eyes are glowing and curious. She looks absolutely beautiful.

“Does your whole family go to the fights together?”

“No, the four oldest go. I guess it’s our thing—we didn’t want to get the others involved. Somehow we’ve all had this unspoken pact—like a decision to protect the younger siblings from the violence of our world. We wanted them to grow up not thinking about that kind of stuff. Not as exposed to it. But since we got here, things have been changing.”

“What do you mean? How did they change?”

I shift onto my side, fully facing her.

“Well, Raisa has always been an angel. She’s never caused problems. She has the softest heart. But the other three—Ruslana, Ruvim and Roman—since we got to this city, they’ve been exploring the darker side of things—getting into trouble and causing me quite a bit of stress. I don’t know what it is withthem. It’s like they’re rebelling against being kept back from it the whole time. It’s difficult because now I feel like it’s my fault. Like I shouldn’t have protected them so much.” I shrug.

“Really? Ruslana?” she asks, shocked. “She seems so innocent.”

I roll my eyes. “She’s caused a lot of trouble for me. I’ve had to fight off some very persistent men who were honestly no good for her. It’s not even about making choices for her about who she gets to date—it’s more serious than that. It’s like she is intentionally picking the most selfish, arrogant assholes and pretending that she’s in love with them when I know it will just end up being a one-night stand that she will definitely regret. Or even something worse. I don’t want to think about it—I just want her to realize it’s not healthy for her.”

“Mm. This town is full of assholes like that. She really should be more careful. She will end up regretting it,” she agrees.

We talk for over an hour with absolutely no animosity between us. It’s really pleasant to chat with her like this and be able to laugh and relax.

When it starts getting really late, she smiles and says, “I better go to bed and get some sleep.”

“Why don’t you just sleep in my bed tonight?” I ask quickly, not wanting her to leave. This is the most comfortable we have felt together since she moved in and I’m not ready to let her go.

“Um. Ok.” She blushes lightly and the smile on her face is radiant.

She moves and snuggles beneath the blankets.

I try to resist doing it, but I can’t. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer to me, spooning her back againstmy chest. I don’t want to ruin the moment between us by making it into something else. I just want to hold her.

I start chuckling as a thought teases into my mind.

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