Page 90 of Fight for You
But as I glanced around the room, turning slowly, Jordyn begged me to put the gun down.Like hell.
A voice grated, bitter and rough, from somewhere in the over 5,000 square feet of basement. “You shouldn’t have tied me up.”
I sniggered. Who did this Jamie think he was, the Terminator? I’d heard more crap talk the day before fight night.
My Grach aimed around the cement pillars. Simeon had pulled his own weapon. In fact, two. Guns fisted in both hands. We grinned, ready for the fun we hadn’t allowed ourselves to have in ages. Thankfully, my Zariah and his wife, Anastasiya, were in Jamaica. Then I saw him. Jamie erupted like a blur of muscle and rage. He tackled me. The force made the gun fly from my hand. We slammed to the ground, tangled in a fight. A fight I’d win.
Down to the clinch, Jamie was on top of me. Fists rained everywhere. Brutal precision—not calculated. His breaths came in wild gasps. I took a hit to the chin and traded him two of my own.
Thud. A hook rocked my head against the glossy marble floor.
“Dad!” Natasha screamed.
Jordyn gasped. “Jamie, please?—”
I chuckled, blood spurting from my nose.My turn. I pressed my hips up the way my coach, Vadim, taught me years ago. Once, Jamie road me like a bull. I wasn’t proud of that. Twice got him off me. I twisted until I had him from behind. Like a viper, my thick arm slipped up and around Jamie’s neck, and I tugged him against me in a rear naked choke. As his consciousness began to slip, he braced his feet.
What was he doing?
I squeezed tighter.
He twisted his hips to break free from my hold.
I held tight, relishing the feel of his pulse against my forearm. “Go to sleep. Go. To. Sleep …”
“Stop it!” A vase crashed over my head. I looked up to see if Jordyn had done it, but to my surprise, my daughter—the child from my very own kingly loins—hit me?
Anatoly had said the same thing. Man, now I knew how he felt. Betrayal by blood …
I climbed to my feet. “I should—I should?—”
“You were always afraid to whoop me, and I’m too old now,” Natasha retorted.
Jordyn flew onto the ground next to Jamie, hugging him close.
I stared at the silly display. Shook my head. Some women liked to be slapped around. Used too. What could you do?
“Listen, Pop.” Sighing, Natasha stepped in front of me, her hand soft along my jaw. And I melted. She was my little girl. My only little girl. “I got it all wrong. Jamie was a victim, along with Jordyn when they were kids. Jordyn told me how he finally saved her while we ran downstairs to stop what shouldn’t have started.”
I pointed the finger at my brother’s ugly face.
“Snitch,” Simeon muttered.
Yeah, well, your face looks like a dog.A heavyweight champ like me had no problem badmouthing someone. Blood be damned. However, I’d stopped saying that aloud once I found out that Simeon was actually my half brother instead of my cousin. Felt sorry for the guy. Anatoly was his uncleandfather. Which was why Simeon always told me he was “a Resnov more Resnov than anyone” with an acerbic chuckle. I thought he was being arrogant until I learned the truth. Who wouldn’t be sorry for someone connected to that?
Eh, maybe I stopped telling Simeon that his face looked like a dog’s rear on account that my wife told me we looked alike. Did I believe Zariah?
Nyet.
As I hugged my daughter, Jordyn helped Jamie to his feet. She feathered a finger over his jaw, the way Zariah would—when my opponentactuallytouched me. It was a nice feeling. The soft touch of a woman.
Jordyn groaned. “Oh, baby. Look at your face. We’re supposed to be getting married today.”
Jamie stared at her.
“I figured out the celebration.” She smiled at him.
“Sounds good.” Simeon scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Will there be an open bar?”
