Page 9 of Wicked Knight 2

“They’re waiting.” Ivan pushed the door open and poked his head in. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I was just on my way.”

“Dominic is down there boasting about how he finally gets to put Papa’s boy in his place.” Ivan scoffed, letting himself in. “That asshole is all talk. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not.” I gestured for him to lead the way.

“That’s what I told them, butthey all just laughed. Papa let this go on for too long. Dominic has a lot of guys on his side.” Ivan fell into step next to me as we covered the length of the hallway toward the stairwell.

The moment I set foot in the courtyard; the commotion died down. For all their boasting and bravado, the guys knew I wasn’t someone they wanted to mess with. They went along with Dominic because they simply liked the drama.

“The fight goes on until there’s a clear winner.” Papa motioned for Dominic and me to meet him in the middle of the space. “May the best man win.” He nodded at me, then retreated.

Before he’d taken two steps away from us, Dominic landed his first punch. He’d gone straight for my nose. The pain got my adrenaline going, which was a good thing. I needed to keep my head on the fight.

“You look prettier now.” He spat.

“You’re just as ugly. Let me help you with that.” I faked a right punch, then hit him right across the jaw.

He stumbled backward several steps and checked his lip for blood. As he pumped his fists in the air, he did a full circle around me. I was sure he’d seen that move on Ultimate Fighter. Yeah, Dominic was all show. The asshole wanted to milk this fight for all its worth. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time. I had a kidnapping to get to.

I let my guard down on purpose to get him to stop his theatrics. He took the bait quicker than I anticipated, and that earned me another punch in the face. This time, my nose cracked loudly in my ears. Suddenly, I felt disoriented as a bunch of random images flitted through my mind. I saw a guy in the dark shooting a man, the wall covered with blood, Donata smiling at me, and a bunch of other people from my nightmares.

When I finally came to, my head throbbed while Dominic pounded into me. I had no idea how long I’d been out on the ground like that. Papa had let the fight go on despite my disadvantage. Either he wanted me dead, or he was willing to give me another shot to make things right.

Exhausted, Dominic paused for a few seconds. Across the courtyard, Papa nodded at me. Or maybe I imagined the whole thing. But I took that as a sign that it was time to make my move. I slipped my hand under his legs and bucked him off me. Before he hit the ground, I was on my feet and had my fingers wedged under his chin.

I squinted at him and focused on the screams from the guys egging the fight on. I dragged him toward the fountain and smashed his head against the tiled concrete. Blood dripped from the tip of my nose onto his cheek as he stared at me in fear.

“Papa’s orders,” I whispered in his ear before I plunged his head in the water.

He fought me, but when it came down to it, I was bigger and stronger. His own goddam hubris brought him to this point. Dominic forgot that Papa was in charge of the Brotherhood. That every time Dominic called for my demotion, he was calling for mutiny. Because there was no way in hell Papa would ever back down on a decision he’d already made.

And here was proof. The red-tinted water bubbled around Dominic’s floating hair before he went completely limp. He was gone. The sound of my hollow breath replaced the commotion around me, and I still couldn’t make myself stop, or loosen my grip around his neck.

“It’s over, Son.” Papa braced his hand on my shoulder. “Ivan, get rid of this piece of shit.”

“Yes, Papa.” Ivan pulled at my arm, then dragged Dominic toward him.

“Someone get a doctor in here. My son needs help.” Papa’s voice sounded so far away as he ushered me inside the house and into the library.

A minute later, the in-house doctor, a third-year med school student, rushed in to help me. The Vodka and pills he gave me knocked out the pain and the dizziness fairly quickly. By the time he had his latex gloves on and his medical kit wide open on the table, I was feeling more like myself.

“Fuck.” He winced when he bent down to look at my injuries. “He broke your nose. I need to set it.”

“Alright.” I gripped the arms of the chair. “Do what you must.”

“Here it goes.” He pinched the bridge of my nose with two fingers and snapped the bones back into place.

“Hmm.” I doubled over in pain. When I recovered from the shock, I braced my elbow on my knee and glanced up at Papa. “We need to get a real doctor in here soon.”

“He’s got a few more years to go. Don’t be so impatient.” Papa chuckled.

“You’re not the one with the broken nose.”

“Looks like Dominic got his wish.” Papa leaned in to take a better look at me. “Will he need surgery?”

“The bruising and swelling should go away in a couple of weeks maybe three. He needs to rest.” He showed me the device. “Your nose will need to be splinted for ten days or so to realign the broken bone and immobilize the area.”

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