“I said fucking look at me!” I screamed, Durov’s eyes narrowing and searching every part of my face. “Look at every inch of my face, Alik. Do you recognize me? Do you see anyone you once knew? Anyone you completely fucked over?”

Durov’s eyes were frantic as they darted from side to side, his numbing fingers tightening around his dagger.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Durov hissed, jerking his hip, fighting to throw me off.

Lifting his wrists, I smashed his hands down to the floor again, Durov’s cheek only slightly twitching at the pain. “Then let me remind you. There was you, me and Rodion at the falls.” Alik stilled in my hands, his legs stopping kicking. “We were fucking around, doing nothing when you, the fucking psycho that you are, abruptly got to your feet and pulled out your knife and fucking stabbed your friend in the heart…” Turning my fists inward, my blades began stabbing into Durov’s wrists, the shaking of his hands showing the pain.

His eyes were fixed on mine and I could see him trying to work out how I knew all this information. My eyes flared as blood began dripping from his wrists.

“Then you stabbed yourself in the stomach,” I lifted my knee and rammed it into his still-prominent scar, “And then put the blame on…” Alik’s eyes widened as I paused and I knew he’d seen my left eye… the one that used to fuck him off when we were just a couple’a kids… the one with Kisa’s smudge of blue.

I lowered my mouth and said, “Me… Luka.”

Alik’s body froze then began to convulse. But it wasn’t in fear, no, this bastard was convulsing in outright rage, his face contorting to show the fucking demon he was coming loose.

“See, your papa had to cover for your little fuck up. Your attack on me. Because I had the only thing in the world your insane ass wanted: Kisa. When I was heading to the Motherland, to some fucking work camp Kisa’s papa ordered me to, your father organized for me to follow a different road. See, I was sent to a Georgian prison, the Gulag, we called it… a cover for a motherfucking death ring,” I flicked my chin to the crowd, “Just like this.”

Alik was as still as ice as I spoke, but I could see his pulse beating wildly on his neck.

“They pumped me with drugs, tortured me, filled me with so much shit that I didn’t know who the fuck I was, beat me until I forgot anything but how to kill… until I came back here and knew one thing, the only thing that’s ever occupied my mind… killing you.”

I watched Alik. He watched me back, until Alik pushed at my arms, his body packing a strength like no one I’d ever fought before.

Alik’s body jerked, twitched and then he fucking went insane. “You fucked Kisa!” Alik screamed, spit flying from his mouth, his arms and legs thrashing around like the crazy son of a bitch he was. “You fucked my woman! YOU! I should’ve killed the betraying bitch when I had the chance!”

The blood drained out of my face when his words finally sunk into my mind. Every inch of me tensed and I released Durov’s hands and rolling to the side, dragging him to his feet by his hair and slammed him into the walls of the cage. The crowd erupted, spectators rushing forward, slamming their hands against the metal of the cage calling for me to kill him.

Durov, the fucker, just smiled and wiped his fingers under my nose. “Smell those, Luka. They were just all up in that whore’s pussy.” His eyes lit and he said, “When I beat the shit out of her for fucking you…” his eyes stormed over, “When I took the bitch over and over until she couldn’t fucking move, until she passed the fuck out through pain… for fucking you.”

I tried to suck in a breath, but I couldn’t inhale. Kisa. Fuck. What had he done?

“Yeah, fucker. I saw you last night, fucking my woman, so I taught her a fucking lesson. If I’d known it was you, Luka fucking Tolstoi, I’d have slit both your throats in that cove you love so fucking much.”

Stepping back from the side of the cage, I clenched my fists together and Alik smiled, shrugging off his shoulders.

“So are we doing this shit, Luka?” he said, curling his lip like it amused him that I’d been trapped in a hell because of him for twelve damn years.

“This ends tonight.”

Alik smiled.

The crowd went wild.

And we both ran straight for each other with death in our eyes, my fist plunging straight into his stomach, blades first.

Chapter Twenty-One

Kisa

My mouth was dry.

My tongue was like sandpaper and my lips were swollen and split.

I cracked open an eye, my eyelid like lead. I took a glance around the strange room. It was dark. My breathing was too fast when I tried to remember where I was. And then my eyes landed on a cleared space at the far side of the room. A clear space covered in plastic… blood residue spattered up the walls.

My mind raced.

The beach.

Raze… my Luka.

Him remembering.

The gym.

Serge—

Serge!

A pain-filled sob escaped my mouth when I thought back to the night before.

Alik!

No!

Alik had found out about Raze and me. He’d threatened Serge, and Serge… no, Serge died trying to protect me. My sweet, protective Serge…

Tears dripped heavily from my eyes, sorrow overwhelming me and I forced myself to push up from the bed. Every part of me ached, my dress bunched around my waist, my skin covered with blood and bruises… He’d beaten me half to death.