I recognize his blond hair instantly. It’s Alex, one of the Syndicate men that’s made his feeling of me clear. He doesn’t trust theRussian scum. I’ve always tried to be more overbearing when he’s around just to frustrate him.
He grabs my wrists and forces them behind me, pushing me into the dirt. This fucking bastard thinks he can overpower me. I kick my leg around him, then twist my wrists. I’m able to push into his grasp then break his hold on me. I roll us over to where I’m on top of him.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I yell at him because he’s clearly lost his damn mind.
“I don’t trust you, you bitch. You’re a distraction we can’t have. So, I’m going to eliminate the distraction.” He grins sadistically, and his eyes gleam with a sickening light.
I’m caught so off guard by his words, that I’m a moment too slow when he flips us back over. He hits me in the face once, andI immediately feel blood start to pour out of my nose. He tries to hit me again, but I block and redirect it. All the training I’ve been doing makes the muscle memory easy, so I use his arm to throw him off me. I jump to my feet and swipe at his legs. He steps back just in time. He lunges at me again, but I dodge him. I lunge at him, and this time, I tackle him to the ground. I reel back my fist and hit him twice in the face.
“You fucking psycho!” I yell at him as I hit him again and again.
He fights against me, but he’s no match for my fury. I don’t stop until I’m physically being pulled off of him. I turn to fight the second guy, only to be pulled into his chest. I lift my leg to stomp on his foot but freeze when he speaks.
“Katerina, it’s me. Are you okay? What happened?” Dominic’s urgency has me halting. He pulls me in tighter as he stares daggers over my shoulder.
“I’m fine. But this fucker won’t be if you let me get back to him,” I growl out. I’m still fucking furious.
“Tell me what happened.” Dominic’s tone turns lethal.
I stall for a moment, worried he won’t believe me. I know we’ve come a long way, but Alex is Syndicate. And I’m Bratva by blood.
“This crazy bitch started attacking me! She’s a wild animal. All I did was try to defend myself,” Alex cries out from where he’s still lying on the ground.
“I didn’t ask you,” Dominic spits out. His entire demeanor changes when Alex starts talking. Relief floods me. He’s going to listen. “What happened, Katerina?” His words are soft when he addresses me.
“I was running then he tackled me to the ground. He said I was a distraction, that he was going to get rid of. This psychowas trying to kill me. But I kicked his ass.” I can’t help the smugness in my tone towards the end.
“She’s lying!” Alex’s voice pierces through my calm. I try to jerk out of Dominic’s arms, but he pulls me in.
“Stay put. You’ve done enough damage,” he whispers in my ears. Then he raises his voice. “I don’t think she is lying.”
“You’re going to believe this Russian whore over your own men. She must have a cunt of gold.” Alex spits after he says it, and blood flings out of his mouth.
Dominic releases me instantly, but before I can launch myself at Alex, Dominic’s already on top of him. My husband has my attacker pinned to the ground with his knees and is choking him.
“If you ever speak about my wife like that again, I’ll kill you.” Dominic’s calm tone makes it even more terrifying. “You made my wife bleed, and for that, you’ll pay severely. If she weren’t such an Amazonian warrior, I’d be beating you now. But she’s damaged you enough for the both of us, you insipid worm.”
Alex struggles against his hold, until he’s gurgling. Dominic tightens his grips until Alex pales significantly, and eventually, his eyes roll to the back of his head.
Dominic pulls out his phone and dials someone.
“Roman, I have someone for you. I want him to pay.” There’s a moment of silence then. “He’s one of ours. We need to make it hurt. He came after my wife.” He growls out the last two words, his claim on me does something to me. “He’s going to beg for mercy at our hands.”
When I realize what he’s ordering I step forward and place my hand on his shoulder.
“I want to be a part of it.” I don’t ask, I demand.
“Kat–” he starts.
“No, Dominic! I want to make him pay! He tried to kill me.” I keep my voice even, so he knows this isn’t just my adrenaline talking. “I’ve trained for this.”
He hesitates for a moment, then nods his head.
“Scratch that. We don’t need you. Go hang out with your wife.” Without giving Roman a chance to respond, he ends the call.
Dominic stands and stares at me for a moment. An indiscernible look crosses his face. I call a soft smile to my lips to convey that I’m fine but wince with the movement.
Within seconds, Dominic is cupping my face with both of his hands and tilts it up for him to inspect. He gently prods around. I jerk back when he touches my nose, and he curses.
