Yeah, asking Dmitri to disguise his reasoning for coming to California out of the blue wasn’t my favorite thing I’ve had to do. But Jade can’t know before our father does, and there’s no way I’m telling him before it’s official. I don’t know if he would try to talk me out of this, or forbid me from it, so I’m not giving him the chance.
Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
“And what’s he doing, exactly?”
“Proving himself.”
Understanding seems to light behind his eyes and he looks to me, tilting his head just slightly to one side. “Anya will be upset if you get hurt.”
“I won’t get hurt,” I state confidently. “Not enough to make her worry.”
“And if I told you that you could be with her without doing this?” he asks, his voice just loud enough for me to hear. “If I said that you two could live here as man and wife without abandoning your allegiance to The Outfit?”
“I’d say thanks, but no thanks,” I reply without question. “If I’m going to have Anya, I’m going to deserve her. I’m going to bleed for her, and sacrifice everything for her. To be a man worthy of her, I can’t just sit around on my hands and accept her like a gift. I’m going to work for her family and earn their love as I’ve earned hers.”
For once, Lev doesn’t voice an objection.
Nobody does.
“All right, Matteo,” Anton decides. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The first few fights are quick and brutal, but they have nothing to do with me. In the meantime, Dmitri has me take my shirt and shoes off and tells me to hold still while he wraps my wrists in black athletic tape. It’s tight enough to keep my joints and bones in place for heavy hits, but not too tight that it cuts into my blood circulation.
The men surrounding us are varying in size, but most of them are my size or bigger. A couple are smaller in stature like Ivan and Nico, but I’m not going to be fooled into thinking that that makes them less fierce competition. Speed can have just as much advantage as strength.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
When my name is called out, it almost doesn’t even sound real.
“You’re up,” Dmitri tells me, lightly pushing me toward the correct ring. His completely calm demeanor reminds me that I don’t need to be worried.
I’ve trained all my life and learned from Anton Morozov’s sons themselves. I’m going to do fine. Better than fine. I’m going to dominate.
I didn’t hear my opponent’s name, but the man is older than me and covered in tattoos. We’re on par for size and height, but judging by the scars on his body, this isn’t his first time fighting.
“Long way from home, aren’t you?” he asks, his accent heavy.
“I don’t know,” I respond in Russian. “You tell me.”
He tilts his head in surprise and then grins. “This will be fun.”
“Not for you,” I assure him.
When the bell dings to signal our start, he fucking launches himself at me, flying through the air like some kind of wild, feral bird. He isn’t difficult to catch off guard, and part of me is pretty sure he’s on some kind of upper. Cocaine most likely.
I dodge his obvious first attack and spin behind him, shoving him into the corner of the ring so hard that he grunts in pain. He puts his hands up, expecting to be hit with a barrage of punches. So I kick him in the stomach and when he goes down wheezing, I catch him in the jaw with a heavy knee.
He goes down in an instant, collapsing as he passes out from a well-placed hit. I stand above him, waiting to see if he’ll try to get up. But when his eyes open slowly, he waves me off.
Cheers and jeers erupt from the men in the crowd like they have after every match as I make my way out of the ring, smirking. My first win and I didn’t even break a sweat.
“Quick,” Dmitri comments as I return to his side.
“Sucks for him,” I reply with a laugh. “Pretty sure he wanted to dance with me for a while. Are all of them hopped up on something?”
“Not all,” he tells me, unsurprised that the man was on drugs. “They don’t have to be clean unless they become one of ourmen. Some think being juiced up gives them an edge, others are simply addicts.”
Sarcasm obvious, I mutter, “Fun.”
