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Then he lunges for me, grabbing the front of what’s left of my shirt before I can step away, and jerks me toward him. His forehead smashes into my face with a crack that makes white light explode behind my eyes as my nose crunches and hot blood spills down over my mouth.

“No!” Annie cries, and it has me returning the fucking favor with a brutal headbutt of my own, bone slamming against bone. We stagger apart for half a second, which is all the time I need to hammer my fists into his gut again and again, every hit digging for something that will slow him down before my strength runs out.

The fucker absorbs the blows with a snarl before his fist drives into my ribs with enough force to lift me off my feet.

I hit the deck hard and roll before he can stomp on my head. The impact of his boot slamming into the planks beside me is loud, and grabbing his ankle, I rip his leg out from under him. As Grigori crashes down on the ground, I dive over him, and we begin to wrestle for control.

I pound my fist into his face over and over until blood sprays from his mouth, the crimson droplets hitting my neck.

Reaching up, his hands clamp around my throat, and he squeezes fucking hard, attempting to crush my windpipe.

Annie.

The strength in his grip is unreal as his thumbs dig into my skin, stopping me from taking another breath. My vision tunnels on his face as I bring my elbow down on his jaw. I keep hitting until black creeps into the edges of my vision.

Fuck!

His grip loosens just enough for me to wrench free and roll away while I drag in a ragged breath that burns like fire down into my lungs.

The air vibrates with violence, and as I climb to my feet, my eyes touch on Annie’s face, which is torn with pain and worry. Our gazes lock for a split second, then her expression fills with all the trust she has in me, and she says, “You can do this! Kill him.”

I have to keep her safe.

As Grigori pushes himself upright, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, I move fast, kicking him in the throat.

Gagging, he staggers backward before catching his balance. A grin spreads across his bloody lips as he says with a hoarse voice, “Good one.”

My entire body screams in protest, and my ribs ache with every breath. My hands feel like shattered bone wrapped in torn skin, and sweat stings every cut across my face and chest while my legs begin to tremble beneath me.

Grigori charges again, and I meet him halfway, our bodies coming together with bone-rattling force. I quickly hook his arm and drive my knee into his stomach, earning a grunt from him before he powers through with a brutal punch into my kidney that folds me forward.

Before I can recover, his hand clamps around the back of my neck, and he pushes my face straight into his rising knee.

Stars explode across my vision while I come up, swinging blindly and catching the side of his cheek.

Grigori answers with a punch that spins me sideways until my footing slips, and I drop to my left knee.

Annie.

The fucker comes at me, but I lunge forward, driving my shoulder into his gut and forcing him a few steps backward. Again, his elbow comes down on my back, and as I go down, Annie lets out an angry cry. The next instant, the sound of a machine gun fills the air, and I stay down while my head snaps toward Annie.

I watch as she stumbles backward from the recoil, but she manages to fire a couple of shots off.

As I drive my fist into his cheek, bullets slam into the metal bucket, causing it to tip over. The lid pops off, and when rats scurry all over the place, Annie lets out a shriek.

From the corner of my eye, I see her do a little tap dance in an attempt to avoid the critters.

Grigori hisses, and my attention snaps back to him. Noticing Annie has managed to shoot him in the thigh, I get a final burst of energy.

Darting up, I tackle the fucker right off his feet. He lets out a roar as he uses all his strength to push me onto my back. Just as he moves to straddle me, I knee him fucking hard in the balls, and as his face turns red, I finally get the upper hand and wrap my arm around his neck.

Locking my arm in place by grabbing hold of my wrist, I squeeze with every ounce of strength I have left.

“Your first mistake was coming after me,” I growl. “Your second was thinking I’d let you touch my woman.”

I jerk, and as the most satisfying crack I’ve ever heard splits through the air, I slump onto my back and stare up at the night sky.

Grigori’s lifeless body lies over me, and I take a moment to suck in a couple of breaths.