Page 51 of Plus-Size Bratva Bride

He chuckles.

“Trust me, they know how to keep themselves hidden. It’s not like they want the cops busting in on them and ruining the fun.”

He pushes against the door and it groans under his weight.

There is a man standing on the other side.

“Key,” he says roughly.

“Red arrow, gold dragon,” Radmir says, giving him tonight’s password.

The bouncer guy nods and steps aside and we walk through the rusted doorway and into the building.

Immediately, a thick stench of sweat and booze hits my senses and I scrunch up my nose. I prefer engine oil and burning rubber. But ok, I can handle this.

Radmir takes my hand and leads me deeper into the secret lair. Dark passages and stairways take us further underground until I can finally hear a loud thrum of voices and music.

He pushes open the last door and the smell gets stronger, and the noise gets louder.

It’s not what I expected.

It looks like a club. An underground nightclub. Some wild, devious party. Fighters are walking around with their shirts off. Drunk men hold money in the air, shouting their bets out.

In the middle of the crowded space is a cage. A literal cage. And inside the cage two guys are going at each other as though their lives depended on it while people scream instructions at them that no one can make out.

It’s all absolute chaos but somehow organized.

Radmir, no longer holding my hand, now with his entire arm wrapped around my body as he makes me walk in front of him, leads us to a table where I recognize two of his brothers.

“Roman, Ruvim, how’s it going? Has he fought yet?” Radmir asks, pulling out a chair and sitting in it, then tugging me onto his lap.

“Oh,” I say in surprise, expecting my own chair but enjoying the strength of his thick arm wrapped around me.

“Hey, Jade,” his brothers nod towards me.

“No, he’s two fights after this one,” Ruvim says, gesturing with his chin towards the cage.

We have to shout over the music and voices in order to hold a conversation. While Radmir catches up with his brothers, my eyes roam the room, taking in everything, noticing everything.

It doesn’t take me long to understand that this is where a lot of dark business is dealt. It’s clearly a breeding ground for under-the-table transactions. People hardly even try to hide it when they swap money for narcotics and loudly discuss illegal exchanges. One man to my left is asking the guy near him about buying a rifle.

When I’m bored with the people I turn my attention onto the cage.

Radmir’s brother is fighting next.

The men inside the cage are both covered in blood, slick with it, breathing heavily and clearly in pain. But neither of them is giving in just yet.

“What are the rules?” I ask, leaning close to Radmir so he can hear me.

“There are no rules.” He smirks.

“That makes sense.”

“Knock out!” the referee yells into a microphone. I turn back to the fight and one man is lying face down in a pool of his own blood.

Holy fuck. He could be dead for all anyone knows, and people are cheering and screaming excitedly.

Two men run into the cage to scoop him off the floor. One of his teeth falls out as they lift him. I chuckle. He’s still alive, but he is not going to look pretty.

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