Page 73 of Plus-Size Bratva Bride

I deserve so much more karma than that.

I hustle, moving fast but trying to stay calm as I slam the car into gear and rush towards the warehouse where they host the cage fights.

Vengeance isn’t in my heart anymore. I was consumed by it, not that long ago, but I stopped letting it eat me alive from the inside out. The weight of it actually left me a while ago, but last night was the first time I openly acknowledged it and understood the reality of what I had to do.

It wasn’t an easy thing to come to terms with because what I have to do requires throwing myself under a bus. My whole world is going to fall apart and somehow I know I deserve it.

But now, with Ruvim entering the next fight, already weakened from his previous injuries, now I might be too late to stop what is in motion.

I wish Radmir hadn’t been so obvious in his discomfort watching his little brother fight.

Dammit.

I wish I had never been a part of this plan in the first place.

But then I would not have met Radmir.

“None of this matters if you can’t stop Ruvim from fighting,” I warn myself as I turn into the parking lot of the familiar derelict building.

It’s weird being here without Radmir. A little scary. This is not the nicest of places, packed with shady character and dark dealings.

But I don’t have time to dwell on it.

I hurry from the car, walking up to the bouncer. He opens the door and looks at me. Shit.Thecode. I don’t know today's password.

“Do you recognize me?” I ask tensely.

“I do.”

“My friend is in there, he’s fighting in a bit, and he’s not answering his phone to give me the code,” I tell him.

He eyes me up and down.

“Whose your friend?”

“Kuznetsov Ruvim and Renat—uh, the Night Hawk.”

He bites at the inside of his cheek as he mulls it over.

“Oh please, you were standing right here when Renat and I were chatting the other night by the car,” I say in desperation.

“Yeah. Yeah, I was,” he sighs. “If anyone asks—I’ll deny letting you in without the code.” His brows raise at me and I nod enthusiastically. “Thank you!” I exclaim, moving to hug him but then changing my mind. I clear my throat and step around him, then run downstairs into the main area.

But it’s chaos.

There is no music playing and people are rushing around in odd panic.

I grab the waiter who runs past me. “What’s going on?” I demand.

“Renat’s brother was just taken. A bunch of guys ran in with guns and Kevlar and masks—it was fucking crazy man… They just took him.”

“Ruvim,” I say in horror.

“Yeah, that’s his name. The new fighter.”

“Who took him?” I shake the waiter, gripping his arm tightly.

“Sheesh lady, I don’t know, what the fuck?” he snaps, pulling his arm back with a wide-eyed look of fear.

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