Page 47 of Mission Shift

Nik’s head snapped back.

Then he came at me, full force.

He buried a fist into my ribs, stealing the breath from my lungs. I grunted and swung again, my knuckles cracking against his cheekbone.

We went at each other hard—fists, knees, elbows—with pure, unfiltered rage.

His men circled, but they didn’t step in.

They wouldn’t.

They just watched as Nik and I beat the ever-loving shit out of each other.

Fists slammed into ribs, knuckles cracked against jaws, and boots kicked up dirt as we fought, neither of us backing down.

I drove my knee into his gut. He grunted, absorbing the hit, then countered by ramming his shoulder into my chest, sending me staggering. I twisted before I lost my footing, hooking an arm around his neck and dragging him into a grapple. We fell, hitting the ground hard, our fists still flying and our limbs tangling in a brutal struggle for control.

I didn’t care.

I needed this.

As I aimed a punch at his kidney, Nik rotated, using my own momentum against me. In a flash, he flipped me, slamming my shoulders into the ground and pressing his knee into my chest.

I bucked, clamping my fingers around his throat.

And then—

His grip faltered.

For half a second.

That was all I needed.

I flipped him hard and slammed my forearm across his throat, pinning him down.

“She never had a fucking chance in life,” I panted. “Her father murdered her mother. You hear me, Volkov? He killed her and then turned Daria into his personal Kremlin tool. Daria’s been a pawn in his fucking empire since she was a kid. She never had a choice.”

Beneath me, Nik’s chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily. He didn’t speak, just stared, taking in all I’d said.

“She saved my ass,” I muttered. “My fucking fingers were about to get chopped off. She could have left me. But she didn’t.”

Nik shoved me off him with a snarl, and we were at it again.

Fists flew. My ribs ached with every breath, sweat pouring down my back.

I swung at him, landing a brutal right hook that knocked his head sideways.

“You don’t give a fuck about anyone but yourself!” I roared. “You think you’re better than the rest of them? You’re just another greedy, selfish Russian oligarch wrapped up in mafia bullshit—”

Nik’s snarl cut me off. He lunged, locking his arms around my torso as he tackled me. We hit the dirt again, hard, both fighting for dominance. We rolled, kicking up dirt, our limbs entwining as we fought like goddamn animals.

“You’re gonna get your sister killed too,” I spat, struggling beneath him.

Nik roared, his strength surging. He managed to snake his arm under my throat, wrenching me into a chokehold.

My vision blurred at the edges. I clawed at his forearm, desperate for air.

“You think I don’t fucking know that?” he growled, tightening his hold. His breathing was ragged, his voice a low, deadly rasp. “You think I haven’t spent my whole damn life trying to make sure she stayed out of this shit? To make sure she was safe?” He wrenched harder, his bicep crushing my windpipe. “I took beatings for her. Since I was a kid. Since I was big enough to stand in front of her. You have no fucking idea what I’ve done to keep her out of this world.”

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