“Let’s see.” I took off my shirt.
Pavel grabbed it. “Kazimir, would it be rude to make a bet?”
“Go ahead.”
Pavel yelled at the crowd. “I put a $1000 on Anton. Who wants in?”
No one jumped in on that bet.
“You’re getting old, Kazimir.” Pavel smiled at Anton. “Do you think you can win? I don’t want to lose my money.”
Anton raised his hands. “I-I don’t want to fight the l-lion.”
“You don’t want to fight the lion?” Pavel frowned. “But you would rather fight a little woman?”
“S-she wanted to learn.”
Emily walked over to me and kept her voice low. “Kazimir, what are you doing?”
“I wanted to see what was going on in the building.” I cracked my neck on the right and then left. “When I can’t see, I come looking for myself.”
Put those goddamn cameras back on! Someone in the brotherhood is threatening you, and you’ve got a bunch of strange, hungry criminals around you.
She widened her eyes. “Maybe, we can find a way for you to see.”
“How?”
“Cameras, but of course that would be something we discuss. You can’t just put cameras in here. I’m sure you know that.”
I gritted my teeth. “Then, we’ll discuss it later. For now, I’ll have some fun.”
Anton opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Pavel pulled out several large bills. “My money is on Anton. No one wants in?”
I fisted my hands and glared at Anton. “Are you too tired to fight? Or did my mouse wear you out?”
The crowd snickered.
Anton probably didn’t appreciate their humor, and so he went with vanity. Wrong move.
“No, I’m not too tired.” Anton dusted himself off and stood. The man even towered over me. I didn’t know what his parents had fed him long ago, but he’d eaten them out of their house for sure.
I shook my head. “Really, mysh? This is who you decided to fight?”
She got to my side. “He was teaching me.”
“It was more than that.”
Emily’s fighting Anton wasn’t just about learning. She wanted everyone around them to know the mouse could hold her own. That even the biggest guy in the room, she could give a hard time, and she could do it without the lion near.
But I gave you men so you would never have to fight again.
I stepped into my mouse’s makeshift rink, a dirty, bloody cement floor that had seen better days.
Worry hit Anton’s face, but he shifted into a fighting stance anyway.
I remained calm and stepped close to him. “Have you taught her the main principles of systema?”
“I have.”
“But you’re not relaxed.”
“I am.” Anton looked down at his stance.
I lunged forward, striking his face and then punching his jaw. I could’ve hit his temple and knocked him out, but I was trying to take my time as I proved a point.
Anton stumbled back.
“One must stay relaxed. That way you’re ready for any sort of movement. Fast or slow. In any direction.” I dove for him.
He ducked.
I got him on his right.
He stumbled back.
“You’re not breathing.” I moved to my left.
He jumped away.
“Your breathing should be continuous, uninterrupted, and have a pendulum-like quality to it.” I waved my arm from side to side. “See.”
He nodded.
With the other hand, I slammed him in the throat. He crashed into the wall.
“Kazimir!” Emily sounded from behind. “That’s enough lessons for today.”
“But we haven’t finished all of the principles.”
“We’re done.” She hurried forward, got between us, and glared at me. “Everyone, we’re done for today!”
Done doing what?
Many of them scattered, especially Anton. Pavel frowned and handed the thousand to me. I winked and pocketed it.
Emily’s other man, Boris, walked over and positioned himself behind her. After a few minutes, only my men, Emily, and Boris remained.
I took my shirt from Pavel and gave it to her. She put it on and tied the hanging fabric around her waist. I gestured to Boris. “Why is he still here?”
Emily spoke, “He’s my second.”
“And who’s your first?”
“Maxwell.”
“Have you talked to Valentina about that? She told me Maxwell is watching her.”
“This morning, Maxwell said he’d just been kicked out. He has to do something for Misha and will be back in a week.”
Valentina, you can’t have tantrums with the Harlem crew. They move differently. And damn it, I’d thought I’d gotten rid of Maxwell.
My frown deepened. “What is Maxwell doing for Misha?”
“I don’t know.”
I scowled at Boris. “So, you’re her number two? Then, why did you let that thug drag her on the ground?”
Emily answered for him. “Because I wanted to learn how to fight the Russian way.”
Edge laced my voice. “You already know how to fight the Russian way. Pick up a gun and shoot their head off.”
“I won’t always have a gun.”
“You won’t need one.”
She shook her head. “You never know.”
“I will know!”
She blinked and crossed her arms across her chest. “You told me you would give me free rein with my men and building.”
“I am.”
She gestured to my jacket in Pavel’s hands. “You can’t just walk in here and beat up my men because you don’t like the way we’re communicating.”
Communicating?
All the little bit of calm disappeared. I pointed to her bloody nose. “I can and I will!”
Boris stirred.
Pavel cleared his throat.
Her chest rose and fell. “Maybe we should finish this conversation back at the house.”
“Go ahead.”
She stormed off.
I followed.
No one else came with us.
At this point, the whole property was learning. If we had a disagreement, everyone was to stay out of our way until we dealt with it.
Your shirt is off. Jeans ripped. Nose bloody. Bruises. I don’t give a fuck if you’re mad.
She marched forward, muttering curse words every few steps.
I didn’t keep up with her. I enjoyed watching that plump ass shake as she stomped off. Anger radiated from her frame, so much it made my cock jump. But I wouldn’t fall into my desires too quickly. She needed to understand her men were there to protect her, not to be trained to wage war or to slap her around.
What were you thinking?
In silence, we made it back to the house.
By the time we hit the stairs, her body must’ve ached. She limped a little and had slowed down her pace.
I took her hand and helped her up. “The doctor should see you first.”
“No.” She frowned. “We should talk first.”
I clenched my jaw. “After you’re cleaned up and he has seen you.”
She rolled her eyes.
I stopped her on the top of the stairs and pulled her close to me. “The next time I see one of your men hit you, I’ll kill him.”