Fuck me, that’ll leave a mark. “That all you’ve got?”
She rolls her eyes.
As she dodges the mirror I just broke, I catch her with a backhanded fist. Then Nika vaults a car hood, putting the vehicle between us.
Brat. “Hey, you started this fight.” I follow at a slower speed, my leg still half-numb from where she kneed me. “Stop running, Nika.”
“Who said anything about running?”
When I round the car, she glares at me from the other side.
I’m close enough to glimpse the way her lips part as she breathes, how the sweat trickles down her neck despite the frigid air.
My heart races.
There it is again. That magnetic pull between us. Part of me wants to headbutt the shit out of her, but the other half?
I rake my gaze down her body, imagining for a second what it’d be like to bend her over the hood of my truck and fuck the fight right out of her.
The moment shatters when she lunges. We battle on, panting clouds into the cold air.
Because I’m stronger, she’s forced to move when I land a hit. When she strikes, I take the blow and keep coming.
Still, she’s faster, and she uses the environment like an extension of her own body. Every car, every pillar, every slick surface becomes a weapon or a shield. She reaches behind her back and produces a knife with a black handle and a six-inch blade that’s serrated on one edge and smooth on the other.
Nika angles the blade up like this isn’t her first rodeo.
The wind continues to spit rain at us from the open sides of the parking garage, water droplets transforming the blade into a liquid silver continuation of her arm.
“Last chance.” She keeps her voice steady, like we’re discussing dinner options. “Give me the locket while you still have a hand to do so.”
I shift my weight. Can I close the gap before she attacks?
How quick is she with that knife?
Either way, I’m not forking the locket over to the woman who destroyed Sasha and terrorized the family. She deserves to pay for her actions.
My fingers twitch. “Come and get it.”
When Nika’s lips curve into a bloodthirsty smile, my dick throbs in response.
At this rate, I can’t decide what my body wants to do more…fuck her or fight her.
Chapter 3
Nika
Max spins away from me, his boots splashing through water as he circles the nearest car.
He’s stronger than me. That’s just physics. He stands over six feet tall with a medium build and defined muscles. Not the kind of guy who expects to get jumped in parking garages.
But with strength comes predictability. Strength moves in straight lines, follows patterns, and relies on force.
With my speed, I don’t need any of that. Dimitri taught me how to fight against bigger and more formidable men. I understand how to pit someone’s momentum against them, how to dodge and feint without telegraphing my intentions, and how to get up close before someone even senses me.
I’ll use my own unpredictable fighting style to beat him.
He ducks behind a sedan, disappearing from view. The garage goes quiet, leaving only the ambient noise from outside. Rain hammers the upper levels and blows in from the open sides. Somewhere below, car doors slam. Distant voices waft up from the sidewalks.
