“Do. You. Understand? This is my cage, my business, and you will fucking learn to obey me.”

Alik nodded and the Pakhan stepped back. He adjusted his coat as if nothing had happened, his blue eyes fixed on me.

“Get down here,” he demanded.

I pushed open the cage’s steel door and walked over to him. His eyes assessed my every step until I stood before him, head dropped low. The Pakhan circled me, his hands testing my muscles like I was a slab of meat, and he nodded his approval.

“I liked what I saw in the cage. You’ll headline, and you’ll make me a lot of money.” He turned to three huge men who surrounded him, but not before he bent down to kiss Kisa. “We’ll speak later.”

“Yes, Papa,” she said obediently. He then shot a dark look at Durov, who had yet to move from his position by the cage.

Within seconds, the Pakhan swept out of the gym, and Yiv shouted for everyone to get back to training. But I could smell Kisa again, her sweet scent filling my nose and hardening my dick. She hadn’t moved either, her blue eyes watching mine. I could feel their heat. Her heat. Her pull on me. I flickered my eyes to her for just a second.

“Don’t you fucking look at her again or I’ll carve out your eyes from your skull!” Durov threatened as he brushed past me.

Durov stopped at Kisa’s side and gripped her neck, Kisa crying out at his move. Every cord of muscle stiffened as he wrenched her to his chest, twisting her hair and jerking her head back as he took her mouth in his, tears of fear dropping from her eyes.

An image of a young girl being held down, crying, wandered through my mind, and a boy throwing a punch at another, protecting her, followed, but it evaporated when Alik pulled back from Kisa’s mouth and he dragged her to the office by her hair, Kisa apologizing to him every step of the way until the office door shut.

My stomach clenched as a jealous rage took hold. I had to use all of my willpower not to storm into the office and rip Durov off Kisa’s lips. Unable to take my stare off the office door, I heard Kisa shout out as she was slammed against the glass window, the blinds parting enough to see Durov ripping down his shorts, him licking the palm of his hand, cupping between her legs. As Durov’s eyes met mine, a crazed possession shone, and he rammed his cock into Kisa, gripping her cheeks, just like the Pakhan had done to him.

I handled the venomous hate, which infused my body, but only just. Something within me snapped. The image of the young kid punching another began to feel all too real. I stepped forward, intending to rip off Durov’s fucking head, when a hand landed on my arm and stopped me in my tracks.

Looking up from the stubby fingers wrapped around my wrist, I saw Viktor’s scared face looking at me.

Wrenching his hand from my skin, I shoved him back until he stumbled. I towered over him and ordered, “Don’t ever fucking touch me again!”

Viktor held out his palms in submission and, shifting from foot to foot, nervously signaled for me to follow him into our private training room. Without casting a glance back at the office, I followed Viktor, pacing the space of the training room as he closed the door.

“I’m going to tell you something important before you get yourself killed. Alik Durov is the heir to the Bratva, and Kisa Volkova is his fiancée, the only daughter of the Pakhan.”

Viktor’s words only stoked my rage. Durov owned Kisa. She was his. I didn’t like hearing that. Fuck, I felt murdering crazy on hearing that fact.

I wanted her. I had no reason to, had no idea who the woman was, why I was drawn to her… why she was fucking up my training, but I wanted her.

I wanted Durov’s cock out of her with a fierce intensity. I was fucking beyond insane at the thought, the brief glimpse, of that cunt fucking her. Her ass belonged to me; there could be no other explanation. Her sweet scent, her beautiful face… her blue eyes called for me to protect her.

A searing, white-hot pain sliced through my head, causing my eyes to slam shut. As I tried to breathe through the pounding headache, its intensity forced me to one knee.

You have to keep away from Alik. He’s obsessed with you and he’s dangerous.

Sand.

Sun.

One boy.

One girl.

Feelings.

Strange feelings gripped my gut, making me feel, piercing the numbness.

Memories…?

“Raze! RAZE! Can you fucking hear me?”

Blinking hard, my vision slowly returned and I gasped. Viktor had dropped to one knee in front of me. “You okay, son?”

Breathing steadily through the now diminishing ache, I sucked in a deep breath and hissed, “I’m not your fucking son!”

“Look,” Viktor, whispered in exasperation, “stay away from Kisa. Stay away from Durov until you meet him in the cage. You don’t fuck with the Volkov Bratva. All that surrounds them is death.”

Exhaling slowly, I stated, “I am death.”

I looked to Viktor from the corner of my eye and he paled. Then his gaze dropped to the number on my chest. My pecs tightened as if the ink were burning my skin. My head tilted to the side as I watched Viktor swallow.

“What?” I snapped and grabbed Viktor’s shirt.

“Where did you come from?” he asked, a nervy edge to his voice.

“Far away,” I said, remembering the place the guard had told me the Gulag was based.

Beads of sweat ran down Viktor’s head and he lowered his eyes. My lip curled at this pathetic weak man who I’d been saddled with, and I got to my feet. In minutes, I was in front of the mirror, power pressing, as Viktor cracked open a bottle of vodka behind me, slumped into a chair, and drank himself to sleep. With every press of the two hundred fifty pound weight, I heard Kisa crying as Durov fucked her, saw Durov smirk as he ploughed into her, licking his palm for me to see.