His brow shot up at my brazenness, and a chuckle emerged from his lips. He waggled a finger at me. “I like you, Adrik Volkov. You’ve got balls. You know what? I’ll give you a chance. If you can fight my biggestBoyevikand come out the winner, then I’ll let you be on my crew.” He turned and motioned to a big, dark thug who looked to be in his early twenties, around six-four or five, and at least two-hundred-fifty pounds.
“Timofey, my man. Think you can put this wannabe Adrik Volkov in his place?”
The hulk stepped forward, smirking at me. “Sure thing, boss. I’ll take down the wolf just…like…that.” He snapped his fingers.
At six-two, I wasn’t small by any means, but Timofey had a lot more bulk than I did.
Not that it mattered. I’d come prepared for this moment. I’d taken on bigger foes before and won.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
This was my chance to prove myself. My chance at a better life.
My chance to stick it to Papa.
And give my brother a better life.
I could not fail.
I took in a deep, calming breath and centered myself.
Everyone stepped back, giving us room.
Timofey and I circled each other.
I watched his eyes, and he stared back, each of us searching for a weakness.
Then he lunged at me.
I danced out of the way, whirled, then landed a hard strike to his left kidney. He grunted and stumbled back, sending me a glare.
Everyone cheered, urging us on.
I tuned them all out, focusing intently on my opponent.
With a growl, Timofey came at me again, swinging his large fist.
And again, I eluded, bouncing out of the way.
What can I say? I was quick on my feet.
Spinning, I landed a hard jab to the side of his neck, aiming for his vagus nerve.
He stumbled again, shaking his head, telling me I’d struck the right spot and that he was fighting back dizziness.
The cheers grew louder, whistles and shouts bellowing around us.
With a roar, he came at me again.
He swung for my face.
I ducked and kicked the side of his knee, causing him to waver, but, unfortunately, he didn’t go down.
Then he kicked out at my feet, trying to trip me.
I bounced out of the way, whirling around, and landed a hard blow to his solar plexus.
He wheezed, hunching over, breathing heavily.