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Chapter 24
Misha
For the past two days, I’ve been thinking about what to do, and I’ve come to the conclusion that if I don’t talk to Victor, I won’t know where I stand.
Stopping outside Director Koslov’s door, I tell the guard, “Can I speak to the director?”
Using a two-way radio, I hear him say, “Misha Petrov is here to see you, sir.”
It takes a moment before the vault door opens, then Director Koslov gestures for me to enter his office.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asks as he nods at a couch.
“I’ll stand. Thank you.” Lifting my chin, I lock eyes with him. “Can you arrange a meeting with Mr. Vetrov for me?”
Director Koslov’s eyebrow lifts. “Regarding?” “Aurora D’Angelo.”
There’s no going back now.
The corner of his mouth lifts in a smirk. “It took you long enough.” Walking to his desk, he answers, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, sir.”
When I turn to leave, the director asks, “How do you plan on getting past Caruso?”
I have no fucking idea what I’m going to do with Aurora’s father.
“If Viktor approves, I’ll just kidnap her.” It’s meant to sound like a joke, but there’s too much truth in my words, and it comes out as a promise.
Director Koslov chuckles. “Good luck with that.”
Nodding, I say, “Thank you for seeing me, sir.”
I leave the office, tension coiling in my gut because if Viktor doesn’t give his approval, I’m fucked.
I head to Instructor Nikolai’s studio, and finding Aurora busy lifting weights, I say, “On the mat, D’Angelo.”
Aurora’s eyes snap to me, and frowning, she sets the weights down and walks over to the mat.
Taking her position in front of me, she whispers, “You’re late. Is everything okay?”
“I had business to take care of,” I mutter, stuck in my head about the impending meeting with Viktor. That’s if he’ll even agree to meet with me.
I take a fighting stance and order, “Attack.”
Aurora gives me a worried look, then she widens her feet and swings a fist at me.
With zero effort, I block the blow. I let out a dark chuckle, “You can do better than that.”
Darting forward, I pat the side of her head. “Come on.”
I’ve been mock-fighting with her so she can get used to the movements, but soon she’ll have to take part in a real fight, so I need her to up her game.
Suddenly Aurora drops, and before I can jump, she swipes my legs from under me.
I hit the mat with a proud chuckle, then flip myself back onto my feet. “Good. You’re getting faster. Always use your speed when you’re up against someone bigger.”
“Okay.” She takes in a fighting stance again.
“Also, when you have your opponent on their ass, keep attacking. Don’t give them a chance to get up again. Do it again, and this time keep me on my back.”
A light frown forms on her forehead. “You want me to punch you?” “Yes.” I gesture for her to attack.
Instead, she argues, “But I’ll hurt you.”
I let out a chuckle. “I can handle pain. Give it your all. I need to know if you’re ready for a fight against one of the other attendees.”
Nervousness flashes over her face, and this time when she goes for my legs, and I fall to the ground, I grab Aurora’s leg and drop her ass to the mat. Before she can sit up, my thighs wrap around her neck and I squeeze.
“I can get used to seeing you between my legs,” I taunt her. Aurora struggles against my hold, then mutters, “Yield.”
When we climb to our feet, she says, “Teach me how you did that.”
I go through the motions with Aurora, and when I’m sure she has the hang of it, I instruct, “I’ll attack, then you get me in a chokehold.”
“Okay.”
We take our positions, and when I sweep Aurora’s feet from under her, her right leg slams into my calves, and I go down. She twists her body, and as I hit the mat, her thighs wrap around my neck.
A proud chuckle escapes me, and not thinking, I slap her on the ass. “Good girl.”
“Are you busy with training or foreplay, Mr. Petrov?” Instructor Nikolai shouts from across the room.
“Shit,” Aurora gasps, and pulling away from me, she scrambles to her feet, then loudly snaps at me. “Keep your hands to yourself, asshole.”
I love how she’s trying to cover for us. It’s cute.
“A little of both, sir,” I call out to Instructor Nikolai just to tease Aurora.
She widens her eyes at me, then whisper-hisses, “Do you want the whole world to know about us?”
Chuckling, I start to bounce on the balls of my feet as I circle her. “Yes.
Do you have a problem with that?”
“Yes,” she growls. “It will get us killed.”
Darting forward, I grab hold of her in a chokehold. With my mouth close to her ear, I say, “You’re worth dying for.”
“You’ve lost your mind!” Successfully she flips me over her shoulder. Landing on my back, I quickly flip onto my feet and turn to face
Aurora. “Haven’t you heard? Love makes a person do crazy things.”
She shakes her head, then walks away from me. I go after her and almost burst a fucking vein when she tells Instructor Nikolai, “I’m ready for a fight.”
“No, you’re not,” I snap.
Instructor Nikolai glances between us, then shouts, “Clear the floor.
Miss Almeida versus Miss D’Angelo.”
Christ!
I have no choice but to step back as Aurora and Paula move to the mat.
At least she’s fighting a woman.
It’s not that I don’t think she’s ready. I just wanted more time to make her better.
Aurora takes a fighting stance, and when Paula slowly circles her, my girl keeps her eyes locked on the enemy.
I cross my arms over my chest, and when Paula lunges forward, slamming a fist into Aurora’s face, I have to force myself to stand still.
Aurora quickly catches herself and darting forward, she twists her body in the air and plants a kick against the side of Paula’s head.
Aurora immediately drops like a ton of bricks, and I see a flash of pain on her face as she scrambles to her feet. She doesn’t place her weight on her right foot.
Fuck.
She limps a step back, then takes a fighting stance once more. Paula moves forward, swiping Aurora’s feet from under her. You can do it!
She grabs Paula’s leg and yanks her to the floor, then twists her body and locks Paula in a chokehold.
That’s my girl.
Paula struggles, delivering punches to Aurora’s right knee, but my woman stays strong until Paula taps out. “Yield.”
I want to sweep Aurora up in my arms and tell her how fucking proud I am, but instead, I have to watch as she struggles to her feet.
Abbie rushes to her, and wrapping an arm around her, she helps Aurora over to the side of the class.
“You can do better, Miss Almeida,” Instructor Nikolai says, then he barks at Abbie, “Get your ass over here, Miss Sartori.”
I walk toward Aurora, and as I pass Abbie, she mutters under her breath, “Dickhead. Asshole. Bastard. Ugh, I hate him.”
I suppress the chuckle, then crouch in front of Aurora to look at her ankle and knee. “How’s the pain?”
“Bearable?”
I glance up at her. “Get an icepack on your ankle.” I rise to my full height, then whisper, “I’ll check on you after class.”
“Okay.” She glances at Instructor Nikolai, who’s too busy torturing Abbie to notice as Aurora limps out of the room.
Walking to the back of the class, I gather the equipment and put everything in its place.
When the allotted time is up, I’m out of the room like a flash of lightning, running to Aurora’s suite.
I knock on the door, and the instant it opens, I dart inside and sweep my woman into my arms. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
“I have a good trainer,” she chuckles.
I move her over to the couch and wait for her to sit down. Crouching in front of her, I take a closer look at her ankle. “It’s going to hurt for a couple of days. Next time use the inside of your foot.”
“That’s what I was going for,” she sighs. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”
Getting up, I lean over her and press a kiss to her mouth. “You’ll get the hang of it.”
“I’m injured,” she pouts. “I need another kiss.”
Chuckling, I sit down beside her and pull her onto my lap. “Yeah, is that the prize you want for winning the fight?” Aurora frames my face. “Yes.”
We spend close to thirty minutes making out like teenagers, and it has me forgetting where I am.
Fuck, I hope Viktor won’t lose his shit when I tell him I’ve fallen in love with the enemy.