The roar of the crowd and the loud music could hardly match the pounding of Anton's heart within his chest and ears. This. This is what he lived for in between his life in the Bratva and home. Somewhere where there were no titles and everyone was on an equal playing field where strength was the only true deciding factor.

There were risks of course, one punch could end his life if he wasn't careful, that and anyone could assassinate him if they wanted to. But he needed this, needed the violence, the bloodshed, the pure adrenaline that would course through his body during the fights, especially when his anger peaked during these stressful months.

He pulled off his shirt, tossing it to the side as a thin sheen of sweat began to well up across his skin under the bright lights. The grim reaper tattoos on his arms stood out starkly against his tanned flesh as he stretched them.

His opponent was larger than him with a shaved head and a beard that was braided. Both men were completely focused on each other, as any and all other noises and possible distractions were drowned out while they took their position on opposite sides of the ring.

Anton let out a few steady breaths, relaxing his body while bringing up his fists, the other man was bouncing on the balls of his feet. The crowd had just quieted down just enough for the bell to be heard over them all. And like that, the brawl started.

The other man, despite his larger size, moved swifter than Anton anticipated and before he could properly block him the meaty fist of the man cracked against Anton's jaw, whipping his head to the left.

Everything rang for a moment as the sharp pain radiated from his jaw to his now split lip. Fuck he was going to have a hard time explaining that later, but he couldn't focus on that now, not with this mountain of a man coming at him again. He was able to just barely dodge the second punch, ducking under it before he threw a few quick punches to the man's side, aiming for his kidney. He had to have hit something sensitive with the groan that came out from the man, making him tense up.

More blows were exchanged between the two for what felt like forever but it was only in actuality about two minutes. Anton had a split brow along with his split lip that got words but the other man's nose made it look as if he ran into a wall at full speed with how it was smashed down and split towards the top. The man's left eye was almost completely swollen shut as both of them spat out blood.

Anton took another harsh blow to the gut, making him bend over as the air was knocked out of him. He gasped, trails of bloody spit poured from his lips to the messy ground below. His vision whitened as he struggled to draw in breath.

Thump

Thump

Another two blows hit that same spot and he could already feel that flesh start to bruise. At that moment however, the adrenaline within him kicked in as he sucked in a harsh breath of much needed air. Before the larger man knew what was happening, Anton got out of his hold, cocking back his right fist before colliding it to the side of the man's jaw. The man's head snapped to the side, blood spewing from his lips profusely as his eyes glazed over and rolled back.

The ground shook faintly as he collapsed into a heap, the only movement coming from him to show that he was even alive still was from the shallow breaths coming from his chest.

The ref, some middle-aged man with more tattoos than teeth came over, holding up Anton's arm as he was declared the winner. Anton panted as that adrenaline high finally began to wind down while the crowd erupted into a frenzy around him. A grin spread across his injured lip as he looked out amongst them before pausing as a familiar face caught his attention, giving him a look of pure shock.

He froze, unable to hear the ref as he focused completely on her. 'The fuck is she doing here?!' His eyes flickered around, looking around for the two men he would normally have trail her whenever she left the apartment but when he didn't see them his anger only grew.

He ripped his arm out of the ref's hand before slipping out between the ropes and pushing through the crowd to get to her. His eyes never left her even as she tried to escape through the crowd and before she could leave he snatched her wrist, pulling her to him. "Not so fast, Lisichka... Seems someone's curiosity got the better of them."

He pulled her into a nearby room, away from prying eyes even though the crowd was already getting ready for the next fight. The moment the door closed he pressed her chest against it as his pressed against her back, his hands holding onto her wrists as he pins them above her head. His breath was hot against her ear as he leaned in close. "So, are you going to tell me the reason why you're here and deliberately disobeyed me?"