Page 40 of Bratva Holiday

“Will you fuck off?!” Aleksandr roared, fighting hard against Nik.

I snatched up my bucket and filled it quickly before bolting across the field.

Lukyan and Tati passed me on the way. I tried not to think about the fact that they had, at a minimum, one extra run ahead of me, thanks to my detour with Aleksandr. At the one-minute warning, Arturo and I had a plan to hopefully tip the odds in our favor.

For the next two minutes, I ran back and forth, back and forth, focusing on not only running as fast as I could, but also trying not to spill any of the water in my bucket at the same time. My legs burned, sweat coating my body, making my clothes stick to my skin, but I didn’t stop.

Mikhail narrated the entire thing, as usual, giving all of us the ability to know what was going on without having to actually focus on it.

Autumn dumped her bucket into her tub and sprinted back. Instead of going to refill her bucket, she detoured, crashing into Arturo and knocking him off Father, the two of them rolling across the grass.

“You go!” she yelled, landing underneath Arturo and locking him into a rear naked choke from behind.

Father didn’t waste a second, picking up her discarded bucket and bolting for their tub of water. Logistically, it was a smart play. Autumn had already done several laps and was no doubt feeling the effects of fatigue. By switching places with her partner, it gave them a chance to stay in the running since Father wouldn’t be as tired as Autumn.

Keeping them down wasn’t the main goal. The main goal was Aleksandr and Drea, since they were in first place. Any delay we could deal Father and Autumn at the same time was just a bonus.

Mikhail blew three sharp bursts of his whistle. “One more minute!” he roared at the top of his lungs.

A new surge of adrenaline slammed into my body. I pumped my legs harder, pushing myself to go as fast as my body was able. I scooped as much water as I could into my bucket.

Beside me, Lukyan took off, his bucket overflowing. Out of nowhere Arturo appeared, crashing into Lukyan and picking him up in a running tackle, smashing him into the ground.

“Ah! What the fuck?!” Lukyan cried out, wheezing.

Arturo picked up Lukyan’s now-empty bucket and hurled it into the air before delivering a swift kick to his abdomen and bolting away. For added measure, he grabbed Lyla’s bucket next to their tub that had remained untouched throughout the entire game and threw that away, too, before picking up his own and filling it with water. We took off together, running down the field.

The moment Arturo switched tactics, so did everyone else. Nik and Lyla abandoned their designated targets and tried to run toward their water tubs, but after being held down and thwarted from doing anything over the last four minutes, Aleksandr and Drea were pissed.

Arturo and I dumped our buckets and ran back to try to get one last round. Everyone just attacked each other, finally igniting the bloody free-for-all the game was well known for. Aleksandr hurled Nik over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground, and then quickly punched him in the face. As I ran past him, he tried to pounce on me and knock me down, but I twirled out of the way at the last second, never slowing momentum.

Across the field, fists flew and legs kicked out. Someone would strike someone only to turn around and strike someone else. It didn’t matter who it was. All that mattered was hitting someone.

I ducked and weaved past everyone as they ran across the field, determination steeling my bones.

One more. I just need one more.

Lyla took down Arturo in a brutal tackle. I had a feeling it was payback for what he did to Lukyan.

“Go!” Arturo yelled, fighting Lyla off, both of them wrestling across the grass.

I hesitated for a brief moment before taking off. Sorry, baby.

He could handle himself against her…

Well…Maybe. Lyla did go a little crazy when it came to anything to do with Lukyan.

I skidded up to the tub and dunked my bucket in. Lukyan came at me from my right, swinging his arm in an overhead punch. I ducked and rammed my body into his, shoving him to the ground. Arturo grabbed onto my brother, keeping him down while Lyla clung to his back, trying to choke him out.

Autumn, Father, and Tati were running their buckets. Aleksandr and Nik were locked in a grapple, Drea hanging onto Nik’s back like a spider monkey. Mikhail’s eyes were ping-ponging between everyone, attempting to keep us all in his line of sight as he dictated exactly what was happening. On the sidelines, Sam and her medical team watched on, wincing and grimacing at everything they were seeing.

“Fifteen seconds!” Mikhail roared, glancing at his stopwatch.

Grunting, I lifted the refilled bucket and took off. Every part of my body ached and burned. A part of me just wanted to give up and rest, but the determination to win kept me upright and moving.

I sprinted as fast as I could, ducking and weaving to stay out of reach of clawing hands and swinging legs. I held the bucket tightly to my chest to reduce the chance of any spillage, the muscles in my arms searing from the strain.

Mikhail’s countdown continued.