Page 45 of Bratva Holiday

Finally.

“On your marks!” Mikhail yelled.

Everyone leaned forward, bracing themselves. I glanced down the line at Aleksandr. Instead of being focused on the finish line ahead, his gaze was whipping between his three siblings, focused entirely on them. While at the start of the games, he had been determined to win, to not let anything stand in the way of his victory, it seemed he was now determined to get revenge on Nikolai, Lukyan, and Illayana for all ganging up on him in the last round.

My husband’s pettiness truly knew no bounds.

The entire thing made me want to burst out in laughter.

“Get set!”

I cracked my neck, gripping my sack tighter. While Aleksandr took down his siblings, I would get us first place. Teamwork.

“Go!”

Everyone hopped forward…except for Aleksandr. He waited, making sure to time it perfectly, and just as Lukyan and Illayana took their first hop, Aleksandr shoved them from behind. They both went crashing to the ground with a shriek. Aleksandr gripped his potato sack and took off.

I tried to focus on my own path, hop-hop-hopping down the field, Dimitri and Autumn on one side, Nikolai and Tatiana on the other, my heart slamming in my chest from adrenaline and excitement. But Aleksandr—my wonderful, cut-throat, competitive Aleksandr—was making that nearly impossible.

From my peripherals, I saw him charging forward like a man on a mission, eyes focused and face hard. He wasn’t going in a straight line, but more on an angle. And that angle was heading right in the direction of Nikolai. He was like a raging bull. Nothing and no one was going to stand in his way.

Hop. Hop. Hop.

A smile pulled at my lips. It was unavoidable. Even though I’d never played this game before, there was something almost familiar about it. I felt like a kid again. Like there wasn’t a single care in the world except playing this game and having fun.

Aleksandr jumped past me from behind, Nikolai set in his sights.

“Don’t you dare, Zander.” Nikolai growled, trying his best to out-hop his brother, but it was no use. Aleksandr was unstoppable. A force to be reckoned with.

He came right up behind Nikolai and shoulder barged him. Having his lower half trapped in a thick sack limited his maneuverability, causing Nikolai to plummet, landing face-first into the grass.

The finish line rushed up quickly.

I’m going to win. I’m going to win. I’m going to⁠—

“First place! DeDe!” Mikhail announced with a mighty roar.

What?! Damn it.

I crossed over the finish line.

“Second place, Drea!”

I came to a screeching halt, sucking in deep gulps of air, trying to catch my breath. Second wasn’t bad. I could deal with second.

“We’re looking for third place, we’re looking for third place, and boy, is it a close one!” Mikhail narrated.

Placing my hands on my hips and breathing through the painful stitch in my side, I turned around. It was close. Despite the pit stops he’d made along the way, Aleksandr was close to sliding into third position. Lyla and Arturo were also right there. It was truly anyone’s game.

At the last moment, Arturo lost his balance, falling face-first with a grunt. Lyla put on an extra burst of speed and crossed the finish line a hair’s breadth before Aleksandr.

Mikhail swiped both hands through the air, like an umpire in baseball. “Third place, Lyla!”

“Yeahhhhhh!” Lukyan roared at the top of his lungs. “Go, baby!” He picked her up in a running tackle from behind, making her shriek with laughter. “You did it! You did it! You did it!” Lyla squealed as Lukyan began to spin her around and around with her flung over his shoulder.

Once he put her down, she swayed slightly on her feet, no doubt dizzy from all the spinning.

Aleksandr walked over and gave Lyla a congratulatory handshake. “Well done,” he said, slightly out of breath.