Page 99 of Redeeming the Villain

Without a second thought, he digs his skates into the ice and takes off toward me, followed by Griffin and Asher.

One of the guys near me ushers me over to the board, opening the door. But I don’t tear my stare from Malik as his gaze becomes more and more worried, the closer he gets.

I start to shiver, my teeth chattering.

Malik jumps off the ice and rushes over to me, panic straining his eyes.

When I look up at him through blurry tears, my voice cracks. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

Pulling me forward, he encases me in his arms, shielding me from the world with his head on top of mine. “Always to me, Bug. Always to me.”

The world starts to fade as he keeps me in his somehow-warm embrace. But as he pulls back and cups my cheeks with his hands, the tear factory starts back up.

“Alora, what happened?” His voice cracks with sorrow and pain.

But for some reason, I don’t say anything at all.

His thumbs gently brush back and forth as his eyes travel over every inch of me, looking for any answer he can find.

“Holy shit,” Asher says in shock as he nears us.

“Asher, go get my sweatshirt from the locker room!” Malik orders him away, and he listens without hesitation.

My mind starts to feel foggy, like a few wires have come unplugged. His eyes are staring at me so deeply; I can feel his gaze reach inside of me like a hug, warming me from the inside out.

Sniffling, I shiver more and more as Asher runs back over, holding a black sweatshirt.

“Turn around,” Malik snaps at everyone, and they listen instantly, turning their backs to us.

Pressing my corset against me, he holds it in place with one hand. “I’ll hold this. You slip this on, okay?”

His words are soft, but his jaw is tight, like he’s far angrier than he’s letting on.

I take the sweatshirt from him, lifting my arms and sliding the hoodie over my head, down past my stomach. He pulls the broken top out from beneath the sweatshirt, tossing it to the ground beside us.

“Hey, look at me, baby.” He grabs my cheeks again and bends over, lowering his eyes to my level. I didn’t even realize I wasn’t looking at him. “Who did this to you? Who hurt you?”

“R-Rupert.” My voice sounds like a stranger, and as the adrenaline begins leaving my system, I become all too aware of what’s coming next. “Malik, I don’t feel good. I’m going to puke.”

He rushes over, grabs the big trash can, and places it in front of me just in time.

Leaning into it, I heave, all contents of my stomach exploding into the trash bag. My hair is pulled back from my face as my stomach contracts again, upheaving anything it can.

He rubs my back as I expel all of my energy. Sunny licks my leg, showing her support. It also means that my heart rate is getting too high. It’s already too high.

Once I feel the nausea fade, I straighten my spine and turn back toward him. I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out as a high-pitched sound rings in my ears, drowning everything else out.

And then my vision goes dark.

* * *

My eyes flutter open, and it takes me a moment to realize where I am and to remember what happened. The brain fog is thick and hard to think through.

My throat is dry as I look up at the man carrying me. “Malik?”

His gaze drops to me. “There you are, Bug. Open those pretty eyes for me.”

“Where are we?” Glancing around, I have to stop trying to take in my surroundings because everything’s still a bit wavy.

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