Page 37 of Falling Too Soon
“Shit, I wonder if Lexi is okay. I totally forgot I was supposed to be her wing woman tonight,” she said as she scanned the crowd.
“I wouldn’t worry about her. I asked Brandon to keep her company while we caught up.” And by the way Brandon had been checking her out before, I was sure it wasn’t going to be much of a burden.
“Your brother has no idea what he agreed to, my friend. Lexi is a lot,” she giggled and then pushed back in her chair. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to run to the bathroom.”
She practically bounced out of sight on her way to the back of the club, and I watched her every move with a grin plastered on my face. I was so fucked.
34
DAPHNE
Iwas practically skipping to the bathroom, I was so happy. I couldn’t believe Nathan was here, and that he had conspired with Lexi to surprise me. I didn’t think I was ready to see him, yet those doubts evaporated as soon as I did. I felt so at ease with him, especially when I saw him in that mask with his tight-fitting black tee. Oh, sweet baby Cheesus did he look good. I was surprised I only kissed his cheek. If we hadn’t been in a busy nightclub, I probably would’ve dropped to my knees right then and there.
I rounded a corner near the back of the club to find the bathrooms when I was pulled roughly by my arm. I whipped my head around to see a snarling Marcus with a death grip on my wrist. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Daphne?” He looked completely unhinged. His face reddened, his breathing was labored, and his eyes were almost black. I had never seen him so mad before.
I swallowed, but my throatwas so dry. “Marcus…did you…follow…” I was cut off as he dragged me into a darkened corner and slammed me against the wall, knocking the air out of my lungs.
“Shut the fuck up. I have played nice and let you have your space, but this is getting ridiculous, Daphne. You need to come home. Tonight.” He spat the words at me, each one coming out laced with venom as he squeezed tighter on my wrist.
“Please stop, Marcus. You’re hurting me,” I begged and tried in vain to pull out of his grasp.
“Hurting you? What do you think you’re doing to me? Blocking my calls? Going out dressed like a whore, throwing yourself at other men.” He moved his other hand to my throat, and that’s when panic truly set in. I needed to get the fuck away from him. He didn’t press hard enough to hurt me, but his warning was received loud and clear. Tears pricked at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I had cried enough because of him over the years.
I scratched at the hand on my throat and tried to wrench my other hand free from his grasp. “Marcus, please stop. I don’t want to be with you.” His grip on my throat tightened, making it more difficult to get the words out. “Please. Stop.” A tear slipped down my cheek.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” a deep voice that I would’ve recognized anywhere growled. Surprised by the interruption, Marcus released his grip on me as Nathan pulled him away by the back of his shirt. As Marcus’s hand left my throat, I sucked in a breath and crumbled to the ground, and the tears I had been trying to hold backfell freely. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion then.
I looked up to see both men absolutely seething at one another. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” Marcus spat.
Nathan had Marcus by the collar with both hands and pulled him in close. “I’m the guy who’s gonna teach you not to put your damn hands on what’s mine, you piece of shit.”
“Yours? You think that whore…” Marcus was cut off as Nathan punched him with a quick right hook, sending him careening back and to the ground. Shit. Marcus was stunned but not incapacitated, and Nathan was shaking his hand as if he had hurt himself too.
As if I were watching a movie, the playback seemed to speed up and then everything was happening so fast. The next thing I knew, Lexi was there in front of me on the ground, and Nathan and Marcus were being separated by another ridiculously large man in a Jason mask. A few bouncers had entered the mix, and I lost sight of Nathan as Lexi helped me up to sit in a nearby chair. Someone handed me a glass of water, and a bouncer came to check on me. I briefly told him what had happened, and that Nathan was protecting me.
What a fucking shit show. When the cops eventually came and took statements from everyone, thankfully, Marcus was the one who left the club in cuffs. The bouncers had seen Marcus accosting me, but Nathan got to him before they could, so they corroborated his story. I decided to press charges, so hopefully, Marcus would finally get the hint and leave me alone.
After the cops were done talking to me and EMS gave me a quick once-over, I was in a daze and Lexi started moving me to the exit. When we were outside, she put me in the back of a taxi and then climbed in beside me.
“Are you okay?” Lexi asked when the cab pulled away from the curb. I reached down to rub my throbbing wrist. Fuck, that hurt. Hopefully, it wouldn’t leave a mark.
“Um, yeah, I’m fine. Wait, where’s Nathan?” I shrugged off my internal panic to focus on someone other than myself. Typical.
“Nathan’s fine. Don’t worry about him. I’m more worried about you right now. Are you hurt? I should take you to the hospital to get you fully checked out,” she asked as she assessed my wrist.
I cringed both at the pain in my wrist and the thought of going to the hospital. The last thing I wanted to do was go to our place of employment and rehash the sordid details of what brought me in. I was embarrassed and didn’t want my coworkers to know what had happened.
“No! We don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m fine, really. I just want to go home.” Home. Just as I said the word, a single tear escaped and tracked down my face. The only time I’d felt at home in the last few weeks was when I was in the cabin with Nathan. How a complete stranger could evoke that feeling boggled my mind, but it was true. Nathan felt like home.
35
NATHAN
When I saw that guy with his hands on Daphne, I saw red. I’d never been a particularly jealous or violent man, but seeing Daphne being manhandled by that piece of shit made me practically homicidal. He got off lucky. If I hadn’t been pulled away from him, there’s no telling what I would have done. After we were ripped apart, I wanted to go straight to Daphne, but then the bouncers were there, and then the cops. It was a total cluster fuck. When I had a moment to check on Daphne, I saw her being led out the front by Lexi, so at least I knew she would be taken care of.
Once we were in Brandon’s car, he turned to me and asked, “What the hell happened? I saw you and Daphne talking, and everything seemed to be going well, and the next thing I knew, there were people hollering, and you were knocking some guy out.”
“He was hurting Daphne. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.” I was so mad I was shaking. “If she’s seriously hurt, I may have to find the asshole and do just that.”
