Page 37 of To Love and Protect
After throwing up, Remedie straightened and breathed deeply while taking a piece of gum out of the small crossbody purse she wore.
“Fuck,” she muttered as she let the night air cool her warm face.
After a few minutes of enjoying the breeze, she decided she would go inside and tell everyone she was going to catch an Uber home. She had given this support thing an honest try, butit wasn’t in her, and everyone would have to accept that. Nico played tough like he needed her there, but if he knew how sick she felt, he would understand.
With a sigh, she weaved her way back inside and through the crowd. She was close to where Isla stood when she felt a strong hand grab her. On instinct, she jerked away, but the person who had a hold on her didn’t ease up. That prompted her to look behind her. Zayden looked down at her with a scowl. Remedie’s face twisted up. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with him at all, and just when she opened her mouth to tell him as such, he spoke.
“You really got me out here lookin’ like a goofy, kissin’ all up on that nigga in front of all these people?”
Remedie tried to snatch away again. “Let me the fuck go, Zayden. You look goofy all on your own. That ain’t got nothin’ to do with us.”
She didn’t care what came out of her mouth at that moment. Her stomach felt uneasy, and all she wanted to do was go home.
“Bitch, you been tryin’ me for too long at this point. Don’t get fucked up in here. Ya man is too occupied to save you now.”
Something about the look in his eyes caused Remedie to pause the tongue lashing she was about to give him. She was suddenly transported back to the day she left her house when she felt a sense of unease about Zayden and what he might do next. This time was different though. His eyes were red and glazed over as if he was high, and one of them kept twitching in an eerie way.
“Zayden—”
“I don’t wanna hear shit. It’s time for you to bring ya ass home.” His large hand suddenly wrapped around her neck and squeezed. The nigga had immediately lost his damn mind. “And if you think about causing a scene, I’ll kill you.”
Remedie’s neck burned, and she had a hard time breathing as her eyes bounced around, trying to make contact with the people around her. Zayden tried pulling her through the crowd back toward the exit, but she didn’t make it easy for him. She’d be damned if she let him take her up out of that warehouse. There was no telling if she would survive if he did.
When Zayden felt her resisting, he squeezed tighter. Remedie scratched his arms, but his red eyes didn’t show any sign that he even noticed. He looked enraged that she would even try to fight against him, but that was okay with her. He’d stopped walking toward the exit at that point, and that gave her an ounce of hope.
The noise in the space sounded deafening. Even if she could scream, it would most likely be drowned out. Her mind felt muddy as the seconds ticked on. Her feet kicked out and connected with Zayden’s shin, but again, he didn’t look fazed. He simply looked murderous.
“Girl, are you okay?” an unfamiliar voice asked. She thanked God that someone saw that she was in trouble. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
Zayden loosened his grip slightly and smiled erratically. “She good. Just a lil drunk.”
Remedie’s head immediately bucked back, and she shook it violently so the woman she couldn’t even see behind her would know she wasn’t alright.
“Oh, shit—” the woman said, and Remedie thought it was because she finally understood what was going on. That was wrong though. So very wrong. Zayden’s grip completely slackened before he let go. Remedie caught a glimpse of fear in his eyes, but she was too busy trying to breathe to care. She stumbled back, and her hands went to her knees as she tried to catch her breath before arms surrounded her. Her first thought was to fight back, but she heard Isla’s voice, thankfully.
“Are you okay? What the fuck just happened?”
“Zayden . . .” Remedie managed to say through gasps of air.
“Oh my God, Remedie . . .” Remedie finally looked up and noticed Isla’s eyes were wide. The thick crowd seemed to move into the center of the room, where she heard the distinct sound of grunting and leather. Confusion filled her, but a lightbulb quickly went off in her head. One backward glance toward the ring told her everything she needed to know. “Nico!”
Remedie found herself pushing her way through the crowd once again. Once she managed to break through, tears swam in her eyes at the sight. This right here was the version of Nico she never wanted to see. It terrified her. Not because she feared he would ever be that way with her, but because she knew he was completely unreachable. She watched in horror as he repeatedly hit Zayden. People tried pulling him off, but he was unmovable.
He’d officially reached his black out phase, and there was nothing left to do but watch it play out and deal with the consequences after.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As the champ, Nico had won many fights. He knew what it felt like. The adrenaline was unmatched. The hard training, the dieting, studying the opponents moves, . . . it all came to a head the moment that victory came into place.
At this moment, though, something was wrong. Very wrong. It felt like a fog lifted from his mind, and he could finally see what went on around him. Davies, the man he had just been in the ring with, stood in front of him with a strong arm across Nico’s chest. Nico’s first instinct was to swing on him because he thought they were still in the ring, but he quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
“Back up, man. Back up!” Davies shouted.
Nico blinked slowly and stumbled back into the arms of someone else.
“I got you, champ. Listen to me.” The arms turned him around, and he looked into the worried eyes of Gramps.
Chaos ensued around him, and something in him clicked. “Remedie. Where’s Remedie?”
