Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The day Remedie had been dreading was finally here. Nico’s fight with Davies was happening any minute now, and she shifted anxiously from foot to foot. The crowd was more massive than she could have imagined, and she did her best to ignore everyone around her and focus on Isla.
“You really love this shit, don’t you?” Remedie asked with her back toward the boxing ring. She was serious when she said she didn’t want to watch her man beat on another man. Maybe one day she would get used to it, but today wouldn’t be that day.
“Do I? Do you see all these fine ass niggas in here?” Isla’s eyes bounced all over the place while she spoke with excitement.
“And do,” Tyree chimed in. He faced the ring and kept his eyes there, but he was definitely speaking directly to them. “Why you think I made myself Nico’s manager? Free access to all this dick.”
“I know that’s right.” Isla slapped hands with him while Remedie shook her head. She’d learned by now that those two together had a mind for one thing only . . . men. “You might be onto something there, friend.”
Tyree nodded with a grin that looked so much like Nico’s it made Remedie smile and forget about the nerves jumping around inside her.
“Fight’s ’bout to start. He’s lookin’ good and ready too,” Gramps commented.
The pride he had when speaking about Nico warmed Remedie’s heart. So much so that she turned to peek at him. His eyes were already on her like he had been waiting for her to look at him. He beckoned her forward.
“Why you standin’ here like that man ain’t tell you to come here? Go get your man, girl,” Isla urged as she pushed her forward.
They were front row in front of the ring, so Remedie only had to take a few steps.
The ring was raised slightly so everyone could see.
Nico crouched down and leaned out before grabbing her chin.
“Gimme a kiss.” Remedie grinned and leaned up to kiss him with a smile still playing on her lips. “Tell me you love me.”
She laughed. Nico made her say the magical words often, and she honestly didn’t mind how it rolled off her tongue so effortlessly every single time.
“I love you, big daddy.”
His smile lit up the entire room. Everyone else melted away when he looked at her like that. It was only them. He was her world, and she was his sun and stars.
“I love you too, cookie. Let me win this shit real quick, and then we turnin’ up.”
Remedie nodded. “Make it quick, okay?”
He chuckled. “Anything for you.” He caressed her cheek before glancing behind her. He nodded and then focused back on her. “Time to glove up, baby.”
“Okay,” Remedie replied nervously. She stepped down and let Gramps take her place so he could help Nico wrap his hands and then glove up.
Remedie resumed her place next to Isla and turned her back to the ring again. Her stomach felt queasy as she looked at the cheering crowd once again.
“Ohhh, it’s about to start,” Isla said with excitement lacing her tone.
Moments later, the announcer addressed the crowd with rules, like no fighting in the crowd, no throwing things, no trying to distract the fighters .
. . The list was long, but Remedie kind of wished it had been longer because moments after the announcer started, she heard sounds of gloves connecting with skin and grunting.
Remedie winced and clenched her jaw. She tried to stand still and be supportive of Nico, but her stomach churned once again, and she covered her mouth. “I think I’m gonna be sick,” she mumbled to Isla before bolting toward the back of the building.
She doubted there was a restroom in this abandoned building, so she simply wanted to find the nearest exit. The thick crowd pushed against her as she fought her way through, but she finally made it outside. As soon as the cool night air smacked her face, she threw up.
“Ew, gross,” a girl said. Remedie could only see a pair of red high heels as the woman backed away. As she heaved again, she stuck her middle finger up without looking at the woman with the stripper heels. “Girl, fuck you too,” the woman mumbled before disappearing from Remedie’s sight.
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, but it 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.