Page 158 of Red Flag
“This must be one of the few times you’ve seen me working with your eyes and not through a camera lens,” he joked, then gestured for me to stand. He crushed me in a hug. “I love you,Quinnie. So many people are rooting for you. Know that.”
And I did. There was something aboutLuca, the way he told me how it was with Nix at the beginning… he saw things for what they were and wasn’t afraid to say it with kindness.
No one could underestimate his heart.
There were more flashes of cameras as he lifted me from the ground but I didn’t care.
This was meant to be a low-key event, but all I wanted was the hug I needed from him.
“Come on,Ciclatialways comes first,”Lucabeamed but there was a strain in his voice. “Quick, take the picture before my manager shits himself.”
But he turned the camera around for us to take a selfie.
Some of the gel fromLuca’sface had got in my hair and I was looking down at it, trying to smooth out the matted mess as I walked up the aisle to my seat. Someone stopped me in my tracks, shouting, “LivieQuinn, right?”
The music changed to a dramatic rock song asLuca’sopponent entered.
As everyone cheered his arrival, I looked up to see the man who had called my name – he was white, mouth open and eyes dull and drunk — standing feet away.
And from there it happened fast.
He grabbed my arm and spat in my face, phlegm on my cheek that would normally make me heave if I wasn’t so taken aback.
Nix was up, standing in front of me, his arm out to protect me from the piece of shit. “I will fucking end—”
“No, Nix!” I shouted as Nix grabbed him by the scruff of his top, lifting him from the ground as he spluttered. The security we had hired surrounded us, andLucahad been stepping into the ring, hand on the boxing ropes, but his face grew stiff and furious. He jumped down behind the men, glaring at the spitter.
Nix looked over his shoulder at me and the begging in my eyes wasn’t enough for him to release the man.Lihawas holding my arm, offering me a tissue to dab at the spit, when I clocked the phone held by another man to the side.
“They’re filming, Nix,” I pleaded. “Don’t.”
And he dropped him as if he was a disgusting piece offilth. He looked to the security guards who reprimanded the stranger. “We’ll be pressing charges. And take that man’s phone.”
Thankfully, the screens above hadn’t caught the event, cameras focused on Tyler Wells amping up his fans. They’d managed to makeLuca’sanger and shock look like disgust at his opponent’s entrance.
Nix was at my side, ushering me out to the back the way we’d come. His hands were in fists as he calmed his breathing but when he turned to me, he brushed the tears from my cheeks. “What do you want to do?”
I said the words without really thinking. “I want to wash my face. Then I want to get a drink. I want to sit down and watch my friend win a fight. I want to go home and send that video to the police. To the editor of The Running Post. I want things to go back to normal.”
He nodded and turned to his men. “That’s not happening again. You want your jobs, you won’t let anyoneunvettednear her. No man is to touch her or I’ll kill them.”
“Nixon,” I warned.
“No,Livie,” he said, shaking his head. “You don’t understand. I didn’t care that the phone was recording. I didn’t care who it was that touched you. If it weren’t for your begs then I would have been the one in the ring fighting. The whole world can watch me protect what is mine, Livid. To hell with reputation, to hell with keeping us a secret. No one will touch you ever again.”
That night, after he found the video, he held me closer, tighter. I woke up in his arms, whereas normally, we dispersed in sleep.
“I’m okay,” I told him, taking his hand. “I’m going to be okay.”
Chapter 36
At home, Nix finally relaxed.
“Guy’s in custody,” he told me as I sat on the sofa and tried to remove my strappy heels. “Video footage showed everything that happened. Going to get a restraining order set up for you.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
He was taking on so much, and as I struggled to get the clasp off my shoes, he knelt before me to remove them. “Sorry if I was too much earlier,” he said. “No, I’m sorry that Iwastoo much earlier.”
