He managed to catch his balance, only to be knocked off it again with another hard punch to his jaw. Ace wasn’t giving him time to regroup, and Nick was forced to fight defensively.
Nick regained his senses. He brought his own fist up to hit Ace on the side of his temple. Ace staggered back, and Nick moved in, letting the fighting lust he always kept under strict control break loose, sending another vicious punch to the same sweet spot.
Ace’s knees almost gave out, but his fist flew out, nailing Nick in the nose. Blinding pain nearly made him vomit as blood gushed out of his nostrils. Only willpower kept him on his feet as he fought the dizziness. He barely managed to jerk his head back in time to avoid what he knew would have been a knockout punch.
Nick breathed through his mouth as he made a last-ditch effort, gathering what strength he had left and pretending to let his knees buckle. When Ace moved forward, Nick sprang back up, coming up on the underside of his jaw with a hard punch. Ace’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he dropped to the floor.
The crowd went wild, screaming and yelling. Nick raised his arms in the air while praying he wouldn’t pass out. As soon as he stepped out of the ring, Mitchell helped him to another room where a doctor was waiting.
Nicholas felt Mitchell’s cold stare as the doctor set his nose. After he left, he barely managed to get on his feet to take a shower. He felt like shit. He ignored Mitchell’s silent stare as he got dressed.
“Is the puta worth all this pain?”
Nick held onto the table as he tried to get his shirt on. His fingers were too sore to button his shirt. He had taken a painkiller, so when it kicked in, he would button it.
“I don’t know much Spanish, but I am familiar with that word. Don’t ever refer to her that way again, or I’ll take you out.”
“You could try.”
“I would. I wouldn’t use my fists; I’d use something harder to knock some respect into you.”
Mitchell’s laughter filled the sterile room. “Get dressed. You’re not threatening me with your dick hanging out.”
Nick managed to sit down and pull on his pants. It took ten minutes until his hands worked well enough to button his shirt and cover his junk by zipping up his slacks.
If he hadn’t felt like shit, he would wipe that smirk off Mitchell’s face. Instead, he followed him outside, sliding carefully into the limo.
Nick leaned his head back against the expensive leather. He should go home. He was in bad shape, still seeing spots; however, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity of seeing Ria. He sure as hell wouldn’t be able to do anything, but he still wanted to be with her. He didn’t want to lose what time they had left.
He had a court date in two weeks to get control of his money. As soon as he had it, he would pay for Ria’s freedom. By then, she should have her test results, and he could help her find a job in another city, away from Emiliano’s power.
Nicholas had come to the conclusion last night, after Zane had left, that he had to let her go to protect Zane and Melanie. He was going to do the right thing by them, as he was by Ria. She would never have been with him if she knew the connection he had to her brothers’ deaths. He was trying to redeem himself by fighting for her freedom, but it meant nothing if she didn’t know the whole truth.
Redemption was fickle. It drove a person to do what was right, despite the dark journey one had to take to achieve it. If it was easy to achieve, it would be worthless. But because it was so hard to win, it had become a prize to right the wrong committed. Did part of his redemption include telling Ria the truth and taking a chance that he would lose her forever?
Chapter 19
“Come in,” she said anxiously when she heard the knock on her door.
The waiting had been excruciating. She had wished she had gone to the fight to at least know versus thinking the worst.
She was halfway across the room when he opened the door. She came to an abrupt stop. Mitchell had called her to tell her Nicholas was on his way up, but he hadn’t warned her.
“No more!” she yelled. “No more, Nicholas. You’re not putting yourself through this for me.”
Nicholas walked forward and took her into his arms, and Ria burst into tears. His hand forced her to look up into his badly beaten face.
“You can’t stop me, Ria. I’m not stopping until you’re out of this apartment, standing on your own with your mother.” His thumb wiped away her tears. “It looks worse than it is.”
Ria didn’t believe him. He was lying to protect her feelings. “I can’t bear to see you hurt because of me.”
“Babe, I’m a fighter. I’m usually always fucked-up.” He smiled, wincing at the movement.