Lover (Court University 4)

“Is this your new boyfriend, Brielle?” They shoved. “The guy from the pictures?”

What… pictures?

I couldn’t ask, too busy watching my boyfriend actually beat the crap out of a guy in front of me. The display froze me in my heels, a deep tremble in my legs. Thoughts from my past triggered, and I couldn’t stop them.

Pain.

Alec’s fists coming out of nowhere, the blind rage in his eyes as he turned into someone I’d never seen.

But that’s not this. He’s not him.

He wasn’t, and I had to physically shake myself out of my head. The harsh severity of my past descended on me like storm clouds, and I grabbed my head, fighting the fear, and what my ex-husband had done. How he’d hurt me, hit me for something that wasn’t my fault.

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

“Brielle.”

I opened my eyes to find Ramses, Ramses easing me out of the fear, the pain. He lifted a hand toward me, but I could only see one thing.

His knuckles.

They’d split, an angry red. They bled from his work on the guy who was currently being dragged up by security. Security was pushing him away, all of them away. It seemed they’d seen what had happened and were controlling the situation.

A particularly large one in all back reached out to Ramses. “You okay, Mr. Mallick?”

I shouldn’t be surprised they knew who he was, and thank god, he probably wouldn’t see any repercussions from what he’d done. That should be what I was focusing on, that he was okay, and we were okay.

But all the blood.

His hand when he waved to the guy things were fine. He directed his attention toward me, speaking words I barely heard. I just kept seeing him hit that guy, over and over and…

“Brielle?”

I think he saw the fear in my eyes, how shaken I was. He called out for security assistance, and they kept the crowds back that had suddenly congregated on the sidewalk. It was a combination of more media and curious theater goers, all of which parted with the help of the theater’s security staff. They gave us the room to get to our car, get out of there. Somehow my old life had found me again, and hugging my arms, I wasn’t sure if I could get out of it this time.

I was st

ill shaking after we got on the road.

Chapter Thirty

Bri

“What happened back there?” Ramses asked from the highway. He’d calmed down at this point. I had calmed down, but things were silent for a while. Quiet. His hand drew over his head. “Your ex is Alec Norrington? NFL linebacker Alec Norrington? That’s what they were saying.”

I was surprised he hadn’t figured that out sooner. I mean, if he’d dug deep enough, he probably could have figured it out. Though, the internet knew me by my married name.

Even still, if he’d looked, he probably could have found out, and that was what had been so nice. At some point, it obviously hadn’t mattered to him. My history. I swallowed. “I told you about the NDA.”

The words had his jaw clenching.

“Yeah, I know.” He swung a glance my way. “Are you okay?” he asked, but when he reached for me, I moved my hand away. It was just too soon.

He’s not your ex. You know that.

He wasn’t my ex but seeing him that way tonight certainly hadn’t felt good. I drew trembling fingers through my hair and Ramses noticed.

His eyes expanded. “You’re shaking.”