For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,140
man didn't try to resist. He didn't say anything else, most likely because the blood was coming from his mouth, and he looked like he was hurting badly. Rhaven saw the security guards take control of him, and then she looked back to Braden.
Cyn and Void still hovered, but they weren't pushing him to the ground anymore. In fact, he was now sitting there, checking his hands. Void said something, his voice too soft to carry. Cyn patted him on the arm and then offered Braden a hand up.
That was when Riley finally released her grip. "See? Problem solved."
"That guy's going to press charges," she pointed out.
"And Deviant will drown him in legal problems." She turned Rhaven to face her. "Rhaven, you know he was sent here for you, right? KoG wants to make sure you never come back. They want to embarrass you so badly that you give up and they can claim it as a win."
"Don't care." The voice came from the side, making both Rhaven and Riley turn to find Dez and Chance standing there. "I'm not firing him," Dez said. "I'm certainly not firing him for standing up to hate against women." She lifted a brow. "It's kinda a pet peeve of mine."
"I got the booth," Chance told her. "What do you want to do, Sugar? There's a lot of people around."
Dez just looked up at Riley. "Party at your place tonight?"
"Sure," Riley said. "Or Ice's. He's got the bigger room."
Dez nodded, then looked at Rhaven. "Going to be there?"
"I think so." Her head swiveled between the two women. "Why?"
"Because you and I need to talk," Dez told her. "And, um, I'm going to need an escort back to the Deviant tent. Pretty sure Braden's going to be answering questions for a second. Jason's, the cops, doesn't matter. Riley?"
"Zara!" Riley barked. "Girl power, chica."
"Yeah. What?" Zara asked, hurrying over.
Riley just pointed to Zara, Rhaven, and then herself. "The three of us are going to make sure that no skin touches Dez."
Zara mocked popping her knuckles. "Oh yeah, I get to be the tough one."
"Dream on," Rhaven teased. "I think Riley gets that title."
But they headed out the side of the booth, weaving between the equipment to stay out of the crowd while they could. At the back, there was another little entrance that was only about twenty feet from the main Deviant booth. Rhaven went through first, then Dez, Riley, and Zara. Forming a triangle around Dez, they escorted her straight across to the back of the Deviant tent, and then through a flap and into what was clearly an employee-only area.
"Hey!" a guy said, turning to face them. Then he smiled. "Ah, Dez duty."
"I had to borrow some girls," Dez said. "Jeff, Braden just punched a guy in the face. Tell Amy she needs to get on the PR for that. Have Mark call the attorney, and send Samantha over there to make sure he's not arrested?"
"And if he is?" Jeff asked.
"Then we're going to bail him out," Dez said before turning to Rhaven. "Braden's a protector. He can't help it. Go tell him whether he pissed you off or not, because that will be all he cares about. And the rest of you get out of my tent." But her grin made it clear she was joking.
"Yes, ma'am," Riley laughed.
The three of them left the same way they came in, but the moment they were outside the canvas, Rhaven couldn't take it anymore. "What's going to happen to Braden?"
"Probably nothing," Riley promised. "I have no idea who that idiot was, but not a lot of people are willing to pick a fight that will go financial and fast. One of the first things I picked up when I started sleeping with an attorney."
But Rhaven paused just outside the Eternal Combat booth. Her hands were shaking, but she'd been trying to ignore it. Now her guts were clenched, and the anxiety was too much. Pulling in a breath, she clenched her hand into a fist and willed it to stop before anyone else saw her.
Zara reached over to rub her shoulder. "Breathe," she said. "That comes first. The rest will follow, but you're ok, Rhaven. You're safe, he's going to be fine, and this is just a little chaos to spice things up."
Rhaven turned and hugged her. "I'm so tired of it," she whispered.
Zara didn't hesitate before hugging back. "Trust me, I know. I promise