No Strings Attached

Chapter Thirty

"Giovanni!"

I'm afraid to try to stop him. I press my hands to my face, horrified.

"Giovanni! Dixon! Please!"

Suddenly, Giovanni grunts in pain, his hand having slammed at full force into concrete. Dixon has his head angled, bleeding, but he's caught Giovanni in a weak spot. He slams his body into Giovanni's, sending him backwards onto the concrete.

I flinch, running forward when Dixon upcuts into Giovanni's jaw, sending his head back sharply. No. I grab onto Dixon's shoulders, pulling him off.

"Get the fuck off of me!" he bellows loudly. I look around us frantically, seeing people in their windows. Oh god no.

Giovanni grunts, landing a knockout punch into Dixon's ribs, giving him the time to claim the upper hand. He throws Dixon onto the ground as if he were skin and bone and climbs on top of him.

"You will never come here again," Giovanni snarls, his hands wrapped clean around Dixon's neck. Dixon begins to claw at Giovanni's grip. I bend down, grabbing onto his Giovanni's arm, sobbing in fear.

"Giovanni, please. Please stop!"

His eyes are as dark as the color of the sky. His mouth is curled in anger, his teeth gritting with the extent of the force he's using. He's bleeding. Dixon's face is turning blue. I look at him in horror, shaking my head.

Oh my god.

I grab Giovanni's face, hysterically pleading. "Please, please, stop. Stop, Giovanni. Stop!"

His eyes flicker to mine and they momentarily flinch smaller, his rage all-consuming. I implore him, pleading over and over again in desperation, gasping with relief when he growls, pulling his hand off of his neck and Dixon begins to sputter and choke violently on the ground, trying to breathe again.

I fall back onto the ground, my entire body shuddering in horror.

There are sirens in the distant background. There are people exiting their buildings, not willing to approach us yet.

"WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?" Dixon shouts hoarsely, holding his crimson-colored throat, standing up, looking like he's nearly about to pass out. I look up, hyperventilating as he begins to run in the opposite direction before the cops can arrive.

Feeling like I'm hovering above my body, I can only feel Giovanni's hands on my face, gentle and apologetic. "Scarlett, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I shouldn't have gone that far. I shouldn't have—"

I look at him, eyes wide, unable to conceal how utterly terrified I am of him right now.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I breathe past my tears.

He grimaces at my words, looking down.

I see the cop cars pull up to the curb. The officers jump out of their cars, ordering Giovanni away from me. I shake my head as two of them come up to me, pulling me up as they grab onto Giovanni roughly.

"It wasn't him," I get out desperately. "Please, it wasn't him. Don't handcuff him. Don't arrest him!"

The cop is blurry behind my tears. "What happened here?"

"Scarlett?"

I look to my side, the tears that had been blinding me now cascading down my face. Corey Hamm is walking towards me, holding up his hand to the cops grabbing me.

"Let her go."

I look to Giovanni, who they are moving away from me. "Please, Corey. It wasn't him. Dixon has been here."