“I understand Breeze’s brother owes you twenty grand,” Seth said, ignoring Flint’s filthy words.
Flint nodded.
Seth glanced back at Caleb. With a grin Caleb held aloft a fat envelope. Breeze pulled in a quick breath. She craved Seth’s protection, but she still wasn’t ready to accept him paying her and Ridge’s debt. Seth coming for her with his brothers was incredible, but she didn’t want Seth to wipe away her brother’s mistakes. She wanted to hold on to her pride. If Seth paid the money, then he was buying her freedom and therefore her pride.
Yet she’d do anything to be free of Flint. The contrast between Seth’s family and Flint’s gang made it starkly clear how much danger she’d been in, and how much she would be in if she stayed. Flint hadn’t hurt her yet, but the way he’d pinned her to the wall last night and his disgusting insinuations to Seth moments earlier revealed his intentions. She needed to leave, or she’d be in moral and physical danger.
How could she reconcile in her mind letting Seth rescue her but not take the handout? Would Seth let her and Ridge work for him? Cooking and cleaning for Seth didn’t seem like a hardship at all and she was certain Ridge would think he’d died and gone to heaven to be working for his hero. That could be the solution. She’d beg Seth to let them work off their debt. She’d not only get to retain her pride, but she’d get to stay close to Seth.
Caleb tossed the envelope across the room to Flint who caught it easily. The revolting man opened it, glanced casually inside, and then tucked the flap back in. The cunning look in his pale blue eyes made Breeze’s stomach roll. She knew Seth and his brothers were tough and capable, but there was something about that look. Flint was going to make her and Seth pay for this.
He bent down and shoved the envelope across the hardwood floor. It thumped into Seth’s shoe. Seth glanced down at it then back up at Flint. His body felt hard and coiled against Breeze’s.
A clock’s tick echoed through the otherwise silent huge room. Breeze could hear her own breathing and feel her heart racing. Flint was rejecting the money? Would she ever be free of him?
“I don’t want your money, Jewel,” Flint sneered.
Seth’s jaw was rock hard. “Well you don’t have much choice, Brooks, because I’m not leaving here without Breeze and her brother.”
Breeze’s heart leapt. To heck with her pride. She’d somehow make the money right with Seth. All that mattered right now was Seth was taking her with him, he was sticking up for her, and he wouldn’t leave Ridge behind either. She hardly knew this handsome, famous, wealthy man, but at this moment he was her hero, her champion, and he held a piece of her heart.
“Ridge is out in the shop,” she whispered against his ear.
He nodded his acknowledgement. Turning her with his arm, he started toward the door, leaving the money on the floor. Caleb swung the door wide, grinning at her like this was the most fun he’d had in a month of Sundays. She doubted that was true, but still liked him for helping her to relax. She stepped to walk across the threshold. Free, yet not completely free as she now owed Seth. Yet she knew she could trust Seth to respect her and never hurt her like Flint or these men could have.
“Fight me,” Flint yelled from behind them.
Seth released her, turning quickly and sheltering her with his body. “Excuse me?”
“Fight me,” Flint repeated. “If you win, you keep your money and walk with the girl and her brother. If you lose, I keep the money and Breeze and Ridge still have to finish out the agreement we made.”
“No,” Breeze breathed out. She didn’t want Seth to have to fight for her. He’d come for her and was paying Ridge’s debt, that was more than enough.
“Rip him apart, bro,” Caleb said under his breath.
Breeze’s mouth dropped open and she stared at Seth’s twin. He pumped his eyebrows, a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. “The only man who’s ever beat my brother is me,” Caleb said quietly to her.
Breeze should’ve felt reassured, but she’d watched all the idiots at this house wrestle and fight and she’d never seen any of them come close to besting Flint.
Seth smiled down at her as if they were strolling through the park. “Pardon me for a moment.”
His talk was formal and didn’t fit in this environment at all. He strode toward Flint. The men in the room gave a cheer and rushed to move the couches and chairs back against the walls to give them more room.
Flint looked around Seth to Breeze and said, “Don’t worry sweetheart, we’ll get more chances to ‘work’ together soon.”
Seth slammed his fist into Flint’s temple and Flint went down, hard. He hit the hardwood floor with a pronounced thump. Flint’s men let out a collective gasp that sounded like a bunch of teenage girls. Breeze could understand what they were feeling. She hadn’t even seen that coming.
Caleb nudged her with his elbow, his smile even broader. “Told ya,” he said.
Seth’s other brothers were smiling like proud parents.
Seth crouched down next to Flint. “We good here?” he asked in a taunting voice.
Flint let out a roar, sprang off the ground, and plowed into Seth, lifting him clean off his feet and slamming him onto his back. Some of Flint’s men cheered but most of them seemed to be on Seth’s side. Seth’s brothers didn’t really react, besides one of them muttering, “The idiot is glutton for punishment.”
Breeze was sick. She didn’t like violence and seeing this heroic man being knocked down and beat upon made her want to intervene. She started forward but Caleb grabbed her arm and smiled down at her. “He’s having fun. Don’t worry.”
Fun? Don’t worry? Why weren’t his brothers doing something? Flint was having a go at Seth’s face with flying fists. Breeze could see the grin on Seth’s face from here as it appeared that he wasn’t even trying to block Flint’s hits or react. How was that fun?