Chapter Two
Seth watched Breeze make her way through the trees and then up the rear steps onto a large outdoor deck. He eased closer to watch. Several men lounging on the deck all stared at her with greedy, lustful eyes. His stomach tightened and he prepared himself to rush across the space and tear them apart if they so much as touched her.
None of them moved her direction, they simply watched her go until she disappeared inside. The main level of the cabin had numerous windows, so Seth was able to track her movements until she climbed a large staircase and disappeared on a second staircase toward the top level.
Still, he didn’t move. Something about Breeze Cain called to him, like the first time he realized he could use baking soda and vinegar and make his own “bomb”, or when his dad bought him his first dirt bike. Breeze was gorgeous with her shiny blonde hair and angelic pixie face, but it was more than that. There was something in her soulful deep brown eyes that tugged him in. She’d been through hard things but was still innocent, good, and working hard to rise above it all.
When she said she couldn’t afford “fancy” perfume like Cosette’s, he felt like a spoiled rich kid. Cosette and Mar’s perfume and cologne was great quality but extremely affordable. Most of their bottles sold for twenty to forty dollars at Target or Macey’s, and Breeze couldn’t afford it. He could buy her thousands of bottles of perfume, and happily would. There was something impressive about her grit and sense of pride. Though she seemed to have little, she was tough and resilient.
What was she doing here? She said something about cleaning and cooking for a private party. His eyes narrowed as he watched one of the men shoot up with a needle. It was nothing he hadn’t seen before at races, but it didn’t seem like the best environment for an innocent beauty like Breeze. She was like her name: a fresh, delightful breath of air.
He forced himself to turn and meander back through the woods to his parents’ mansion. He longed to rush in and rescue Breeze from being a maid to a bunch of thugs. He was far too impulsive, anyone in his family could attest to that. But he hadn’t felt like she wanted him to rescue her. Well, maybe there was something in her eyes that seemed to want him, but she hadn’t verbalized it. She’d definitely left him willingly, but he hated that niggling worry that something would happen to her. She had also said she’d meet him tomorrow night. He’d have to content himself with that.
He made it to the woods behind his parents’ house and it looked like the party had moved inside. He watched his family through the picture windows. He loved them all, and he knew they adored him. Caleb would laugh himself silly if Seth admitted that he was getting a little bored with his life: doing tricks on dirt bikes and snowmobiles, women constantly flocking to him, creating new fireworks with Caleb, and blowing things up. He and Caleb had a lot of fun, but lately he was wondering if there wasn’t more to life, like his mom kept telling him.
“Bro!” Caleb exited the back door and rushed toward him, balancing two paint ball guns, a box of ammo, and what looked like handmade paper targets. “Come shoot with me. I’m bored.”
Seth laughed. “All right.” With Caleb around, it was hard to think too much on the future or finding the right woman like his older brothers. He and his twin had always been inseparable and what one didn’t think of, the other did. As adults, they had to be apart as they each focused on their own career, but they were together as much as possible.
They tacked up the paper targets that Caleb and Paisley had drawn on an old wooden fence away from the house with some pop cans they found.
They took their first round and Seth didn’t do too well. Caleb’s eyebrows arched up when Seth missed his third pop can. “Angelic-looking blonde got you distracted?”
Seth smiled and focused in on the next can. “She was angelic, that’s for sure.” He dinged the can, finally, and waited for his twin. “Why’d you back off so fast?”
Caleb shrugged. “She was gorgeous, but a blonde,” he winked, “and completely focused on you. Bro code required I stand down.”
When they were young teenagers they’d made a solemn promise to never steal each other’s girls. Sometimes it got hard to decided who got “dibs” when they initially meet an interesting woman, but most of the time they had no problem, as they instinctively had different tastes. Seth was drawn to calm blondes. Caleb liked feisty brunettes.
“You think she was into me?”
Caleb nodded and shot again, nailing one of the handmade targets. “It was pretty obvious.”
“Huh.” Seth focused on the target. Breeze was into him. The thought made him irrationally happy. He pulled the trigger. And missed completely.
* * *
Breeze had almost made it through one more day of servitude. The deal they’d worked out was six days per week, from seven to seven for both her and Ridge. Her in the house cooking, cleaning, and serving, and Ridge maintaining, tuning up, and building motorbikes and ATVs out of wrecked machines in the huge shop. If they both worked to Flint’s satisfaction, they would have the debt paid in two weeks and four days. She’d made it three days and wasn’t sure she was going to survive fifteen more. She rarely saw Ridge, except for taking him food after she’d fed everybody else. Her little brother slept in the shop on a cot and she had one of the many bedrooms on the top story. Thankfully with her own bathroom and a lock on the door.
She finished cleaning up dinner and noticed it was almost seven o’clock. Thank heavens. She could escape to her room, shower, and rest until it was time to meet Seth. She wished she had a book to read. That had kept her sane when she was younger. Focusing on meeting with Seth had kept her going all day with a slight smile on her face that had caused more than one of the men to heckle her and make disgusting suggestions about why she was smiling. Thankfully, Flint had been out riding most of the day and hadn’t been around to study her or make his own insinuations.
She finally escaped the kitchen and the men watching her from the tables. She was almost to the grand staircase when the front door flung open and Flint and his entourage strode in, acting like they owned the world. Flint’s grayish-blue eyes focused on her and his lips curled into a smile that seemed more of a sneer. His dark-blond hair was held back in a ponytail and his strong features gave the impression of a dangerous warrior, but not one who was fighting for the right side. One look into his eyes and any person with a shred of decency would see the evil radiating from him. She’d watched him fight and beat many of the men in the house. He fought dirty and was strong and she struggled to hide how terrified she was of him.
“Dinner’s in the warming oven and the fridge,” she said, keeping her head held high. “I’ll come back and clean it up after you’re finished.”
His eyes traveled over her, making her more than ready for her shower. No matter how many times she showered, she couldn’t get rid of the dirty feeling from being in this house.
“You sure you don’t want to keep me company while I eat?” he asked. He lowered his voice and licked his lips. “Or after I eat.”
“No thank you, I mean I’m sure, that I don’t.” She forced a brave, fake smile. “Enjoy your dinner.” She turned and hurried up the stairs. Loud footsteps followed her, and her stomach clutched with fear. He was coming after her. No, no, no. Why had she told Seth she was safe here? Why hadn’t she clung to him and begged him to take her home with him?
She pretended not to hear Flint, or the cackling and lewd comments of his men. She kept going up the main staircase to the wide balcony of the second story and up the narrower staircase to the third story where numerous bedroom and bathroom combos were housed. She almost made it to her door, almost touched her fragile safety net, but Flint grabbed her arm and whipped her around, pinning her against the wall.
Breeze’s breath came in ragged, shallow gasps. The hope and dream of meeting with Seth later was flung away in the horror of Flint staring at her like he would devour her whole. He pushed his large body against her, and she wondered why Seth’s strong muscles had felt so nice when he encircled her with his arm to keep her warm last night. Flint’s muscles made her spine chill with terror. Her throat felt like it was closing off and disgust rolled through her stomach.
“You don’t have to work these long days like a slave, you know?”
Breeze tried to squirm away but couldn’t budge him. “Actually, I do. Two more weeks and Ridge and I will have fulfilled our debt to you. Then I’ll take my brother home where he belongs.”