AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Part of me was furious I’d let him go down the stairs at all — that part of me was the part that drew Marcus Holden's attention the most. I tried to hide it behind a helpful smile and my blue eyes, but a monster could easily see a monster.
If I let myself, I would become something worse than he was.
I was only slightly worried that I’d see how much worse if I went downstairs and I was too late to stop them from touching Clay.
I could hear voices when I trailed after Nick, and Clay’s soft tones were easy to identify amongst the harsh vocals of the people who worked at the shop. There weren’t that many men here tonight — the place was mostly empty. A lot of the higher-ups were actually in a meeting over at home base.
There were still enough people to barter over who was going to fetch the highest price for Clay… and it was Nick’s voice that sprang out the loudest of them all.
“I think we’re all overlooking something, boys.” I hated the tone he took because I knew what he was going to say before the words came out of his mouth. “Shouldn’t we try out the goods before we decide who is best suited to sell him? Clay, your boss owes an awful lot of money… don’t you want to pay the debt off as efficiently as you can?”
Clay’s voice was still soft, calm. “Wouldn’t I be able to pay it off easier if I saw your boss?”
The question came out innocent enough, but I could sense something beneath the line. Did he realize he was in a room with small fish? Did he think he’d be able to sell himself for more if he met the actual ringleader who’d lent Keyton the money?
My observations of him must have been correct — he had no idea how any of this worked, or he wouldn’t have willingly walked into this building to square up on a debt that wasn’t his to begin with.
He would have found out how to run the other way.
And he would have never asked to see someone higher on the ladder. First, men like Nick hated being reminded they were nothing more than a bottom feeder in the scope of their tank.
And second, Marcus would have taken one look at Clay and realized he was too gorgeous to be sold off without finding someone who would pay top dollar — people with that kind of money were usually the worst option.
“The fuck you saying, Clay? Are we not good enough for you?” At the sound of an open palm strike, the thing lurking in the depths of my chest snarled. I was striding into the room before I thought things through, and when Nick raised his hand in a fist, I caught his wrist and wrenched his arm behind his back without thinking.
The loud pop of his shoulder dislocating echoed through the basement.
Suddenly, no one was interested in giving their two cents on who got to buy Clay.
I turned my eyes to the man in question — there was a small trail of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and his cheek was pink with a cut from the gaudy rings Nick wore. Other than that, he seemed unharmed.
I jerked Nick’s arm higher just to listen to him whine, then shoved him away from me. “Change of plans, guys.”
“Jayce?” Nick gasped my name, and his eyes sparked in fury. “What the fuck do you think you're doing? You don’t belong down here. Just because the boss told us to hire you —”
“Shut the fuck up, Nick. I’m down here because I want to be. I’m down here because I’ve decided you run a piss-poor business, and I’m tired of listening to you waste opportunities when they’re sitting in front of you.”
My hand shot out, but I gentled my fingers when I took Clay’s face and turned him up to look at me. His eyes were wide, shocked, but beneath it, I saw a spark of fury that pierced through my recognition.
I’d seen that look in my dreams, too.
“Look at this. You’ve already marked him up. Do you have any idea how pissed your boss would be if he saw you ruining the merchandise?”
“I’m not —” My thumb slid up and brushed across Clay’s lower lip to quiet his protest. The hot exhale of his breath danced against my digit, and his tongue swiped out in a small act of defiance to lick at my skin.
He probably tasted blood.
“What makes you think you can tell me how to handle business? You’re a fucking mechanic, Jayce, and you…”
I growled, and Nick cowered back. There were four other men in the basement, and none of them stepped up in his defense. It was just proof that the lowest ring of our little group was worth shit. They were loyal to themselves first, their money second, and then the Holden family… but only if they thought it would help them out.
But when I dropped my hand from Clay’s face to his neck and pulled him closer to me, Nick stepped forward.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you can’t just storm in here and take the first pretty boy you see just because you want to get your dick wet. You aren’t even one of us. You’re just the lackey who fixes our cars.”
I closed my eyes and silently counted to five, then opened them. “No one in this room has enough pull scraped together to tell me what to do. Do you realize that?”
Nick’s eyes narrowed.
