AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Just a girl." Eddie met his brother's gaze. "No big deal, right?"
I remembered what Dan had said, how Tesler had promised his brother he'd stop raping girls. The two stared each other down for a minute, then Tesler turned that stare on Noah, as if hoping he'd get the kid to back down. Noah blinked, but nothing more.
"All right," Tesler said after a minute. "Here's the deal. Blondie here is indeed a proper prize, so let's do this properly. If you want her, you have to win her... by challenging me."
"Oh, for fuck's sake, Travis. The kid can't--"
"No, that's fine." Noah's chin lifted. "I accept."
"Great." Tesler headed for the kitchen, thumping Noah on the back as he passed. "Give me a minute to grab a beer, then we'll get started."
"In the meantime," Eddie said to Noah. "Take a look out front, make sure we aren't about to entertain any unwanted guests."
I hoped that meant I'd be left alone while Noah and Eddie went outside, but I knew better. Noah got on his gear and left. Eddie just walked to the window to look out. I could probably take him, but not without alerting his brother.
Noah had no hope of beating Tesler. I don't know why he'd even agreed to try--teenage ego, I suppose. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted Noah to win that match. Not that I'd prefer Noah. When it comes to rape, there is no "prefer."
But if Noah won, he'd get time alone with me, time in which Tesler could expect to hear noises, even sounds of struggle. And that would give me the perfect opportunity to escape. Tesler wasn't the only one who could easily take on a boy like Noah.
But there was the rub--Tesler could take the kid, no question, meaning there was no chance Noah would win the challenge. Unless...
Tesler sauntered back into the living room, chugging his beer.
"So what's the handicap?" I asked.
He raised his brows, not lowering the can.
"It's going to take a lot of those to make it a fair fight," I said.
He sputtered beer. "Fair fight?"
"Foreign concept?"
Eddie chuckled. Tesler only snorted and continued drinking.
I walked over to him. "Why tell the kid he can fight for me when he doesn't have a hope of winning? Either tell him no or make it a fair fight by handicapping yourself."
"How? Tie both hands behind my back?"
"What are you worried about?"
His smirk froze, eyes icing over. "Worried?"
Noah came inside, cold air blasting down the hall.
"I guess there's no way you want him winning," I said. "If he gets first dibs, he might show you up."
He hit me so fast I didn't see it coming.
As I lay on the floor, Eddie shook his head, as if to say, What did you expect?
Noah had his coat off, boots still on, hair salted with snow. "What's going on?"
No one answered. I got up, swiped away blood trickling from a scrape on my elbow, grabbed my discarded towel and cleaned my fingers. Then I walked up to Tesler.
"Struck a sore spot, did I?" I said.
When he raised his hand to hit me again, I didn't flinch. Dismay flashed in his eyes before he tossed the empty can aside and stalked back to the kitchen.
