Page 75 of The Auction
I step into the barn, flexing my fingers before curling them into fists. My body is coiled tight, ready to break something.
Ben’s holding one of the assholes back with a shovel. His pissant of a friend is on the ground, crying like a bitch with a broken arm.
I round on the one still standing, getting right in his face, chest to chest, and shove him back hard. “Get the fuck out of this barn.”
He stumbles, surges back out of control, but stays on his feet. Then the idiot charges me—grabbing me around the waist and ramming me back into the wall.
Cassidy yells my name. God help me, she better stay put.
These assholes don’t realize what they’ve just asked for. I fight for fun. This is nothing more than a fucking warm-up.
The guy’s still pushing at my midsection, trying to land punches to my ribs, but I block every one. I drive my elbow into his shoulder, putting my weight behind it. I feel the joint shift under the blow.Yeah, I know that fucking hurt, you cunt.
I bend, wrap my arms around his waist, and lift. Using every ounce of strength and momentum, I slam him to the ground with a grunt.
“My God, Jax.” I hear Cassidy’s mother. I can nearly feel the worry in her voice. I wish she wouldn’t waste it on me. I don’t need it. But these mother fuckers do.
I’m on him before he can think, busting his nose with the one punch. Blood sprays. My forearm locks on his throat, pinning him there and he knows I’ve got him.
“Why are you here?” I growl pushing harder, enjoying hearing him choke.
He struggles, trying to breathe. I wait a few seconds before I ease up just enough to tease him.
“We—bought the horses outright,” he rasps against my hold.
“What’d you pay?” I press down again to emphasize that I’m not fucking playing around.
“They’re worth more than money.” He’s trying to pull against my arm to give himself some space to breathe. His face turning from red to purple. “They’re legends.”
“I didn’t ask for your fucking opinion. How much?”
I press down more and he can’t fucking breathe at all now. His body squirms and he finally taps on my forearm in a frantic plea of surrender. I stand, grip his shirt, and haul him up—tearing the fabric—before shoving him toward the open barn door.
“How much?” I repeat, walking him backward past the three women—Cassidy kneeling beside her mother, Shanae standinglike a shield in front of them. My eyes cut to Cassidy. Dirt smears her cheek. Her hair’s tangled. My hands start to shake. My eyes water with how fucking angry I am.
“No. We want the horses.”
I see a paper on the ground and snatch it up. $75 million.
“I’ll give you $150 million to forget the horses and get the fuck out of here.”
“Jaxon…” Lilly’s voice is disbelieving, but I throw a hand back, keeping her where she is. I know what I’m doing.
The man laughs. “You crazy?”
“You want me to answer, or do you want me to show you—again.” I take a step forward. “$200 million.”
He hesitates a moment thinking it over. He side-eyes his buddy and then his focus is back on me. “…Three hundred.”
“Deal. Ben—get the horse.”
The tension shifts in an instant. Like a band as snapped and is rewinding everything backward. The man glances at his friend. “You good?”
The one with the broken arm glares at me, spitting a curse that I don’t appreciate him saying in front of Mrs. Hayes.
I kneel, force the tremble out of my voice—it’s not fear, it’s fury—and make it almost a whisper. “If her mother wasn’t here watching, I would’ve fucking killed you for touching her. So shut the fuck up.”
I pull my phone, hit the contract for my finance manager. “I need an immediate wire for three hundred million to this fuckwad I’m about to hand the phone to.” I say, never taking my eyes off the man I fought inside this barn.
