Page 120 of The Obvious Check

His eyes flick to Savannah.

“…as breaking hers.”

She whimpers. It’s soft and all I see is a shattered, broken girl which fucking guts me. She doesn’t deserve this.

“Doubt she’d look so pretty without all those perfect little teeth,” he sneers, then adds with a smirk, “Though I guess it’d make it easier for her to suck cock. Silver linings, right?”

Savannah lets out a strangled squeal as Mark yanks her upright by the throat. Her sneakers drag against the sticky floor and she coughs out a gasp.

Her eyes.Fuck.

They’re huge, glassy, and swimming with terror. Panic dances behind them and pain flashes across her face so fast it makes my gut twist.

That’s it.

That’s the moment everything inside me fractures.

I don’t see Luke. I don’t see the guards.

I see her.

Just her.

The girl who slept in a car for months because she refused to live with that asshole. The girl who is struggling to survive because she has too much damn hope in people. The girl who’s kissed me like I was the only thing keeping her alive when it’s the other way around.

My hands curl into fists at my sides. My blood pounds so loud it drowns out everything else. I can barely think straight through the rage, the helplessness. I want to lunge forward, tear Mark off her, knock Luke’s smug face into the bar, and not stop until he forgets his own name.

I don’t in fear they’ll follow through with their threats. Instead, I swallow every ounce of pride and rage and say, “How much?”

“What?” Luke asks.

“How much to get Savannah out of here for good?” I ask coldly, staring him down.

Luke grins before pouting his lips out and contemplating his answer. “One hundred twenty-five thousand dollars.”

“Excuse me?”

He lets out a low, mocking laugh. “You heard me. One hundred twenty-five thousand dollars.”

“That’s not possible. She was living in her damn car when I met her. There’s no way she owes you that much.”

Luke shrugs, unaffected. “Well, that’s the thing about interest. It compounds.” His smirk widens, eyes flashing with amusement. “If you want her out of here for good, that’s what it’s going to cost.” He pauses, letting the words sink in before delivering the final blow. “Wouldn’t want something badto happen to her before she pays it off.”

When Savannah squirms again, I clench my fists, thinking about how I could break every fucking bone in Luke’s body right now. I want to, but the only thing stopping me are the two linebacker-sized bodyguards he has with him twenty-four seven.

I have no doubts that if I say the wrong thing, if I so much as breathe out of turn, they will be on me in an instant, dragging me out of here while Luke watches with that smug grin, knowing he’s already won. And if that happens, there’s no guarantee Savannah will be safe. No guarantee he won’t make her pay for my mistakes.

So I hold my ground. I need to be smart about this. Because right now, Luke holds all the fucking power. I grind my teeth, forcing my expression into something neutral.

Luke tilts his head, studying me like a cat playing with a trapped mouse. Then, as if he’s been waiting for this moment, his smirk deepens. “There is another option.”

I don’t blink. “What option?”

“No, Cade,” Savannah sputters out before Mark tightens his grip on her throat.

Fuck it. I need to protect her.

I move across the bar. I don’t give a fuck what they do to me, but just before I get to Mark, Cal holds me back.

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