Page 19 of Cash

Jules Price grabbing the man in the ski mask by the back of his neck and smashing his face into the wall, however, hadn’t been on the list of possibilities.

Ski Mask crumpled to the floor with a howl, and Bandana reached for the gun he had at his hip. That apparently offended Jules terribly because he snatched Bandana’s wrist and snapped it with crushing force.

The sound of breaking bone made Brick cringe, and he retreated away from the carnage.

Jules had appeared out of fucking nowhere and dispatched these assholes in a blink. He was now standing between the men and Brick, a giant gun in his hand and aimed at Ski Mask. “Get the gun.”

It took Brick a moment to realize Jules was talking to him. “What?”

“Gun. There on the floor. Get it.”

Brick saw it, a black pistol, dropped by Bandana, who was still groaning over his broken wrist. Brick scrambled to snatch it up from the floor, and he pointed it at Ski Mask. He hated how his hands were shaking, but he did his best to remain calm and collected as he stood beside Jules.

Ski Mask still had his gun trained on them as he hauled Bandana up to his feet. His eyes never left Jules and Brick as he backed toward the front door. “You shoot, I’m taking that big bitch with me.”

Jules was like a statue, silent, his expression hard and his body motionless. There was an eerie calm about him, and it was obvious to Brick that this was not the first time Jules had been in a standoff.

Just as quickly as they’d arrived, Ski Mask and his wounded friend slipped out the door.

When it slammed shut, Brick jumped so hard that he almost dropped the damn gun. Whatever courage his adrenaline had afforded him was now being consumed by a wild rush of panic as the reality of what had just happened settled over him. “Holy fuck. That, that just happened. What was that? What the fuck?”

“You did good.” Jules gently took the gun from Brick. “You got some serious balls.”

Brick was far too freaked out to appreciate the compliment. “We need to call the cops! Right now! They gotta go arrest those fuckers! I… I don’t get it! Why the fuck would anyone break into my house?”

“Yeah, about that.” Jules grimaced. “I might have an idea or two.”

“What? What did they want?”

“Me.”

Chapter Four

“You all right?” Jules’s big hand was on Brick’s cheek, turning him so he could look over his face.

Brick’s nose was swollen and sore, and the slightest touch hurt like hell. He was a bit more focused on Jules’s hand on his cheek, however, and his heart was soon pounding from more than residual adrenaline.

Brick wasn’t a little guy, not at all, but damn if just one of Jules’s fantastically huge mitts was enough to make him feel downright petite.

“It’s all right,” Brick said. “Really.”

“Come here.” Jules urged Brick over beneath the light by the front door. He flicked it on so he could inspect Brick’s nose.

Brick froze as Jules’s thick fingers turned his face this way and that, and he resisted the insane urge to lick them.

Maybe it was the head trauma.

Brick was clearly losing his mind if he was thinking about sucking one of those strong, calloused fingers—

“Hey.” Jules stared down at him. “You don’t look all right.”

“I’m okay,” Brick insisted. “I’ve had worse.”

God, why did Jules’s hand have to feel so good? So strong and firm…

Shit.

“You wanna explain why I just had a bunch of assholes break into my house looking for you?” Brick demanded abruptly, trying to focus. “And maybe tell me why I’m not calling the fucking cops right now?”