Page 71 of Bully for Sale

That resolution lasted until the moment he woke.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ned came aroundto a sensation he was being watched. He didn’t want to disturb Ezer, who needed his rest to grow the baby healthily, but the sensation didn’t go away and his alpha urge to protect his omega was stronger than his urge not to disturb him.

Ezer was sound asleep, though, and when Ned rolled out from under him, and eased him back down onto the chaise, Ezer snuffled and turned his face the other direction.

Ned spotted a robe on the other chaise and realized that Earl must have returned and found them asleep, left the robe for Ned in case he changed his mind, and then left again. Still, Ned felt eyes on him. He scanned the house and the windows and found nothing. It wasn’t until he turned his gaze toward the gated path leading up from the garden that he recognized the intruder. His heart started to pound.

After checking that Ezer was asleep, he began toward the gate. He’d just reached it when it swung open, and Braden poked his head through, giving Ned a smarmy smirk. “What’s up, little Nedkins? We’ve missed you at school.”

Ned pushed him back through the gate and into the front garden. He glanced around for Finch but didn’t see him. “What are you doing here?”

“You’ve been absent. No explanation. No replies to texts. I got curious.” He smirked again. “Was that a piece of ass I saw you with by the pool?”

“You need to go, Braden.”

A dark look passed over Braden’s face. “You think you can tell me what to do?”

“I think this is my property and you can get the hell off it.”

“What the fuck? I was worried about you, and you’re acting like we aren’t even friends.”

Ned took a deep breath. This was his moment. “We aren’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said we aren’t friends, Braden. Tell Finch the same. And both of you leave me the fuck alone, all right? I don’t want to talk to you here or at school or anywhere else.”

Braden took a step forward, but when Ned went into a fighting stance—left leg back, fists up—Braden backed off with his hands raised. At least the idiot was smart enough to know he couldn’t take Ned in a fight. “Whoa, whoa. This isn’t any way to handle a problem between friends. Just tell me what I did, how much cash it’ll take to fix it, and we’re cool again. No worries.”

“There’s no amount of money that can fix someone as damaged as you,” Ned said.

“No?” Braden cocked a brow. “What if I decide I need talk to my dad about this conversation?”

“Go ahead.”

“And if he doesn’t want to do business with the father of a shitty alpha bully who doesn’t know his place?”

“‘Bully’? I’m bullying you?”

“Sure sounds like it.”

Ned blew out a raspberry. “Fine. Then your father’ll be left with a reputation for breaking contracts for petty reasons, and my father and I will be just fine.”

“Just fine? You need those—”

“Needed. Past tense. We don’t need them anymore.”

Braden’s shoulders snapped back, and his gaze darted toward the gate again. “Ah, I see. You’ve got a rich omega in there, someone who’s promised you a lot of money in exchange for something. What’s he want?” Braden frowned. “I legit can’t think of anything a wealthy omega would want fromyou? But it must be something good.”

“Go Braden,” Ned said. “I’ve put up with you for too long. Get the hell away from here.”

Braden’s head tilted. “You know who else has gone missing from school?” His smirk turned crueler. “Finch and I thought maybe he’d died in that explosion, or gone back to that school for stupid kids, but now… Now I have another idea.”

The casual way Braden referenced the explosion that’d taken people’s lives, and very well could have taken Ezer’s, made Ned see red. He reared back with his fist clenched and he said, “Get the fuck out of my yard or I’ll knock you out of it.”

“Come on out, Cocksleeve!” Braden called, stepping sidewise and lifting his chin so his voice would carry. “Come out and give my dick a big, wet kiss!”