Rose Gardner's Florist (The Providence Street Shops #2) - Bonnie Dee Page 0,51
close the door.
Will put his shoulder into it and shoved his way inside.
Heart pounding, Rose gripped the umbrella tightly and let herself out of the automobile to follow him—illegal entry be damned!
Chapter Seventeen
Will felt like a character in some detective novel, performing actions almost without conscious thought. The hallmarks of everyday Will were weighing options, wavering, and second guessing. Tonight, he was a fellow who pushed aside butlers and forged his way into another man’s home. What would he do next?
“Miss Sweet. Are you here?” he called loudly.
“Please, sir. I must ask you to leave.” The harried man stepped in front of Will to bar his passage.
“Stand aside,” Will snarled. “If this young lady is being detained against her will and you are a part of it, you will be implicated in the crime.”
He had no idea if this was true, but the butler collapsed like sails without wind and let him pass. Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw him slink toward the servants’ door to downstairs.
“Mr. Merker! Edward Merker,” Will shouted. “Show yourself, sir.”
Instead of the house’s owner, two very strong and capable looking chaps descended the stairs toward the grand hallway. One, as tall as Will and, broad across the shoulders, had his hand in his jacket pocket as if he might produce a pistol. His shorter partner’s crooked nose and scarred eyebrow suggested he knew how to fight.
Will sometimes boxed with Guy, but he’d never laid a finger on anyone with the intent to cause damage. But his hands knew what to do, fingers beginning to curl into fists at the sight of the men who’d left Rose unconscious.
“Get out!” the tall fellow demanded.
Will took a moment to push his glasses firmly into place and take a breath. “I will speak to Mr. Merker,” he said with uncompromising authority.
His partner scowled. “He says to throw you out of the house.”
Will stalked forward. “I will not leave without Miss Sweet.”
“Don’t know who yer talkin’ about,” the fellow lied.
The pair had reached the foot of the stairs and split up, approaching him from either side like a pair of menacing dogs. He could not observe both, so Will concentrated on the man with the potential gun, while attempting to keep the other in his peripheral vision.
“Whatever Merker has paid you, I will double it if you leave now. No need to come to blows or for the police to become involved.” Now that sounded like the peacekeeping Will he knew.
The stocky chap edged closer. “Get the ‘ell out right now. This is family business and none o’ yours.”
Blood roared through Will’s veins like a steam locomotive. This was happening.
He was about to—he charged the boxer, running his shoulder into his chest to knock him backward. Then he landed a surprise punch on that crooked nose. Blood spurted.
Will whirled around to ensure the other fellow hadn’t drawn a weapon, only to see the astonishing sight of Rose running toward the man with an umbrella leveled like a lance. She howled like a Valkyrie and jabbed the sharp point into the tall man’s side.
He cried out and grabbed the umbrella, jerking it from her hands. Will had but a second to see Rose seize a huge vase from a pedestal, and hurl it at the man. Then he returned his attention to the boxer, who’d recovered from the injury to his nose. The lower half of his face masked in blood, the man darted in to deliver a sharp blow to Will’s stomach.
Breath left him. He wheezed and struggled to inhale. Meanwhile, his opponent rained a series of punches to his face and drove him down to the floor.
Will landed on all fours, using one arm to protect his head from the barrage. The speed and precision of the blows made it hard to fight back.
This man kicked Rose! End him! His ferocious alter ego ordered.
Will dug deep to find enough strength to match the other man’s skill. Expecting little resistance, his opponent had drawn too near. When Will reared up, the back of his head connected with the underside of the fellow’s jaw.
The boxer staggered backward as Will lunged to his feet. He leaped toward the man, his superior height and weight knocking the off-balance fighter to the ground. Will straddled his body and began to pummel his face like the bag at the gymnasium where he and Hardy practiced boxing. Thank god, Guy had dragged him there when Will did not wish to go.