Page 14 of Wicked and Bound

Two million. Three million. Then four.

Nash had to exhale and steady his hands as he typed each new bid. This wasn’t about money. This was Haisley’s life. Her freedom. Their future.

EmirVIP dropped out at five million. But Sultan_479 kept pushing.

Six million. Seven. Eight.

On stage, Haisley’s eyes darted like a cornered animal, likely searching the in-person audience, wondering which disgusting asshole would win her. The terror on her face threatened to squeeze his heart until it crumbled.

“Sultan_479’s profile suggests his bidding will top out at ten million,” Trees murmured.

“What if it doesn’t?” Nash demanded.

The bidding slowed. He bid nine million. Sultan_479 hesitated, then bid nine point five.

His stomach a knot of anxiety, Nash typed in the staggering bid of ten million dollars and held his breath.

Seconds crawled by like years.

“Ten million going once…” the auctioneer crooned, then turned to someone in the shadowy audience, probably Sultan_479. “Are you going to let your competition beat you for this prime breeding specimen? She would look so pretty with your others…”

Others? Disgusting.

The bidder said something Nash couldn’t see or hear. The not knowing upped his tension. He struggled to breathe, but he had to keep his shit together for her.

“Going twice…”

The fucking bastard spoke so slowly, clearly giving his challenger plenty of time to bid.

The room went dead silent. The team collectively holding their breath. Matt’s knuckles whitened on the edge of the table. Hunter’s hand remained steady on Nash’s shoulder. Trees’s jaw clenched so tight the muscle jumped. Kane’s finger hovered over his keyboard, ready to jump in if Nash faltered. For thirty endless seconds, no one moved. No one breathed.

It felt like thirty decades.

Finally, Sultan_479 shook his head.

The auctioneer shrugged, then banged his gavel on the podium. “Lot twenty-three is sold for ten million dollars to remote bidder JasperTheDick! Congratulations to all. You’ll soon be contacted with details about when and how to collect your prizes.”

Fuck. That was more money than he’d ever seen in his life. How would he ever repay the Santiago brothers, Callie Thorpe-Mackenzie, and Genie Westbrook? Another problem for another time…

Haisley was hauled off stage, but not before Nash caught the fresh tears on her cheeks as her wild eyes lifted to the camera. His chest tightened until he swore it would explode.

Then she was gone. His only assurance that she would be safe until he came for her was the ten million in borrowed cash he’d just forked over and his prayers to God to keep her safe.

Cursing, he slammed his laptop closed and bolted for the bathroom. He barely made it before he threw up what little dinner Laila had managed to coax him into choking down.

After rinsing his mouth, he emerged, pale but composed, and found the team still in the conference room, waiting in taut silence, except Matt, doing his best to quietly calm his wife over the phone.

“Get through the house rules?” he asked Kane. “What are we up against?”

“Sorry. Still reading the terms and conditions. They’ve left themselves a lot of loopholes and latitude to enforce their directives.”

“I don’t like it.” Hunter resumed pacing.

“Reading all this shit, I like it even less. Everything is sketchy as fuck. The weasel words and obfuscation…” Kane finally liftedhis head. “You won her, but this isn’t a done deal, man. We’ll have to tread carefully.”

“We’ll know more soon,” Trees cut in. “Jasper just received an email, confirming your purchase and including the payment wiring instructions. Further information will come within the hour.”

Nash nodded. Phase one complete. It was a step in the right direction. But now came the hard part.

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