Page 34 of Wicked and Bound

“Where are you going?” Haisley’s voice held a wary edge.

A man who’d purchased a woman would never answer to her, so he raised a brow. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

Then he slammed out the door, hating when he saw her flinch.

Goddamn it, something had to give.

Her aloofness worried Nash all the way to the spa, where he found Karliah waiting in the cool evening air just outside with a sunny smile.

He played his part, wrapping his arm around her and nuzzling her neck. “Know somewhere private we can…talk?”

She giggled, batting her lashes over big green eyes. “You tell me.”

In other words, no. “Walk on the beach? The waves are beautiful tonight.”

“I’d love that.”

They strolled arm in arm until they reached the shore. Their body language looked flirty for the cameras, but once the waves crashed over their conversation, it turned serious.

“Tell me what you’ve got.”

“You saw my note?” When he nodded, she went on. “Black Velvet is coming to address a recent security breach. Apparently, a woman escaped the island a few weeks back.”

His pulse leapt. “How?”

“I didn’t get details, but she managed to commandeer a boat and almost made it away from the island. Security hunted her down.”

“Where is she now?” He’d love to question her.

“Dead. Rumor has it, Black Velvet was furious about the lost merchandise and isn’t happy with Gray.”

Fuck. But that proved escapewaspossible. It would simply have to be planned with precision. That woman’s escape route would be sealed off now, but the fortress had weaknesses. He, Kane, and Karliah just had to find and exploit them.

“Anything else?”

“Everyone is terrified of Gray. In Black Velvet’s absence, he has carte blanche, and he’s absolutely ruthless. I’m doing my best to play the dumb blonde. But I’m super shy”—she rolled her eyes—“so I listen more than I talk.”

“Good. Any talkers? Allies?”

She bit her lip and glanced up at him with a coy smile. “Not really. Too early to tell.”

He caressed her face for show. “You’ve met the other operative on the island.”

“Kane? Yeah.”

“Good. He should be your primary contact going forward. Probably best if I keep my distance unless necessary.”

“Agreed. But if something big goes down, we’ll need to compare notes.”

She was right, and he hated that pretending to romance Karliah was probably the only way. “If I make an appointment to have my beard trimmed, you’ll know something is up. If you come across credible intel you can’t pass through Kane, just send me an appointment reminder.”

“Perfect.” She pretended to rub his arm like she was impressed with his biceps, but the shrewd look in her eyes wasn’t remotely flirty.

He pressed his face into her neck and whispered, “Be careful.”

“You, too.”

Yeah. Every hour that passed ratcheted up the pressure. He could almost feel these bastards breathing down his neck.

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