Page 66 of Wicked and Bound

Locked.

The keypad wouldn’t be simple to breach. He didn’t dare risk shooting it for fear of hitting Haisley. Fuck, he needed to clear his head, to think. Normally, he’d be cool and tactical…but this was the woman he loved—and their baby. Fear choked him, clouding his thoughts.

“Get away from me!” Haisley insisted.

“You better give me the fucking gun or Black Velvet will kill you.”

“I won’t. I’m not giving up.”

More commotion followed. Nash’s fingers whitened on his weapon as he heard the high-pitched desperation in her voice.

Nothing was more lethal than someone with nothing left to lose.

“How can you help these monsters ruin innocent women’s lives?” Haisley demanded. “How do you live with yourself?”

“Don’t you dare judge me! I was taken three years ago and told I could either work for them or be sold to the highest bidder. What would you have chosen?” Dr. Haynes’s voice broke. “Now cooperate and let me administer this sedative. It won’t hurt you or the baby.”

“And once I pass out, then what?”

“That’s up to Black Velvet. But if I don’t do this, they’ll kill me.”

“What makes you think I won’t?” Haisley challenged.

“Nash.” A whisper behind him. Tiptoed steps in his direction.

He spun to find Karliah and pointed at the keypad. “Combination?”

She shrugged. “There’s a connecting door through labor and delivery.”

He remembered now. “On it. Watch my six.”

With a nod, she followed.

“Location?” Ethan’s voice cracked through his earpiece.

“Medical wing. The doctor has Haisley trapped inside.”

“Mila is heading that way. We’re in pursuit, but she’s surrounded by guards. She’s armed, and she’s pissed off.”

Not the news he wanted. “ETA?”

“We’ll be there in two.”

Goddamn it, he feared this battle would be over before then. And if he and Karliah couldn’t reach Haisley in time…

He refused to think the worst.

Ethan went on. “Feds are rounding up all the buyers and are getting the women from tonight’s auction to safety.”

Good. “And Gray?”

“Dead. I double-tapped that son of a bitch in the head and planted another one in his black heart just for fun. He felt Kaylee up before he ‘sold’ her to me, so I took care of him. Personally.”

Ethan was a good-timing, beer-drinking manwhore who loved pranks and had a snarky sense of humor. But Nash had always known his roommate was lethal—not a man smart people crossed if they wanted to live.

“Good. One less armed pervert to contend with.” Nash swiped blood and sweat from his face as he reached the next door. Unlocked, thank god.

In case the hinges squeaked, he eased it open. He couldn’t give away their approach, but he didn’t hear Haisley anymore. That unnerved him.

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