Page 34 of Wicked Duty
Finally, over the sea of inebriated partymongers, I spot Lucy’s purple-streaked head. A bald man sporting a beard and glasses intercepts her with a smile. She says something to him, but he taps his ear, shakes his head, and points to a nearby door.
Fuck. My pulse accelerates. Internal alarm bells clamor.
I speed dial Darren and share our location as I barrel through the crowd, knocking people aside in my race to reach Lucy and Baldy. “We may have a situation.”
He doesn’t ask questions. “On the way.”
The call ends.
Lucy Marlow, don’t you leave with him.
The man opens the door and waves her through. Accepting his nonverbal invitation, Lucy heads into the darkened hallway beyond.
Chapter 13
Lucy
A queasy tang of déjà vu fluxes through my system.
Just like when the judge grabbed me earlier, I go still as the bald man from the club all but shoves me out into a service hallway. He claims he’s a talent agent who saw my audition, and I followed him out here to chat because I couldn’t hear him over the blaring music.
His thick arm wraps around my waist. I attempt to extract myself but stop when the cold tip of a blade pokes into my throat.
Icy fear seizes my muscles. I’ve made a terrible mistake.
The man shoves me down the corridor, sticking close enough to assault me with his garlic-scented breath. “If you keep your mouth shut, I won’t need to use this.”
I feel a pinch when he jabs me again with the knife. Then a terrifying discovery stops my pulse.
My attacker isn’t alone.
A second man, taller and beefier, with so many tattoos I don’t know where one starts and another begins—I mean, this guy is fully inked—leans against the wall beside an emergency exit stairwell.
“Hey.” Tattoo scowls at the man restraining me. “Let’s get her to the van before they notice she’s missing. And watch the knife! The boss says we gotta keep her in one piece.”
A whimper crawls out of my throat. My heart heaves against my rib cage, and my mind threatens to fracture.
No.This can’t be happening again.
I need to fight.
Planting my feet, I dig my heels into the cement floor.
The man with the knife nudges my numb legs forward.
I can’t let them get me out of this building. I need to escape. If they take me to a second location, I may never?—
Something slams from behind, and music floods our way. Both men spin around.
Callum barrels through the back door and sprints for us with murder in his eyes.
Tattoo intercepts him first. Callum ducks a punch, rebounding to land his own fist in Tattoo’s face. He follows up with a solid knee to the guy’s balls and a gut strike that causes Tattoo to double over in pain.
My abductor shoves me against the wall, out of the way, and whips around to face Callum. When he raises the knife, my panic reaches a fever pitch.
They’ll kill him before taking me to only God knows where.I’m going to be assaulted again. Used. Held captive. No one will find me. Maya will be devastated.
A popping sound grounds me, forcing me back to reality. Two more pops follow in rapid succession. The knife wielder screams.
