“I’m not.”Unable to wipe my eyes, I sniffed back the impending emotion.“I’m just tired and—”
My excuse was halted by the sound of men laughing somewhere along the adjacent corridor.Baron darted back to join me, pressing himself against the wall as the echo of the men talking went on.
“… exactly!”One of them was saying.“And apparently, he had some bitch with him.”
Tuning into their dialogue, my pulse accelerated.
“A woman?”That was a second, discernible voice.
“Of course, a woman!”the first barked.“Hadden said she was older than Hawkins prefers, but he’d have still given her one.”
“Where has the boss got her stashed away?”the second idiot crooned.
“In his office.”The first one laughed.“Hadden says he has her tied up there.”
My jaw tightened at their obnoxious commentary, an image of Erin’s plight flooding my mind.It was obvious the fools were talking about her.How many other women were likely to be found in a sketchy outfit like the one Hawkins was pulling?The idea that anyone else had the audacity to bind her riled me, but fundamentally, I was more concerned about what Hawkins would do once he had her bound.Erin would be as weary and overwrought as I was, without any of my training or experience.How long could she last under duress?
The knot of tension in my stomach twisted as a newfound urgency washed over me.A toad like Hawkins shouldn’t have even been touching Erin.He had no right to bind her at all.Fleetingly, I recognized how hypocritical it was of me to condemn another man for tying her up when that was precisely what I had done in the cabin, but I pushed the self-criticism away.I might have overstepped the mark in those early hours together, but I’d never done anything to cause her genuine harm.I wished I could make the same vow about the odious prick currently holding her.
As though he sensed my anger, Baron flashed me a warning glare, signaling for me to stay behind him as he edged us both back from the corner.I didn’t love the instruction, but with no available hands to wield a weapon, I accepted that there was little I could add to the initial encounter.It was better that I stayed out of the way.
“Let me deal with this,” he mouthed, and, unable to offer much in the way of assistance, I begrudgingly concurred.
He would have to deal with the incoming goons—initially, at least—but once they were taken by surprise and disarmed, I had two sturdy boots waiting to wish them goodnight.
Holding my breath, my eyes fluttered closed as the noise of their banter grew louder, their words merging into meaningless noise.The heat of the hallway was stifling, burning me up from the inside, as step by step, the noise of their boots on the hard floor grew louder.
My already parched throat dried as I edged backward, giving Baron space to deal with the brunt of the incoming fists and giving me a few precious additional seconds to assess the threat.
By the time the first of the thugs came into sight, adrenaline was coursing around my system so fast I felt as if I could rip myself free from the metal restraining my hands.Sadly, though, despite my efforts, the feat was still unachievable.
“Hey!”The ugly idiot’s eyes widened as he pointed at Baron.“What the hell are you two doing here?”
“Shhh!”Baron screeched as he brought the gun in his hand down hard on the guy’s temple.His eyes rolled back as his knees buckled, but Baron’s attention was already turned to his friend.“It’s sleepy time.”
“What?”As his mate sank to his knees, the second minion advanced, his hands presumably fumbling for his own weapon.That delay bought us valuable time.
“I don’t think so,” Baron muttered, repeating the action that had knocked out the first moron and sending the second spiraling to the ground with equal efficiency.The two lay sprawled out beside one another, their heads turned to face the other as though they were sleeping lovers.
“You like a good old pistol-whipping, eh?”Stepping around their limp bodies, I couldn’t help but grin.
Baron chuckled quietly.“Why not?It’s effective, but quiet.I don’t want to waste bullets and alert any of their chums that we’re on our way.”
“Good thinking.”I couldn’t have handled the situation any better myself.“What are the chances that either of them has a bloody key to these cuffs?”
They’d been heading in the direction from the place we’d been held.Perhaps they were planning to stop in and pay us a visit.
Baron’s brows rose as though he hadn’t contemplated the idea.“I’ll have a quick look, but we don’t want to be caught out here with their listless bodies.”
“I’ll keep an eye out while you look.”My gaze traveled along the length of the long hallway.
We’d been fortunate to hear those two coming.We might not be so lucky next time.
“Nothing on this one,” Baron murmured as he rolled one of the men away and searched his partner’s pockets.“Wait…”
My pulse spiked at the hope in his voice.
“What’s this?”
