Chapter 53

Faces swam in front of her. Dante in the background, Kelley. Oscar. Christian. Willow.

And in front, oh so close, Sven.

“Give her some air! She’s coming to!”

“Honey, you fainted.” Dante spoke, white-lipped.

But there was Sven, cradling her head. Helping her sit up. “Babe.”

She wished the word warmed her, but she was so cold. She tried to speak, though her throat was hoarse and dry. But no other word would cross her lips. “Buddy.”

“Sven, man. The bastard sent her an email. Here. Look at it.”

She watched as Sven read the email, and saw the moment he realized the awful truth. “How? How the hell did he get in here? And how did he get the damn dog to go with him?”

Keara managed to form words, finally. “He always liked Buddy. They got along okay.”

“Damn.” Sven’s eyes narrowed. “I had eyes on you every minute. I just assumed Buddy would be by your side.”

“Don’t make her feel worse, man.” Dante jumped in, laid a hand on Sven’s shoulder.

“No, no. Oh, hell, no. I didn’t mean that. Just…”

And then she saw a look she’d never seen before, cross his face. She watched as he glanced at his cell, and his face tightened. “I’ll be back in a few.”

He turned to the others, gave them a searing gaze. “You got this? And is she safe, if there’s someone else lurking around here?”

“Yeah. We won’t leave her side.” Willow spoke up quickly. “And Tina’s coming. She’ll check her out. She’ll be fine. We’ll bloody well make sure of it, this time.”

“Okay. Back soon.” He gave her one last look. Regret? Anger, almost? She wasn’t sure.

But she didn’t like it for a last look. At all.