Instead, Sven stood in front of her. A very angry Sven.
Chapter Twenty
Sven
Anger and relief swept through Sven as he stormed into the store. Behind him, he could hear the yells and screams as Lars and the guards fought with the women. He grabbed Bryn and half dragged her to the back of the store away from the windows.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
His breath was tight in his chest and he crushed her against him when they were finally out of sight of the chaos outside.
She didn’t struggle against him, which was a good thing. The fear that had threatened to overtake him needed a chance to diminish before he spoke. He didn’t want to say anything he was going to regret, so he chose not to say anything at the moment.
Finally, he stepped back. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she answered with the look of determination on her face that he had become all too familiar with. “I was doing the best I could under the circumstances.”
He looked over her head at Hannah. “Thank you for calling us. We had no idea where she had disappeared to.” He turned back to Bryn. “We wouldn’t even have noticed you were gone, Miss I’m going to take a nap, if my mother hadn’t been looking for you.”
“I decided that shopping was a better use of my time.” She tilted her chin up with a look that almost displayed defiance.
Sven struggled to resist the urge to spank the stubborn streak out of her.
Hannah looked like she was about to burst into tears. “I didn’t know what to do. That lady was being so ugly to Bryn. I didn’t want her to get hurt.”
Sven watched as Bryn hugged her tight. “You did exactly the right thing. I was just winging it and hoping for the best with that bitch.”
Hannah hugged her back. “You gave me the opportunity when you told me to put the dress in the fitting room.”
Lars appeared around a display. “Is everything secure back here?”
Sven nodded. “We’re fine. How’s it going out there?”
“Coben is here taking statements. He arrested two of the women, but Alitta and another got away.”
Bryn stepped forward. “She was going to kidnap me and take me to where Erik is.” She turned to Hannah. “Can you please get me something to drink? Water, Pepsi, I don’t care what.”
“Absolutely. I’ll be right back.” She paused and touched Lars’ arm. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
Once she was gone, Bryn quickly told them what happened. “At least Alitta was smart enough to not say anything incriminating in front of Hannah. But now she knows about me.”
“And now we know that she is absolutely in deep with Magnus,” Lars mused. “And the fact that she was here says they can’t be far away.”
Sven cursed under his breath. “First things first. What the hell were you thinking going off by yourself like that?” He pointed at Bryn. “How did you manage to sneak past extra guards?”
Her brows raised. “I wanted a new outfit to wear to dinner with you tonight, and I didn’t sneak anywhere. I walked around the gardens, no guards anywhere. Then I passed an open gate and got the idea to come here. Again, no guards. I didn’t have to sneak.” She hesitated. “Although you’re right. I should have stopped to think about going off by myself. I’m sorry.”
Sven wanted to soften up on her but the fear still had him in its clutches. “You have to be aware of what you’re doing. Especially now.”
“I know. I screwed up and gave myself away to the enemy.” A tear rolled down her cheek and almost broke his heart. “I’ll be more careful.”
He pulled her to him and hugged her tight. “I don’t think I would survive losing you, and we came really close. You might have held Alitta off for a moment, but…”
“I know. I didn’t have the experience to hold her off for long. I had no idea what I was doing.” She held up her hand. “But I did try the spark thing to have enough strength to throw her out the door.”
Sven kissed her palm. “We’ll work on it.”
“She is a dragon, right?” Bryn asked. “I realized in the thick of things that I don’t know who is and who isn’t.”
