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She nodded her head. Of course it was important, this was Carter’s life they were dealing with!

“Gio has people that will see to Carter’s injuries,” Anatoly continued. “When you get him to Gio, Carter will be cared for and safe. Gio will take care of everything.”

“Gio will take care of everything,” she repeated.

“Where’s your phone?” Anatoly asked.

She blinked, then looked around. She’d dropped it and didn’t remember where.

“Here it is,” Rissa said, thrusting it out to Anatoly. He typed on it as Silas got her attention.

“I need you to get Babette or I can’t pick up Carter,” he said.

Mila gathered Babette in her arms. Once the dog was safely in her arms, Silas picked up Carter without looking like it was hard at all. He was gentle, but Carter still let out a groan.

“I’ll get the back open,” Harper said, rushing to the back of the van.

Mila moved to follow her, but Anatoly stopped her with a hand on her arm. Babette didn’t like that and tried to bite him. He pulled his hand back with a hiss.

“If you were bigger, you’d be a formidable protector,” he grumbled. “I’m lucky you’re the size of a baguette.”

Mila was shocked at the laughter that bubbled out of her. For some reason, her laugh made Anatoly shake his head.

“I can’t believe how hard it is to keep you under thrall,” he muttered. Before she could ask what he meant, he handed her the phone back, careful to keep clear of Babette.

“I’ve put the address in your phone,” he explained. “It’s not a complicated route. You’re better to drive safe than fast.”

She nodded her head. The van was useful for many things, but speed wasn’t one of them. “I won’t go fast.”

The sound of the van door’s slamming shut made her jump. Scrambling to her feet, she turned to see all of them emerging from behind the van.

“We put him on the bed,” Rissa said. “That’s a nice set up back there. Way better than when I lived in a Corolla.”

Rissa lived in a car for a while? Mila filed that information away to examine later. Rissa walked her to the driver side of the van.

“In you go,” she said. Mila climbed in and let Babette go. The dog trotted into the back and curled up next to Carter. The man was so big, his feet over hung the bed she’d been sleeping in for the last few weeks. The guys had tucked her blankets around him, and he looked like he was asleep instead of potentially mortally wounded.

“Here are the keys,” Rissa said, handing them to her. “Gio’s waiting for you.”

“Um, right,” Mila said, debating about driving Carter to the nearest hospital.

“Mila?” When she met Rissa’s gaze, the other woman gave her arm a squeeze. “You promised to take him to Gio. You promised all of us. If Carter was awake, he would make you promise too. Don’t back out of that promise.”

Mila found herself nodding. Yes, she’d promised to go to Gio, nowhere else. She clipped the phone into the dashboard holder and activated the navigation.

“I’ll get him there,” she promised, starting up the old van.

Rissa gave her a nod and backed away to shut the door. “Call me when you need to talk, my friend. Any time, day or night.”

With those words, Rissa joined Zander and Anatoly where they were waiting for her at the end of the alley.

Mila didn’t see them walk away together. She was too busy getting the van out of the tight alley and following the instructions on the phone.

“Hold on, Carter,” she said. “I only just met you, I’m not ready to lose you!”

Chapter 8

Mila