Willow didn’t bother to tell him that Slatter’s grandmother lived. It was better he didn’t know. She recalled what her husband had done to the three men who had intended her harm. She was sure the men who had harmed his grandmother would face a similar fate.

“Of course, I’ll have my fun with you in front of your husband before I kill him. If you continue to cooperate, I’ll keep Dunn and Tyler off you.”

She didn’t for one minute believe him and she didn’t for one minute doubt that her husband would rescue her or that she would do all she could to help him.

Slatter burst into the keep, screaming Willow’s name, Devin right on his heels.

Snow jumped up from the table where she sat, Thaw giving a strong bark beside her, then quieting. “Sterling has her.”

Slatter rushed over to her as James entered the Great Hall with Eleanor.

“It made it difficult to believe since we couldn’t find you,” James reprimanded. “And I won’t waste time asking where you’ve been. My sister’s safety is my only concern right now. I have men gathering to begin a search for her.”

“Sterling pretended he was you and that you and Willow were out for a walk together,” Snow explained. “Thaw wouldn’t quiet. He barked and barked and I knew something was wrong. When Willow mentioned that Thaw was probably worried his morning meal would be delayed if I stopped and talked with them, I knew something was terribly wrong since she knew I always fed Thaw before our walk.”

A servant rushed into the room. “Lord Tarass approaches.”

Slatter placed his hand gently on Snow’s arm. “Willow gave you no indication of where he was taking her?”

“None,” Snow said, shaking her head. “I don’t think she knew, since if she did she would have found a way to tell me.”

Slatter grabbed James’s arm as he went to walk past him. “I’ll handle this.”

“It’s best if Lord Tarass is made aware of the situation,” James said.

“That won’t matter,” Slatter argued.

“Lord Tarass can help us,” James said.

“Lord Tarass helps himself,” Snow chimed in.

Slatter’s eyes glared with fury. “I care not what Tarass wants or thinks. I only care about my wife and bringing her home unharmed. I will deal with this.”

James barely got his mouth open to speak when Slatter was gone, already out the door, and the man who had arrived with him, following close behind.

Chapter 27

Slatter stormed out the door and down the keep’s steps.

Two of Sterling’s men hurried forward, both sizeable brutes and no doubt the ones Sterling trusted the most to do his biddings.

Slatter stopped a few steps away from them, his shoulders drawn back, his hands fisted at his sides, and his face twisted with fury. “I’ve got Sterling,” he said.

Lord Tarass spoke. “You admit you abducted Lord Sterling from my land?”