She screamed. She didn’t want to give him that satisfaction, but the only release she had was the sound of agony pouring from her throat. She screamed and screamed.

“Siena.” The door burst open and Elijah was there, gun in his fist, eyes tracking the room as he rushed to her side. He put one hand on her shoulder to reassure her he was there, and his body moved over hers, shielding her.

She was grateful as she jolted out of sleep and realized the room was filling with men. Drake. Joshua. Another man she didn’t know. Jake Bannaconni hovering by the door. All of them with weapons. She turned her red face into Elijah’s chest, hiding. She didn’t care who knew either. She wanted them gone.

“I’ve got her,” Elijah said, his voice a clear command. “We’ll be out in a few minutes. She’ll need food, she hasn’t eaten all day.”

He held her, one hand on the nape of her neck, fingers providing a soothing massage, the other arm around her bottom, low so that he didn’t rub against the four long lacerations at her back. He waited until the door closed before he nuzzled the top of her head.

“Are you all right, baby?”

His voice turned her heart over. He sounded so gentle. Tender almost. He was definitely a man’s man. He barked orders, intimidated everyone with his hard, piercing eyes, and the dangerous set to his shoulders. He held himself aloof from the others most of the time. She’d heard the men joking with one another even in her hospital room, but few of them ever spoke to Elijah that way. He didn’t smile often. In fact, she’d never seen him smile at anyone else.

“It was just a bad dream,” she admitted. Her pulse still pounded in her veins and every single place the leopard had attacked her ached with the memory so close.

He pulled back and looked down at her. “I need you to look at me, Siena.”

She twisted her fingers in the front of his shirt and reluctantly obeyed him. Once her gaze met his, she couldn’t look away. That was how powerful he was. He held her there, just with his peculiar mercury-colored eyes.

“I asked if you were all right. I expect an answer, not bullshit or a diversion.”

She blinked. She would never win a stare-down with him. She couldn’t defy him either, not when his commanding voice was so gentle. Not when his face was carved with real concern.

“I dream a lot about the attack. When I do, it’s so real, it feels like it’s happening all over again. Everything hurts.” She glanced toward the window, afraid she might see the large head of the leopard appear there. Her gaze slid back to his as if drawn there. “I’m afraid all the time.”