Chapter 42

His tent was suffocating when he stepped inside, too thick and close for somebody alert let alone one who might be ill. “Leave the flap open,” he barked at Pearl. He took more care in laying Levi out, ignoring the blood that smeared lightly across the pillow where his head lolled to the side until he could dig out a handkerchief from his trunk and wipe it away from Levi’s ear.

Now that he had a closer look, it wasn’t so bad, just a few droplets and nothing still free-flowing. None of the skin was broken like he’d scraped himself, though, which didn’t bode well.

“Did he complain about his head hurting or anything before he passed out?” he asked.

Pearl shook her head. “He was just standing there, watching me and Otto argue.”

“About what?”

“What else? Him, of course.” For all the sharpness of her tone, the hand she rested on Seb’s shoulder was soft and reassuring. “So you know, Otto thinks he was here making a delivery for me. I’ll stick to that story as long as the kid does.”