Page 144 of Retribution

“Oops,” Oli says, stepping aside.

Stefanie staggers into the house, her eyes wild as she looks around until she sees me and thebambinastill sleeping in my arms.

“Charlotte?” she cries out. “You do have her! I want to be compensated for my pain and suffering. I…I want a million dollars because you kidnapped her!”

“Golddigger,” I sigh. “That’s all I needed to know. Carry on, Grant.”

Stefanie continues to yell about the injustices of life, and how it’s not her fault that she’s addicted to meth. My eyes widen as Grant simply allows her to sign her own death warrant.

Lucas shuts the door, and Stefanie’s eyes shoot over to him.

“So you are on drugs,” he says conversationally. “Were you taking them when the baby was born?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I didn’t think about that. I snuggle Leila closer because I can’t imagine how she could ever do that.

“No. Toby made me get clean when he found out I was pregnant,” she groans. “It was really hard.”

“Sounds like it wasn’t important enough to stay away from the drugs,” Oli says. “Meth is pretty strong stuff. If you kill yourself, then what happens to your kid?”

We all make sure we aren’t in Grant’s line of sight or in his way. Oli is so still, I can hear him chanting “my baby, mine” in his mind through the bond.

He’s right. Leila isn’t Stefanie’s baby. That child died the morning that Isolde walked onto the motorcycle club’s property like the beautiful angel of death that she is.

“My dealers would sell her to cover my debts,” she mutters, so low that I almost don’t hear her.

My feet begin to walk backward, wanting to get away from her. The beta woman is tainted and twisted with the darkness of her life. An innocent baby doesn’t deserve to wallow within it, not if we can give her so much better.

This world is too cruel for Leila.

“Why do you really want her?” Lucas asks, eyes narrowing.

My heart pounds as I stare at the desperate evil looking me in the eyes and grin.

“They said they’d give me all the drugs I wanted if I gave her to them,” she says.

I raise my finger in Grant’s direction, needing to know more. Who the fuck is trading babies for drugs?

“Who is ‘they’ and why do they want her?” I rasp.

My heart pounds, and Leila complains as she wiggles against my chest. It’s absolutely adorable, but that means she can feel my agitation.

“It’s complicated,” she says, her eyes on ourbambinaas if she’s her salvation. She’s not, just her next drug fix. “There are people who like babies in very unhealthy ways. I don’t care. I never wanted her anyway.”

Grant pulls the trigger, but there’s a puff of air and nothing else. Absently, as if I’m outside my body, I realize that he must have put a silencer on the weapon. Sagging against the wall, I watch as Stefanie's eyes widen, her mouth filling with blood as she drops to her knees.

“We’re standing our ground, bitch,” I whisper. “Leila isn’t for sale, and we’d never give her to you after the filth you just spewed.”

“We weren’t ever giving her our baby, period,” Grant says tightly.

Rita walks out into view and her eyes widen as she watches Stefanie fall dead on her face.

“Should I call one of the men to help clean this up?” she asks softly.

Rita is taking this much better than I am. I’m not upset Stefanie is dead, I’m angry as fuck that Leila didn’t have a better biological mother.

“I’ll handle it. Thank you, Rita. I’m sorry I got your floor dirty,” Grant says, putting his weapon away.

“I’m not worried about that, Grant. What did she want?” she asks.