Page 157 of Retribution

“I just want to wrap Isolde in bubble wrap,” I groan. “I can’t feel her the way I did earlier, but it’s more like she’s unconscious. There’s a small pulse coming from the bond that tells me she’s alive.”

“Hearing how you all talk about her, she would hate being overly protected,” Adira says, struggling to get up as Leila begins to make faces.

“I got her,” Alesso says, standing quickly to walk over and pick up the baby. “She’s been struggling to poop. I’ll walk her around.”

“Poor baby,” Adira says, watching as Alesso begins to whisper to Leila and holds her in one arm as he massages her belly. “You’re all so good with her.”

Jed glances at her as she makes a face, grimacing. “I’m taking you home soon, Adira. This stress isn’t good for you.”

Adira makes a face at him as she rubs her stomach. “I’m not due for ages. It’s fine.”

I shake my head, noting the signs.

“When are you due?” I ask.

“Early March,” Adira shrugs. “It’s only the second week of February. It’s too early. I’m not going anywhere. I also refuse to miss Nova’s charity event. I’m going to be there.”

“Our midwife,” Kane explains. “You haven’t met her yet because we haven’t had an appointment with her while you’ve been here. She’s amazing.”

“Nova and Kane have a passion for baby wearing and making carriers,” Adira adds, smiling. “I love how patient she’s been.”

“This pregnancy has been a lot,” Quinn says. “She came over once a week with hydration IVs for me when I was puking my guts out. Okay, I’m not patient, boys. Why are you so quiet?!”

“I found it,” Oliver whispers.

“Me too,” Callum says, gritting his teeth. “It’s an open invitation to watch an omega get torn apart during a rut. There’s no details about what she looks like, because to people like this, it doesn’t fucking matter.”

“Where?” I ask, my voice completely ruined as I growl.

We’ve been running in circles, have looked into every property we can find under Rock’s name, and have kept striking out.

“It says to message for an address,” Oliver says. “I’m creating an alias to send a request now. I don’t want to be connected to this in any way so Ophelia can’t deny me entry.”

“She’s asking for a thousand dollars per person,” Morris mutters, looking over Callum’s shoulder. “Ophelia is a real piece of work. I wonder what name this place is under.”

“Can’t be my father’s,” Damon says, shaking his head. “We used our men to clear those places.”

When Rock was killed, his sons also took over his men after killing the ones that they knew they couldn’t control. We’re all exhausted, so we delegated and made sure all the men had cameras on their bodies so we could watch as we continued to work.

“That doesn’t mean Ophelia didn’t fuck other people,” Adira mutters.

“Gross,” Jed says, making a face. “I’m sure his dick was diseased. Now that we’re this close, my body wants to move. We need to make sure we canvas the area and…”

“Are you fucking kidding me,” Oliver groans. “She says she will put me on the list and won’t release the address until the day of.”

“We’re not going to be able to save her from whatever they have planned,” I realize.

Adira blinks as she sits up tall.

“No, but we can make sure she lives through it,” she says, squeezing Quinn’s hand as she begins to cry silently. “It’s going to be a bumpy few days. Make sure you ask for a few tickets for entry, Oliver. I’ll pull in some people to be in the crowd to help. No one lives who attends this.”

“Agreed,” I breathe. “She’s hurt too many people. This ends with us.”

Isolde

“I suppose you no longer care about bruising me?” I ask, licking the cut on my lip. Ophelia woke me up with a slap, and I’m losing track of time.

Maybe it’s a way for my mind to protect myself by disassociating from reality, because I’m going to have a very hard time getting out of this alive.