Page 169 of Retribution

“Thank you for coming,” Isolde says softly, looking around at everyone. “I really didn’t know if anyone would find me. Apparently this is one of Ophelia’s newer buildings.”

Ophelia takes this time to yell and roll around and Jed kicks her to shut her up.

“You don’t need this bitch in your vehicle,” he says. “I’ll take her for you.”

“What are you going to do with her?” Isolde asks.

We all begin walking as Jed awkwardly picks her up.

“She makes a good scarf,” Damon smirks.

“God, you’re so odd,” Jed mutters. They’re most definitely brothers. “I’m just going to drop her off in a holding cell with some of Cian’s men. You deserve to make her bleed, and from what I saw of you on stage, you’re a proficient killer.”

Isolde chews on her lip, and I swear she flushes with embarrassment.

“I did kind of lose it,” she mutters.

“I’m honestly impressed,” Shaw says as we turn off a side street. There’s no one around thank god, and Morris is texting someone. Hopefully, he’s making sure that our tracks are erased digitally. “I’ve never seen anyone kill someone with a meat cleaver before. No wonder the Senior Mafia Families keep you on their payroll.”

“I really only deal with Corbin and Cian,” she says. “I’m perfectly fine working below the radar. I hear you all have an issue with a building commissioner. Can I fix that for you?”

Shaw snorts, checking to see if she’s serious.

“My omega would love you forever for that. We’ve been having issues with him forever. He keeps blocking all of Omega’s Haven’s permits,” he explains.

“I’ll fix it before we leave,” she says, hiding a yawn. “At least the blood is dried. I fucking hate the way it feels on my skin, though.”

“It cracks and feels gross,” Kane agrees, making a face. “Morris, do we have wet wipes in the car?”

“Huh?” he asks, looking up. “Yes, we do. I’ll get a few packets. At least you can get some of it off, Isolde. We should introduce ourselves, guys. None of us were born in barns that I know of.”

The mafia men wince and agree that they weren’t. Tommy, Shaw, Damon, Kane, Duncan, Christian, Morris, Jed, and Aiden all introduce themselves as Isolde attempts to absorb their names.

Alesso is bemused at how shocked our girl is, holding her tighter.

“Wow,” she whispers. “Thank you so much. This is kind of overwhelming.”

“You’ll see some of us again,” Duncan says understandingly. “You’re staying with my pack while you’re in Minnesota. It’s safe, and no one will expect it. Is there anything you need to tell us before we all part ways?”

“Ophelia has a daughter,” Isolde says. She looks at Jed and Damon and swallows hard. “Are you Rock Dresmond’s sons?”

“Unfortunately,” Jed grumbles. “He’s deader than a doornail now. My omega killed him.”

“God, he was a scary asshole,” she murmurs, her eyes almost glazing over as she remembers something.

The drugs have passed through her system, thankfully due to how quickly an omega can process them when their body deems it necessary. It’s also why some omegas can have issues with staying under sedation for medical procedures.

“Sorry, I’m feeling a little loopy,” Isolde says, shaking off the memories. Grant looks worried as he watches her, and I decide we’re all going to stay with her tonight. Even if we have to sleep on the floor. “You have a sister, did you know that? She looks just like you, except she’s an evil bitch. Avery has been helping Ophelia in the lab. I’ve never seen her before, and have no idea where she’s been hiding her.”

“Ophelia told me in so many words,” Damon mutters. He looks at his brothers and sighs. “I was going to tell you later.”

“You felt like you were keeping a secret, Damon,” Jed says, but not as if he’s angry. “Thank you for telling us, Isolde. We didn’t see a girl in the building while we were clearing it. She must have gotten away. Dresmonds are obnoxiously resilient.”

“I’m not dead yet,” Kane says with a smirk. We’re by the vehicles that we hid behind another building, and we say goodbye and bundle Isolde into the vehicle we drove in with Duncan.

“Here are the wet wipes,” Morris says, giving me several packets. “We’ll see you soon.”

Nodding, I get into the SUV and begin to clean her face, finding a few cuts and bruises on it.