Page 173 of Retribution

“I’m thinking that she reacted to her crying,” he says. “No, I’m not going to force Leila to cry to wake her up.”

I’m skeptical, but I have to admit that he may be right. Shifting my body, I place my hands under her armpits and pull her up on the bed to sit up. Lucas grabs pillows to help prop her up, and we watch Alesso as he walks on his knees, shuffling to sit beside Isolde.

“Topolina,” he hisses, watching as her body twitches. “Leila needs you.”

Isolde’s hands clench the blankets as she whines, her head shaking back and forth.

“No…Protect her,” she whispers.

“She’s safe, wake up and hold her,” Alesso growls. “I don’t want to alpha bark her out of this, guys.”

“Try laying Leila on her chest,” Lucas says worriedly. “They say not to wake someone up from a night terror, but?—”

“These are memories,” I interrupt. “The things Ophelia did to our girl makes me want to go find where she’s being held and rip her apart with my bare hands. Don’t look at me like that, Oli. The bitch is scrawny. I could do it.”

“That’s not why I’m looking at you,” he mutters. “It’s not our place to kill her. We didn’t live through what Isolde or any of her victims did. Reliving her memories isn’t going to help Isolde process. It just digs in the dagger that she is alone in her dreams, just like she was then. Alesso, snuggle against her with Leila.”

I watch as Alesso places the baby on Isolde’s chest, ready to move if it startles her. Leila grumbles in her sleep, wiggling as her hands hold onto Isolde’s sweatshirt. Isolde takes a huge breath, and I rub her legs gently as I watch her fight her way out of the nightmare.

Lucas places his hand on her head as he smooths back her hair, and Alesso holds Leila gently in place. I guess Isolde’s heart is racing and the baby can hear it, because Leila wakes up with a start and bursts into tears.

Isolde gasps as she wakes up, her arms wrapping Leila.

“I’m sorry, I’m here,” she rasps, breathing hard. “I was lost and couldn’t wake up. I kept hearing Grant’s voice.”

“I was in your dream,” I confess. “I tried to wake us both up, but instead I pulled us through your memories. I’m sorry, I just made it worse.”

“I felt you,” she says, tears rolling down her cheeks. Gasping in a breath, she shakes her head. “I hate that you saw any of what happened. It’s all so fucked. Shh. I’m here, Leila. You’re good.”

“I think she’s very sensitive to your emotions and presence,” Alesso says. “She missed you so much.”

“You really think she could tell I was gone?” Isolde asks doubtfully. “Leila is still so little. I read somewhere that their object permanence is still developing.”

“While that’s true, she knows when you’re upset,” Oliver says, pushing me aside to lay on her stomach. Fucker.

“That day at the office,” I remember. “Lucas and I could feel that something was wrong. Leila began screaming when you were taken. She was so inconsolable, she fell asleep crying.”

“No. I’m so sorry, Leila,” she says, her fingers playing with the baby’s curls. “I love her so much. I don’t know what we’re going to do if her mother ever shows up.”

Exchanging glances with the guys, I swallow thickly as Alesso glares at me.

We have to tell her,I hiss at Lucas.

Lucas sighs as he sits next to her on the bed and inclines his head at me.

“You’re being very sketchy,” Isolde mutters. “It’s weird that you can mind meld or whatever.”

“Mmhmm. Well, we’re going to all have to make sure that we fix what Ophelia broke, won’t we?” I ask her, finding a spot now that Oli edged me out.

To be fair, I did sleep with her in my arms tonight. I have moments where I don’t like to share.

“You’re still not telling me something,” she complains, her hand moving over Leila’s back to help her settle. “It’s still dark, baby girl. I’m not going anywhere. Please go back to sleep.”

“We had a visitor while you were gone,” I say slowly, watching the way she continues to talk softly to Leila.

“Who?” she asks.

“Leila’s biological mother,” Alesso says sourly. “She hired someone to help track us down.”