Riley's Paradox by Laura Jo Phillips

Author:Laura Jo Phillips [Phillips, Laura Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Kyrus Bearen awoke suddenly, startled by the overwhelming fear he sensed pouring from Rikki. He sat up and turned to watch her, noting that both Kasper and Kash were doing the same thing.

“Hope said she had bad dreams,” Kash whispered. “I had no idea they were this bad.”

“Neither did I,” Kyrus said. “We should have asked more about them.”

Rikki turned over one way, then back again. Her breathing sped up, and the rapid beat of the pulse in her neck told them how fast her heart was going. She bit her lip suddenly, cutting it more deeply than they’d witnessed before. Before they had a chance to react she did it again, splitting her lower lip wide open.

“Demii,” Kyrus swore, grabbing the bed sheet and pressing it to her mouth which was bleeding heavily. He was reaching for her shoulder, intending to wake her up when her eyes flew open. Even muffled by the sheet pressed against her lips, her scream was shockingly loud.

Kyrus dropped the sheet and pulled Rikki into his arms, his heart racing. Her eyes stared blankly, seeing nothing for long seconds. Finally, she blinked, focused, then her eyes filled with tears.

Kash and Kasper moved closer so that all three of them were touching her. The tears poured down her face for a few minutes before she was able to speak. “Remember the bad dreams I couldn’t remember?”

“Yes, of course,” Kyrus replied.

“I remember now. All of them.”

“Tell us, Rikki,” Kash urged, keeping his voice gentle with enormous effort.

“All of them are a little different from each other, but they’re also the same in some ways. There’s always a baby crying and screaming. I’m running and running trying to find it, but I never do. The whole time someone keeps calling my name, begging me to help, to find her baby.

“Whose baby?” Kyrus asked, already sure it had to be her friend, Suzen, but knowing she needed to tell this herself, at her own pace.

“It’s my sister’s baby,” she said, shocking all three of them. “They have Riley.”

“Who has Riley?” Kyrus asked.

“The same people who had me,” Rikki replied.

“That’s not possible,” Kyrus said. “Owens and all the rest are in custody, on their way back to Argon now. The lab you were held in is in the hands of the authorities now.”

“I know,” Rikki said. “I meant the Doftles, at another place that’s like the one I was in.”

“And they have Riley?” Kash asked.

“Yes, and I think…,” she paused, then shook her head. “I think they have Rose, too.”

Kyrus started to growl, but forced the urge down. Rikki didn’t need to deal with his anger at the moment. He exchanged looks with his brothers, then back to Rikki. “Come on, Corazia, you need to wash the blood off. Then we can talk.”

“Blood?” Rikki asked, looking down at herself in confusion. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood stained sheet. One hand rose to her face and she felt the stickiness on her mouth and chin. “What

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