but bits of plastic melted together. One foot in front of the other, she made her way out of the fire, her feet sloshing on the polished floors of the library.
“We’re going to get caught,” she said. But she wasn’t speaking in English.
“Only if you keep talking.”
Then a hand slammed over her mouth, and she tried to scream.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Leo had made a habit out of sitting in the room on the upper floor surrounded by bedrooms.
He would wait for the light under Olivia’s door to turn off, and then give it a good hour before heading to bed himself.
Neil’s words about how the woman would leave the second she gained her memories were a constant threat. “You won’t see it, you won’t sense it . . . she’ll just be gone.”
The thought scared the living hell out of him.
He cared for her.
Probably more than he should. But his brain and his heart were in the middle of a war, and his dick was taking sides.
He closed his laptop, set it aside, and stared out the window. Snow had started to fall right before the house quieted for the night. Bets were placed on how much would accumulate before they woke up in the morning.
Leo imagined Olivia lying down to make a snow angel. Entirely too soft for her, she’d much more likely be hiding behind a tree with an arsenal of snowballs ready to catch you as you walked by.
He smiled into the image, and then he heard her.
Olivia shouted from her room.
Leo jumped up and over the sofa and was at her door in seconds.
He pushed it open, heard footsteps behind him.
She was alone, in her bed . . . asleep.
A rush of words he couldn’t understand came out from the obvious nightmare.
Isaac looked over Leo’s shoulder.
He lifted a hand, realizing the threat was only in Olivia’s head. “I’ve got this.”
Isaac sighed, turned to the camera facing them in the hall, and shook his head. “We’re good.”
Leo moved into the room and closed the door behind him. He moved to the edge of her bed and sat at her side.
“Olivia?” he whispered.
Her hands were clenched, brow furrowed. Her words sharp. At first, he thought she was just muttering gibberish, then he recognized the sounds.
German.
Olivia was speaking German in her sleep.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Olivia? Wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”
She thrashed.
He said her name louder, and the next thing he realized, her hands darted up, straight to his neck, and he was on his back on the floor with her hovering over him.
Leo grabbed her wrists and squeezed out her name. “’Livia.”
Her eyes were stark-raving wild. And he was having serious difficulty breathing.
Something snapped inside of her, and her hands jolted off his neck almost as quickly as they’d clasped on.
“Oh my God.”
The door to the room flew open.
“What the hell is going on?”
Isaac’s image at the door cleared through the fuzz in Leo’s brain.
“I’m sorry.” Olivia pulled her hair back, looked at his neck. “Did I hurt you?”
“Leo?” Isaac said.
Sasha and Lars had joined the party.
“I’m okay,” he coughed. “She woke up confused.”
“Olivia? Are you all right?” Sasha asked.
Olivia’s chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. She sat back, her body still straddling Leo’s. “I’m fine.”
Not that she sounded convinced.
“Leo?”
He dropped his hands to his side. “I’m good. We’re good.”
“Okay, boys. Show’s over.” Sasha ushered the others away and closed the door.
Olivia shifted her weight off his body. Her butt hit the floor, and her back moved to the side of the bed.
“What is wrong with me?”
Leo pushed himself up until he was sitting beside her.
He noticed a bottle of water on her bedside table and reached for it. Once the water went down the right pipe, giving him some assurance that nothing inside was broken, he returned what was left to the nightstand.
“I scared you. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.”
“Maybe it’s not normal . . . but it is okay.”
“I was dreaming.”
“It sounded more like a nightmare. I heard you from the other room and came in to check. When you didn’t wake up right away, I nudged you.”
She leaned her head back, closed her eyes. “I was in hell. Burning flesh and piercing rocks. And then I was in the stacks at school. We were trying not to get caught. Then someone came behind me and put a hand over my mouth. And then I’m kneeling over you trying to break your windpipe.”
He reached over and clasped her cold hand in his. “Just a