“They look like spiders.”Betrys pressed a hand to Leo’s chest to keep him flat.“Don’t move.Casey needs to suture you up.”
“Make sure there aren’t any more in there,” Leo ordered.
“That’s what I’m doing,” Casey said.“Hand me the sterilizer liquid.”
Scarlett passed her the bottle, and Casey sprayed the region.
“No, I don’t think anything else is in there.I’m going to close the wound now.We’ll know in a couple of days if there are more problems.I couldn’t see another foreign object, but we’re working blind here.There, all done.You’ll know when you’re ready to shift.”
“As soon as the numbness wears off.”Leo glanced at the jar and shuddered.“Are you sure you got them all?”
“I think so,” Casey answered.
“Thanks,” Leo said in a gruff voice and looked at Saber.“Help me to my room?I’m so tired.Didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Sure.”
Scarlett held up the jar and studied the contents with a moue of disgust.“They’ve stopped moving.”
“Yeah, I think the vinegar has done the job,” Sly said.
Casey set down her needle and stripped off her gloves.“Or it might have been because they weren’t quite ready to hatch yet.”
“Do you have anything to add, Betrys?”Saber asked.
Betrys shivered in ghoulish fascination as she stared at the things Casey had dug from Leo.“This has never happened before.I don’t think Iseult has any idea—that’s if she’s responsible.”
“She must be,” Felix said.“It’s too much of a coincidence that they grew in the wound she inflicted.”
Betrys nodded.“Iseult’s behavior has been off recently.Her guards too.I thought…maybe… I don’t know what I thought.I’ve never seen them act with…with such exuberance.”She shivered.“They’ve been singing, and it’s plain creepy.”
“While Leo is sleeping, we’ll work out a plan to retrieve your son.”Saber helped Leo off the table.
“In my room,” Leo said.“Need Betrys to stay with me.”
Saber frowned, his forehead furrowing, before he gave a clipped nod.Shades of Leo, Betrys thought.That was what he looked like when he was unhappy or thinking.The brothers were so alike.Even Scarlett’s facial expressions fell into line with her brothers.It was very obvious they were siblings.
“I’m in.”Felix straightened.
“Me too.”Casey’s chin lifted in challenge when her husband’s face screwed up into what Betrys was beginning to think of as the Mitchell scowl.“I’d be an asset at a clandestine job.You know it.”
Felix’s frown softened.“I know, sweetheart.”
“I’m in,” Sly said.“Joe will want to help too.”
Saber nodded.“Four of you should be able to do the job.”
“She hasn’t confirmed her booking yet,” Scarlett said.“What if I contacted her and asked if she still wanted to stay at the resort, tell her it’s a courtesy call because there is a waiting list of women wanting to holiday at Middlemarch Resort.If she doesn’t want to confirm her booking, then we’ll give her place to someone else.”
Saber helped Leo stand and slipped his arm around Leo’s waist.“Good idea.Go do that now, because if Iseult doesn’t come to the resort, it will make Ricci’s retrieval more difficult.”
Ten minutes later, she and Saber were inside Leo’s room in his private bungalow.
“Do you think you can shift now?”Saber asked.
“No.Put the jar over there.I want to look at the egg sac later and know the things inside are dead.”
Concern flashed across Saber’s features as he placed the jar on a shelf filled with entertainment vids.“I’ll leave them here.If any of our men are tempted to sign Iseult’s contract, we’ll show them these.”
