She was?
“Yep. I don’t lie, Genevieve.”
She sighed. She knew he didn’t lie. He also didn’t forgive. Even in her dreams, he was as hard and unyielding as ever.
“You’re not dreaming. Although perhaps you might wish you were.”
Not dreaming? What was he talking about?
She had to be dreaming. Because there was no way Wolfe would actually be anywhere near her. He hated her.
“I do.”
See? So she had to be dreaming. She’d missed them all so much.
Her only family.
“Funny way of treating family,” he said coldly. “You walked away from us. Tore out Aleki’s heart. Didn’t I tell you that if you left then you couldn’t come back? That there would be no forgiveness.”
He had. He’d chased her down after she’d broken up with Aleki. Tears dripped down her face as she remembered the way he’d looked at her. As though she was dirt. Nothing.
A sob escaped.
“What’s going on?” Caleb demanded suddenly. Was he going to tell her that he hated her as well?
“Of course I’m not. Damn it, Wolfe, what have you been saying to her? Why is she crying? Did she wake up? Did you do this to her?”
“I was just talking to her. She thinks she’s dreaming. She believes that we all hate her.”
“Well, did you tell her that’s not fucking true?”
She whimpered.
“Easy, jelly bean, I’m not mad at you.”
“No,” Wolfe said dryly. “He’s mad at me for telling you the truth.”
“We don’t hate her, Wolfe,” Caleb insisted.
“Maybe you don’t,” Wolfe drawled.
“What’s going on?” Aleki asked. “Why is she crying? Is she having a nightmare?”
“Wolfe has been talking to her,” Caleb said darkly.
“What? She woke up? What did she say? Vivi?” Aleki asked.
“You all hate me,” she said in a small, childlike voice.
“No, we don’t, jelly bean,” Caleb soothed. “Would we be here if we hated you?”
“I’m here because you insisted on coming here to find her,” Wolfe told him.
She winced. Wolfe wouldn’t spit on her if she was on fire.
A large hand wrapped around her small one. Warm. Rough with callouses. She didn’t care. Just having someone touch her with love rather than indifference or hate . . .
It meant everything.