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Lev looks away, clearly disagreeing.
“Ghost?”
He doesn’t turn back, so I get up and go to him. “Hey, talk to me. Please.”
His brows pinch and his lip trembles. He reaches out, pulling me into his lap and wrapping his arms around me. His nose goes to my hair and he breathes me in, then looks over at Damien.
“Lev hasn’t spoken since you were taken.”
I gasp, sitting up straight. “What?”
“Selective mutism is a normal response to trauma,” Dr. K adds in. As if anything about what we’ve been through isnormal.
“But I’m back now.” Not that it had everything to do with me, but why is he still not talking?
“That’s not really how this works. When you were taken, a piece of Lev’s brain referred to as the amygdala was triggered. This is the part of our brain that warns our body of danger, or creates that sense of danger. When it’s triggered in adults, we can sometimes move past it. But when it becomes flooded with fear, it will do something to protect itself. For some reason, for Lev, not talking is what makes that part of his brain feel safe. He doesn’t just need you back, he needs reassurance. His brain needs to one hundred percent believe that if he speaks, you won’t disappear.”
My chest burns with a new sort of pain. I had no idea how much me making that move would have hurt them all. Lev not talking, and Damien having to get back on his anxiety medications in order to sleep. I’m not sure what happened with Alexi, but I can see he doesn’t feel like himself with the amount of times he’s adjusted his suit jacket.
Fuck. I really messed up.
“I think in about a week Evie will be ready to come home with you guys and…”
I put my hand up. My family is hurting. The men I love are struggling and they need me. They need to know that what we have isn’t broken.
“I’m going with them now.”
“Princess?” Alexi questions. We all saw my moment back there, but it is what it is. I can get better with them even if it’s a little harder on me. I know it. But more than that, I have to make it up to them. Ihaveto find a way to make this right.
“You want to argue with me,Daddy?” I lift one brow in a challenge. His nostrils flare but one side of his lips lifts up.
“Evie, you still have a lot to work on with sleeping and…”
“Is there a place by our house where Dr. K can stay?” I ask Alexi. He knows me, and he knows I’m not going to budge here.
He turns to look at her. “You are welcome to stay here. In fact, the house is in your name. Both the house and car are yours as payment and a symbol of gratitude for relocating as swiftly as you were able. It is a twenty-minute drive to the tower we will be staying in. If that feels like too far of a drive, then I can find you a home closer to us, or I would be happy to send a driver for you.”
I lean forward and hit him on the shoulder. He looks at me with pinched brows and wide eyes.
“Maybe ask her if she wants to continue working for us before you say shit like that?”
“Princess, she moved here for us. Dr. K is officially on the Bratva payroll and has been put under our protection as soon as she signed the contract. Trust me when I tell you, she wants to help us. It is in her best interest.”
I look at Dr. K who seems to have paled. “Did he force you into this?”
Her attention snaps to me. “Not at all. He’s doing me a favor.”
“Do you want to live here?” I ask, feeling like I’m turning into the therapist for a moment.
The house, or mini-mansion, as Laney keeps calling it, is huge. It makes me laugh every damn time she says it. I can’t imagine Dr. K not wanting to live in this place, but I want it to be clear that she has a choice.
“This is way above my paygrade,” she says as if she didn’t single-handedly save my mental health as well as all three of my guys. I give her a bored stare, clearly communicating that it’s the dumbest thing she has said all week.
She heaves out a dramatic sigh. “Okay, yes. I like this house very much, and my living quarters are much above my usual standard.”
“Great,” Alexi says as he stands, shaking her hand. “It is yours. We will see you tomorrow then?”
She stands and shakes his hand with a firm grip before letting out an irritated breath. “I suppose if you’re not going to take my advice then yes, that would be best.”
