Page 119 of Playing With Love

Seven hours?

How was that possible?

“How much pain meds did they dope me with?”

“Not much. You were in shock, your body needed rest,” Lenox informed me. “Which you need more of. So I’m gonna give you this last part, then you’re gonna take another nap.”

“I want to go to Nashville. I want to see Tucker.”

“And you will after⁠—”

“No. Now.”

“Liza.” Lenox pulled his authoritative growl. “I swear to you, Lily and I will personally drive you there as soon as your doctor gives you the all clear. He wants you under observation for twenty-four hours. You’re seven hours into that. You got seventeen hours to go, then we’ll be on the road.”

I didn’t want to wait seventeen hours.

I wanted to go right now. I needed to see Tucker. I needed to tell him that I wanted him to tell me he loved me so I could say it back. I wanted to tell him I was sorry for being such a pain in the ass. I wanted to thank him for sticking with me. I wanted to tell him I wanted that family he’d talked about.

I didn’t get a chance to tell Lenox I was going to check myself out against doctor’s orders before he went on.

“Luke’s in Nashville with Tucker. Trey and Carter are out hunting. Allyson gave me the thumb drive she found in the basement. I gave it to Greg. There are STL and CAD files for a variety of different calibers of weapons. Ally also gave us the video she took of the basement. Jake’s house on the compound was raided, as were the outbuildings. All the ingredients needed to cook meth were present. As was fentanyl. Mackenzie’s in custody claiming she had no idea Jake was cooking drugs. She admitted to lying about Jake being her brother but saying she did that so the members would feel comfortable with him living there. And he was living there because she felt sorry for him and he needed a place to stay and she needed a handyman. That’s all they got out of her before she lawyered up, and nothing was found in her home when searched.”

My gaze slid to Allyson.

“I haven’t been back,” she told me. “But I spoke to Colleen and she told me people are already packing up and moving out.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about. You didn’t infest our community with drugs.”

She was right, but I still felt horrible.

“Sorry. I couldn’t stop her,” a woman I couldn’t see said.

Lenox and Ally both looked to the door behind me. Since I was on my side facing the windows and the chairs meant for visitors to use while sitting vigil…vigil, ugh, I never wanted to hear that word again, I couldn’t see who had entered the room.

“Oh my God.”

I knew that voice.

My mother.

“Your back. It looks horrible.”

Well, that was nice to know it looked like it felt. And being that it felt horrible I didn’t chance rolling onto it.

“What are you doing here, Mom?” I inquired.

Allyson vacated the chair and came to stand close to my bed near my head. Lenox didn’t move but he did take my mother in from top to toe and he did this with a scowl.

“I’ve been trying to get in to see you for thirty minutes,” she informed me.

That didn’t explain why she was in Tennessee when she herself had just been released from the hospital and according to my father, needed home care.

“Your father was notified of your accident.”

Ah. There it was. My parents were my emergency contact. The agency would of course notify them of injury or death.