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I just… I’m struggling. Greg sent medical personnel to the house, and arrived before the ambulance did. He really does have every contingency planned, and I’m grateful he had Naloxone nasal spray stocked in his house for a rainy day. I may give him a lot of shit, but I’ll look at things differently now that his planning essentially saved Ror.
Sighing, I look down at the bed where he’s sleeping. Greg has a male nurse staying the night to check on him, but to be honest, Roark is going to pull through fine. It’s a lot more than any of us deserve at the moment.
“Turner,” says a soft voice, and I turn with a small smile. This woman also saved Roark.
“Yes, Mama Rodriguez?”
“Come out here, let the boy rest. He’s going to be asleep for a while. Poor, sweet boy,” she coos.
Smirking, I stand and step outside. Of course my burly Irish man has charmed Mama Rodriguez. Even after he’s done something monumentally stupid, she still wants to dote on him.
“Now as for you,” she growls and my eyes widen. It’s almost six in the morning and I’m about to be eaten alive by this Latinx grandmother.
“What did I do?” I gasp.
“You’re in trouble now,” Tesa says smugly, leaning against the wall. No one looks tired in this house, and I’m going to attribute it to having kids and not super powers.
“Mama, please don’t eat him alive,” Miguel sighs as he walks down the hall towards us with Tori and Link.
“Ugh, is this the equivalent of a family meeting?” I groan, sliding down the wall until my ass hits the hardwood floor.
“Kind of,” Tori says as she sits as well.
Apparently we’re all going to hang out in the hallway for this.It’s just as well, because kids are going to start waking up soon and I want to be near Roark.
“It’s no secret now that Roark is struggling,” Link sighs as he leans forward. “Something is triggering this need for drugs inside of him, and this whole situation with Lennon is—”
“Fucked up, wrong, awful, makes me want to beat the shit out of people,” I growl and Link nods without judgment. “Roark started struggling the second Lennon was taken. She’s his anchor, and Derek helps Roark feel lighter. All he has is me, and let’s face it, I’m not enough,” I shrug.
Their eyes all widen and Tori shakes her head. “No. No!” she insists as I look away. “His drug addiction isn’t your fault, it’s just compounded by how shitty the situation is. Mr. Xav has been pulling strings for years, protecting stalkers and predators. He did it for my ex, and I almost ended up in a cage.” Tori blows out a breath as she struggles to regain some control.
She’s definitely come a long way from letting her emotions spiral over the years.
“Look. This isn’t your fault. That’s what we all wanted to tell you. I spoke to Greg, and he found out Xav has a penchant for running street drugs and altering them occasionally. He’ll drop them to the local drug runners and they’ll infiltrate clubs. When Roark wakes up, Miguel is going to ask him if he remembers anything about the person who gave him the pills.”
My head drops back as I sigh. “Roark and I didn’t know how to handle last night’s news. You all know what’s going on, because I know Greg is keeping you all in the loop.”
Everyone except for Mama Rodriguez nods. She clicks her tongue in annoyance. “As sound proof as these walls are, I have my ways of finding things out. No one tells me anything. But that’s not the point,” she continues as everyone hides their smiles from her. She’s in her seventies and still scaring everyone.
I think it’s awesome.
“Roark is depressed, and he likely feels like it was his job to protect you all,” Link says.
“It’s our job to protect Lavender, yes,” I accept. “I’ve been thinking about that night over and over. I was meeting with fans when she left the stadium. She was drugged and anxious and pissed off, and rightly so. Layla being her sister is kind of a mind fuck. Who the hell fucks off to have another family?”
Mama Rodriguez exchanges a look with Tesa and Miguel sighs. “Mama, this is one of the only instances where I’m totally okay with you poisoning Lennon’s father.El cabrón debe sufrir.”
Mama Rodriguez grins evilly and I find myself excited to find out how that ends for James. They’ll keep her from killing him. Maybe.
“Back to the point,” Tori says with a small smile. “You and Roark need to focus on connecting and supporting each other through this. Those drugs were just too much of a temptation for him. He needed an escape, and he would have found it if those pills hadn’t been laced with fentanyl.”
Son of a bitch.If this really was Xav, I’m going to beat him with my bat until he begs for mercy, and then shove Sally up his ass.
“You had the rest of the drugs tested?” I guess.
Tori nods. “Miguel is having some issues with drugs being run through the clubs. Specifically Club Rodriguez, which is where we tend to go. So he’s working with the police on this. We forfeited half the pills,” she smirks. “The rest we ran through our private lab. The police take too long,” Tori complains and Miguel chuckles as he tucks her into him.
“Are y’all having a family meeting without me?” Griffin asks, walking down the hall and collapsing next to Tesa. Yawning, he snuggles into her lap. She smiles as she looks down and plays with his hair.
