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“We were, but you were at the station,” Tesa reminds him. “Did you just get in?”
“Mmhmm. I wanted to be sure those drugs went where they needed to,” Griff grumbles. “We’ve cleaned up the police force over the last ten years, but that doesn’t mean shit doesn’t happen.” Griff’s eyes open and roll to look at me. “How’s he doing? How are you?”
I’m not the one who almost died, but I appreciate that they’re worried about me.
“He’s good right now, Griff. Ror is sleeping, and it looks like he’ll make a full recovery. I am just pissed that I stopped paying attention,” I sigh. “I knew he was struggling, so I asked him to talk to me when Lennon first went missing, but he kept pushing me off. And then he started avoiding me and going running, so I made the mistake of thinking he’d found an outlet,” I confess.
Tori bumps my ankle with her outstretched foot as she thinks. “I was in a really dark place when Anthony was stalking me. I think the only reason I’m still here is because I loved my baby and I had people checking on me. I’m not gonna lie, there were times it was suffocating,” she admits. “It helped, though. Roark fought when he realized there was something wrong with the drugs and that means something. He was looking for an escape, but not…”
“…Not for forever,” I finish with a nod. “He wants to go with us to get Lennon, but I don’t know if he’ll be strong enough.”
Mama Rodriguez rolls her eyes. “I can make him some tea that will help him push through the rest of the effects of the drugs,mijo.I refuse to be in the house when he finds out he was left behind. Nope, with all due respect… fuck that,” she states and Miguel groans.
“Mama, you’ve been hanging out with Griff too much. He’s a bad influence,” Miguel laments.
I chuckle softly because he curses almost as often. Miguel is no one’s angel.
“Aye Miguelito, you’re always trying to spoil my fun,” Mama Rodriguez sighs. “My Roark is a fighter. I could see in his eyes when I found him that he knew he had made a mistake. Don’t beat him up too badly about it. A meeting after all of this insanity is over wouldn't be a bad idea though. Just the two cents from an old woman who cares,” she says with a soft smile.
She begins to stand and I jump up and help her. My mother would have come down from heaven and smacked me if I stayed sitting down.
Mama Rodriguez smiles as she pats my face. “All of my boys are such good boys,” she murmurs before walking down the hall.
Staring after her, I shake my head. “I kind of got the feeling she hated me,” I snort.
Tesa shrugs. “My mother has mood swings. Some of us have to work to stay on her good side more than others.”
Tori grins and I’m sure there’s a story there somewhere.
Miguel grunts as he looks down at his phone. “We’re going to needMama’sherbal concoctions afterall, it looks like Greg got his kill order, and you’re cleared to fly out from our air strip tonight. Wear dark clothes, you’re walking off the private flight and right into the car to go get Lennon,” he relays.
“Woah,” I say in disbelief. We’ve been waiting and waiting for so long, this is hard to believe.
“Bureaucracy at its finest,” Griff says, half asleep. “I wanted to murder Greg when he told me his hands were tied with our Tori-girl. I know how bad the red tape is, and I was still so angry. I’m just glad you’ll have support on the ground when you go in. We should all get some sleep. The children are going to descend upon us soon.”
My lips twitch in amusement because as dramatic as he’s being, he’s not wrong.
Saying goodnight, I walk into the room I share with Roark, and climb in next to him. He twitches as I lay back and I bite my lip as I turn out the light.
“Turner?” he rasps softly and I swallow.
“Yeah?”
“I’m really sorry for being an idiot. I swear, everything just got to be too much and—”
“I feel it too, but I have good news,” I tell him as I snuggle as close to him as possible, putting my hand on his chest.
The IV is in his left arm, so thankfully I don’t have to worry about jostling it.
“I need good news,” he whispers and I nod.
“We’re going to get our girl, so let’s get some sleep. Then, you’re going to drink whatever nasty shit Mama Rodriguez is making you downstairs to help combat the drugs’ side effects, okay?”
Roark chuckles. “Heavy lies the crown of the chosen, yeah?”
I can’t help the giggle that escapes as he jokes. “You’re ridiculous, and I love you. You scared the shit out of me, Ror. You’re my first love. I need you.”
Roark swallows thickly, and I know he’s holding back tears as he squeezes my hand. “Aye, and you’re mine. We both shut down on each other,” he tells me and I grunt in agreement.
