Page 23 of Playing the Game
“Beauty, I need to get up and put a team in place.”
“Okay.” She pulls away. “I’m going to go back to the hospital.”
“Now?”
“As soon as you have security in place. I need to be there to make sure nobody can hurt him again.” She inhales a choppy breath.
I examine her for a moment. She’s not going to let me keep her here.
I glance off to the side to think of a plan that Dorothy will agree to. “Let me get a team on him too. That way, you can get some sleep, have a decent meal, and then go see him in the morning.”
Her hopeful eyes snap to my face. “You would do that for him?”
“Yes. I can’t stand seeing you like this. Having someone watch over him will give you some peace of mind, and you’ll be able to calm down. And believe it or not, I never wanted this to happen.”
“I know that.”
I point to the window. “He doesn’t deserve to be lying in a hospital bed clinging to life. I never meant to have anyone involved in whatever is in store for me.”
She flinches like I just slapped her across the face. Cries bounce out of her mouth because she’s trying to hold them in but can’t. I’m lost over what to say or do. Every time I say something, I upset her.
She tilts her head with tears cascading down her cheeks. “You think your mom is behind this, don’t you?”
My throat goes dry. “I don’t know, but it’s the only thing I can think of. Although, why she would go after Jamison is a mystery.”
“But it’s not him she’s after. The lasers were on me. Why?” Dorothy wipes her eyes with her sleeves.
“Ava said she was too calm the last time I spoke to her. She told me she didn’t think my mother was done with us.”
Dorothy’s eyes narrow. “When did you talk to Ava?”
“Right after we got back from Paris. She stopped by the office.” I push off the bed and rake my hands through my hair. “I wasn’t trying to hide it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Fuck, Dorothy. I was blissed out over being back together with you. I set up security for Ava and left it at that. Nothing happened, and you even had me take the team off you because you thought I was overreacting. I didn’t think this would occur.”
Dorothy gets off the bed. “But something did happen. I was being followed a week ago.”
“You told me you weren’t sure. We talked about it right after I picked you up from Jamison’s apartment.” I fist myhands and shake my head. “I should’ve known, or at least put a team back on you.”
She stares at me for a moment. I sit on the bed to give myself some time to think.
How can I get ahead of this situation?
She disappears into the closet and comes out fully dressed. “We can go round and round with where we went wrong. It doesn’t change the fact that because of me, Jami’s…in the hospital. I need to be there with him. Please get a team together so I can go to him.”
If I don’t do what she wants, she’ll go without security on her. There’s no way I’m letting that take place.
My blood pressure rises, and I stand. “Give me twenty minutes. We can leave once I get the details. It should be fast since they have all the specifics from before.”
Resolve anchors in her expression. “Hunter, I don’t want you to go with me.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s best if you’re not around him. Jami needs a supportive and loving group of people to watch over him and provide care. Not someone like you. It’s not in his best interest.”
“But you need me.”
