No, but she didn’t like being a patient. And if her sister returned to her apartment—or if the man who’d threatened her did—she wanted to be there.
Liam stepped from the room, and she dressed quickly. Bruises darkened her chest and arms and legs. She was sore all over, but nothing was broken. All in all, she’d come out of that crash better than she’d expected.
She was alive. So was her mother. That was all that mattered.
By the time Liam returned with the nurse, she was dressed and ready to leave.
“Let’s check your vitals one more time,” the nurse said. “The doctor wants to make sure they’re stable before he releases you.”
Peyton choked back a protest. She knew the drill, but impatience nagged at her. Knowing what it was like to deal with difficult patients, she allowed the nurse to do her job. The doctor came in a few minutes later and examined her.
“Do you feel nauseated? Any dizziness?”
She shook her head. “I know the symptoms of a concussion and what to do. But I’m fine. Really.”
He signed off on her release and the nurse hurried to retrieve a wheelchair. Liam stood silently by, watching quietly. When the nurse entered with the chair, Peyton told her she wanted to go see her mother, and the nurse pushed her to the elevator. Again, Liam stood by, quiet and protective. When they reached her mother’s room, he spoke with the deputy who was dressed in scrubs as a disguise.
Joanna was asleep in the recliner, so Peyton dismissed the nurse, then crossed the room to her mother’s bed. Joanna stirred from sleep and looked up at her just as Peyton pressed her hand over her mother’s.
Her hand felt warm, a good sign. And her breathing seemed steadier.
“They took her off the oxygen and she’s breathing on her own,” Joanna said.
Another good sign. Except that her mother still hadn’t woken up. “I don’t understand why she hasn’t regained consciousness,” she murmured.
“Her body obviously needs rest,” Joanna reminded her. “You know age makes it more difficult to recover. But she’ll come through this.”
Peyton didn’t like to be reminded of her mother’s age. No matter what she did, one day her mother would leave this world.
Pain squeezed at her heart. Then she would be all alone.
And that thought terrified her.
Chapter Fifteen
“Any problems last night?” Liam asked Deputy Rowan.
The deputy shook his head no. “Mrs. Weiss rested all night. Joanna stayed in the room with her and talked to the nurses when they checked her vitals.” He glanced at his watch. “Sheriff Maverick is sending over my replacement soon.”
“Thanks,” Liam said. “Go home and get some rest yourself. Hopefully this protective detail won’t last long, but until we figure out who tried to kill Mrs. Weiss, we can’t leave her without protection.”
Liam poked his head in and asked Peyton and Joanna if they wanted coffee. Joanna stood and stretched. “I’m going home to shower and get to work.”
“I’d like coffee,” Peyton said softly.
“I’ll be right back.”
Liam took the elevator to the lower floor. A flurry of noise came from the ER as the doors whooshed open and two medics rushed in pushing a gurney. Miller Conrad raced beside them, his breath panting out.
Liam veered into the waiting area just as the medics started to push Conrad’s mother through the double doors. “What happened?”
“She’s having trouble breathing. I didn’t want her to die at home.” Anguish tinged his tone. “I have to go.” Conrad raced behind his mother and the medics through the double doors.
Liam headed to the cafeteria, picked up a couple of muffins and coffee, then texted Bennett. Update on Miller Conrad and Herbert Brantley?
Bennett responded, Working on it.
He sent Jacob a text, too. Exhumation?
Jacob: Ten o’clock this morning. Will keep you posted.
Antsy, Liam strode back to the elevator and hurried upstairs to check on Peyton. When he arrived at her mother’s room, the deputies were trading shifts. Peyton sat by her mother’s bed, her head bowed.
His heart ached for her. She looked so lost, alone and terrified that he wanted to make things right for her.
Deputy Rowan briefed the other deputy, then Liam showed him a photo of Herbert Brantley, then one of Miller Conrad. “If one of these men shows up, call me immediately. And do not, for any reason, allow them to enter Mrs. Weiss’s room.”
He didn’t like the fact that Conrad was downstairs, in the same hospital as Peyton’s mother. He didn’t like it one damn bit.