Page 6 of Covert Mission

“We’ll be ready in case you do. Updates every two hours.”

“Copy that.” Teagan slid her phone into her fanny pack with one of her knives and finished the rest of the mile back to her SUV at a dead run.

Minutes later, she climbed into her vehicle and drove to Ardmore Hospital. She walked into the lobby of the emergency room and approached one of the desk clerks. “An ambulance brought my boyfriend, Seth Dixon, here a few minutes ago. I want to see him.”

“Name?”

“Teagan Paloni.”

“Have a seat, Ms. Paloni.”

So, she’d stretched the truth a bit by claiming to be in a relationship with Seth. He needed someone who had his back. The way things were looking, one of several people could be behind the attack on Seth, and he wouldn’t know who to blame because he hadn’t seen his attacker.

Her hands clenched. Didn’t matter that he was a cop. Seth was hurt. His reflexes wouldn’t be at full speed for a while, and Teagan could protect him.

The security guard approached Teagan. “Ms. Paloni?”

“Yes.”

“Come with me, please.”

Huh. Looked like her claim to be Seth’s girlfriend worked. Did that mean the handsome detective had verified her claim to another cop or one of the medical personnel?

The guard waved a badge in front of a scanner and led Teagan through a maze of corridors to a small exam room. He motioned to the closed door. “Your boyfriend is in there.”

“Thanks.” Teagan waited until the security guard left before she knocked on the door and stepped inside.

Seth lay on his side on a hospital bed. Although he still wore his running pants and shoes, a hospital gown covered his upper torso.

He smiled when he saw Teagan. “Hey,” he murmured and held out his hand.

She wrapped her hand around his. “Hi.”

“So, you’re my girlfriend.” His eyes lit with amusement.

“It’s the only way I could get in to see you. Sorry about that.”

“I’m not.”

Teagan blinked. “You’re not?”

“Nope. I’d planned to ask you out to dinner during our run this morning. This saves me some time.”

“Really?” Well, well. Looked as though she and Seth were on the same page after all.

“Oh, yeah. I wanted more time with you than drinking a cup of coffee.” He grimaced. “This isn’t what I’d envisioned, though.”

“How do you feel?”

“Like my head is about to explode.”

“Head injuries and concussions are painful,” she said, sympathetic to his plight. In the course of her work, she’d suffered a few of those herself.

Seth’s gaze sharpened. “Sounds like the voice of experience.”

“Unfortunately.”

“An accident?”