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“Good choices.” She added his requests to her bag. “Let’s get out of here and wait for the others in the garage.”
They rode the elevator to the garage level and stored the weapons in the back of her SUV. “How do you feel?” Teagan asked.
“I’ve been worse.”
“Headache?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Did you take the pain meds this morning?”
Silence.
Uh huh. Stubborn man. “Is the pain worse than last night?”
More silence.
Really? He preferred to suffer than take the help offered? She rolled her eyes. Seth was as stubborn about pain meds as Teagan and her teammates. “Is the nausea better at least?”
He nodded.
Well, that was some improvement. When Violet and Noah exited the elevator, Teagan used a hand signal to alert Violet that Seth needed her skills.
Her teammate handed Noah the key fob to her SUV and her Go bag and set her mike bag in front of Seth. She folded her arms. “Which is it? Head or stomach?”
The handsome detective glared at Teagan. “How did you rat me out? We haven’t been separated for a minute.”
“She didn’t have to tell me anything.” Violet unzipped her mike bag. “Your face being the color of paste says it all, my friend. So, stomach, head, or both?”
He sighed. “Head.”
“When did you take your last pain pill?”
“Last night,” he muttered.
“They don’t help if you don’t take them,” she said mildly. Violet handed him two capsules and a small bottle of water. “If you let the pain get ahead of you, it’s harder to kill. Just saying, Detective Dixon.”
He swallowed the capsules without a word of protest.
The pain must have been bad if he stopped grousing that easily. For all his concern about her, Teagan was worried about Seth’s mission readiness. Groups like The Brotherhood took advantage of every weakness and would use any excuse to keep him out of the militia if they felt he couldn’t pull his own weight.
“Look, I don’t want to get on your bad side this early in our friendship, but I’m going to do it, anyway.”
“Would it do any good to ask you to hold the lecture?”
“No. We don’t have time for me to play nice. So here goes. I’ve watched you and Teagan for the past 24 hours. I think you both have powerful feelings for each other, a good thing, since we’re going undercover soon. If you won’t take pain meds to stay operational for yourself, do it for Teagan. If you go down, she won’t leave your side.”
Seth frowned.
“Do you understand what I’m saying, Seth?”
“If I’m not fast enough to protect myself, Teagan will do it for me, possibly at the cost of her life.”
“Exactly. The best way to keep her alive is to give yourself every advantage. You must be mobile to protect Teagan. Otherwise, she’ll lose her life right along with you. I’ll be back in a minute.” Violet zipped her mike bag again and handed it to Noah. “Don’t let them leave without me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Noah said. His gaze followed her progress to the elevator. “That is one intense woman,” he murmured.
“If you’re ever in a situation where you need her medical skills, you’ll be glad she’s intense and well trained.” Teagan opened the passenger door for Seth. “We’ll leave as soon as Violet returns.”