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“Really?” She was suddenly giddy with excitement. “I like her. She’s pretty and nice, and her niece and nephew were so polite and smart. I think dinner would be a great way for you to get to know her without the pressure of a first date. How romantic is this? You taking an interest in the woman nursing you back to health.”

“Stop with the dramatics, Syd. That’s not what this is.”

“Then what it is exactly?”

His gaze lingered on the door to his room as if he could still see Bridget standing there with her sable hair swinging against her face, one hand in the pocket of her scrubs while the other pushed her cart.

“I don’t know. I can’t shake the feeling there’s more to her than meets the eye. But it’s not important. Let’s talk work before I go stir crazy sitting in this place.”

“I didn’t come here to talk work. Jay and the others have it under control. You need to forget about De la Peña for now.”

“I can’t. My cover was solid for a year, and all of a sudden they accuse me of being a snitch. The only thing that makes sense is I was set up, and I have a hunch who did it. I don’t know how they figured it out. I gave nothing away. I was too careful.”

“The truth is the guys haven’t turned up much to go on. If you have a hunch on where they might be searching, you need to call Jay. Any lead is better than what they have now.”

Zane nodded. “Okay. I’ll call Jay and tell him my theory. They gave my mom my cell phone when I was admitted, and she finally brought it to me last night. I was pretty out of it when I was in the ICU, but I’m starting to remember more since I’m off the painkillers. They were messing with my head.”

“They were necessary. Regardless of what you Alpha Team guys think, you aren’t superheroes. Take the meds. Better to sleep than to be in pain.”

He shook his head. “I need a clear head if I’m going to be of any use to the team. Once I talk to Jay, if the pain is worse, I’ll have Bridget give me something.”

“I would try to convince you to wait until tomorrow to call Jay so you can rest now, but I already know you’re not going to agree to it. So I’ll go. You do what you need to. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She stood and leaned forward to drop a kiss to his cheek. The soft feel of her lips against his skin was sweet torture.

“Take care of yourself. Please. I’m not sure I can handle it if something happens to you.”

“I’m fine, Syd. I’m not going anywhere, and nothing is going to happen to me. I promise.”

They both knew he couldn’t keep the promise in their line of work, but she accepted it for now.

Once he was alone, he reached into the drawer of the nightstand beside his hospital bed. He withdrew a notepad and pen the hospital provided, and he began jotting down all of the thoughts jumbling through his mind, crossing out the ones which had more to do with the women in his life than his case.

Chapter Eight

Bridget saved Zane’s room for last as she checked on her patients before the end of her shift. The man had trouble written all over him, and yet he stayed on her mind all night. She reminded herself he all but admitted to being in love with Sydney, but after seeing her with Cole the night they stopped to help her, Bridget was sure Zane’s feelings went unrequited. She could have kicked herself for allowing her mind to wonder if he’d let her help him forget all about his feelings for his friend.

The man had her twisted in knots.

She blamed it on being sex deprived. Since becoming a guardian, her love life had been put on hold. She’d tried juggling her responsibilities with dating in the first couple of months she had Marlowe and Mathias, and it had been a disaster. She could never relax and enjoy the date when her niece and nephew were grieving.

So now all of her attention went to Mathias and Marlowe, which she didn’t regret one bit. But when faced with a fine-looking man, her libido went into overdrive, and she wasn’t prepared for that.

One benefit to her wandering thoughts was she’d managed to figure out what to do. After one quick stop in Zane’s room, she could head home, send the kids off to school and log in some quality time with her vibrator.

“Bridget! Wait up!”

Her hand had pushed open the door to Zane’s room when she heard someone call her. Leaving it cracked, she turned to see Seth Masters hurrying toward her, a charming smile splitting his face. She quickly glanced around her to see if Charlotte or Amy hovered close by, but they were with their own patients. She was left to face the infamous Dr. Flirtatious on her own.

“Dr. Masters. I’m surprised to see you on this floor. Taking a short cut to the ED?”

He stopped in front of her, not even a little out of breath from his quick pace. For some crazy reason, knowing he was in better shape than she was annoyed her.

This had to be what annoyed her, right? It couldn’t be that he stopped her from going into Zane’s room and delayed the end of her shift. Could it?

“I was actually about to head out. I was hoping to catch you before you left. I’d love to treat you to breakfast, sort of as a welcome to Lenfield Medical. Nothing fancy. Just this diner on Main Street which stays open twenty-four hours. Their pastries are really good.”

She stood dumbstruck. She thought the good doctor only wanted to flirt with her as the new nurse in town. She had no idea he would ask her out. With what Charlotte told her about his influence at the hospital, she almost put aside her rule about not dating co-workers so she wouldn’t make any waves. She needed this job. Being in Grayson Cove was too important for Mathias and Marlowe for her to blow her one employment opportunity in the small town.

“I, uh, I’m sorry. I have to get home to my niece and nephew. I need to make sure they eat breakfast and head off to school on time.”