Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,79

the TV screen is the sappy holiday Hallmark movie I was watching, but Liam doesn’t need to know about that.

Whiskey is snoozing next to me on the couch. He’s not supposed to be there, but he doesn’t seem to care.

And at this point, neither do I.

We both miss Chloe.

I accept the call. “What’s up?”

“It’s Chloe,” Liam says by way of a greeting. His tone has me jumping to my feet. “Adam called. There’s been an accident. The paramedics are transporting her to St. John’s hospital.”

My long legs eat up the distance between the couch and the foyer. “Is she okay?” I already know the answer. I can hear it in his tone.

I snatch up my jeep keys from the side table.

“I have no idea. Adam couldn’t tell me anything beyond where they’re taking her.”

“I’m on my way.” I end the call.

The drive to the hospital takes far too long. The urge to channel my inner race-car driver accelerates, and I have to fight not to press my foot on the gas and weave through the traffic.

I also have to fight the urge to drive in the opposite direction, thanks to the memories from the last time someone I loved was hospitalized after a run-in with a vehicle.

Things didn’t end so well for Sarah.

What if the same thing happens with Chloe?

What if she’s currently in a coma and on life-support?

A new memory, of Sarah’s parents pulling the plug, slams into me from all angles. It takes everything in me to ease my foot off the gas, and not get into an accident.

Adam is just inside the waiting room doors when I arrive. “How’s she doing?” are the first words out of my mouth. The smell of disinfectant and dying people assaults me. I take a deep breath, trying to ground myself.

Keep it together, man. This isn’t the first time someone I care about has been injured or killed. I was in the goddamn SEALs after all.

But for some reason, this time it feels different. More personal.

“I have no idea,” Adam says. “They haven’t told me anything. I’m not family.”

Damn. I didn’t even think of that.

I doubt as her fake boyfriend, they’re going to tell me much either.

I stride straight to the front desk. “My fiancée, Chloe Reinhart, was in a car accident and was brought here.”

The woman taps away at her keyboard and checks the screen. “Unfortunately, I can’t give you any information right now.”

“Can I see her?”

She shakes her head. “Sorry, you’ll need to wait in the waiting room. The doctor will call you when he has something to tell you.”

I attempt a different tactic. “What should I tell her family?”

Am I planning to contact them? Hell, no.

She needs that as much as she needs an elf shooting pucks at her head.

“Exactly the same thing I told you.” She flashes me a look that’s part pity and part “now move along, please.”

“Can’t you at least let me know if she’s okay? Is she conscious?”

“I’m sorry, I really don’t know anything more than I’ve told you.”

It’s clear from her expression that she’s telling the truth. I nod and pivot to return to Adam.

But instead of joining him, I keep walking out the sliding doors.

The memories of Sarah’s accident continue to pound on me. I loved her, but that had meant shit-all. I couldn’t protect her, no more than I had been able to protect Chloe.

The difference was it hadn’t been my job to protect Sarah—not in the same way it was for Chloe.

I’d let down both women. I’d let down so many people.

I begin pacing in front of the hospital doors. “Fuck, I can’t do this,” I mutter to myself.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Is there any reason you’re making a trench in the sidewalk?” Adam asks. I didn’t even notice him leave the hospital.

“What the hell happened?” My pacing doesn’t slow. I can’t do this.

“I don’t exactly know. She left the seniors’ residence, and I followed her. But a delivery truck cut in front of me. By the time I caught up with Chloe, her car was upside down in the middle of the intersection. Witnesses said they saw a truck plow through the red light at an excessive speed. It didn’t stop to check on her. It kept going.”

I continue pacing the entire time he tells me this.

“Do you know if the light had just turned red, and the driver didn’t have time to stop?”

“According to witnesses, the truck had plenty of time to stop. If anything, it accelerated when Chloe approached