by Marie Force
By the time she emerged from the shower, she was fortified and ready to do battle with her superiors on behalf of Willie Vasquez. Whoever killed the star ballplayer had better be ready to deal with her, because she was coming after them, and she would find them.
Nick was sitting on their bed when she came out of the bathroom wearing a white robe and her hair wrapped up in a towel.
Even though neither of them had time, she plopped down next to him and reached for his hand. “Are you okay?”
“I’m thinking about Scotty.”
“I have been too.”
“Is there any chance of him hearing about this at school?”
“I don’t think so. We’re keeping it quiet until we notify Willie’s family and figure out how to proceed.”
“I’m going to pick up Scotty at dismissal time so he won’t hear it from anyone else.”
“Do you have time to do that?” His schedule was insane as the campaign wound toward the election.
“No, but I’m going to anyway. I’ll let Shelby know.” He turned to face her. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“It’s not really, but I have a feeling you’re not going to like it.”
She braced herself, preparing for whatever he might say. “Hit me.”
“I got a call from the White House this morning.”
“It still blows my mind to be married to someone who says things like that.”
His face lifted into the half grin that often made her want to swoon. Not that she actually swooned. Badass cops did not swoon. She only thought about it. “Focus, babe.”
She focused on his smoothly shaven jaw, the dark brown hair that curled at the ends, the sexy hazel eyes and the sinfully beautiful mouth. Taken all together, his features made for one hell of an appealing package. “Okay, sorry.”
“Nelson is taking a quick trip at the end of the week. He invited me to go along.”
His words permeated her brain. “A quick trip to where?”
“I’m not allowed to say.”
“Not even to me?”
“Not to anyone.”
“Is he going to Afghanistan?”
“I can’t tell you that, Sam. I’m sorry. I want to. I know you tell me stuff I’m not supposed to know all the time, but I can’t do it with the president’s security on the line. I hope you understand.”
Sam didn’t need him to confirm where they’d be going. Virginia had suffered significant losses in the war zone in the last year. It stood to reason that President Nelson would ask members of the commonwealth’s congressional delegation to go with him.
“How will you get where you’re going?”
“On Air Force One.” His eyes lit up as he said the words. “How freaking cool is that?”
“Pretty darned cool,” she said, even though her insides had gone cold at the thought of her beloved husband flying into a war zone on a gigantic airplane that bore the flag of the United States of America. “Won’t it be dangerous?”
He thought about that for a second, probably trying to find a way to answer her question without giving anything away. “Maybe a little, but the trip is top secret. No one will know. Even the reporters that come with us won’t know where we’re going until we’re there.” Tipping his head, he eyed her. “What’re you thinking?”
“It scares me to think of you flying into somewhere dangerous.”
“I’ll be on the most secure airplane in the world, babe. Nothing to worry about.”
“Sure,” she said. “Whatever you say.”
He put his arm around her and drew her in close.
She nuzzled her nose into his neck, drinking in the scent of the cologne he’d recently applied. It was one of her favorite smells in the entire world. “Would you stay home if I asked you to?”
“Would you stay home today if I asked you to?”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh, his point clear. “But you’d never ask me to.”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“It scares me.”
“It scares me every time you walk out that door, knowing there’re people out there who hate you just because of the badge you carry. Not to mention your psycho ex-husband who hates you because you love me. It scares me to know that you can nearly get shot in the face when you stop to buy a bagel.”
Nick pressed a line of kisses over the fading scar on her face, earned during a robbery she walked in on over the summer. When she’d jumped the guy from behind, he’d pistol-whipped her face, laying open her cheek.
“I don’t like it when you pit your much bigger fears against my smaller, mostly insignificant fears.”
His chuckle rumbled from his chest as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head. “I’m not a hundred percent sure I can go yet. It’ll take some juggling of campaign events.”
Was it wrong of her to hope he couldn’t get out of them? “But you want to go. Right?”
“Babe... It’s the president and Air Force One. Yeah, I want to go—but not just because of the super cool plane. Where we’re going, why we’re going... It’s important or I’d never do it.”
“I understand.”
“Do you really?”
“Not yet, but I’ll try to get there by the time you go.”
“While you were in the shower I was thinking about Scotty. With Willie being murdered, I might need to stick around for him.”
“It’s a quick trip, right?”
“They said we’d be gone about forty hours total.”
“I can handle things here for forty hours.”
He squeezed her again and kissed her. “You’re the best wife ever.”
“We both know that’s not true.”
“You’re the best wife I’ve ever had.”
Sam laughed and slugged his arm as she got up. “I walked right into that. Can you and your detail give me a lift to HQ on the way to the Hill?” It was out of their way, but she knew he would do it if he could.
“Happy to, but where’s your car?”
“Cruz is meeting me there with it. I didn’t want to stink it up.”
“So how’d you get home?”
“I stunk up a patrol car.”
“You’re all heart, babe.”
“Aren’t I?”
“I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
“I’ll be quick.” In the bedroom across the hall that served as her closet, Sam found a clean pair of jeans folded neatly on a shelf that was now devoted to jeans. The unusual organization stopped her short. Who had done that? Ugh, Tinker Bell!
Sam needed to tell Shelby to expend her organizational energy elsewhere. She liked her mess exactly the way it was. She pulled on a wool sweater and found socks and a pair of hiking boots to complete her ensemble. If she would be putting in long hours, she’d be doing it in comfort.
She ran downstairs and heard Nick talking to someone. He was in the kitchen with Shelby, going over one of her famous lists.
“Morning,” she said to Sam. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” It was rather nice to have freshly made coffee waiting for her. She’d give Shelby that much credit. “No organizing my closet, Tinker Bell.”
“I didn’t do hardly anything in there.”
“The jeans were folded.”
“Oh my God,” Nick said, scandalized. “You didn’t!”
“I did,” Shelby said with a teasingly glum expression. The tiny blonde wore a pink sweat suit that resembled high fashion on her. “My apologies. It won’t happen again.”
“Good,” Sam muttered, not amused by their teasing. “Ready to go?” she asked Nick.
“Whenever you are. I’ve got Scotty after school,” Nick said to Shelby. “I’ll take him back to the office with me for a couple of hours.”
“He’ll enjoy that.”
“What kid wouldn’t?” Sam asked. “All that legislating and backstabbing.” She shivered. “So exciting.”
As Shelby gig
gled behind her hand, Nick shot his wife a playful snarl and headed for the living room. “Let’s go, Lieutenant.”
Taking advantage of a second alone with Shelby, Sam lowered her voice. “You asked out Agent Hill?”
Shelby seemed shocked by the question. “How do you know that?”
“Yes or no. Did you?”
“Maybe. Now tell me how you know.”
“He might’ve mentioned it to me.”
“You saw him? Where?”
“At work. Duh. Where do you think I saw him?”
“I bet he looked good enough to eat.”
“I refuse to dignify that with a response. You may be hearing from him.”
“Oh my God. Seriously? Tell me everything he said.”
“As fun as that return to high school would be, I’ve got to get to work. Keep him far, far away from here. You got me?”
“Why don’t you like him?”
“Come on, Sam,” Nick called.
“Far away. That’s all I’m saying.” Sam left the room before Shelby could continue the conversation. She grabbed her coat, strapped on her weapon, shoved her badge and notebook into her back pocket, and put her cuffs in her coat pocket before she ran out the door.
Nick was already in the black SUV with the tinted windows. One of the agents waited for her at the curb, holding the door for her.
When she got in, Nick was on the phone with Christina.
Sam buckled in as they pulled away from the curb. Even though she’d made fun of the lack of excitement at his office, she loved watching him in senator mode. He consulted with his chief of staff about the invitation to join the president for a quick trip.
“I’ll tell you when I get there,” he said, glancing at Sam.
“Why does she get to know where you’re going, but I don’t?” Sam asked.
Nick held the phone away from his mouth. “Because she has a security clearance, and you don’t.”
“I need to get me one of them.” Agent Hill had rubbed his top-secret clearance in Sam’s face, using it as an excuse to insert himself into the Kavanaugh investigation. Despite his staring issues, he wasn’t a bad guy and had been invaluable to her during that case. Not that she’d ever tell her husband that. He saw red where Agent Hill was concerned.
She checked the clock on her phone. It had been an hour since they found Willie, and it would be a while yet before Lindsey had anything for her. So she would start at Willie’s home address and then head for the ballpark with Hill. As always, the media would be on her like white on rice the second the word got out about Willie’s murder, but she could handle the reporters. She’d stonewall them the way she always did for as long as she could.
Nick ended the call with Christina and tucked his cell phone into his suit coat pocket. “What’re you thinking about over there?”
“Where to start to find a murderer when everyone in the city had a motive.”
“That’s a tough one, but you’ll figure it out. You always do.”
“If I’m allowed to run it.”
“Why wouldn’t you be?”
“Farnsworth doesn’t want me on the streets with Arnie’s people running loose.”
“Can’t say I disagree with him, babe. A lot of Arnie’s followers are among the affectionately termed ‘loony fringe.’ I wouldn’t put it past them to take a shot at you looking to vindicate him.”
“Be that as it may, Arnie’s ass is staying in jail. We’ve got him screwed, glued and tattooed.”
Nick chuckled. “I’d never heard that expression until I met you.”
“See how I’ve broadened your horizons?”
His hand landed on her thigh. “Speaking of broadening horizons... Have you given any more thought to what we talked about the other night?”
She’d thought of little else until she found Willie Vasquez dead in a Dumpster. “Some.”
“And?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Do you want to talk about it some more?”
“At some point.”
“I’m not pressuring you, babe. You know that, right?”
“I don’t feel pressured.”
“Good.” He squeezed her thigh and removed his hand. “I’d never want that.”
Her body tingled at the reminder of their most recent interlude in the loft he’d put together to remind them of their honeymoon in Bora Bora. Their sex life had heated up even more than usual over the summer, and they’d been doing a lot of experimenting ever since. “I know.” She paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “I need to tell you something.”
“What’s that?”
Even though it went against her nature to be forthcoming with potentially troublesome information, she’d learned the hard way to be truthful with her husband. It saved her a shitload of aggravation where he was concerned. “Hill has been promoted to agent in charge of criminal investigations. He’s moved to D.C. permanently. He grew up with the Feds’ owner, Ray Jestings, so we’ll be calling on him for assistance with the investigation. I wanted to be upfront with you about his involvement, so there’s no trouble between us over it.”
Nick’s expression never changed, but his lips tightened, a sure sign that he was annoyed.
When they arrived at HQ, the agents brought the SUV to a stop outside the main entrance. “Thanks for telling me about Hill.” He looked over at her, slaying her with those amazing hazel eyes that saw right through her. “You’ve come a long way, babe.”
“What does that mean?”
“Not that long ago, you would’ve kept that tidbit to yourself and hoped I wouldn’t find out you were working with him again. While I wish he’d go away and never come back, I’m glad you told me yourself.”
“Even an old dog like me can learn a few new tricks. I can be trained.”
Rolling his eyes, he let out a guffaw of laughter. “You? Trained? That’ll be the day.” He leaned over to leave her with a kiss. “I love you.”
She patted his face and kissed him back, even though they were outside HQ and inside her no-PDA-zone. The tinted windows on the SUV preserved their privacy. “Love you too. I’ll see you when I see you. Take good care of our kid later. He’s going to need a shoulder.”
“He’ll have both of mine for as long as he needs them.”
“He’s a lucky boy.”
“I’m the lucky one. Be careful. Watch your back.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
“What? Me worry? Go to work, babe.”
Even after almost a year together, she still hated to leave him. But she had a job to do, and so did he, so she got out of the car and waved as the SUV sped off toward the Capitol.
Chapter Five
Sam headed for the main doors at HQ, through the courtyard that would be mobbed with reporters once the word got out about Willie.
She was holding a mock news conference in her head, thinking about how she might approach the press without igniting another riot, when she smacked into a hard wall of white chest that sported a gold badge. Shit.
“In my office, Lieutenant. Right now.”
Sam let out a huff of aggravation as she followed the chief to his suite, which was located behind the dispatch area.
The chief’s receptionist gave Sam a sympathetic smile when she passed the desk, which only made Sam more anxious about the reaming she was in for.
He stood at the door, stone-faced as she walked past him.
The slam of the door behind her made her startle.
“What part of ‘don’t step foot outside this building without me knowing about it’ did you not understand, Lieutenant?”
“I looked for you. I couldn’t find you.”
“Since I was here all night, I’d say you didn’t look very hard.”
“I didn’t want to bother you with something I could easily handle.”
“Which is how you ended up in a Dumpster with a dead body.”
“Yes. It’s Willie Vasquez. The body, that is.”
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His face went blank for a second before he recovered his mojo. “You’re kidding me.”
“Wish I was.”
“Ah, God.” All at once he looked exhausted and every bit his sixty-plus years. “We just got things under control, and now this.”
“My first stop will be his home, followed by the ballpark to speak to the team leadership.”
“I don’t want you on this one, Sam. Assign it to one of your people.”
“Sir, with all due respect—”
“I said assign it to someone else.”
“And what am I supposed to do? Sit in the office and twiddle my thumbs?”
“There’s plenty you can do without being on the street.”
“You know that’s not true. There’s no way I can run an investigation of this magnitude without being out there doing what I do.”
He went around his desk and sat down, seeming as if the weight of the world rested on his formidable shoulders.
“You know I can take care of myself, Uncle Joe,” she said this softly, using her old name for him for the first time since she’d been under his command.
“Something’s always happening to you.”
“And yet here I am, still providing a daily pain in your ass.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. You know that.”
Their rare foray into sentiment was no doubt due to the long night they’d both put in, but Sam wasn’t above using it to her advantage. “I also know you care about me, and I appreciate that. But you’ve got to let me do my job. I’m the most qualified detective to handle a case like this. You know that as well as I do.”
Watching him as he weighed the decision, she noticed he’d aged since she’d last looked closely. When had that happened? The observation left her strangely unsettled. Men like her dad and Uncle Joe were supposed to stay forever young and live for as long as she needed them, which was always.
“I don’t think I’ve ever told you that Marti and I weren’t able to have kids of our own,” he said, further startling her. “We had you and your sisters, our nieces and nephews... You all were our kids. I think we’ve done a good job, you and me, of navigating the personal as we deal with the professional. But if you think it’s ever easy for me to send you out into harm’s way, you don’t know me at all, Sam. Someone threatened one of my officers, but they also threatened one of my kids—one of my favorite kids. Don’t forget that.”