Chapter Two
Nick’s concern about Sam’s safety had led to some of the worst insomnia he had ever experienced, which was saying something since he’d been plagued by insomnia for much of his adult life.
And that was before Stahl attacked her. Since then, he hadn’t slept much in the last few weeks as he watched her toss and turn, tormented by dreams she said she didn’t remember the next day.
But he knew she remembered. She remembered the dreams and every minute she spent in that hellhole basement with Stahl and Marissa Springer. That day had changed something in her, something they were both still coming to terms with weeks later.
Sam took a close look at the familiar vehicle, where the differences were subtle but significant.
“The car has been outfitted with many of the same features that my limo and Nelson’s have—bulletproof glass and tires, armor-plated metal and a panic button that feeds to the Metro PD, Secret Service and FBI,” Nick said.
“Under the backseat, you’ll find enough food for three days, emergency medical supplies, a biohazard kit, oxygen, sanitary supplies and everything you’d need to hide out. ”
“You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
“When did you do this?”
“I began looking into our options after we declined Secret Service protection for you.”
“So before Stahl.”
“Yes.” He stared out the windshield, battling the rage that gripped him every time he thought about what she’d endured in that basement. He’d read the police report, and in the rare instances when he did sleep, it gave him nightmares. “I should’ve done it sooner. I should’ve—”
Sam grasped his forearm. “Nick, not even you with all your superpowers could’ve seen that coming.”
He tried to shake off the rage because it wasn’t what she needed.
“But wait, there’s more.” At the press of a button on the center console, a tablet screen popped up, complete with an attached keyboard.
“Freddie helped with this part. This is the new tablet the department is mandating for field use, so yours is now built into the car with a Bluetooth keyboard since Freddie and I agreed the keyboard on the tablet would make you ragey.”
“You and Freddie agreed, did you?”
“Uh huh. He doesn’t know about this part, though.” Nick turned on the sound system, and Sam’s favorite Bon Jovi song, “Living on a Prayer,” roared to life. “All Bon Jovi, all the time.”
“Seriously? Oh my God! Freddie will hate that!”
“But you?”
“I love it,” she said with a sigh and the soft smile he loved so much, especially when she directed it at him. “This… It’s amazing, Nick. Thank you so much for doing this.”
“In addition to a charger for that dinosaur cell phone of yours, the car is also fully tricked out with all the latest in GPS technology. You’ll never go missing again.
I’ll always be able to find you.” He produced his smartphone and held it up so she could see the screen.
“This app tells me exactly where the car is at any given time.” Glancing at her, he forced himself to be truthful with her when he’d prefer to keep this part to himself.
“I know it’ll make you mad to have me keeping tabs on you, but I can’t bear the thought of ever again not knowing where you are for even one minute. ”
“A month ago, I would’ve demanded you rip that shit out of the car. Now, I’m glad you’ll be able to find me if need be.”
He hadn’t expected her to say that, and the statement demonstrated how deeply the trauma had touched her. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.” Sighing, she sat back in the seat, resting her head on the leather. “I keep going over it and over it in my mind, you know? Like how could I have been so stupid to walk into an ambush? I like to think I can see these things coming, but this one…”
“Why would you have seen it coming? You’d been there before, met Marissa, talked to her about the case. What would clue you in that she was in cahoots with that bastard Stahl?”
“Nothing, I guess, but still, I feel like I should’ve sensed something was up. But I didn’t. I walked right in there like I would any home of any witness. Remember when Freddie got shot at Reese’s place and how pissed I was that he went in there alone? I did the same thing.”
“Totally different situation. For one thing, Reese had killed his family and Freddie was watching the place, hoping he’d come back.
He went in there knowing he could be confronting a desperate killer, which was stupid.
You went into the Springers’ house to talk to a woman you’d had a civilized conversation with an hour earlier. How is that the same thing?”
“We were shorthanded. I went in there alone. No one knew where I was. Checking in and calling for backup is police one-oh-one. I know better.”
“You’re second-guessing yourself from the perspective of hindsight. You know what happened after you walked in there. But going in? With the info you had available to you at that time? You had no reason to believe there was any reason for concern.”
The song on the radio changed to “Make a Memory,” one of Nick’s personal favorites of the steady diet of Bon Jovi he’d been fed since she came back into his life.
“I love this song. It makes me think of when we were first together, and I came home to find you reading Congress for Dummies with this song blasting in the house. I think of that and ‘fill her buster’ every time I hear it.”
She smiled at him, but he could still see the disquiet in her clear blue eyes. That she was deeply troubled and trying to hide it from everyone was readily apparent to him.
Taking hold of her hand, he said, “You need to talk to someone about this, Sam.”
“I’m talking to you.”
“And I’m thrilled you’re talking to me. But you also need someone qualified to guide you through the PTSD stuff. Harry told me to tell you to call him when you get tired of stonewalling the department shrink.”
“How does he know I’m stonewalling the department guy?”
Nick sent her a withering look. “We all know you’re doing that.”
“Could I ask you something and do you promise to take it seriously and tell me the truth?”
“Sam… Of course you can, and of course I will. What do you want to ask me?”
“What would you think if I took an indefinite leave from work to focus on being the second lady? Tell me the truth.”
For a brief moment, Nick’s mind went completely blank with shock that she was asking him such a thing. He’d been concerned about her before, but now he was downright petrified. Something was seriously wrong if she was thinking that way. “Samantha, you’re freaking me out right now.”
“Why? Because I’m considering some changes?”
“Because this is so not you. You’d hate being a full-time second lady. You’re a homicide cop. It’s not just what you do. It’s who you are.”
“What if I want to be someone different? Am I not allowed to be anything but a cop?”
“You can be anything you want, but the one thing you can’t do is make life decisions when you’re still recovering from what happened in that basement.
This is not the time to be having this conversation.
Talk to me in two or three months when the dust has settled and your first thought every morning isn’t about razor wire. ”
She looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. “The car is amazing. I can’t believe you did all this. It goes a long way toward making me feel safe again.”
“I want you to feel safe. Whatever it takes. Whatever we have to do.”
“I’m thinking about requesting a detail.”
“Okay…” Wow, the hits kept on coming.
“You know, just in case.”
“Yeah, baby. I know. Nothing has to be decided today or tomorrow or anytime soon. I’m sure you’re feeling some pressure from HQ to get back to work, but there’s no rush.
The job’s not going anywhere, and Gonzo has you covered in the meantime.
” He produced a set of keys that he held up for her to see.
“The red button on the key fob is the same as the one in the car. It notifies MPD, the Secret Service and the FBI that you’re in trouble and broadcasts your position to them immediately. ”
She took the keys from him. “You thought of everything.”
“I hope so. If there’s anything I missed that would make you feel safer, say the word, and we’ll see what we can do.”
“Where exactly do you go to get bulletproof tires and armor-plating?”
“I called in a few favors, made a phone call or two.” Unlike the president, Nick had come up through the ranks and had friends in every corner of government. He hadn’t been shy about calling on every resource he had to make this happen for her.
“It must’ve cost a fortune.”
“Best money I ever spent on anything. Ever.”
“So the windows… Is there a setting so I can see out but no one can see in?”
He gave her a “what do you take me for” look and pressed a button on the dash that sealed off the outside world.
“Excellent, now get over here and make out with your wife, Mr. Vice President.”
“With pleasure, Mrs. C.”
The summons to appear in the chief’s office came from his admin through Gonzo, acting head of the Homicide Division in Sam’s absence. They’d been working long hours, following leads on the slasher case, but were no closer to an arrest than they’d been at the outset.
“Chief wants to see you at four,” Gonzo had said, leaving Detective Freddie Cruz to wonder for three long hours what the chief wanted with him.
In the back of his mind and in the pit of his gut, he knew exactly what this was about.
He’d been waiting since the night he tuned up the guy who hurt Elin.
It had been stupid and risky and every other word he could think of to describe the way he’d put his career on the line to defend the woman he loved.
He’d do it again in a heartbeat.