Chapter Twelve
Much later, after they’d slaked the urgent physical need, Sam lay awake in his arms, staring at the darkness and thinking about the things she needed to tell him.
His hand caressing her back let her know he was still awake.
“We need to talk about a couple of things.”
His hand stopped moving. “Like what?”
“Stahl and Ramsey.”
Nick’s entire body went tense at the mention of the two officers who’d put her through hell in the last year. “Really?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” She told him about Forrester requesting her presence in his office as well as Stahl wanting an Alford plea and the ramifications of that.
“By this time tomorrow, I could be indicted on felony assault charges.” Despite her resolve to push the pending meeting from her mind, the implications overwhelmed her.
If she were indicted, her career could be over.
“You won’t be indicted.”
“And you know that how?”
“I sent word to Forrester through the attorney general quite some time ago letting him know that I expected to be notified in advance if you were going to be indicted. I haven’t heard from him, so it’s probably safe to assume there isn’t going to be any indictment.”
“Wow. Well, that’s a relief. I can’t believe you did that.”
“I wasn’t about to let either of us be blindsided by an indictment, not that I ever thought there’d be one. People like you. They want you out on the streets doing what you do best. Locking you up isn’t going to make our city safer.”
“Ramsey’s gonna go nuts if they don’t indict me.”
“Let him. With the headlines about the hearings dominating the news, no one will care.”
Sam huffed out a laugh. “Wouldn’t that be awesome? If I forget to say so later, thanks for being vice president and getting embroiled in the president’s scandal so no one will care if I’m indicted or not.”
“Whatever I can do to help the cause, babe,” he said with a chuckle. “Now talk to me about Stahl. What’re you thinking about the plea?”
“If it were only about me, I’d say no way to him getting out of admitting what he did to me.
But it’s not only about me. It’s about you and Scotty and my dad and my squad and dragging everyone through what would be a long, nasty trial.
It’s about the press feeding on the second lady testifying against the fellow officer who hates her and attacked her and tortured her.
Do I want to put everyone through that? Do I want to put myself through it? ”
He took hold of her hand and linked their fingers.
“This isn’t about me or Scotty or your dad or your squad.
This is about you and what that monster put you through that awful day.
You should do whatever you want to and not worry about how it affects anyone else.
The rest of us will support you no matter how you choose to proceed. ”
Bolstered by his fierce words of support, Sam said, “I don’t want to make it easy on him by letting him off the hook. I want him to have to stand in open court and admit that he’s guilty and have him found guilty—and that’s what my dad wants me to do, too.”
“Then that’s what you should do. Don’t take the plea. Tell him you’ll see him in court.”
“The thought of reliving that day makes me sick.”
“You can do it one more time to make sure he never sees the light of day again, and then forget about it. I’ll be right there with you, babe.”
Sam squeezed his hand. “Thanks. I’ll let them know there’s no deal.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “This has been one hell of a day.”
“It sure has.” He released her hand and wrapped his arms around her. “Close your eyes and get some rest while you can, sweetheart. Tomorrow promises to be another shit show.”
Smiling, Sam said, “That phrase is mine, and it’s copyrighted.”
“Sue me.”
“Nah, I’d rather just love you.”
She woke to the alarm on Nick’s phone going off when it was still dark out, surprised—and pleased—to have made it through the night without a call from Dispatch. That was a good sign that their shooting outbreak had been a one-night thing. One night was more than enough.
“Babe,” she said, nudging Nick with her shoulder. “Wake up.”
He grunted in reply.
As he was sleeping facedown, Sam crawled on top of him, pressing her naked body to his back. “Wake up,” she said again. “It’s the favorite day of geeks everywhere. First day of school.”
His eyes flew open. “New pencils?”
Sam laughed and kissed his back, taking a bite out of his shoulder that made him startle. “Guess what?”
“Hmm?”
“No call from Dispatch overnight.”
“That’s good news.”
“Very good news. It means I’m extra well rested and ready to catch their murdering asses today.”
“You make me hot when you go badass cop on me. Especially when you’re on me.”
She moved her hips suggestively, drawing a tortured-sounding groan from him.
“Don’t do that when we don’t have time to see it through.”
“We have time for a quickie.”
“We do?”
“Uh-huh, but it has to be super quick. We have to wake up Scotty in fifteen minutes.”
“I can do super quick.”
“Turn over.” She raised herself up so he could move under her, and surprised him when she took him right to the hilt.
“Jeez, Samantha! Give me some warning, why don’t you.”
“I did warn you. I said we had to be quick. And are you complaining?”
“Definitely not complaining.”
He put his hands behind his head. “Be quick with me, you wicked woman.”
It took Sam less than three minutes to finish them both off, leaving them gasping and breathing hard in the aftermath.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered. “I have to be the luckiest husband who ever lived. My wife is a sex goddess.”
Sam laughed. “Make sure to post a review to my website.”
“No way. I’m not telling anyone else what I have, because everyone will want it.”
“No one else can have what you have.”
“Thank God for that.” He gave her a light spank on the ass that had her wishing they had time for more.
“We’ve got to get our eighth grader up and moving.”
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh that had her taking another look at him and seeing the tension that gripped him. “I wish we could stay right here and hide out until the firestorm dies down.”
“We don’t hide out. That’s not who we are.”
“I know, but sometimes I wish we could.”
“I do, too. When it gets to be too much, we’ll take a night away at John’s cabin, only the two of us.” He’d inherited the cabin in Leesburg, Virginia from John O’Connor.
“And thirty Secret Service agents,” he said with a wry smile.
“We’ll make them stay outside.”
“Let’s do that. Going back to work after a fantastic vacation is depressing enough without Congressional hearings to contend with, too.”
“Or drive-by shootings,” she said.
“Which makes my complaints seem minor in comparison.”
“They’re not minor. They’re totally understandable. Promise me something.”
He twirled a lock of her hair around his index finger. “Anything.”
“If it gets to be too much for you, don’t try to hide that from me. Share it with me. You don’t need to be stoic. Not with me. Okay?”
Smiling, he nodded. “That’s an easy promise to make. I need all the support I can get to deal with this.”
Leaning over him, she kissed him. “You have it. Have they told you if you have to testify?”
“Not yet, but I assume they’ll call me sometime this week, if they’re going to.”
“Whenever it is, I’ll be there.”
“You don’t have to be. You have murdering thugs to catch.”
“I will be there, Nick, the same way you’d be there for me.”
Smiling, he gazed up at her. “Thanks.”
“You don’t have to thank me for being a good wife for once.”
Laughing, he said, “You’re always a good wife. Never more so than when we’re up here.”
“This is where I do my best work.”
“No argument from me, babe.”
They disentangled themselves and used the adjoining bathroom to clean up and get presentable before they headed downstairs to wake Scotty.
With that unpleasant task completed, Sam rushed through a shower and got dressed.
She unlocked her bedside table drawer to retrieve her weapon, badge and cuffs and went downstairs at six forty-five.
In the kitchen, a glum boy ate cereal under the watchful eye of his father, who scanned the morning headlines in the Washington Star.
“Anything get worse overnight?”
“Nope,” Nick said. “Lots of coverage about the shootings and the MPD’s advisory for people to stay inside until the shooter is caught. You guys will be under a lot of pressure to get that done, especially this time of year when everyone wants to be outside.”
“I know. It sucks. I’ve got my fingers crossed that the lab will have something for us from the car today or that we’ll be able to get the gangbanger to talk. I hate feeling like we’re grasping at straws.”
“I’m sure. Your new guy starts today, right?”
“God, I almost forgot about that. In addition to working the case, I get to bring in the replacement for the officer who was murdered. This is shaping up to be a great day.”
“It’s gonna be a great day for all of us,” Scotty muttered.
Nick laughed and ruffled Scotty’s hair. “Your mom and I would love for the first day of eighth grade to be our biggest concern today.”
“Stop making me feel petty for complaining about school.”
Smiling, Sam bent to kiss his cheek. “I hope you have a fantastic first day of school and a great year. Make sure Dad takes pictures before you leave, and wear that navy blue polo we bought a couple of weeks ago. You look handsome in that.”
“All right,” he said with a long-suffering sigh. He got up to put his bowl in the dishwasher and trudged out of the room.
“The struggle is real,” Sam said to Nick, who rolled his eyes.
“As is the drama.”
“I feel his pain.” She bent to kiss her husband. “Thanks for a great night. It was what I needed after a rough day.”
“It was a terrible burden, but somehow I survived.” He patted her on the ass. “You’ll be careful out there, right?”
“Always.” She kissed him again. “Call if you need me.”
“Likewise. If you want me to come with you to see Forrester, I will.”