Chapter Eight
CHAPTER EIGHT
S am fell asleep on the ride home, coming to when the SUV glided to a stop outside the door at the White House. Home sweet home. Hahaha, right.
Every so often, she yearned for the simplicity of their lives on Ninth Street. Even after Nick had become vice president, not much had changed for them except for the presence of Secret Service. Even that had been an easy adjustment compared to the move to the White House.
Who was she kidding? Their lives had never been simple. It’d been one crazy thing after another in the two and a half years they’d been together. And just when they thought they’d seen everything, life threw something else at them, such as a dead guy who wasn’t dead after all.
“There was something you were going to tell me when we got back in the car,” she said to Vernon when he held the door for her.
“I wanted to remind you that life is short, and no one wishes they’d spent more time at work in their final moments. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself in the midst of the craziness.”
“That’s good advice. Thank you. ”
“Have the spa day, you hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What time tomorrow?”
“Let’s leave at seven forty-five.”
“We’re sleeping in.”
Sam laughed. “Thanks for everything today.”
“Always a pleasure.”
Sam trudged through the door to home, her knees and elbows aching from the tackle earlier in the day.
“Evening, Mrs. Cappuano,” George said as he held the door and took her coat.
“Hi there, George. Is the president in the residence?”
“No, ma’am. He’s in the Situation Room.”
“For how long?”
“About an hour now.”
“Thank you.” Sam hoped that whatever had taken Nick there wouldn’t keep him all night, because she desperately needed to see him. She trudged up the red-carpeted stairs to home and was greeted by an excited puppy who wanted her undivided attention. Laughing, she scooped Skippy into her arms and gave her a good snuggle as she walked toward Scotty’s open bedroom door.
“Found something that belongs to you.”
“She’s decided she has to approve anyone who comes up those stairs. It’s easier to just let her than try to keep her contained.”
“A woman needs to run free, doesn’t she?” Sam asked the dog, who replied with a swift lick across her face that Sam never saw coming until it was already over. She put Skippy on Scotty’s bed and wiped the dog slobber off her cheek. “You aren’t, by any chance, doing homework at almost ten o’clock on a Sunday night, are you?”
“Of course not. I’m just getting a jump on the week.”
The statement was so preposterous that she busted out laughing. “You’re so full of it. ”
His shit-eating grin made her whole day. “Can’t get nothing by you, Mama.”
Her heart soared when he called her that. “That’s my job. Sorry I was gone all day.”
“You made a dope arrest.”
She sat at the foot of the bed and was attacked by Skippy’s tongue again. “You heard about that, huh?”
“Duh, it’s all over the interwebs.”
She winced. “Did they make me sound like Rambo or something?”
“Rambo is super dope, and so are you.”
“I hear there’s video of it.”
“I want to see that.”
“I need to approve it before anyone sees it.”
His brown eyes glittered with delight. “When that gets out, you’re gonna be even more famous.”
“Oh joy. Just what I want.” She handed Skippy back to him. “Get control of your woman.”
“People say that to Dad, too.”
“Hey!”
His laughter was the purest, most joyful sound in the whole world. More than anything, she loved that he was so comfortable with them that he’d ruthlessly tease her and never think a thing of it, which was exactly how she wanted it.
She bent to kiss his cheek and was pleased when he didn’t recoil like a typical fourteen-year-old would. There was nothing typical about her son. “I love you, even when you’re being mean to me.”
“Love you, too.”
“Let me see the pics Celia sent.”
He pulled out his phone and called up the photos for her. “The ladies say they are taking California by storm.”
“Looks that way,” Sam said as she scrolled through photos of the sisters from Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills. She handed the phone back to him. “You got any info on what took Dad to the Situation Room?”
“Something about Iraq.”
“Ugh, not them again.”
“If it’s not them, it’s the North Koreans, Iranians or Russians.”
“Don’t forget our old pals in China.”
He laughed. “Glad it’s not my job to deal with them.”
“I’m glad it’s not mine either. Don’t stay up too late.”
“I won’t. Hey, Mom?”
Would it ever become routine to answer to that name? She sure hoped not. She wanted it to always be the greatest thrill of her life. “What’s up?”
“Are you okay? You looked kinda sad when you first came in.”
“It’s been one hell of a day, but I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”
“Get some sleep. My mom says that helps everything.”
“Your mom is very wise.”
“And humble.”
She walked away, laughing. He was such a gift and had been from the minute he first came into their lives. Nick had spent thirty minutes with him as a Senate candidate and had immediately wanted more time with him. She kept waiting for Scotty to become a surly teenager, but she had reason to believe he wouldn’t rebel the way so many teens did. Unlike many other kids who were raised in traditional families, he was thankful to have parents and a family. He would never take that blessing for granted—and neither would they.
In her and Nick’s room, she turned on the shower and winced when the hot water washed over raw elbows and knees. Thankfully, they were only scraped and bruised, not cut. After the shower, she dabbed ointment on the scrapes and covered them with bandages. She changed into pajamas and then dried her hair.
Only when her stomach growled, loudly, did she realize she hadn’t eaten in hours. The last freaking thing she felt like doing was eating, but if she had any prayer of sleeping, she needed something. She picked up the phone and ordered a grilled cheese and tomato soup, the ultimate comfort food.
“Coming right up, Mrs. Cappuano.”
“Thank you so much. Sorry for the late order.”
“No problem at all, ma’am.”
The White House butlers were amazing and always willing to get them whatever they wanted or needed. She feared they’d be spoiled completely rotten by the time they moved out. While she waited for dinner, she went to check in on Aubrey and Alden, who were sound asleep and wrapped up in each other. She ran light fingers over downy blond hair and soft cheeks. “Love you to the moon and back,” she whispered as she kissed them both, sad for the day she’d missed with them.
On days like today, she seriously thought about leaving the department to become a full-time mother and first lady. What would it be like to no longer have to worry about chasing murderers and dealing with nonstop bullshit? It would probably feel pretty damned good.
Today had been a shit show from the get-go. First, she’d been stuck inside the comms vehicle while the rest of her team executed the operation she’d put together to capture Harlan Peckham. If their target had spotted her in the group outside the church where they’d used Federal Judge Corrinne Sawyer to lure him, he would’ve made them right away, so she’d had to be tucked away with Vernon while the rest of her team put themselves in harm’s way.
That would never sit right with her and had her doubting every decision she’d made since Nick became president. Was she putting the people she cared most about on the job in danger every time she showed up to work a shift?
She’d taken down Harlan Peckham single-handedly when she’d spotted him walking down a city street after he’d failed to show at the church. In the end, they’d arrested the man who’d killed Tom Forrester and shot Avery, but she wouldn’t soon forget the impotent feeling of being sidelined while her team handled the dangerous part.
Melding her high-profile personal life with her high-profile professional life had made perfect sense to her until she’d realized that choice would take her off the front lines on days like today—while the people who reported to her risked their lives.
LeRoy Chastain, one of Sam’s favorite butlers, delivered her meal a few minutes later.
“Thank you so much, LeRoy.”
“Always a pleasure, ma’am. You’re all over the news tonight. Congratulations on the arrest.”
“Thank you. I think.”
He laughed as he set the tray on the coffee table for her. “I tossed in a couple of the cookies you like so much.”
“You’re the devil, but the good kind.”
His chuckle was full of joy for a job he’d told her before he loved. “Can I get you anything else?”
“This is absolutely perfect. Please thank the kitchen for me.”
“I’ll do that, ma’am. You have a nice evening.”
“You, too.”
Sam’s spirits lifted considerably when she heard Nick greeting LeRoy in the hallway. The two men laughed at whatever Nick had said. They would miss these people when they moved out, and she had a feeling they would be missed, too. Gideon Lawson, the chief usher, had told her the entire staff was in love with their family—and vice versa.
“Is that my husband, the leader of the free world, returning from battle?”
He offered her a small grin as he took a seat next to her on the sofa and leaned in to kiss her.
“Want some grilled cheese?”
“Just a bite. ”
She held half the sandwich while he took his bite.
“God, that’s good. Why’s it so much better here?”
“Because we don’t have to make it ourselves?”
“That’s possible. One more bite.”
“Take this half. I’m happy with the other half.”
He took his half, and they ate in peaceful silence.
“Everything okay with the Iraqis?”
“Define ‘okay.’”
“Okay for now?”
“Yes, for now. But there’s considerable unrest in the world tonight, which I’ve been fully briefed on at bedtime.”
“Awesome.” His insomnia was bad enough without the literal weight of the world on his shoulders. “Anything I can do?”
“This helps. Sitting here eating grilled cheese with you helps. Just having you here with me after a day like this helps.”
“I wish I was here more. Thirteen hours today. It’s ridiculous.”
“That’s rare.”
“Still, it’s a Sunday with my family that I’ll never get back.”
“It was for a good cause. I heard from several people tonight that there’s tremendous relief at knowing Tom Forrester’s killer has been arrested. People were on edge after he was murdered.” He got up and went to pour himself a glass of the good bourbon that Graham O’Connor had bought for him and returned to sit next to her. “Any news about Juan’s case?”
“Yeah, a little.” Tell him, Sam. Just tell him. “Could I ask you something rhetorical?”
“Sure.”
“If you had to choose between national security and our relationship, what would you do?”
He stared at her for a hot second. “How would that ever be a choice?”
“Answer the question.”
“There is nothing, and I do mean nothing , that I value more than our relationship, and you know that. But would I risk the other three hundred and fifty million people in my care to save us? God, I hope I never have to make a call like that.”
“I do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something was presented to me today as a matter of national security, something I was specifically asked to keep from you. Something that I think you should know and that I do not want to keep from you.”
He put the glass on the coffee table and turned to face her. “Tell me.”
“The people who asked me to keep it from you said it could cause you big trouble later if it comes out that you knew about it.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Juan isn’t dead.”
His face went slack with shock as he gasped. “ What? ”
In as few words as possible, Sam conveyed the series of events that had led NCIS to reveal Juan to her, alive and well.
“I told his mother…”
“Juan is in agony over that and the other people close to him who’ll suffer over him, but he was very clear that a much larger investigation hinges on certain people thinking he’s dead and out of the picture.”
“What the hell, Sam? His mother has asked me to speak at his funeral next week.” After a beat, he said, “NCIS told you they specifically didn’t want me to know about this?”
“They did. They said it’s in your best interest not to know so you can say later that you didn’t. And if that turns out to be true, the only person on earth who knows you know is me—and maybe Uncle Joe.”
“Why does he know?”
“Because there was no way I could oversee a fake investigation into a fake murder without his awareness and approval. He’s the one who said I needed to tell you.”
“I can’t fucking believe this.”
“I’ve been in a state of disbelief for hours. I wanted to tell you the second I knew, but I needed to wait until we were in person.”
“You did the right thing telling me and waiting until it was in person.”
“I hate this so much.”
“I’m so glad to hear he’s alive, but his poor mother.”
“They said it had to be believable.”
“What the fuck is going on that they brought you into this but not me?”
“They only brought me in because of my dual roles. Juan insisted I be told the investigation was a fraud. Joe said he thinks NCIS wants me to tell you, that they’re counting on that.”
“And I’m not allowed to do a goddamned thing to find out more about this without throwing you under the bus.”
“Something like that. Are they right that it might be in your best interest not to know?”
“It’s better for me not to know the details so no one can later say I tried to influence the investigation into the attempted overthrow of my administration.”
“Is it weird to be the chief executive of a government that has a million things happening that you’ll never know about at any given time?”
“Super weird and a little unnerving. Like you don’t know what you don’t know, and is the unknown gonna be the thing that takes you down?”
“I understand that fear on a much smaller scale. I worry all the time about things like Stahl’s madness or Ramsey taking down Joe and upending our lives.”
“Because, like me, Joe is responsible for what every single person under him does, even if he has nothing to do with it. ”
“And people actually fight tooth and nail for your job?”
He offered a small smile. “Right? If only they knew the reality of it. No one would want it.”
“They’d still want it. For some reason unknown to me—and probably to you, too—people crave power.”
“I heard someone say once that if they had to choose between being the most powerful person on earth and never having sex again, they’d choose the power.”
“What would you choose?” she asked with a grin.
He leaned in and kissed her. “Luckily, I get to have both.”
Sexiest answer ever. “Let’s go to bed. This day has been endless.”
Glancing at his watch, he said, “I hate to tell you that it’s almost tomorrow.”
“Stop. I can’t.”