by Marie Force
“My baby girl never did like being told what to do.”
“It’s a character flaw.” Sam put her feet up on the coffee table, taking a break while she could. Who knew that working from home could be as ass-kicking as a day on the streets?
Skip rolled his chair closer to her and lowered his voice. “What’re you thinking on this one?”
“My thoughts are all over the place, darting from the obvious ex-business partner with an ax to grind to the ex-wife who blamed the husband for outing her mental health issues during their divorce. I just ruled her out, so now I’m wondering about the moms at the kids’ school who disliked Cleo for her sweetness and dedication.”
Skip’s brows furrowed. “They disliked her for being sweet and dedicated?”
“Apparently, those traits aren’t welcome in someone new when there’s already a squad of alpha bitches running the joint.”
“Ahhh. I see. Your mom used to refer to it as the Mommy Brigade. She used to come home from meetings at school ready to murder someone. She’d go right for the liquor cabinet.”
Sam laughed. “Maybe I’m more like her than I thought.”
“You have a lot of her qualities. You’re loyal and loving and a great mom.”
Sam couldn’t recall the last time she’d heard her father pay such a glowing compliment to the ex-wife who’d cheated on him.
“Don’t look at me that way. I loved her. We were good for a long time. Until we weren’t. With hindsight, I don’t blame her for what she did. I was a shitty husband for the last ten years we were together.”
“Wow. You’re all evolved and stuff.”
“Having nothing to do but sit still all day gives a guy lots of time to think and reflect.”
“If you wanted to come into HQ a couple hours a day, everyone would be thrilled to have you and your brain at their disposal. You know that.”
“I appreciate it, but there’s nothing worse than retirees hanging around pining for the glory days.”
“That’s not what you’d be doing. You’d be contributing. I’ve got Cruz out on his freaking honeymoon for the next two weeks and Gonzo possibly taking some ‘personal’ time. I could use your help if you’re willing to give it.”
“Always willing to help you. You know that.”
“Good, then you’re hired starting Monday. Don’t be late or I’ll bust you down to Patrol.”
“Nice try, Lieutenant, but I still outrank you every day and twice on Sunday.”
“Are you already being insubordinate, proby? That’ll be noted in your jacket.” She let out a giddy laugh. “This is fun!”
Skip rolled his blue eyes, one of the only parts of him that still worked exactly the way it had before his devastating injury. “What’s the next step in the investigation, Your Highness?”
“Everyone’s due to report to me in person or on the phone by four. I’ll know more then.”
“How are the little ones doing?”
“Okay. Thank God for Shelby.”
“How many times in a day do you say or think that?”
“Too many to count.”
“You’re not getting too attached to those kids, are you?”
“Probably. They’re awfully cute.”
“Sam.”
“I know,” she said, sighing. “Tracy said the same thing. It’s hard not to get attached when they’re so sweet and going through such an awful thing.”
“I’ll confess to being surprised to hear you’d brought them home with you. It’s not like you to bring the job home.”
“I know, but they needed to go somewhere, and I acted before I thought it through. Not that I regret offering, because I don’t.”
“Still.”
“Trust me. I get it. If I’ve heard you say it once, I’ve heard it a million times. Leave the job at the office.”
“Sometimes it’s almost impossible to follow that advice.”
“This was one of those times.”
“Try not to make a habit out of it.”
“Don’t get too big for your britches, proby,” Sam said with a small smile.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Right,” she said, laughing. “Sure you wouldn’t.”
“Have you heard from Joe about the kids?” Skip asked, referring to his close friend, Joe Farnsworth, the chief of police.
“Not yet. Will I?”
“I’d pretty much count on it.”
“He’s going to freak, right?”
“Probably.”
She took a deep breath. She’d deal with that when she had to. One thing at a time. “I’d better go check on my charges and see if I can convince them to take a little rest before their brother gets here.”
“I don’t envy you having to tell them this news. They’ll always remember it.”
Sam’s chest and stomach felt heavy with the weight of what she needed to tell them and the knowledge that they would forever tie her and Nick to the worst moment of their lives. Maybe it was just as well that they wouldn’t get to keep them.
“Come give your old man a smooch.”
She got up and went to him, rested her hands on shoulders that were now bony rather than brawny the way they once had been, and kissed his forehead. “Love you, Skippy.”
“Love you too, baby girl. Feel free to come cry on my shoulder later if you need to.”
“I will, thanks.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SAM SAW HER dad out and then went to check on the kids, who were playing a game of Candy Land with Shelby at the table. “Where’d that come from?”
“Tracy brought it with the clothes.”
“Who’s winning?”
“Alden,” Aubrey said. “He just sent Shelby all the way back to the beginning.”
Shelby pretended to glower at him, and Alden laughed. The joyful noise was the best thing Sam had heard all day. Then she remembered what was ahead for Alden and his sister, and her heart began to ache for them again.
“Hey, guys, I was thinking you might want to take a little rest since you were up so late last night.”
“That’s a really good idea,” Shelby said. “There’s been some yawning during the game.”
“Can we finish the game later?” Aubrey asked.
“I’ll make sure no one touches it,” Shelby said.
“Okay.”
Sam and Shelby took them upstairs and got them settled in the room Nick had made up for them the night before.
“Can we go in Scotty’s room?” Aubrey asked.
“Not this time,” Sam said. “He’ll be home from school soon, and he needs to do his homework, but I’m sure he’ll want you to come see him when you wake up.”
They tucked in the kids and drew the blinds to darken the room.
“We’ll be right downstairs if you need us,” Sam said, leaving the door partly open so they could hear the kids if need be.
Their little faces looked particularly tiny in the big bed, and Sam’s eyes welled with tears as she left the room and leaned against a wall to gather herself.
“I feel the same way,” Shelby whispered. “It’s unbearable.”
Sam took a step toward Shelby, who had moved to hug Sam.
They pulled back from each other a minute later, wiping their faces and laughing at themselves.
“We’re a hot mess,” Shelby said.
“This is why my dad is always telling me not to bring my work home.”
“You did the right thing. Those babies needed us, even if it’s only temporary.”
“Keep telling me that when I have to let them go.”
“I will if you do the same for me.”
“It’s a deal.”
The portable baby monitor attached to Shelby’s pocket came to life with a little c
ry from baby Noah. “One nap ends as the other begins.” They walked downstairs together. “What’s the plan for telling the kids about the parents?”
“We’ll do it after their brother gets here from New Jersey.”
“I’ll stay if you think it would help. I can have Avery pick up Noah.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I’d like to be there, if you don’t mind.”
“I’d actually appreciate it, but I didn’t want to ask.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to make this easier on them. Please feel free to ask for whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Shelby. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. My colleague from the shop got waylaid by a bridezilla, but she said she’ll be here soon with the clothes I asked her to pick up for the kids. Just to make sure they have what they need wherever they end up.”
“The mother’s family doesn’t want them. What do you suppose will become of them?”
“How could their family not want them?”
“They were living under a threat from a former associate. Cleo’s family believes he’s responsible for their deaths. Hell, everyone thinks so. Cleo’s mom said they can’t live like that anymore. Neither she nor the aunt I talked to even asked about the kids.”
“Unreal. They’re family. How do you turn your back on two innocent five-year-old kids? There is nothing—and I do mean nothing—that would keep me from taking my sisters’ kids if the need ever arose, God forbid.”
“Same. I don’t get it, but we aren’t the kind of people to let fear drive us.”
“Well, you’re not,” Shelby said. “I’m afraid of my own shadow.”
Sam laughed at that. “I worry all the time about something happening to him.” She nodded toward the dining room where Nick was still sequestered with his team and Harry. “Especially when he’s far away.”
“He’s surrounded by the best security in the world.”
“I still worry. So many people love him, but those who don’t, really don’t.”
“He wouldn’t want you to worry about him.”
Sam smiled. No, he wouldn’t, but she did anyway, the same way he worried about her.
The front door opened to admit Scotty with his Secret Service detail in tow.
“Are they still here?” he asked when he spotted Sam and Shelby.
Sam knew exactly what he was asking. “They are. They’re taking a little nap right now, and their older brother is due to arrive later.”
“Will you have to tell them then? About their parents?”
Sam nodded, slipped an arm around him and kissed the top of his head. He’d brought the scent of fresh air in with him. “Yeah, buddy.”
“I should be there when you tell them. I’ve been through it myself. I understand better than anyone what it’s like to lose the most important people in your life when you’re way too young to understand it.”
Struck by his maturity and insight, she hugged him tighter as Shelby dabbed subtly at her eyes. “You’re absolutely right. We’d appreciate your help when we tell them.”
“How about a snack?” Shelby asked.
“Do we still have the brownies you made yesterday or did Mom eat them all while she worked from home?” he asked with a cheeky grin for Sam, who play-punched him.
“I didn’t touch them!”
“I hid them for you,” Shelby said, hearing Noah begin to chatter in earnest through the monitor. “Let’s go get Noah up and find the brownies.”
“I want to get Noah.” Scotty dropped his backpack and took off toward the kitchen with Shelby right behind him.
Smiling, Sam picked up his backpack and marveled at the weight of it. “What the hell is in here? Rocks?” She put it by the stairs just as the dining room doors opened and Nick came out with Harry.
“Did I hear Scotty?” Nick asked.
“Yep.” Sam gestured to the kitchen. “He went after Noah and brownies—in that order. How was your meeting?”
“Very good,” Nick said. “Meet the vice president’s new personal physician.”
“I thought you already were his personal physician?” Sam asked Harry.
“I was, or I should say I am. Now, however, I get to travel with him.” Harry waggled his brows. “It’s all official and stuff.”
“That’s cool,” Sam said, strangely comforted to know that Harry would be with Nick whenever he traveled on official business. “So you’ll make sure he doesn’t get poisoned or anything?”
Nick’s eyes bugged. “What’re you talking about? I’m not going to be poisoned.”
“Harry? If something like that happened, you’d know what to do?”
“I’d know what to do.”
“And you’d do anything to keep him safe?”
“Anything and everything possible.”
“Then I approve of you being his official physician.”
“I’m still in the room, you know,” Nick said dryly.
“I’m not talking to you,” Sam said. “I’m conferring with your personal physician.”
“Why do I feel like I’ve made a huge mistake here?” Nick muttered.
Harry laughed and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take good care of him. I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you at the wedding.”
“I’ll be the one standing next to the groom,” Sam said.
“What the hell was he thinking?”
“I’ve made sure he’s asked himself that every day since he was stupid enough to ask me.”
Harry was still laughing when the Secret Service let him out.
“You’re worried I’m going to be poisoned?” Nick asked when they were alone—or as alone as they ever were in the public spaces of their home these days. “This is new.”
“It was just a thought that occurred to me when I was talking to my dad earlier.”
“Your imagination has run away with you, babe.”
“You’re saying it can’t happen?”
“I’m saying it won’t happen. I don’t want you worrying about stuff like that when I’m away.”
“I worry about a staggering array of things while you’re away.”
“Samantha,” he said, sliding his arms around her and nuzzling her neck. “Don’t. I promise you have nothing to worry about.”
“You can’t promise that, and you shouldn’t promise things that’re out of your control.”
“I have to go back in there and finish up with Terry. But we’re going to talk about this later, you hear me?”
“Yes, dear.”
He kissed her. “Let me go say hi to my boy real quick.”
“You have to hear what he said about Aubrey and Alden.” Sam filled him in and watched the emotion of Scotty’s statement register in the way Nick’s face softened.
“That’s really amazing,” he said. “I hate that he lost his mother and grandfather so young.”
“I know.”
He kissed her again and went into the kitchen to see Scotty.
Sam watched him go, her stomach twisting with anxiety. Even though he’d shortened the duration, she wished he didn’t have to take the trip at all.
* * *
WITH AN HOUR until they had to report in at Sam’s, Freddie and Jeannie hunted down Emma Knoff, head of the PTO at Northwest Academy. After checking to see if she was at the school, they were told they could find her at her home in The Palisades neighborhood on the city’s far western border. The neighborhood was tucked between the Potomac River and Georgetown University.
“Of course, it had to be way the hell out here,” Freddie grumbled. They’d have to battle traffic across the city to get to Sam’s and then he’d have to come back this way to go home.
“This is where the one percent live,” Jeannie said, takin
g in the massive house that had to be at least five thousand square feet. “What do people do with all that space?”
“I’d imagine they spread out,” Freddie said, ringing the doorbell that chimed through the house like bells in a cathedral. “Sam always says that rich people have the craziest doorbells.”
“That noise would scare the crap out of me.”
A middle-aged woman came to the door, wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt. “Yes?”
Freddie showed his badge while Jeannie did the same. “Detectives Cruz and McBride for Mrs. Knoff, please.”
She glanced between their badges. “Wait,” she said, closing the door.
“Friendly,” Freddie said.
“People are always so happy to see us,” Jeannie said, her tone tinged with sarcasm.
“We’re nice people.”
“Try telling them that,” she said, nodding toward the door.
Freddie rang the bell again. “Sam would give them a lecture about wasting our time.”
“You should do it. She’d be so proud.”
He rang the bell again.
A blonde woman came rushing from the back of the house and opened the door, seeming out of breath. “I’m so sorry. I was on a call, and Frieda just told me you were here. I’m Emma Knoff. What can I do for you?”
Freddie wanted to ask if she was deaf, because she’d have to be not to hear that doorbell. He produced his badge and introduced himself and Jeannie. “May we have a few minutes of your time?”
“Is this about Cleo? It’s such a tragedy! And the children. Are they all right? No one seems to know where they are.”
“Mrs. Knoff,” Freddie said, running out of patience. “May we come in?”
“Oh yes, of course. Please come in. I’m so sorry. This day has just been... It’s been awful. We’re organizing a fund-raiser for the children and trying to do what we can to help. I’m just heartbroken.”
Behind her back, Jeannie rolled her eyes at Freddie.
They were led into a formal living room. “May I get you something? Coffee or other refreshments?”
