by Marie Force
The others were too busy laughing to give him the sympathy he craved.
“Have another beer, babe,” Elin said, handing him a cold one.
“You know me,” Sam said. “I couldn’t let you completely off the hook, so I asked each of your guests to bring one special gift to help spice up your new marriage.”
“It doesn’t need spicing,” Freddie said, giving Elin a wolfish smile. “If it were any hotter, I’d implode.”
“Freddie!” Elin cried. “Shut up!”
“Frederico Cruz,” Juliette said. “Mind your manners.”
That got Sam laughing so hard she had to take a break to get herself together. He’d walked right into her trap. “Without further ado,” Sam said, “let us begin the gift portion of the program. Who’d like to go first?”
“I will.” Skip directed his chair around the table to where Freddie sat. “It’s in the pocket behind my seat.”
“I can’t believe he made me do this,” Celia said. “It’s not my fault.”
“He gets a lot done for a guy who can’t move,” Tracy said of their father.
“You’re damned right I do,” Skip said. “You got it, Freddie?”
“I got it, but I’m scared to death to open it.”
“I’ll do it.” Elin took it from him, opened the gift bag and revealed what looked like a gift certificate. “Pole dancing lessons? That’s amazing!”
Freddie looked like he wanted to crawl under the table and die.
“Dad!” Sam said, amused and horrified at the same time. “I can’t believe you!”
“What? You said it had to be something naughty.”
“Well played, Skippy.”
“Thank you. And my thanks to Celia for putting aside her mortification to take care of the phone calls for me.”
“Yay for Celia,” Sam said, leading a round of applause for her stepmother, who had turned bright red with embarrassment. Sam loved to see her dad so pleased with himself.
“I’m next,” Gonzo said. “Christina and I gave this a lot of thought, and we came up with something we think you guys will enjoy.” He handed over a gift bag. “Congratulations.”
Inside the bag were his and hers edible underwear.
“I need another drink,” Freddie said. “And it needs to be a hell of a lot stronger than beer.”
“Make it a double,” Elin added.
* * *
THE GIFTS WERE hilarious and got progressively filthier, until Freddie and Elin had a huge pile of sex toys, massage oil, racy lingerie and other goodies on the table in front of them.
“Thanks, everyone… I think,” Freddie said when they had opened the last gift, from Cameron Green, who’d gone with a gift certificate for a couples’ massage at a local spa, which had been roundly rejected by his colleagues for being too clean.
“I’m the new guy,” Cameron said with a good-natured grin. “Go easy on me.”
“I guess all of this beats strippers of any kind,” Freddie said to raucous laughter and more applause.
They got up from dinner, and a team miraculously materialized to remove the tables and chairs.
“You do not fool around, Tink,” Sam said to Shelby as she watched in amazement as dinner disappeared, leaving space for dancing.
“I know my shit,” Shelby replied, hiccupping as she downed another glass of champagne.
Avery had Noah and was apparently the designated sober parent for the evening. He never took his gaze off Shelby, which made Sam so damned happy. She wanted them to have it all, and it appeared they were well on their way to getting it.
“One hell of a party,” Captain Malone said from behind her.
Sam turned to him. “Glad you think so. What’re you hearing about Captain Wallack?”
“He’s still in the hospital, but due to be released in the next few days. He’s devastated, but working with Trulo to come to terms with it all. He told Joe he feels like a disgrace to the badge.”
“He did what he had to do to stay alive and protect his wife. None of us blame him for that.”
“Try telling him that.”
“Hopefully, in time, he’ll find a way to cope with it.”
“I hope so.”
They both knew the events of the last week would haunt everyone involved for a long time to come.
“We’re not here to talk business,” Malone said, taking her by the arm. “Let’s dance!”
Laughing at the captain’s lack of moves on the dance floor, Sam watched the people she loved best relax and enjoy the night she’d gone to so much trouble to plan for Freddie and Elin. They danced until three o’clock the next morning when the cars Shelby had ordered began showing up to see people home safely.
Sam received sloppy kisses from her friends, colleagues, sisters, brothers-in-law and even Elin’s friends, who declared them the coolest second couple in history.
Freddie’s mom hugged Sam. “Thank you for this and everything else you’ve done for my boy over the years.”
“I love him,” Sam said, feeling a little sloppy herself by then.
“I know you do, and it brings me so much comfort to know you’re looking out for him on the job.”
“Sorry if things got a little racy earlier.”
“Don’t be. I loved every minute of it—and so did he, regardless of what he says.”
Sam kissed her cheek. “See you at the wedding.”
“Yes, you will.” Juliette blinked rapidly as she looked at Freddie, who had his arm around Elin while they talked to Nick. “My baby is getting married!”
Sam hugged her and accepted a kiss to the cheek from Freddie’s dad before they left arm in arm, together again after twenty years apart while he contended with bipolar disorder. By all accounts, they were deliriously happy to be back together.
Freddie and Elin came over to Sam.
Elin hugged her. “Thank you for such an amazing evening.”
Sam returned her embrace. “Couldn’t have done it without your help.”
Elin released her and stepped aside to let Freddie in.
He looked happier than Sam had ever seen him as he hugged her, kissed her cheek and said, “Thank you. For everything. Not just tonight, but all of it.”
Damn him! He was going to make her cry!
“You’re the biggest pain in my ass in the history of ass pains,” he said, “but I love you anyway.”
“I love you too. Congratulations. Nick and I couldn’t be happier for you.”
Freddie smiled, hugged Sam again and took Elin’s hand to lead her out the door, leaving Sam alone with Nick—and the cadre of Secret Service agents who’d made themselves scarce for the night at her request.
“That,” Nick said, “was one hell of a party.”
She leaned back against his awesome chest as they waved to Elin and Freddie. “It was kinda perfect, wasn’t it?”
With his arm around her, he walked her to the stairs. Shelby had told her yet another team would be arriving in the morning to return their furniture and clean up the mess.
“He loved it,” Nick said. “They both did. I can’t believe you let him think there were going to be midget strippers.”
“You can’t? Really? And I thought you knew me better than anyone.”
Nick busted up laughing. “I do know you better than anyone, and I still can’t believe the way you torture your poor, sweet partner, who is so faithfully devoted to you.”
“That’s what makes it so fun. I think torturing him might be my second-favorite pastime.”
With his hands on her hips, he directed her past their bedroom and up the stairs to the loft. Since Scotty was sleeping down the street, there wasn’t an agent positioned outside his door, so they had the hallway to themselves.
“Please tell me you might be in the mood for your number
one favorite pastime because you look so hot in that dress, it’s all I’ve thought about since I first saw you in it.”
Sam stopped and turned to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m always in the mood for that.”
“Which makes you the best wife any man ever had.” He kissed her senseless, and before she knew what was happening, he had her laid out on the stairs while he hovered above her, gazing down at her with love and desire.
“We can’t do it here.”
“Why not?”
“Cameras. The last thing we need is another scandal.”
“There’re no cameras in this stairway.”
“You’re sure?”
He pressed his erection to her core, making her moan. “One hundred percent positive.”
“In that case,” she said, reaching for him, “have at it.”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
* * * * *
Read on for an exclusive sneak peek of Fatal Invasion, the next sizzling book in the Fatal series from New York Times bestselling author Marie Force…
CHAPTER 1
“This is a classic case of be careful what you wish for.” Nick placed a stack of folded dress shirts in a suitcase that already held socks, underwear, workout clothes and several pairs of jeans. It was just like him to start packing six days ahead of his departure on Sunday, the day after Freddie and Elin’s wedding. “That’s the lesson learned here.”
Sam sat at the foot of the bed and watched him pack with a growing sense of dread. Three freaking weeks… She’d go mad without him. “The last time you were gone this long, I nearly lost my mind, and I don’t have much of a mind left to lose.”
“Come with me,” he said for the hundredth time since the president had asked him to make the diplomatic trip to Europe, representing the administration on a visit with some of the country’s closest allies. President Nelson was still recovering—in more ways than one—from his son’s criminal activities, and several of the allies had requested he send his popular vice president in his stead.
Sam flopped on the bed. “I can’t. I have work, and Scotty, and Freddie is going on his honeymoon and… I can’t.”
“Actually, you can.” Nick hovered above her, propped on arms that rippled with muscles, his splendid male chest on full display. “You have more vacation time saved up than you can use in a lifetime, and you have the right to actually use it. Scotty will be fine with Shelby and your sisters and the Secret Service here to entertain him. We could even ask Mrs. Littlefield to come up for the weekends.”
Their son’s former guardian would love the chance to spend time with him, but Sam didn’t feel right about leaving him for so long. However, the thought of being without Nick for three endless weeks made her feel sick. His trip to Iran earlier in the year had been pure torture, especially since it kept getting extended.
“Why’d you have to tell Nelson you wanted to be more than a figurehead vice president?” She play-punched his chest. “Everything was fine when he was ignoring you.”
He kissed her lips and then her neck. “You’re so, so cute when you pout.”
“Bad ass cops do not pout.”
“Mine does when she doesn’t get her own way, and it’s truly adorable.”
She scowled at him. “Bad ass cops are not adorable.”
“Mine is.” Leaving a trail of hot kisses on her neck, he said, “Come with me. London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Brussels, The Hague… Come see the world with me, Samantha.”
Sam had never been to Europe and had always wanted to go, so she was sorely tempted to say to hell with her responsibilities.
“Come on.” He rolled her earlobe between his teeth and pressed against her suggestively. “Three whole weeks together away from the madness of DC. You know you want to go. Gonzo could cover for you at work, and things have been slow anyway…”
They hadn’t had a homicide in two weeks, which meant they were due, and that was another reason to stay home. “Don’t say that and put a jinx on us.”
“Come away with me. Scotty will be fine. We’ll FaceTime with him every day and bring him presents. He’ll be well cared for by everyone who loves him.” He kissed her neck. “You’d get to meet the Queen of England.”
Sam moaned. She loved the queen—speaking of a badass female.
“And maybe even the Pope. Plus, you’ll need some clothes—and shoes. Lots of shoes.”
“Stop it. You’re fighting dirty.”
“Because I want my wife to come with me on the trip of a lifetime? I need you Samantha.”
As he well knew, she could deny him nothing when he said he needed her. “Fine, I’ll go! But only if it’s okay with Scotty.”
“Yes,” her husband said on a long exhale. “We’ll have so much fun.”
“Will we actually get to see anything?”
He pushed himself up to continue packing. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Um, excuse me.”
“What’s up?”
“My temperature after your attempts at persuasion.”
A slow, lazy smile spread across his face, making him the sexiest man in this universe—and the next. “Is my baby feeling a little… needy?”
She pulled her T-shirt over her head and released the front clasp on her bra. “More than a little.”
“We can’t have that.” Stepping to the foot of the bed, he grasped the legs of her yoga pants and yanked them off.
“Lock the door.”
“Scotty’s asleep.”
“Lock the door, or this isn’t happening.” With Secret Service agents all over their house, Sam couldn’t relax if the door wasn’t locked.
“This is definitely happening, but if it’ll make you happy, I’ll lock the door.”
“Thank you.” She splayed her legs wide open to give him a show when he returned from locking the door and was rewarded with gorgeous hazel eyes that heated with desire when he saw her waiting for him.
“You little vixen,” he muttered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t,” he said, laughing as he came down on top of her and set out to give her a preview of what three weeks away together might be like.
* * *
They broke the news to Scotty the next morning at breakfast. “So,” Nick said, tentatively, “what would you think if Mom came with me to Europe?”
Thirteen-year-old Scotty, who was never at his best first thing in the morning, shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“Really?” Sam said. “You wouldn’t mind? Shelby, Tracy and Angela would be around to hang with you, and Dad and Celia too. We thought maybe Mrs. Littlefield could come up for a weekend or two if she’s free.”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
Sam glanced at Nick, who seemed equally perplexed by his lack of reaction. They’d expected him to ask to come with them, at the very least.
“Is everything okay?” Sam asked her son.
“Uh-huh.” He finished his cereal and got up to put the bowl in the sink. “I’m going to finish getting ready for school.”
“Okay, bud,” Nick said.
“Something’s up,” Sam said as soon as Scotty left the room.
“I agree. He didn’t even ask if he could miss school to come with us.”
“I thought the same thing.”
“We’ll have to see if we can get him to talk to us before we go—and not in the morning,” Nick said.
“I’ll ask Shelby to make spaghetti for tonight. That always puts him in a good mood.” Sam’s phone rang and when she saw the number for Dispatch, she groaned. “Damn it. You jinxed me!” So much for getting out of Dodge without having to worry about work. She took the call. “Holland.”
“Lieutenant, there was a fire overnight in Kalorama.” The dispatcher referred to the exclusive Northwest neighborhood that was home to a former U.S. president, ambassadors and other wealthy residents. “We have two DOA at the scene,”
the dispatcher said, reciting the address. “The fire marshal has requested Homicide detectives.”
“Did he say why?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Okay, I’m on my way.” Thankfully, she’d showered and gotten dressed before she woke Scotty. “Please call Sergeant Gonzales and Detective Cruz and ask them to meet me there.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Sam flipped her phone closed with a satisfying smack. That smacking sound was one of many reasons she’d never upgrade to a smart phone.
“You’re still going to be able to come with me, right?” Nick said, looking adorably uncertain.
Sam went over to where he sat at the table and kissed him. “I’ll talk to Malone today and see if I can make it happen.”
“Keep me posted.”
* * *
A ringing phone woke Christina Billings from a sound sleep. Alex had been up during the night with a fever and cold that was making them both miserable. Her fiancé, Tommy, had slept through that and apparently couldn’t hear his phone ringing either. He was due at work in an hour and was usually up by now.
“Tommy,” she said, nudging him. He didn’t stir. “Tommy. Your phone.”
He came to slowly, blinking rapidly.
“The phone, Tommy. Answer it before it wakes Alex.” Tommy’s two-year-old son needed more sleep and so did she, or this was going to be a very long day.
Tommy grabbed the phone from the bedside table.
Christina saw the word Dispatch on the screen.
“Gonzales.”
She couldn’t hear the dispatcher’s side of the conversation, but she heard Tommy’s grunt of acknowledgement before he ended the call, closing his eyes even as he continued to clutch the phone.
Christina wondered if he was going back to sleep after being called into work. She was about to say something when he got out of bed and headed for the shower.
It was ten months today since his partner had been gunned down right in front of him while approaching a suspect. After months of downward spiral, Tommy had seemed to rebound somewhat during the summer. But the rebound hadn’t lasted into the fall.
In the last month, since his new partner, Cameron Green, had joined the squad, Christina had watched him regress back into his grief. He’d said and done all the right things when it came to welcoming Cameron, but he was obviously spiraling again, and she had no idea what to do to help him or even how to reach him. Even when lying next to her in bed, he seemed so far away from her.
