by Rachel Lee
Milagro’s house was, like his, on the better side of things. It occupied the corner, a decent-size lot with a white-sided house, a deep front porch and a picket fence containing the closest thing he’d ever seen to an English cottage garden. He hadn’t expected her to have a pretty yard or a lot of flowers. She did that sort of thing all day. Didn’t she want a break from it at night?
The driveway went only as far as the sidewalk, the rest of it having been claimed for plantings. He shifted the truck into Park, then turned to face her. “Are you going to be all right?”
She nodded.
“You’ll call your grandmother?”
Another nod.
“Here’s my number. If you need anything, even just to talk, call me.”
She hesitated before accepting the business card he offered. Then, with a polite nod, she opened the door, got out and walked through the gate and into her garden. She followed the stone path to the porch, never glancing back. There she unlocked the door, opened it to the bare minimum of space she needed to slip through and did just that.
The cop in him wondered about that. Was someone inside she didn’t want him to see? Did she have an inside garden that he might have to haul her to jail for? Was she such a bad housekeeper she didn’t want anyone to catch a glimpse of the mess? But in those seconds the door was open, he’d heard excited barking and gotten the impression of a yellow-furred mass of energy greeting her. She had a dog, a big one judging from what he’d seen, who’d been locked up all day and probably regarded an open door as an invitation to romp down the streets.
Would she call her grandmother? Would she do it now or wait until tonight, when it was dark and she was vulnerable and the image of Evan Carlyle’s face haunted her even with her eyes squeezed shut?
Her decision to make, he reminded himself. He’d done his duty, both as police chief and as Samuel Douglas’s son. The rest was up to her.
Copyright © 2018 by Marilyn Pappano
Keep reading for a special preview of
FATAL CHAOS by Marie Force,
available now from HQN Books.
When a series of fatal drive-by shootings sets the city of Washington, D.C. on edge, Metro Police Lieutenant Samantha Holland must beat the clock to stop the ruthless killers. But with her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, facing a challenge that could impact both their lives, will the mounting pressure deepen or damage their bond?
Fatal Chaos
by Marie Force
In the kitchen, Sam found Nick leaning against the counter, drinking a beer. His face lit up with pleasure at the sight of her.
“This is a nice surprise,” he said, reaching for her. “I didn’t expect to see you until much later.”
Sam snuggled into his embrace and brought him up-to-date on the latest with the case. “We’ve done all we could today. Now we wait for the lab and to see if the shooters will strike again.”
“I heard about the warning to citizens. Pretty hard-core.”
“Had to be done.”
“You like the gangbanger for the shootings?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t add up. If he was intent on getting Tamara back, killing her brother would put a damper on the romance. Plus, there’s nothing to indicate he has above-average skills with a gun.”
“True.” Nick’s hand made a soothing circle on her back.
“What’ve you done with the boy child?”
“I sent him to take a shower and get his backpack ready for tomorrow.”
“How’d he take that directive?”
“As you might imagine.”
Sam laughed.
“I used to love the first day of school,” Nick said.
“You were one of the dorks who ruined the curve for the rest of us, weren’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“How many times did you make the honor roll?”
“May I decline to answer out of fear of being mocked for the rest of my life?”
She looked up at him. “How. Many. Times?”
“All the times?” he said with a weak smile.
“Oh my God! How did I not know this before I said, ‘I do’?”
“You knew I got an academic scholarship to Harvard. How do you think that happened?”
“I’ve honestly never thought about how, but now that I know, this may be grounds for an annulment.”
“Nice try, babe,” he said with a laugh. “As if I’d ever let you go for any reason, and besides, I think you can only get an annulment before the marriage is consummated. Since we’ve consummated ours about six thousand times, I’d say you’re screwed in more ways than one.”
Sam laughed. “You think you’re so smart.”
“I know I’m smart, and now you know it too.” Looking down at her, he said, “By the way, that’s twice you’ve mentioned leaving me in one twenty-four-hour period. Should I be worried?”
“Not even kinda.” She closed her eyes, laid her head on his chest and let out a deep breath, relieved to be back in his arms after a hellish day. He always made her feel better, even when boasting about his impressive academic record. “If we ever have biological kids, do you think they’ll get my school brains or yours?”
Only because she was pressed so tightly against him did she feel his entire body go rigid over the fraught subject of babies.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll get the chance to find out.”
“What if we have a kid who’s just like me? A classic underachiever in school. Wouldn’t that make you crazy?”
“Not at all. I’d be so in love with any kid of ours that I’d be more afraid of spoiling him or her rotten than what kind of grades they get.”
As usual, he said the perfect thing. “That’s good to know.”
“Anything you want to tell me, babe?”
* * *
SAM’S INCLINATION WAS to keep it from him until she knew for sure, but wrapped up in his arms, she couldn’t do that to him. “I’ve been feeling weird lately. I asked Shelby to get me a test, and she said she’d leave it under the sink in our bathroom.”
With his hands now on her shoulders, he held her back from him so he could see her face. “For real?”
“I don’t know.” Her throat closed around a lump of emotion that made her crazy for being so emotional over this issue, even after all this time.
“Let’s go take the test.”
“Right now?”
“This very minute.”
“Nick... I have other stuff I need to talk to you about.”
“We’ll get to that.” He took her hand and gave a gentle tug. “This first.”
Don’t miss FATAL CHAOS by Marie Force,
available now from HQN Books
Copyright © 2018 by HTJB, Inc.
ISBN-13: 9781488092930
Conard County Revenge
Copyright © 2018 by Susan Civil Brown
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