“Screw that. It’s glass. It can be replaced. But you…” His voice hitched with emotion. Brushing his lips over the lump on her forehead, he took a deep shuddering breath. “There’s no replacing you. I ought to know. I tried for six years.”

“Nick,” she said, haltingly, “I’m supposed to hold it together and do my job, but this…” She fixed her eyes on the firefighters hosing down what was left of her car.

“Nothing’s going to happen to you. I won’t let it.”

Smiling now but still shaky, she turned to him and wiped the drying blood from his brow. “And how do you intend to do that?”

“By not letting you out of my sight.”

“Nick—”

“Sergeant Holland?” Officer Severson said. “The paramedics are ready for you.”

“We’re not finished,” she told Nick as she gestured the paramedics over. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“You bet your fine ass we will.”

Remarkably, Nick’s injuries were more serious than Sam’s. He required five stitches to close the cut over his left eyebrow and stitches in his right foot after doctors removed several slivers of glass. In addition, he had a slight concussion and a minor case of hypothermia from the hour he spent half-dressed in the cold.

Sam, on the other hand, had only a bump on the head and an ugly bruise on her breastbone where she’d connected with the bushes. When she allowed her mind to wander to what could’ve happened, she was beset by the shakes. She decided it was better if she didn’t think about it until she had to. Standing at Nick’s bedside, watching the plastic surgeon stitch his forehead, Sam’s knees went weak as the needle passed through his flesh. Nothing freaked her out more than needles—not even airplanes.

The TV was tuned to John’s public wake in Richmond, with special coverage of the O’Connor family’s poignant visit the day before. Nick was riveted to the coverage, but Sam was riveted to the needle.

“You’ll have a scar,” she whispered.

“No way,” the doctor protested. “He’ll be good as new.”

“Damn,” Nick said with a grin. “I was hoping for a gnarly scar.”

“It’s not funny,” Sam snapped.

“Hey.” He squeezed her hand. “Why don’t you wait outside? You’re pale as a ghost.”

“I’d rather stay in here where there’re needles than face what’s waiting for me out there.”

“And that would be?”

“I heard the lieutenant and the captain are here, no doubt media, too. It’ll be all over the news that I spent the night with you.”

“We’ll deal with it, babe.”

“I will deal with it. You will say nothing, you got me?”

“I’m not going to let you get reamed for something we both had a hand in.”