“You really are super sexy when you’re all steamed up,” he whispered, earning another furious glare. When he tried to hold hands with her, she tugged hers free and jammed it into her coat pocket where she encountered the cuffs and her bra. Her head pounded, and she began to believe it was possible for a head to actually blow off a neck. As they approached the waiting area, her stomach took a nasty dip that caused her to gasp with pain.

“What?” Nick asked, taking her arm to stop her.

“Stomach.”

“Why don’t we get someone to look at that while we’re here?”

She tugged her arm free. “It’s been checked.”

“It needs to be checked again,” he said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

“It’s better.” She stepped out of his embrace. “No PDA in front of the captain or anyone else.”

“You’re not giving me orders, remember?”

“Nick—”

“Sam.”

With a growl of frustration, she marched into the waiting room several strides ahead of him.

Captain Malone put down the Time magazine he’d been flipping through and stood up. “Ready?”

“Yes, sir. Ah, this is Nick. Nick Cappuano.” Gesturing to Nick without looking at him, she added, “Captain Malone.”

While Sam’s stomach grinded, the two men sized each other up as they shook hands and mumbled, “Nice to meet you.”

“On behalf of the department,” Malone said, “I apologize for your injuries and the damage to your home.”

“Not your fault,” Nick said. “However, I’d like to know what’s being done to find the person who tried to kill Sam.”

Sam stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Was that how he planned to stay out of it?

“Let’s get you two out of here, and we’ll talk about it on the way.” He waved his hand and two uniformed officers appeared. “We’ve got press up the wazoo outside the E.R., so Officers Butler and O’Brien are going to get you out through the main door upstairs. I’ll get my car and meet you there.”

“Thank you, sir,” Sam said. The moment the captain was out of earshot she pounced on Nick. “That’s you staying out of it and being cool?”

“What? He knows we’re sleeping together. Wouldn’t I look like a jerk if I didn’t even ask? Do you want him to think I’m a jerk? Wouldn’t it be better for you if he likes me? If he can see why you’d risk so much to be with me right now?”

“Ugh!” She stalked after the uniforms, pretending not to hear him laughing behind her.