She looked up at him. “That he’d rather kill me than see me with you? Yeah, I do, and if he couldn’t take me out, getting rid of you would be the next best thing.”

“Jesus.”

“I told him everything about you after that night we spent together. When you didn’t call, I told him about the connection we’d had, how I’d never had that before with anyone else. I thought he was my friend.” She took a deep, rattling breath to stave off the pain circling in her gut. “He’d remember that. He’d know you were important, a real threat. The first real threat since he and I broke up.”

“He’d be jealous enough to want to kill us both?”

“Destiny Johnson handed him the perfect opportunity with her tirade in the paper yesterday,” Sam said as the whole thing clicked into focus with such startling clarity she wondered how she could’ve missed it. “If it had worked, the cops would naturally blame her or her friends. No one would’ve thought to look at him. It was so easy. He wouldn’t have been able to resist.” The pain gnawed at her insides, making her sick and weak.

“Would he know how to build a bomb?”

“You can get how-to instructions for just about anything on the Internet these days.” She winced at the claws stabbing her gut. “Higgins said the EDs were crude. I guess we were lucky Peter screwed it up.”

“You’re in pain.”

“Just need to breathe,” she panted.

He loosened his hold on her. “What can I do? You’re scaring me, Sam.”

Clutching her midsection, she looked up at him. “I’ve dragged you into a nightmare.”

“I’m exactly where I want to be—where I’ve wanted to be since the night I met you. And if I get my hands on that ex-husband of yours before you do, I’ll be sure to let him know that he might’ve sent us on a long detour but we found our way back to each other.” He kissed her, gently at first and then with more passion when she responded in kind. “Despite him, we found our way back, and nothing’s going to get in our way this time. Nothing and no one.”

“Especially not a couple of bombs,” she said with a weak smile.

“That’s right.” He returned her smile. “How’s the belly?”

“Better,” she said, surprised to realize it was true.

“We’re going to do something about that. As soon as this case is closed, you’re going to see my doctor friend Harry.”

“You and what army will be taking me?”

“You’ll find out if you don’t go on your own.”

Her heart hammered in her chest as she studied him. “There’re things…about me…that I need to tell you, stuff you should know before you decide anything.”