“What I was going to say is if, you know, we get to that, I couldn’t live here. It’s too far from the city and my dad.”

“Okay.”

“That simple?”

“It’s just a house.”

She studied him. “When are you going to turn into a jerk?”

“Any minute now. I’ve been meaning to get to that.”

Her cell phone rang, and she pulled it from her pocket. “It’s Freddie.” She put it on speaker so Nick could hear. “What’ve you got?”

“No sign of him at his place, but we found wires, plastic and fertilizer sitting right out on the table. Gonzo requested a warrant for a full search, and we’re just waiting on that now.”

She sat down. “I was hoping it wasn’t him. I was really hoping…”

“I’m sorry. We’ve issued an APB. Every cop in the city is looking for him. We’ll get him, Sam.”

“Thanks. Go on home. Get some sleep. Meet me at HQ at eight. We’ll put in a half day.”

“I’ll be there. Are you okay?”

“Overall, I’ve had better days, but I’m okay. See you in the morning.”

Nick dropped the duffel and suit bag by the front door and joined her on the sofa.

“I was so hoping he was just stalking me and we wouldn’t be able to pin the EDs on him. I didn’t want it to be him.”

Nick put his arm around her and brought her in to rest against him. “I know, babe.”

“The papers tomorrow will be all about me—the bomb, my relationship with you, my psycho ex-husband. They’ll rehash Johnson, run through my dad’s unsolved case.” She scrubbed at her face. “I hate when the story is about me. It’s been about me too often lately.”

“You’re so tired,” he said, kissing her brow. “Do you want to sleep here tonight?”

“I’d rather stay close to home until we get Peter. He knows my dad is an Achilles heel of mine.”

Standing, Nick held out a hand to help her up.

She surprised him when she wrapped her arms around him. “Can we just do this for a minute?”

He kissed the bruised bump on her forehead. “For as long as you want.”

They were interrupted several minutes later by a knock on the door.

“Wonder who’s here at this hour.” Nick swung the door open and was startled to find Natalie Jordan on his doorstep. “Natalie? What’re you doing here?” He wouldn’t have thought she even knew where he lived.

Her eyes rimmed with red, she said, “May I come in for a minute?”

Nick glanced back at Sam, who nodded. He showed Natalie into the living room.

“I was hoping you’d be here,” Natalie said to Sam. Her face was splotchy, as if she’d been crying for hours.