She felt bad about being so testy to Freddie who’d been a pillar of support in the wake of the Johnson case, but she didn’t want to hear what he’d have to say about her past relationship with a witness—a relationship she hadn’t disclosed, knowing that if she did, she’d be taken off the case. That couldn’t happen. She desperately needed a big win on a high-profile case like this one to get her career back on track.

That was why she planned to work around the clock, if that’s what it took, to break this case as fast as she could—long before anyone found out that she had once spent a night with the man who’d found the senator dead. If she was unsuccessful and her superiors discovered that she’d had yet another lapse in judgment, she could kiss her hard-won career goodbye. And then what would she do? What was she without this job? Who was she? No one.

Shaking off that unpleasant thought, Sam told Freddie she’d be back after the press conference and headed for Chief Farnsworth’s office. On the way, she stopped in the restroom to splash cold water on her face. Looking up at her reflection, she was startled by the bruised-looking circles under her eyes, the pale, almost translucent skin made more so by weeks of sleepless nights, and eyes that couldn’t hide the torment.

She had told them she was ready to come back, had assured the department psychologist she could handle anything the job threw her way. But could she handle seeing Nick Cappuano again? Could she handle how it had felt—even six years later—to be engulfed once again by those strong arms, to be kissed by those soft lips, to be on the receiving end of those heated eyes? God! Those eyes of his were flat-out amazing.

“Stop, Sam,” she whispered to the face in the mirror, a face she barely recognized. “Please stop. Do your job and stop thinking about him. Think about the senator.”

Reaching for a paper towel, she blotted the excess water from her face and took a deep breath. “The senator,” she said once more as she prepared to stand next to the chief at the press conference.

The questions were brutal.

“How can you trust someone with Sergeant Holland’s poor judgment to oversee such an important investigation?”

Chief Farnsworth, bless his heart, made it clear that she was the detective best suited to lead the investigation, and she had his full confidence and trust.

As Sam imagined what he’d have to say about her relationship with a material witness, she swallowed hard. Enough of that, she thought. You’ve made your decision where he’s concerned. It was one night, so stop thinking about it. Yeah, right. Okay.

Once the reporters were done attacking her, they moved on to more specific questions about the investigation.