Sam shrugged. “Goes with the territory.” Anxious to change the subject, she tilted her head back and kissed him. “Sorry I woke you.”

“I wasn’t asleep.”

“Nick… Will you take a pill? Please? You can’t go another night without sleep.”

“I’m okay.”

She ran her hand from her chest to his belly. “I need you very well rested for this weekend.”

Laughing softly, he stopped her hand before it could go any lower. “And I need you well rested.” He linked their fingers and brought their joined hands to his chest.

“I will if you will.”

He rolled to his side and drew her in closer to him. “You got it.”

Sam took a deep breath and closed her eyes tight against the image of Gardner holding that gun to Nick’s head. A tremble rippled through her body. She blinked back tears, knowing if she broke down he’d never get the sleep he so desperately needed.

“I hate how you suffer over that job.”

“I’m all right, Nick. Really. I want you to sleep.”

“And I love how you care more about me than you do about yourself.”

Sam gripped his hand. “Always will.” Lying there in the dark, Sam vowed to nail Darius Gardner to the wall. She would get him before he could harm anyone else. And once she had him, she’d make sure he never saw the light of day again.

Chapter 6

Sam didn’t go back to sleep. She waited until she was sure she wouldn’t wake Nick before she eased herself out of his embrace and got up. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was just after three. Great, she thought. Just what I need this week—a sleepless night. She went across the hall to her closet and found a pair of sweats and pulled them on along with warm socks.

In the far back corner of the closet, she took the top off a shoebox and withdrew one of the six cans of diet cola she’d stashed there for emergencies. A sleepless night the week of her wedding certainly counted as a caffeine emergency.

She went downstairs, got a glass of ice and took Gardner’s file into the study to fire up Nick’s computer. While she waited for it to boot up, she took pleasure in rearranging the perfectly placed items on his desk. It made her smile to imagine him finding her calling card the next time he sat there.

Sam reached for a framed photo she hadn’t seen there before—the picture of them that had run with their interview in the Washington Star. When had he gotten that? Nick sat behind her, with his arms around her. Sam traced a finger over the photo, wishing for one for her own desk. She’d have to ask Nick how he’d come to have it.