“Not really, but I said I would and I will.” She rubbed her hand over her abdomen. “My stomach suddenly feels like I swallowed a dozen bats.”

Smiling, he squeezed her shoulder and gazed into her eyes. “You’re going to kill it. I know you are, and think of all the good you’ll do for a cause that’s near and dear to us.” The speech was part of their plan to use the national stage to advance their own agenda on a number of issues.

“I know all that. I just hope I don’t puke on the stage or something equally embarrassing. And do not laugh at me!” She poked his hard-as-a-rock belly when he laughed anyway. “Eat up, everyone! It’s time to get to work! I need some threads to pull!”

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

AS HE DID upon awaking every morning, Gonzo reached for his cell phone on the bedside table. It wasn’t there. What the hell? He glanced at the clock, which read seven-thirty, and sat up straight in bed. He was late for work. Again. At this rate, he wouldn’t have a job to go back to if and when he got his shit sorted out.

Running his fingers through his hair, he tried to establish some order. His body ached after the longest stretch of sleep he’d had since Arnold was killed. He went into the bathroom, took a leak, brushed his teeth and went in search of Christina and Alex. They were having breakfast when he emerged from the bedroom.

Christina eyed him in the wary, guarded way she had for weeks now. It pained him to see her walking on eggshells around him, but he supposed he couldn’t blame her.

“Morning,” he said as he poured some coffee and then went to kiss his son. “Where’s my phone?”

“I have it.” She seemed extra nervous as she tended to Alex.

“Why do you have it? And where is it?”

“You were sleeping,” she said beseechingly. “For the first time since AJ died, you were actually sleeping. I didn’t want you to be disturbed, so I took the phone out of the bedroom.”

He held out his hand for it, his anxiety growing as it became apparent that something had happened while he was out cold.

“Please don’t be mad at me, Tommy. I did what I thought was best for you.”

Continuing to stare her down, he waited for her to put the phone in his hand. He clicked on the power button and it came to life to reveal a flurry of text messages from his colleagues and several missed calls from Dispatch. “Fuck,” he whispered under his breath so Alex wouldn’t hear him and repeat the word. Scrolling through the texts, his heart began to beat super fast, and he felt light-headed at the realization that he’d missed a Homicide call. Son of a bitch.