She didn’t know if he stayed or left because she couldn’t move to find out. In fact, if she never had to move again, that would be fine with her. The next time she woke up it was dark, she was in bed and he was asleep in a chair in the corner. Sam realized she’d been awakened by her ringing cell phone.

Avery stood. “I’ll get that for you.”

Sam summoned the last of her energy to lunge for the phone. “No.” Though she was sicker than she’d ever been, somehow she knew that if she let him answer that phone she’d have the biggest problem of her life. She fumbled with the phone and managed to flip it open before her eyes closed again.

“Sam!” Nick’s cry got her attention. “Samantha.”

“Sick.”

“What? Honey, what’s wrong?”

“What you had.”

“Oh my God, baby. Where’s Avery?”

“Won’t go away.”

“Let me talk to him.”

Sam was on her way back to sleep. “Sam! Let me talk to Avery, honey.”

She held up the phone. “Talk to him.” She fell asleep to the lyrical sound of Avery’s accent, which was strangely comforting under the circumstances, conveying the details of their afternoon and evening to Nick. Until she remembered that Nick hated Avery, who was now alone in a hotel room with her. Nick would be mad about that, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open long enough to deal with it.

She dreamed about the case, about Arnold, Gonzo and Scotty. Where was Scotty? Did Nick have him? Sam woke up sweating, thrashing at the blankets that were wrapped around her legs, her anxiety spiking when she couldn’t remember who had Scotty.

“Scotty. Where’s Scotty?”

“Home with his dad.”

Sam’s eyes flew open to see Avery Hill wearing a T-shirt and sweats. He was seated on the edge of her bed.

“You need to drink some water so you don’t get dehydrated.” He held a cup of ice water and helped her sit up to take a sip.

The cold water sliding down her throat was the best thing she’d ever experienced. He forced a few more sips into her before Sam couldn’t hold herself up any longer. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow and woke to the sound of men’s voices. Sam thought she was still dreaming when she heard Nick. She had to be dreaming. He was in D.C. She was somewhere with Avery. Where were they again?

Tennessee.

She was in Tennessee, and her husband was in Washington. But then she heard him say, “I’ll take it from here.” The door to the room clicked shut, and she forced her eyes open to see if she was hallucinating. She had to be dreaming this.