Forrester put down the coffee and leaned toward her, elbows on knees, colleague to colleague, or so he wanted her to think. “Look, I’m in a really tough spot on this one, Sam. I’ll be honest with you. The only reason my office hasn’t already filed charges is because of who your husband is and because the president himself has asked me not to.”

“Don’t let that stop you,” Sam said, earning scowls from Andy and Kurt. “Seriously, if you feel you have a case, charge me. If you don’t, then don’t. But don’t base your decision-making on who I’m married to. Neither of us would appreciate that kind of special treatment.”

“I get where you’re coming from, and I respect that you’re not asking for special treatment when most people in your position would.” He paused and looked directly at her. “I’m not entirely sure I can successfully prosecute these charges, Lieutenant, so I’ll be taking the case to the grand jury. I’ll let the people decide.”

“Oh, well...” As Andy and Kurt exchanged smiles, she realized Forrester had found a way out of pressing charges, and Andy and Kurt had figured that out before she did. He was counting on her popularity—and Nick’s—to get them both out of the bind they were in.

“It’ll take a couple of months, but as soon as I know whether there’ll be an indictment, I’ll let you know.”

Sam exhaled a deep breath she’d been holding since she got the call from his office earlier. “Thank you.”

“I want to be clear about something. I’ll do this once. And only once. The next time something that should result in clear-cut charges comes across my desk, I’ll handle it the way I would for anyone else.”

“Understood.”

“Great.” Forrester stood, indicating the meeting was over. “Thanks for coming in.” He shook hands with each of them and sent them on their way.

They didn’t speak until they were in the elevator.

“He’s smooth,” Kurt said. “He found a way to get you off the hook and save face for his office at the same time.”

“I won’t be off the hook until the grand jury rules,” Sam said.

“The likelihood of them bringing charges against a popular vice president’s equally popular wife are slim to none,” Andy said. “And Forrester knows that.”

“You should be prepared for a firestorm in the media,” Kurt said. “When it gets out that Forrester is taking the case to the grand jury rather than moving forward with charges, your boy Ramsey isn’t going to take that well.”

“I can handle it,” Sam said.

“It’s apt to get really ugly,” Andy said. “For you and for Nick.”