The bullet lodged in his spine had begun to move in recent weeks, and the first sign of trouble had been the return of painful sensation to some of his limbs. He should’ve had surgery more than a week ago but was determined to get through Thanksgiving before he went under the knife.

“I hope you’re not making things worse by delaying this surgery.” Any threat to his health made her stomach ache like a bastard.

He laughed through the pain. “Worse than what?”

“You know what I mean, Dad! Worse than this is dead!”

“Life is a fatal illness, and we’re all going to die someday.”

“Maybe so, but I vote to postpone your fatal illness for as long as possible.”

“And I love you for that, but you need to prepare yourself for the possibility—”

“Do not finish that sentence. Under any circumstances.”

The half of his face that wasn’t paralyzed lifted into an indulgent smile. He was living on borrowed time, and they both knew it, but there was no freaking way they were going to actually talk about that.

Her ringing cell phone took her mind off the staggering array of awful possibilities that could result from a surgery doctors had once told them was too risky to perform. Now, with the bullet on the move, they had no choice. Sam flipped open her phone to take the call. “Holland.”

“It’s Hill. I’ve got your warrant.”

“Wow, you don’t mess around.”

“No time for messing around. Pick you up in ten?”

Sam glanced at the stairs, wondering how close Nick was to departing. Wouldn’t it be perfect if he got to watch her leave with Hill? “Yeah, thanks.”

“On my way.”

She stashed the phone in her pocket, and her gaze connected with the frosty blue eyes that were just like hers.

“Fine line. In more ways than one.”

“You’ve made your point.”

“I don’t ever want to have to say I told you so, Sam.”

“Then don’t. I’m going to do what I’ve got to do, the same way you would. I’m going to figure out what happened to Brooke, and I’ll turn over whatever I find to my team.”

“And if you find something critical to the prosecution of the person who murdered those kids? It’ll be tainted by your connection to Brooke, and you know that!”

“Which is why Hill will be the one to find whatever we find.”

“You’re playing with fire.”

“Just like you did with the Fitzgerald case? Remember how you looked the other way when you figured out that the son of your dead partner’s wife killed his brother, and you swept it under the rug to protect her?”

Sam had never seen such unmitigated rage directed at her from her father.

Scotty came bounding down the stairs, full of exuberance, unaware he was walking into a battlefield.