Sam scrubbed her skin until it burned. She washed her hair and then washed it again. The horror was harder to get rid of than Reese’s brain matter. Standing under the hot water, she relived the whole thing, from the moment he got into her car until the fatal shot. She’d done all she could to bring about a positive conclusion. Of that she was confident. But that didn’t change the fact that a man had died a foot from her. All her training and time on the job only went so far on days like this.

She leaned against the shower wall and closed her eyes. All she could see was Clarence’s face in the moment she knew she had gotten through to him. And then she saw the gun at his temple. Sometimes the waste, the sheer destruction she witnessed on the job was too much to bear.

The shower door opened, and Nick stepped in.

He reached for her, but she shook him off. “Don’t.”

He lifted her into his embrace anyway.

Sam fought him. “You can’t come in here and do this. Not after what you said last night. You don’t have any right.”

“I have every right.”

“I can’t allow myself to rely on you if you’re not going to be here next time.”

“I’ll be here next time. Every time.”

“Because you want to be?”

“Because I wouldn’t know how not to be.” He left a trail of hot kisses from her neck to her shoulder. “I’m not sure why, but for some reason I wasn’t as afraid today as I was yesterday. You were in real danger this time, but I knew you’d find a way out of it.” Brushing his lips over hers, he added, “You’re so smart and resourceful. I had faith, Sam. I have faith. In you.”

“So what happens the next time someone takes a shot at me? Or if I actually get shot? Will I have to worry about you freaking out and hitting the road?”

He shook his head. “We have a deal, remember? I can’t ever do this again.”

“I need there to be one thing, Nick. I need one thing in my life I can be sure of.”

“You can be sure of me, babe. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“So this is a forever kind of thing?”

“Absolutely.” His lips came down hard on hers for a deep, devouring kiss.

When she came up for air, Sam said, “I need to get to work, and so do you.”

“Another couple of minutes won’t matter.” He pressed her back against the wall, hooked her legs over his hips and thrust into her.

“Only a couple of minutes?” she asked with a coy smile.