“Sure, okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Wondering what was going on with her sister, Sam spent the next hour looking for Preston Sinclair at his office and home. She confirmed Diandra’s assertion that no one had seen him all day. When she ran out of places to look, she called in an APB to dispatch, ensuring that every cop in the city would be looking for him with orders to contact her the moment he turned up. Before she could chicken out, she also made the horrible, unimaginable call to Tucker Farrell’s parents.

Afterward, her hands were sweaty, her stomach growled and her caffeine level had plummeted. Under normal circumstances, she’d be stopping for a diet cola right now. Her stomach might be benefiting from the soda famine, but her blood pressure was soaring. When she got her hands on Nick…

The cell rang again. Sam took her eyes off the road to glance at the caller ID. “Speak of the devil.” She flipped the cell phone to speaker mode. “What?”

“Hello to you, too.”

“I’m working here.”

“You’re in a fine mood. What time will you be home?” Home?

Where was that these days? “An hour or so. I have to stop at Angela’s on the way.”

“How’s Devon?”

“In surgery. Doesn’t look good and now his father has gone missing. I’ll need to go back to work tonight.”

“No problem. I’ll feed you and send you on your way.”

“Fine.”

“Are you going to tell me what Harry said?”

“Nope.”

“I’ll get it out of you.”

“Give it your best shot.”

“Oh, I will. You can count on that.”

Closing the phone, she tossed it into the passenger seat and headed for Angela’s house where she was greeted by five-year-old Spider-Man.

“Spidey!” Sam scooped him up and swung him around.

Jack squealed with delight.

“Where’s your mama?”

“In the house.” Jack kissed her noisily on the mouth. “Where ya been, Sam?”

“Oh here, there, everywhere.”

“Did you shoot anyone?”

Sam poked his ribs as she carried him inside. “No, silly.”

He touched the bandage on her chin. “Didja get beat up?”

Laughing, Sam said, “Not this week.”

“Boring.”

“So boring.” She put him down and kissed her sister’s cheek, noting that Angela looked pale and drawn.

“Jack, go get changed for dinner and wash your hands with real soap, not just water.”

“But, Mom! Sam just got here.”

Angela narrowed her eyes and pointed to the stairs. “Go.”

Jack stomped off, grumbling under his breath.

“He’s killing me.” Angela sagged into a kitchen chair. “He never runs out of gas.”

“You look like you have.”

“I’m exhausted.”

“What’s wrong, Ang? You’re scaring me.”

After a long pause, Angela said, “I’m pregnant.”

Sam took a moment to absorb the instantaneous burst of jealousy. “Really? How far along?”

“Almost three months.”