Austin fixed cold eyes on the doorway into which his parents had been taken. “She’s on her own.” He glanced at Sam. “Thank you for getting justice for my uncle and my brother and Tucker. In a million years, I never could’ve imagined that my parents were involved, but with hindsight I should’ve known my mother had something to do with it. I should’ve known that.”

“You had no reason to suspect either of them was capable of this. Go on back to your brother, Austin. That’s where you need to be right now.”

He nodded and turned to leave.

Nick stepped up to her and put his arm around her.

Sam leaned gratefully into his embrace.

With his good arm, he took the coat Captain Malone handed him and the two of them got her into it. “I have a serious bone to pick with you, Lieutenant,” Nick said.

“So I’ve heard,” Sam said, the burst of energy leaving her as suddenly as it had come.

Nick steered her toward the door.

“Hey! What’re you doing? I’ve got to do the report!”

“I’m taking you home, Samantha, so shut up before I bend you over my knee and spank the life out of you right here in front of all your coworkers.”

Since she didn’t have the energy to fight him, she rested her head on his shoulder and let him take charge. “Mmm, that sounds like fun. Can we try that sometime?”

“I said to shut up,” he growled but she could tell that she’d flustered him. She could hear it in his voice.

“Speaking of going home, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that,” she said, her voice thick with exhaustion.

“We’ll get to it. When you can keep your eyes open.”

“K. Don’t let me forget.”

“Don’t worry, babe. I won’t.”

Epilogue

After two weeks of forced medical leave, all Sam wanted to do was get back to the action, but everyone seemed to be conspiring against her. Nothing infuriated her more than being mollycoddled by a bunch of overwrought men. All she’d managed to get done on her first day back was to confirm that Devon Sinclair was expected to make a full recovery. Malone and Cruz shoved her out the door at the stroke of five o’clock as if she wouldn’t have had the good sense to go home on her own.