“Don’t think your precious daddy can get you out of this one, Lieutenant.” He stopped at the door and turned to leave her with a greasy smile. “And you’d better enjoy that title while you can. By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be thankful for a night security job at a parking garage.”

Sam let him have the last word because she couldn’t have spoken if she had to. The moment she was alone she lowered herself into her chair and fought to breathe through the pain. This was not how she wanted to start her first day.

Freddie came to the door. “Getting settled, Lieutenant?” He took a closer look at her. “What’s wrong?”

Sam made a huge effort to shake off the pain and anger. “Nothing. How are you? Good holiday?”

He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “You’re pale as a ghost. What gives?”

She handed him the paper Stahl had left with her.

As Freddie glanced at it, his brows furrowed. “A summons to an IAB hearing? What the hell?”

“Nick.”

“What about him?”

“Stahl’s got Internal Affairs investigating me for hooking up with him in the middle of the O’Connor investigation.”

“Are you serious? Without Nick’s help we’d still be looking for O’Connor’s killer.”

“He was the one who found O’Connor dead, so technically I shagged a witness. Stahl’s going to find a way to screw me for that.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about. Farnsworth and Malone will back you.”

“They’ll be forced to confirm that I became involved with Nick during the investigation.” She ran her fingers over the hair she’d corralled into a clip for work. “Goddamned Peter.” Just the thought of her ex-husband made her stomach turn, but with disgust rather than pain. In a jealous rage, he planted crude bombs on her car and Nick’s. When her car exploded and injured them both, it also blew the lid off their secret relationship. “This is all his fault. Without him dicking with me, no one would’ve known about me and Nick until Thomas O’Connor was locked up and we were ready for them to know.”

“It’ll be fine, Sam. Stahl’s got a beef with them giving you his command. That’s all this is, and everyone will see right through it.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said with zero confidence that he was. “Do me a favor and don’t say anything about this to Nick or my dad.”

“You aren’t going to tell Nick?” Freddie asked, incredulous.

“Not if I can avoid it. He’s got enough on his plate right now, and this’ll just upset him.”

“Won’t he be more upset when he finds out you kept it from him?”