Chapter 14

After another quiet ride, Sam was even more alarmed by Nick’s withdrawal. Her attempts to lure him into conversation failed, and he passed most of the ride staring out the passenger window. As she pulled into a parking space on Ninth Street, her stomach began to ache. She desperately needed to get to HQ, but how could she leave him like this?

“Nick?”

He stared unseeing out the window.

Reaching out to him, she rested her hand on his arm. “Nick, honey, come on. We’re home.”

All at once, he seemed to snap out of the stupor he had sunk into. “You must need to get to work.”

“I’ll walk you in.” She got out of the car and went around to open his door. Following him up the stairs and into the house, Sam watched him lower himself into the first chair he encountered and drop his head into his hands.

In her pocket, her pager vibrated for the sixth time in the last ten minutes. Her cell phone rang, but as much as it pained her to let it ring, she ignored it—again. She went into the kitchen to make him some coffee and found his cell phone on the counter. Debating for a moment, she reached for it and scrolled through his list of contacts. Second to her on his speed dial list was Christina. Sam pressed send.

“Senator,” Christina said. “I just heard about Julian Sinclair. I’m so sorry.”

“Um, it’s Sam.”

“Oh. Hi. Is he—”

“He’s a mess. I need to go to work, but I can’t leave him like this.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Do you mind?” Sam asked, cringing at how foolish she sounded.

“Of course not. I care about him, too, you know.”

“I know you do.”

“I’m sorry. I just can’t believe this has happened.”

“No one can.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank you.”

Sam was astounded when she opened the front door twenty minutes later to find Christina and Gonzo.

“What’re you doing here?” she asked Gonzo as she stepped aside to let them in.

Right before Sam’s eyes, the formidable Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales blushed. “I was, uh, with her when she got the call about Sinclair. I thought maybe I could help.”

Sam looked from Gonzo to Christina, who had gone straight to Nick on the sofa, back to Gonzo. “Define with her.”

He squirmed. “You know, with her.” Nodding to Nick, he added, “The way you’re with him.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

“What? We’re both consenting adults.”

Before she could reply, Sam’s cell phone and pager rang simultaneously. She checked both LCDs and took the call from Captain Malone.

“Lieutenant. I’ve been trying to reach you for an hour.”