It had all begun with the murder of his best friend, John, the brother of his heart. Tapped by the party to complete the last year of John’s term, Nick had done his best to live up to John’s legacy and to the faith instilled in him by Graham and the Virginia Democratic Party. His so-called “fairy-tale” romance with Sam had cemented his popularity in Virginia, and his keynote address at the convention in August had put him on the national radar.

Everything had happened so fast that he sometimes felt like he’d stepped into a time warp and was being hurled forward at turbo speed. The fact that he had no political pedigree had helped. Even John had existed under the weight of his father’s legacy. While Nick’s connection to the O’Connors was no secret in Washington, he wasn’t as attached to Graham as John had been. It was rare these days to find a politician who wasn’t toting a ton of baggage with him, which was another reason his star had risen so quickly.

But vice president... Wow. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined a scenario in which he’d be traveling aboard Air Force One with the president, let alone receive an offer like the one President Nelson had just made. Unreal.

When Nick thought of what Sam would have to say about it, he chuckled softly. He’d already asked a lot of her in the last year. His high profile had raised hers, which she chafed against actively. She preferred life far below the radar, not well above it. Her career was so much a part of who she was that he couldn’t imagine her without the badge and cuffs.

How could he ask her to give that up when she’d worked so hard to get where she was? And she would have to give it up. There was no way the country’s second lady could be out chasing down murderers, not without Secret Service protection that she’d never agree to.

He would mention the offer to her because he didn’t keep things from her, but he didn’t expect it to lead anywhere. Their lives were complicated enough as it was, and it was probably better to leave well enough alone.

But it had been nice to be asked.

* * *

After a brutal thirty minutes with Rick Lind’s wife, Sam left her in the care of her sister with information about how to claim the body once the autopsy was completed.

Freddie, who had stayed with Ginger and Amber while Sam was with Carla Lind, was quiet as they made their way back to the city with their young passengers.

Amber had fallen asleep while Sam was in the Lind house, but Ginger continued to stare out the window.