“No problem. Thanks for the leads. Will you be attending the meeting at zero seven hundred?”

“I’ll be there.”

“See you then.”

Even though he’d love to go have a conversation with Rick Lind, he wanted to talk to Sam first. Tomorrow was another day, and zero seven hundred would be upon him far too soon. In desperate need of food and sleep, he got into his car and drove “home” to his hotel.

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

By the time Nick finally got Scotty settled and into bed it was ten o’clock. After a visit with Skip and Celia, Nick had spent the entire evening with his boy, talking about Willie and what had happened to him. Scotty was a deeply sensitive kid, an old soul in many ways, and Nick had answered as many of his questions as he could. But some questions would never be answered satisfactorily, even if Sam and her team were able to piece together what’d happened to Willie.

Nick had brought home a huge briefing book that he was supposed to go over before morning meetings, but by the time Scotty ran out of questions, he was out of steam. He planned to do a quick review in the morning before his meetings.

Christina had spent all day rearranging two days of campaign events so Nick could accompany the president on the top-secret trip to visit the troops in Afghanistan. In light of the Vasquez murder and Sam’s involvement in it—as well as Scotty’s despair—Nick wished he hadn’t committed to the trip. He hated to be away when so much was going on at home, but he had a job to do too. He couldn’t pass up the chance to visit with the troops from Virginia who were stationed in Afghanistan.

He’d never admit to Sam about the tiny bit of anxiety he’d experienced when Nelson’s staff first pitched the idea of the trip to him. Flying into a war zone on a gigantic plane with the U.S. flag all over it was not something he’d ever thought he’d do. But much of his life these days was made up of moments he’d never expected to experience, and flying on Air Force One would be one more unforgettable thing in a year of unforgettable things.

He took a shower and shaved before he slid into bed next to Sam, snuggling up to her, wishing she would wake up but not wanting to disturb her. As his hand connected with a wool sweater, he realized she was still fully dressed. She was so tired she hadn’t even bothered to undress. At least she’d removed her shoes.

His breath caught when she turned over and reached for him, mumbling in her sleep. Nick put his arm around her and ran his other hand over her hair. “Shhh, it’s okay, babe,” he whispered.

“Time is it?”