Timing, Sam thought, was everything. If Spencer had bought the pills a month earlier or a month later, he might’ve missed getting sucked into Vincent’s nefarious scheme.

Nick came into the room, already showered and dressed in jeans and a sweater. “You’re awake. I was starting to get worried.”

“Sorry. I didn’t sleep much this week.”

“I know, babe.” He sat on the bed next to her and leaned in to kiss her. “You feel better?”

“I think so.”

Curling a strand of her hair around his finger, he said, “Why do you look so troubled? Other than the obvious.”

“I was just thinking about timing and how Spencer might’ve avoided this whole thing if he’d bought the pills a month earlier or later. If only Narcotics hadn’t gotten behind on their OD reporting, maybe an alert would’ve been sounded in time to save him.”

“Or maybe it was just his time to go.”

Sam gave him a skeptical look. “Do you believe that?”

“I believe we’re all along for the ride. Some of us will get lucky and have long lives, and others won’t. But we can no more control how it plays out than we can control the tides or the sunrise or the weather.”

“I wanted to fix this for Ang and the kids.”

“You did fix it for them, sweetheart, as much as anyone could.”

“I go through this life and this job, trying to get justice for people whose lives will never be the same, and I tell myself that what we do makes a difference for them. But does it? Does it really? The person they lost is never coming back, no matter what I do.”

“No, but the parties responsible for taking those lives are held accountable and can’t do this to another family. That does matter, Sam. It absolutely does.”

“I might need you to remind me of that once in a while.”

“Any time you need it,” he said, kissing her. “I wanted to let you know that Angela decided to pack up this morning and go home. The Secret Service took them a while ago.”

“What brought this on?” Sam asked, surprised to hear that news because Angela hadn’t mentioned leaving when Sam saw her the night before.

“She didn’t say much, but she left this for you.” He handed her an envelope that she tore open, holding the letter so Nick could read along with her.

Dear Sam,

Sorry for sneaking out while you were getting some much-needed rest, but I was afraid you’d talk me out of doing what needs to be done. It wouldn’t take much to convince me to stay forever at the wonderful White House, where we’ve been cared for so beautifully by you, Nick, Scotty, Alden, Aubrey, Eli, Candace and even Skippy. The White House staff has been so good to me and the kids, tending to our every need, and I’ve left a separate note to thank them.

It would be so easy to get comfortable here, in your life, but I need to go back to my own. Thanks to the GoFundMe and the generosity of so many people, I can pay off my debt and live comfortably in our home while I figure out what’s next. I’ll never be able to tell you and Freddie what it means to me to have the resources to take a minute to breathe, or how much I appreciate Nick promoting the fundraiser, even if that got the media wound up. Thank you for the offer of Ninth Street. It helps to know that’s an option if it’s too painful to stay in our home.