Chapter 37
“I’ll get it,” Nick said. He strolled to the door, opened it and gasped at the face that greeted him. John’s face. Rendered speechless, Nick could only stare at the young man. He had a wild, unfocused look to him that put Nick on alert.
“I’m Thomas O’Connor. I understand that my, um, grandfather is here?”
Recovering, Nick said, “Yes. Please. Come in.”
As he ushered the young man into the room, Nick experienced the same prickle of fear on the back of his neck that he’d felt once before—the day he walked into John’s apartment and found him dead. Sam, he noticed, had stood up and was watching Thomas’s every move as he approached Graham.
“Who are you?” Thomas asked Nick.
Surprised that Thomas didn’t seem to recognize him or Sam, he said, “I’m Nick Cappuano, your father’s chief of staff, and this is my girlfriend, Sam.” Nick met Sam’s steady gaze with one of his own, using his eyes to implore her to go along with him. Until they knew what Thomas wanted with Graham, he didn’t need to know she was a cop.
“You’ve taken me by surprise,” Graham finally said as he sized up the grandson he hadn’t seen since the day he was born twenty years earlier.
“I imagine I have.”
“I thought we might see you and your mother at your father’s funeral,” Graham said.
“She got tied up in Chicago and couldn’t make it,” Thomas said.
Sam and Nick exchanged glances, and he knew she was picking up the same uneasy vibe.
Thomas turned to them. “You two can take off. I came to see my grandfather.”
“That’s all right,” Nick said, the tingle on his neck intensifying by the minute. “We’ve got nowhere to be.”
Thomas pulled a gun from the inside pocket of his winter coat. Pointing it at Sam and Nick, he said, “Then take a seat and shut up.” He gestured to the sofa.
“Thomas,” Nick said, taking a step toward him, “you don’t want to do this. What difference will it make now?”
The younger man stared at him, his eyes even more wild and unfocused than they were when he first arrived. “Are you serious? What
difference
will it make? My
grandfather
ruined my mother’s life. He shipped her off like unwanted garbage to protect his political image.”
Sam rested her hand on Nick’s arm to pull him back. Nodding her head, she signaled for him to take a seat with her on the sofa.
Once they were seated, Thomas turned back to Graham. “All you cared about was yourself.”
“That’s not true. I cared about your father, and you, too. I sent money. For years. I made sure you had everything you needed.”
“Everything except my father and my family! You took everything from us. We got him for one lousy weekend a month, and you know what he was doing the rest of the time? Fucking his way through Washington with one stupid bitch after another.”
Watching Thomas gesture erratically with the gun, Nick’s heart slowed to a crawl.
Sam poked his leg to get his attention.
He watched as she raised her pant leg and removed the small clutch piece she had strapped to her calf.
She pressed it into his hand and drew her primary weapon from the shoulder harness she had worn for the funeral, keeping the gun hidden in her suit coat in case Thomas turned to them. Mouthing the word “wait” she used her finger to indicate that he should go right while she went left.
Nick nodded to let her know he understood.
“You know what he told me a couple of weeks ago when I introduced him to my girlfriend? He advised me later that I shouldn’t get ‘tied down’ to one woman. That a man needs to ‘mix it up,’ that ‘variety is the spice of life.’ It was a real touching father-son moment, and it was the first time it ever occurred to me that he’d been unfaithful to my mother. She’d waited her
whole life
for him. Ever since you banished her, she’s done nothing but wait for him and settle for whatever scraps he tossed our way. And then he comes and tells us he’s running for re-election! He actually expected us to be
happy
about his big news. He’d promised us one term. One term for you, his beloved father. Then it would be our turn. He lied about
everything
. Everything!”
“He loved you.”
“No, he loved
you!
You were the only one he cared about.”
“You killed him,” Graham said in a whisper. “You killed my son.”
“He had it coming! He was a fucking
whore!
I’ve got the investigator’s report to prove it. You should see what he got done in just two weeks’ time. It was truly revolting.”
“That doesn’t mean he deserved to die,” Graham said. “Natalie didn’t deserve what you did to her, either.”
Thomas moved so quickly, Sam and Nick couldn’t react in time to stop him from pistol-whipping his grandfather.
Graham went down hard, blood spurting from a wound on his forehead.
“Get up!” Thomas shrieked. “Get up and take what’s coming to you like a man!”
“You talk about being a man!” Graham screamed back at him. “But what kind of man rapes and murders women?”
Sam held Nick back, giving him the one-minute sign.
“I made them pay for what they did to my mother. They got exactly what they deserved.”
“You’re a monster,” Graham whispered, the blood loss weakening him.
Thomas aimed the gun at his grandfather’s chest.
Sam gave Nick the thumb’s up.
They rushed Thomas from behind, each of them pushing a gun into the young man’s temples.
“Freeze,” they said in unison.
Sam glowered at Nick. “I’ll take it from here.” She had Thomas disarmed, cuffed and immobilized less than a second later. With her free hand, she tugged her radio off her hip and called for back up.
“What the fuck?”
Thomas screamed, fighting the restraints. “You’re a fucking
cop?
”
“Surprise,” Nick said, unable to resist a smile as adrenaline zipped though his system. Watching her work never failed to fire him up. “Meet my ‘girlfriend,’ Detective Sergeant Sam Holland, Metro Police Department. You really ought to read a newspaper once in a while.”
“Son of a fucking bitch.”
“You said it, buddy.” Sam tightened her hold on Thomas. “You’re under the arrest for the murders of John O’Connor, Tara Davenport, Natalie Jordan and Noel Jordan. You have the right to remain silent.”
Nick stayed with Graham while Sam dragged Thomas out of the suite to turn him over to Gonzo for transport to HQ. Nick pressed a handkerchief to the wound on Graham’s head.
Tears spilled down the older man’s cheeks. “This is all my fault. I caused this. I forced John to lead a double life.”
“You did what you thought was right at the time. That’s all any of us can ever do.”
“Will you find Laine for me? I need to see her.”
“As soon as the paramedics get here, I’ll get her to the hospital.”
“Call Lucien,” Graham said. “Have him send someone over to represent Thomas.”
Nick stared at the older man. “You can’t be serious.”
“He’s my grandson. What I did to him and his mother drove him to this.” Graham closed his eyes and took a deep, rattling breath. “Make the call.”
Even though he didn’t agree, Nick said, “I’ll take care of it.” He rested his hand on top of Graham’s. “Try not to worry about anything.”
“You’re going to make an outstanding senator.”
“I haven’t said yes yet.”
“You will.” The older man held Nick’s hand until the EMTs arrived and whisked him away.
The moment they left with Graham, Sam returned to the suite.
“Whew,” Nick said. “That was something.”
A cocky grin lit up her gorgeous face. “Just another day at the office.”
“For you, maybe.”
“You did good—for a rookie.”
“Gee, thanks.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his legs still rubbery. “You called Chicago to check on Patricia?”
“They’re on their way to her house as we speak. Thomas had her credit cards in his wallet.”
“I feel sorry for her,” Nick said. “She’s lost them both.”
“The whole situation is too sad, but his lawyer will probably mount an insanity defense.”
“He was going to kill us all, wasn’t he? That’s why he said all the stuff he did in front of us.”
“I suspect that became his plan when we insisted on staying. I just can’t believe I didn’t figure this out sooner. I was so sure it was a love affair gone wrong.”
“Well, it sort of was when you think about it.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“I’m just glad we were here when Thomas confronted Graham.” He shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about what could’ve happened.”
“It’s probably better if you don’t think about it.”
Nick slipped an arm around her shoulders. “We need to talk about what happened before Thomas showed up.”
“Later.” She hip checked him. “No PDA in front of the colleagues.”
He slapped her on the ass. “Screw that.”
Sam attempted a dirty look but failed to pull it off.
“We make a good team, you know that?” he said.
“As long as you remember who’s in charge.”
Nick took great pleasure in hooking an arm around her and escorting her down the hallway full of hooting cops. Not even the elbow she jammed in his ribs could detract from his euphoria at having her by his side and John’s killer on his way to jail.
In the elevator, she looked up at him, her clear blue eyes full of love. “Thanks for having my back in there.”
Hugging her closer to him, he kissed her cheek and then her lips. “Samantha, I’ll
always
have your back.”
Epilogue
Nick got home from the reading of John’s will just after five on Christmas Eve and went straight to the kitchen to dig out the bottle of whiskey he’d kept on hand for John. He poured himself half a glass and downed it in one long swallow that burned all the way through him. Pouring a second shot, he took it with him to sit in the living room where a seven-foot Christmas tree waited to be decorated. Under the tree were six festively wrapped gifts for Sam.
He hadn’t heard from her all day, and after her refusal to discuss the Virginia Democrats’ offer when they finally got home late last night, he had good reason to wonder if she would keep her promise to spend this evening with him. She hadn’t even called to tell him that Marquis Johnson had been remanded over to trial—without incident. Nick had to hear about it on the news.
Still hopeful that Sam would keep her promise to spend tonight with him, Nick went into the kitchen to make the dinner he’d shopped for earlier. By nine o’clock the pasta was rubbery, and he had given up on her. Could she really be
that
freaked out by his job offer? Didn’t she know that if she wasn’t in favor of it, he wouldn’t do it? Disappointment mixed with disbelief. That she would let him down like this, that she would let
herself
down like this…
He stretched out on the sofa with another shot of whiskey. The empty tree was a stark reminder of how his plans for this evening had failed to materialize. Without Sam, what did it matter? What did anything matter?
He must have dozed off because the ringing doorbell startled him awake an hour later. His heart surged with hope as he got up to answer it. He swung open the door, and there she was.
“Hey,” he said. “Hey.”
“I thought you weren’t coming.”
“I almost didn’t.”
Nick stepped back to let her in and took her coat.
“What do I smell?” she asked, surprised. “Did you cook?”
He shrugged. “Nothing special.”
“Did you leave any for me?”
“All of it.”
“You didn’t eat?”
“I was waiting for you.”
Snuggling into his embrace, she said, “I’m sorry. I totally freaked, and I handled this all wrong.”
Nick hugged her close, overcome with relief at having her back in his arms after a day filled with uncertainty. He brushed his lips over hers. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Samantha. Tell me the truth.”
She looked up at him with those blue eyes he loved so much. “I’d be a liability to you. I’m messy and loud and I swear and sometimes I even tell white lies—I don’t mean to, but they sneak out before I can stop them. I’m dyslexic, infertile and my stomach runs my life. And then there’re the lovely people I come in contact with on a daily basis: drug dealers, prostitutes, murderers, rapists. There’s the whole fiasco with the Johnsons—and my ex-husband is headed for prison…”
Even though he was amused by her speech, Nick knew she was dead serious and fought back a smile. “That’s not your fault. He tried to kill us both.”
“Which will lead people to wonder what kind of woman marries a man like him. They’ll question my judgment and yours for getting involved with me. They’ll rehash Johnson and every other ugly case I’ve ever had—and there’re a lot of them. It’ll reflect poorly on you.”
“I’m not running for office, Sam. It’s being handed to me for one year, and then it’s done.”
Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, she mulled it over. “We’d attract a lot of media attention after everything that happened this week.”
“I can handle it if you can.”
“I’d hate to be responsible for causing you trouble. I’d hate that.”
“I can deal with that, too.”
She rested her hands on his shoulders. “You want this, don’t you?”
“My life was just fine before. If I say no, it’ll be fine after.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“It’s something I never dreamed of, something I never even considered before yesterday.”
“My dad and Freddie think it’s so cool,” she said with a shy smile. “They say it would work out fine for us. My dad even thinks it could be a ‘grand adventure.’”
Her skeptical scowl amused Nick. “They’re very wise men. You should listen to them.”
Looking up at him, she said, “Can we eat? I haven’t eaten all day, and I’m starving.”
He decided not to push his luck since she seemed to be coming around to a decision in her own peculiar way. “Sure.”
“Oh!” she said on the way to the kitchen. “You got a tree!”
“I told you I was going to.”
“When did you have time?”
“I did it this morning, along with a few other things.”
“What other things?”
“A little Christmas shopping,” he said with a mysterious smile as he poured her a glass of wine. “And some real estate shopping.”
Her eyebrows knitted with confusion.
He served her the reheated shrimp fettuccine Alfredo and carried a tossed salad to the table. “You said you couldn’t live way out here in Virginia, right?”
“Uh huh.” She dove into the meal as if she was, in fact, starving. “You never told me you could cook like this! It’s amazing!”
“You never asked, and I’m glad you like it.” After lighting the candles on the table, he sat down across from her. “Anyway, since you can’t live here, I bought a place in the city.”
“What place did you buy?” she asked, astounded.
“The one that was for sale up the street from your dad’s. I looked at it on Sunday when you were at work, I offered this morning and they accepted. I’m meeting with a Realtor after Christmas to list this place.”
She sat back in her chair to stare at him. “Just like that?”
“I knew you’d want to be close to your dad and to work.”
“Won’t you need to maintain a residence in Virginia?”
Implied but not stated was if he became a senator. “John took care of that. He left me the cabin. That’s why they wanted me to come today.”
Her eyes went soft with emotion. “Nick… That’s wonderful. You love it there.”
“I was so surprised and delighted.” He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips.
“How’s Graham doing?”
“Better. They let him go home today when his blood pressure returned to normal.”
“That’s good.”
“I feel sorry for them. They’ve got a long road ahead of them coming to terms with all of this. And the media is clamoring for info about John’s illegitimate son.”
“They should just come clean at this point.”
“I think that’s the plan. Laine wanted me to tell you how very sorry she is for lying to you about Thomas. She said she panicked when she saw you had his photo.”
“It’s in the past now. I’m over it.”
When they finished eating, Nick picked up their wine glasses and led her to the sofa. “John had so many secrets. Hell, I had no idea until today when the lawyer was doling out his millions how insanely wealthy the sale of his business made him. There were a lot of secrets, but he loved his father. So much. Despite everything. He loved him.”
“I can understand that. There’s not much my father could do to change how I feel about him.”
“You’re lucky to have him.”
“And I know it.”
He studied the face that had become so essential to him. “What’re we going to do, Sam?”
“Well, tonight we’re going to decorate that tree.” She glanced at the tree and then down at the gifts under it. “What’s all that?”
“One for every year we missed.”
Smiling, she shifted to straddle him. “That’s so incredibly sweet.”
He pulled her in close.
“Tomorrow,” she said, touching her lips to his, “we’re going to Tracy’s for dinner. The next day, you’re going to tell the Virginia Democrats that you’re their new senator.”
He cradled her face in his hands. “Am I?”
“It’s just a year, right?”
“One year.”
“It’ll be a total mess. You know that, don’t you?”
“I
love
a good mess,” he said with a teasing grin. “In fact, I
live
for messes.”
She smiled. “We’re really going to do this.”
“We really are.”
“I love you, Senator Cappuano.”
“I love you, Lieutenant Holland. Merry Christmas.”
“Same to you.” She leaned her forehead against his and looked him in the eye. “It’s gonna be one hell of a New Year.”
“I can’t wait.”