“Arrived about thirty minutes ago.”
“Any fireworks?”
The two young men smirked.
“That’s one way to describe it. She is
not
happy with him.”
“With good reason,” Sam said as she knocked on the door.
Annette Lightfeather opened the door and blanched at the sight of Sam’s badge. “Yes?”
“Mrs. Lightfeather, I’m Detective Lieutenant Sam Holland. I’d like to speak to your husband, please.”
“I understood that he’d been cleared of any involvement in the…the—”
“Murder of Regina Argueta de Castro.”
The attractive woman swallowed hard. “Yes.” Her eyes were red and raw, as if she’d cried her way across the country. Sam couldn’t blame her. In her place, Sam would probably never stop crying.
“I have some follow-up questions I’d like to ask him.”
Annette gestured for her to come in.
Henry sat on the sofa, head in his hands.
“Senator,” Sam said.
His head shot up, and his eyes widened when he saw her there. “Lieutenant. Have you found the person who killed Regina?”
Annette’s lips tightened into an expression of supreme dismay. Her attractive face was totally transformed by rage.
“I’m afraid not,” Sam said. “In fact, there’s been a second murder. Were you acquainted with Regina’s friend Maria Espanosa?”
Henry gasped and his mouth fell open in apparent shock. “Not Maria too!”
“Were you also sleeping with her?” Annette’s voice was one note shy of a shriek.
“Of course not,” Henry said haltingly. “She was a close friend of Regina’s.”
“What was Maria’s immigration status?”
He glanced at his wife and then at Sam. “Like Regina, she’d applied for permanent residency but had been denied.”
“Did you intervene on her behalf as well?” Sam asked.
As Annette watched the proceedings, her expression shifted from dismay to disbelief. “You went to INS for her?” she asked.
“I made some phone calls,” Henry said. “That’s all it was. Phone calls.”
“For your
lover
,” Annette spat back at him. “Did she make you feel like the big powerful man?”
“Mrs. Lightfeather.” Sam wished the floor would open up and swallow her. She’d rather be anywhere else on earth than in the midst of their marital meltdown. “I understand you’re upset—”
“
Upset?
You think I’m
upset
? While I’m at home raising our
five
children, he’s here banging the cleaning lady
in his office
? I’m not upset, Lieutenant. I’m
livid
.”
“Annette—”
“Shut up, Henry. Just shut up.” She stormed from the suite’s living room and slammed the bedroom door.
Sam let an uncomfortable minute pass before she ventured a glance at Henry. The guy looked awful. Under most circumstances, Sam had sympathy for someone who’d lost a loved one in a violent manner. In this case, however, she was having trouble working up the usual level of sympathy.
“I, um, I know this is a difficult time for you, Senator, but I wondered if you might be willing to answer a few more questions.”
Sighing, he gestured for her to go ahead.
Sam sat in a high-backed chair facing him. “How well did you know Maria?”
“I’d met her a few times. When Regina and I took a break from our relationship, Maria cleaned my office. I just don’t understand why anyone would want to hurt them. They were hard-working women who only wanted to better themselves and their families. What could anyone have against them?”
“I don’t know yet, but we’re going to find out. What was Maria’s immigration status?”
“It was similar to Regina’s. She’d been denied permanent residency, and we’d appealed it.”
“Did Regina ask you to do that?”
He nodded. “Once again, I had to be careful not to get too involved because neither of them was my constituent. However, I did make a few calls to see if there was anything that could be done. Last I heard, both applications were under review. We were hopeful for a positive outcome.”
“I know you told your wife you weren’t involved with Maria.” She cleared her throat. “Too. Is that the truth?”
Henry gaped at her. “Yes! I swear to God, it was only Regina.”
“Have you assisted any of Regina’s other friends with their immigration status?”
He shook his head. “Just Maria.”
“Did Maria have any friends, boyfriends, anyone in the city she was close to that you know of?”
“I think it was just Regina. They relied on each other, kept to themselves for the most part.”
Having gotten what she came for, Sam stood. “I appreciate the additional information. I have to remind you to stay put until we close the case.”
“The media’s caught wind of the affair. Believe me, I’m not going anywhere.” He walked Sam to the door. “I know what you must think of me, Lieutenant.”
Sam turned to him. “What I think of you has no bearing on the fact that I’m going to do my job and get justice for two women who were killed in my city.”
“I’m not a bad person. I just made a bad mistake.”
“So you’ve decided that falling in love with Regina was a mistake?” For some reason, Sam took perverse pleasure in picking at the scab. “That’s not what you said last night.”
He glanced over his shoulder, as if to gauge whether his wife might be able to hear him. “I
loved
her,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “And I don’t regret that. I
do
regret the pain my mistake in judgment is causing my wife and family. I deeply regret that.”
“I’m sure you do,” Sam said. “I’ll be in touch.”
Sam arrived at home just as Nick’s driver was dropping him off. From inside her car, she watched him emerge from the Town Car, still wearing the tuxedo from the fundraiser. He leaned into the car to say something to the driver, and as he closed the door, he glanced over to find her watching him. A smile lit up his face.
Sam got out of her car and met him on the sidewalk.
He was carrying his overcoat, a garment bag and briefcase but still managed to slide an arm around her and kiss her forehead.
Sam leaned into his embrace, breathing in the clean fresh scent of home.
“Long day, huh?” he asked.
“For both of us.”
He guided her into the house and hung their coats in the closet. Tugging off the bow tie and releasing the top button on his shirt, he went into the kitchen. “How about a glass of wine?”
Sam sat on the sofa and put her feet up on the coffee table. “Yes, please.”
“Coming right up.” He returned a few minutes later with two glasses of pinot grigio and put them on the table. “First things first.” Sitting next to her, he reached for her and kissed her gently. “There,” he said against her lips. “That’s what I’ve been needing for hours now.”
Sam ran her fingers over the stubble on his jaw and urged him into another kiss. He stretched out on top of her as one kiss became two and then three. Sam’s fingers were buried in his soft hair as his lips moved from her mouth to her face and then her neck.
“I missed you today,” he whispered, sending sensation darting through her.
She raised her hips and pressed against his erection, drawing a gasp from him. “So I can tell.”
“I didn’t plan to jump you the minute we walked in the door.”
“You didn’t. You were just saying hello.”
That smile of his was so potent. She wondered if he had any idea what it did to her.
“Exactly,” he said. “Now how about that wine?” He helped her sit up and handed a glass to her.
Sam curled her legs under her and watched the play of muscles in his chest and arms as he removed the tuxedo jacket and reached for his own glass. “How’d the fundraiser go?”
“One-point-five million. Judson seemed happy,” he said, referring to the chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party.
“
Whoa
. That’s amazing!”
“You should’ve seen the people who turned out for the rally at VCU. They had to move it outside to Monroe Park. Even though it was freezing, we still filled the place up.”
“You’re on fire, Senator. I’m so proud.”
He shrugged off the compliment. “How’s the case?”
“Doubly complicated. We’ve got a second vic. Same M.O. Worked with Regina.”
“Who was it?”
“Maria Espanosa.”
“Oh, no! Not Maria.” He sagged into the sofa. “She’s so sweet. She cleans our office.”
Sam winced at his reaction. “Did you know her well?”
“Just to say hello to. She was very quiet, kept to herself, but she did a great job. How anyone could harm her…it’s just hard to believe.”
And even though she was hardly a friend, it was another loss on top of so many others he’d sustained recently. Sam caressed his face. “I’m sorry to just drop it on you that way. I wasn’t thinking that you might know her.”
“It’s really sad.”
“Talk to me about anchor babies.”
Startled, he said, “What about them?”
“Regina was pregnant.”
His eyes went wide. “Was it Henry’s?”
“He says it was.”
“Damn. What a mess.”
“Freddie introduced the anchor baby concept to me earlier. I hadn’t heard about it before.”
“It’s a major issue. The numbers have exploded in the last few years. Lots of immigrant women have resorted to getting pregnant to stay in the country. Babies born on U.S. soil are automatically citizens and ‘anchor’ their mothers to the U.S.”
“I see.”
“The law can’t be changed without amending the Constitution. There was some talk about closing that loophole in the 14th Amendment when we were pushing O’Connor-Martin through, but nothing came of it.”
“So Regina’s baby would’ve kept her in the country?”
“Most likely. The INS isn’t out to separate babies from their mothers. The country has no appetite for that kind of enforcement.”
“I’ll bet she got pregnant on purpose. She told Henry she was on the pill, and he said he saw them in her purse, but I wonder if she was taking them.”
“So you think he was duped?”
“Hard to say. The emotion could’ve been real, but no doubt she got exactly what she wanted from him on that sofa.”
“Jeez. What was he thinking?”
“Not much I suppose.” She took a closer look at him and saw the fatigue and weariness he worked so hard to hide from her. “You need some sleep, Senator.”
“Are we going to talk about it?”
“About what?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Oh. Peter.” For a while there, she’d almost forgotten about it. Almost. Sam wanted to reassure Nick. She wanted to tell him they had nothing to worry about. That’s what she would’ve done a few weeks ago. But she’d been working on not keeping things from him, and that included her own worries.
“Talk to me, Sam. You have to be spun up about it.”
“I’m trying not to think about it until I have to.”
“How does he even have a case for dismissal? He tried to
kill
you.”
“No one’s questioning that. They’re questioning the evidence gathering.” Sam fiddled with her fingers. “If this comes to pass, it’ll kill Cruz, Gonzo and Arnold. If they jumped the gun, it was only because he came at me.”
He reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “I don’t want you to worry. If it happens, we’ll deal with it together.”
“And that makes it bearable.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “It does kind of freak me out to think of him on the streets again. Stalking me—and you.”
“He won’t get anywhere near you.” A shudder rippled through his big frame. “God, just the thought of him on the loose makes me crazy. I’ll do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“I said it before, but please don’t do anything foolish on my behalf.”
“Who else would I do foolish things for?”
“Don’t make jokes.”
“I’m not joking, Sam. I know you can more than take care of yourself, but you can’t expect me to sit idly by and let that maniac come after you again.”
Just the thought of it made Sam sick. “Let’s talk about something else—anything else.”
After taking a sip of his wine, he put the glass on the table and turned to her. “I met a really neat kid today.” He told her about Scotty and the instant bond he’d felt with him.
“Why does talking about him make you look so sad?”
“Does it?” he asked, seeming surprised.
She nodded.
Nick hesitated for a moment. “Meeting him brought back a lot of memories.” He combed his fingers through the long hair he released from the clip she wore to work. “Not all of them good.”
His difficult childhood was something he didn’t often speak of.
Sam put down her wineglass and reached for him, cradling his head against her chest.
“Would you mind too terribly if I became friends with a twelve-year-old? I know our lives are so chaotic, and there’s so much going on, but now that I’ve met him, there’s no way I can just forget about him.”
“Of course I wouldn’t mind. He sounds like a terrific kid.”
“He really is. I want you to meet him.”
“I’d like that.” She smoothed her hand over his hair and kissed his forehead. “What do you say we get some sleep?”
“Mmm.”
“Upstairs.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Nick…”
“Coupla minutes, babe. Just give me a coupla minutes right here.”
Since he had so much trouble sleeping, she tightened her hold on him and gave him what he needed.
Sam woke up as Nick carried her upstairs. “What time is it?”
“Three-thirty.”
“Put me down. I’m too heavy.”
“No, you’re not.”
She glanced up at him. “Did you sleep?”
“Like a rock.”
“Will you be able to go back to sleep?”
In the bedroom, he set her down and turned on the bedside lamp. “Hope so.” When she started to take off her sweater, he stopped her. “Let me.”
Sam forced herself to stand still while he removed her clothes and pressed strategic kisses to each bit of skin as he uncovered it. “My turn?” she asked when he was finished.
“Sure,” he said, reaching for her. “Since you’re the
only
one with access to my zipper, have at it.”
She swatted his hands away and quickly divested him of the remnants of the tuxedo. “I shouldn’t have said that before. It’s not something I worry about. It was just the case and this situation with Henry…”
With his fingers on her chin, he tilted her face up to meet his gaze. “It’s not something you’ll
ever
have to worry about. I promise you that.”
She looped her arms around his neck and went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “I know.”
“Come here,” he said, leading her into bed.
Sam moved into his embrace.
“Mmm, perfect,” he said when he had her arranged on top of him. His fingers kneaded the tension from her shoulders and back.
“You need to sleep,” she reminded him as she sank into the massage.
“I am sleeping.”
“One part of you is most definitely
not
sleeping.”
“As long as he’s awake…” He raised his hips and cupped her ass.
“He’s always awake.”
“Only when you’re naked in bed with me. Or if you’re in the same room. Or in the shower. Or in the car. Or—”
Laughing, she silenced him with a kiss. “Since I want you to sleep, I’d better deal with him.”
“That’s probably for the best,” he said with a grave expression that made her laugh again.
Pushing herself up, she straddled him and slid her damp heat over his length.
Nick groaned and clutched her hips, encouraging her to take him in.
Sam continued to tease him, enjoying the fierce look on his face as she denied him what he wanted.
Suddenly, he turned them over and entered her in one deep thrust.
Sam cried out and arched into him as he withdrew and then slid into her again.
He gazed down at her and brushed his lips over hers.
“Nick…”
“What, babe?” He flexed his hips, and Sam exploded. Holding her tight against him, Nick went with her.
“God,” she whispered. “Where’d that come from?”
He laughed and kissed her once more before he rolled off her, bringing her with him. “I love you, Samantha.”
She reached over him to turn off the light. “Love you too.”
“When are you going to officially move in with me?”
“I sleep here every night. Isn’t that official enough?”
“Not as long as your stuff still lives down the street.”
“You’re sure you’re ready for all that comes with me?”
“I’m very sure.”
“Remember that when your anal-retentive freakazoidal self is tripping over my crap and you’re swearing at me.”
“I’ll never swear at you.”
She could feel him relaxing into sleep. “You say that now…have I mentioned the other fifty pairs of shoes I have in storage?”
“Doesn’t scare me.”
Kissing his chest, she smiled. He had no idea. No idea at all.
Sam strolled up the ramp to her father’s house, three doors down Ninth Street from Nick’s place. Standing on the front stoop, she debated for a minute before she knocked on the door.
Celia opened the door, and her smile became perplexed when she saw Sam standing there. “Why are you knocking?” she asked as she waved her stepdaughter inside.
“You crazy kids are still on your honeymoon. I didn’t want to intrude.”
Celia’s heart-shaped face turned bright red. “Don’t be ridiculous. And don’t ever knock on that door again. You hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sam appreciated the warm welcome from her new stepmother. She’d suspected little would change between them now that Skip’s longtime nurse had become his wife. Sam had been shocked to learn a few months ago that Celia and her dad had been secretly dating at the time of his shooting. Celia had immediately volunteered to oversee his home care and had quickly become indispensible to the family she was now a part of. “How’s the groom?”
“Doing well. He was a little tired yesterday but seems better today. We’re planning to have a quiet day. How are you?”
“Caught a murder during the wedding. Sorry we had to leave early.”
“When duty calls, you have to go. We know that.”
“Duty has been calling a little too often lately.” She swallowed hard, hoping she could pull this off. “It was a, ah, nice wedding.”
“Aww, thanks, honey. That’s sweet of you to say.” Celia’s green eyes turned mischievous. “So tell me, was the senator involved with the cleaning lady?”
Sam followed Celia into the kitchen. “I can neither confirm nor deny…”
“
I knew it!
His poor wife at home in Arizona with all those kids.”
“Don’t breathe a word of that,” Sam said. “We’ve yet to confirm the affair to the media.”
“My lips are sealed,” Celia said.
“Got yourself another hot one, Lieutenant,” retired Metro Deputy Chief Skip Holland said. His wheelchair was positioned at the kitchen table where Celia had set him up to peruse the
Washington Post
. His brown and silver hair was still damp from an earlier washing, and his sharp blue eyes were focused on his youngest daughter.
Sam kissed his cheek, sat at the table and accepted the cup of coffee Celia handed her, even though she’d much prefer the diet cola her body still craved in the morning. Dr. Harry had recently broken the news to her that the carbonation in the soda was eating a hole in her stomach. The guy was a killjoy. “It’s hot and getting hotter,” Sam said of the case.
She told him about Regina being pregnant with Lightfeather’s baby as well as the discovery of Maria Espanosa’s dead body and the fear that a killer was targeting young immigrant women in the city. “They don’t have anything in common, that we can find, other than their place of employment.”
“You’ll want to talk to some of their other coworkers,” Skip said. “Maybe there was something else that tied them to each other.”