“I told you—we’ll keep trying until we get it right. However long it takes. I’m not going anywhere, Jeannie. No matter what.” He shifted his hand to the back of her neck and drew her into another kiss.
A sharp tingle of desire settled between her legs, making her itchy with need. She ran her hand down his back to his muscular backside.
He let out a tortured groan that told her how much it was costing him to hold back.
With her hands on his face she directed him to her breast, and sighed with satisfaction when he drew her nipple into his mouth.
Jeannie arched into him, wanting more. Her hand found him hard and throbbing and ready. “Michael,” she said as she stroked him. “Make love to me.”
He surprised her when he shifted to his back and encouraged her to straddle him. “Like this. You’re in control, baby. Whatever you want.”
Her heart ached with love, while another part of her ached with the familiar desire he’d stirred in her from the first night they met. She slid her moist heat back and forth over his substantial length, watching his reaction with delight and anticipation. All the while, she kept waiting for the panic to return. She waited for the memories of a yellow room to resurface and ruin this for both of them. But she forced herself to keep those memories where they belonged and to remain present in
this
moment.
Michael’s hands shifted from her hips to her bottom, encouraging her to take whatever she wanted from him. “Do we need protection?”
“I never stopped taking the pill.” She glanced at him and found him watching her intently and warily, as if he too was waiting for the demons to return. Thinking of the ring he’d shown her the night before, of the promises he’d made, of the unconditional love he’d given her at the lowest point in her life, she was able to keep the demons at bay as she took him in slowly, reveling in each inch as she slid down on him.
“Oh
God,
that feels good,” he said.
Nothing about this had anything to do with what had happened to her. She kept telling herself that over and over again as she raised herself up and came down on him again, this time pivoting her hips to take him even deeper.
“Yes, Jeannie.
Yes.
I love you so much.”
Tears filled her eyes at his sweet words.
He sat up and worked her legs around his hips, bringing his chest in tight against hers. “Is this okay?”
She nodded, loving the feel of his skin, loving the feel of him buried deep inside her, loving him more than she’d ever imagined possible.
Keeping on hand on her bottom, he urged her to move as he drew her nipple into his mouth again. The combination had often sent her over the edge into mindless orgasm, but tonight it was enough to have gotten this far, to be able to give him this much.
She surrendered to the sensations, to the love and the relief at having been able to do this.
“I can’t hold back, baby,” he said, gasping as she came down on him again.
“Don’t. Don’t hold back.” She urged him into another deep kiss and felt him go rigid beneath her as he came hard, surging into her with a cry that seemed to be ripped from his very soul.
His forehead landed on her shoulder as he sucked in one deep breath after another. He stayed like that for a long time before he lifted his head and found her eyes. “You’re so beautiful, and I love you.”
“I love you too. Thanks for being patient with me.”
“My pleasure,” he said with a goofy smile that reminded her of the carefree days before a madman attacked her and changed both their lives. “Speaking of pleasure,” he said, kissing his way down her neck, “one of us got more than the other just now.”
“That’s okay,” she said.
He smoothly shifted them so she was on her back. Withdrawing from her, he kissed his way down the front of her. “No, it isn’t.”
On the way to HQ, Sam decided she needed to call Nick. This new “full disclosure” policy with her husband went against everything she believed in, but it went a long way toward keeping the peace with him.
“Samantha,” he said when he answered the phone.
“You’re rather chipper at this ungodly hour.”
“You weren’t my first call this morning.”
“Oh. Really?” Her stomach pitched and rolled. Something about his tone set her on edge. “What does that mean?”
“Something you want to tell me?”
Sam scowled. Of course he already knew she’d been to Peter’s. “I thought you said you weren’t going to have him watched anymore.”
“When did I say that?”
“I told you I didn’t want you wasting your money on having someone watching him. Remember? We were in that bar in Bora Bora.”
“You mean that one time we left our room?”
“Yes! I knew you remembered!”
“I remember you saying that, but I don’t recall agreeing to anything.”
Sam let out a frustrated growl. “You did too.”
“Did not.” He seemed to be enjoying this a lot more than she was. “Do you want to tell me what the hell you were doing there?”
“I was sure it was him sending the cards.”
“So you thought it would be a good idea to go over there in the middle of the night by yourself to confront a man who has—at last count—stalked you, bombed you and pulled a gun on you?”
“My gun is bigger.”
“I’m not fucking around here, Sam. What the hell were you thinking?”
Startled by his tone and choice of words, she chose hers carefully. “I was thinking I was going to pin this pen pal shit on him and be done with it.”
“And if he’d come at you again? What then? You’re there in the middle of the night with, as far as you knew, no backup, and no one even knowing where you were.”
“It seemed like a good time to check it off my to-do list.”
“You’re making me seriously mad, Samantha.”
“Yeah, I got that.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose where a headache had formed. The nights without sleep were catching up to her all of a sudden. “Look, I’m sorry I went over there by myself. Call me crazy that I chose not to trot out my dirty laundry to my coworkers. Peter has put on enough shows in front of the people I work with to last me a lifetime.”
“He’s an unbalanced psychopath, and you know it.” He paused and softened his tone. “It’s bad enough that I have to worry about something happening to you every time you walk out the door, but when you go looking for it… That makes me crazy.”
Sam pulled into her parking space in the HQ lot and killed the engine. “I hate that you worry so much.”
“I hate that you’re always in some sort of danger, and there’s not a goddamned thing I can do to protect you.”
“I don’t need you to protect me.”
“What about what I need?”
“Nick…”
“Forget it. I know you’re just doing your job, and to you he’s just an annoyance that has to be dealt with. But to me, he’s the guy who’d rather see my wife dead than with anyone but him.”
She leaned her head against the wheel. “I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right. I shouldn’t have been there by myself.”
“Wait, back up. What did you just say?”
Even though she hated to give an inch, she couldn’t help the small smile that made her lips quiver. “You heard me the first time.”
“I’d love to hear it again.”
“Dream on. You said the
F
word.”
“You drove me to it.”
“Do you promise to stay mad until you get home tomorrow so we can have make-up sex?”
He snorted with laughter. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Is Scotty up yet?”
“Up, showered—without being told—and fully decked out in Red Sox attire. I’d better get him some breakfast and get to the airport before he busts his buttons.”
“Could I talk to him? Just for a sec?”
“Sure, let me get him. Before I let you go, I love you, and you’d better behave while I’m gone, got me?”
“Whatever you say.”
“No more unnecessary chances?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“For some strange reason, I love you more than life itself.”
“Back atcha, Senator, which is why you’re getting security for the campaign trail. In fact, I’ll be arranging it while you’re away.”
“Wait a minute—”
“You don’t get to do all the bossing in this family. Put Scotty on.”
“We’re not done with this subject.”
“Yes, we are. Hello, Scotty?”
“Let me go get him,” Nick said stiffly.
“Hi, Sam,” Scotty said a minute later. “What did you say to make Nick mad?”
“I didn’t let him get his own way.”
“Ahh, well, he’s pretty steamed.”
“Good. That was my intention. How are you?”
“I’m so excited. I was awake at like five o’clock.”
Sam couldn’t help but smile. He was so adorable. “I want you to have the best time ever, and make sure Nick behaves, okay?”
Scotty giggled, and in the background, she could hear Nick asking what she was saying.
“Don’t tell him. Our secret.”
“You got it.”
“Tell him to put his BlackBerry to good use and send me lots of pictures.”
“We will.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Thanks again for the tickets. This is going to be the best day of my whole life.”
“Enjoy every minute.” She ended the call and sat there for a moment thinking about Nick and Scotty and the family they were becoming. Before she went into HQ, she called the hospital to check on her father and learned he’d had a good night. They were expecting him to be awake later in the day. Sam couldn’t wait to talk to him. She couldn’t believe how much she’d missed him after only a few days without him.
She went into HQ and ran into Lieutenant Stahl in the lobby.
“Ah, Lieutenant Holland,” he said with a smarmy grin that made his jowls jiggle. “I’m looking forward to our meeting this afternoon.”
Sam pretended to pay significant attention to her phone so she wouldn’t have to look at him. As she tried to read a text message from her sister, the words swam before her eyes. Goddamned dyslexia. “What’re you talking about?” she asked Stahl, not that she cared.
“The administrative hearing? About your wedding?”
“I’m running multiple investigations at the moment. What makes you think I have time for your foolishness?” She glanced up in time to watch his fat face turn the delightful shade of purple she so enjoyed. “Get out of my way. Unlike you, I have real work to do.”
“You’d better be there at 2:00 p.m. sharp, or I’ll bring you up on charges.”
“Do what you gotta do, Lieutenant.” She left him fuming and headed for the pit, which was surprisingly quiet a few minutes before shift change. Grateful for the peace, Sam went into her office, dropped into her chair and gave in to the headache for a few minutes.
“Big night out?” Captain Malone asked.
Sam startled, astounded to realize she’d actually dozed off at work. She sat up straight and rubbed the sleep from her face. “Middle-of-the-night call.”
“Homicide?”
“Not entirely sure.” Sam brought him up to speed on the Raymond Jeffries case. “Waiting on the ME’s report to tell me what we’ve got.”
“It’s an odd day when we can’t say for sure if a DOA is a homicide.”
“No kidding.”
“What’s the latest on your pen pal?”
“Nothing yet from the lab, and we haven’t gotten any more mail, but I want to arrange security for Nick while he’s campaigning. All I can think about is that ‘bang bang you’re dead’ line. It would be so easy for some lunatic to take him out.”
“Conklin has all kinds of contacts in the government. I’ll ask him to look into it.”
“That’d be great. Make sure he tells them we’re dealing with a hostile candidate who doesn’t think he needs protection.”
“Got it,” Malone said with a chuckle. “Where are we with the Carl’s and Chevy Chase murders? The press is all over us.”
Dreaming of blissful days and nights in Bora Bora, Sam smoothed her hands over the hair she’d clipped up for work. “In the Chevy Chase case, we’re digging into the husband’s stable of mistresses today. Nothing new with the Carl’s case. I have all this crap circulating in my head, making me feel like I’m missing something really obvious in all three cases. But what?”
“I wish I could tell you, but I have no doubt you’ll figure it out. How’s Skip?”
“Better. They said he could be awake later today, but of course I’ll be stuck in Stahl’s stupid hearing rather than with my father.”
“So blow off the hearing.”
Sam wondered if she’d heard him right. “Are you seriously telling me to blow off a summons from IAB?”
“Everyone knows it’s part of Stahl’s witch hunt against you. What’s he going to do if you don’t show?”
“Um, bring me up on charges?”
“And who will care?”
“The media will jump all over it.”
“Only if it is leaked, and he’s the only one who would do that—and he knows it.”
“I gotta say—I like the way you think, Captain.”
“I figured you might. Keep this between us, but the chief is trying to get Stahl to take early retirement.”
“Oh my God. That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
“Apparently, he’s resisting, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“Of course he is, because he has no life outside the department.”
Lindsey McNamara appeared at the door. “Oh, sorry to interrupt,” she said when she saw Captain Malone. “I’ll wait out here.”
“Come in, Doc,” the captain said. “Tell us what you’ve got on our maybe-homicide.”
“Not much, I’m afraid.” She handed a file folder containing the autopsy report to Sam. “The head injury killed Mr. Jeffries, and the injury is consistent with him striking the table with some velocity. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you if he fell on his own or if he was pushed.”
“So we’re right back to square one,” Sam said. “The fact that three chairs were toppled is bothering me. I can see someone falling and taking out two chairs around a table, but not three.”
“Not much to build a case on,” Malone commented.
“Hopefully crime scene can give me something else I can use. In the meantime, what do I tell his daughter when she gets here later today?”
“The same thing we always tell them—we’re looking into it, and we’ll let you know when we have more,” Malone said.
Sam nodded in agreement.
Malone stood. “I’ll let you ladies get back to work. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.”
After the captain left, Lindsey took the chair he’d vacated.
“What’s up?” Sam asked, noting that the other woman looked unusually fatigued. “Boyfriend trouble?”
“He’s
not
my boyfriend.”
“Methinks she doth protest too much.”
Lindsey laughed. “Lighten up, Shakespeare.”
“Have you seen him?”
“Not since the night we had pizza. I was supposed to call him, but…” She shrugged.
Sam couldn’t believe she actually felt a little sorry for Terry O’Connor, a man she’d once suspected of murder. “What’s stopping you?”
“You know.”
“I can understand your reluctance in light of your family history. Maybe you should just call it a day with him if it’s too much for you to deal with.”
“I would, except… There’s something there. You know what I mean?”
Sam nodded. She knew all too well what Lindsey meant. That “something” was how she’d ended up married three months after reconnecting with a guy from her past whom she’d never forgotten. “So what’re you going to do?”
Lindsey sighed. “I have no idea.”
“What do you
want
to do?”
“I don’t know that either.” Lindsey moaned. “This is
so
not me. I’m not an indecisive twit who doesn’t know what she wants.”
“It’s not like you don’t have good reason to be concerned.”
“I know.”
Sam massaged her temples as the headache took a turn for the worse. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but, maybe you just need to dive in and see where it takes you. Worst case, you get your heart broken. Best case, you get everything.”
Lindsey seemed to brighten a bit as she considered what Sam had said. “When you put it like that, it doesn’t seem quite so scary.”
Sam shrugged. “Sometimes you just gotta say what the hell and go for it.”
“That strategy worked out pretty well for you.”
“Yes, it did, but I fought it at first because it was so big and scary. When you’re with the right person, big doesn’t stay scary for long.” Putting what she felt for Nick into words, even abstract words, made her wish he was there with her.
Seeming reenergized by the conversation, Lindsey stood. “I think I know what I need to do. Thanks, Sam.”
“Anytime.” As she watched Lindsey leave her office, she hoped she hadn’t made a mistake by encouraging her friend to pursue a relationship with Terry. That whole “worlds colliding” thing continued to nag at her, but with her skull being split in two by a worsening headache, she had bigger problems at the moment. She was rooting around in her top drawer in search of pills when Gonzo came in.
“We got the report from the lab on the cards,” he said, handing it to her. “Of the prints they were able to get, none were in the system. The cards were bought at various locations around the city, curiously all in places that don’t have any kind of consumer program where you have to scan a card that would identify the purchaser.”
She tried to read the report but once again the words appeared scrambled. “Because that would’ve been too easy.” Sam closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried again. No luck.
Gonzo frowned as he studied her. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Bad headache.” Which was the truth. Only Freddie knew about the dyslexia that plagued her.
“You look like hell.”
“Gee, thanks.” Sam finally located two ibuprofen pills and downed them using a bottle of water left over from God knows when. A surge of nausea made her wonder if they’d be coming right back up. She managed to keep them down, but the battle only intensified the drumbeat in her head. “Wow, I’ve never had a headache like this before.”
“Do you think it’s a migraine?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”