“I didn’t, and I’m not sure this is the time to ask for leave with Joe and Jeannie both out and Jake working double time to cover for them. Jake told me he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer on top of everything else.”
“Oh no. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It scared the hell out of me when he told me, and then I barely had time to even think about it with everything else that happened yesterday. So yeah, I don’t think I can go, as much as I’d like to.”
“I understand. We’ll try again next time.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Greenland.”
“Really?”
“Nah, but Greenland with you would be fun.”
“We’ll get there. Right now, I need to head to my security briefing. I’ll try to be back to see the kids before they leave for school.” He kissed her once more. “Try to have a good day.”
“You do the same.”
“I love you.”
“I love you more, and I’ve already won this fight.”
“Take good care of my wife today. She’s the sun, the moon and the whole universe.”
“You just had to one-up me.”
Grinning, he said, “I do what I can for my person.” After stealing one more kiss, he got out of the shower and went to get dressed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nick didn’t make it back to the residence before the kids left for school with their details, which had Sam wondering how bad the fresh hell had been that morning. She’d find out soon enough, she thought as she finished getting dressed in a black pantsuit, in deference to her upcoming court appearance. She quickly packed a bag with jeans, a sweater and sneakers to change into afterward. She’d received an all-hands text that most of the HQ building had been deemed structurally sound, and it was safe for them to return to work that morning. As she went downstairs to meet her detail a little before eight, she was surprised to find Vernon waiting for her.
“What’re you doing here?” she asked him, noting the bruise on his forehead.
“Last I checked, I work here.”
“You’re injured.”
“I’m fine. I got a bump on the head, took a couple of painkillers, and I’m good to go.”
Q joined them, carrying a cup of coffee to go.
“Let’s get to it,” Sam said. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today, as well as a trip to court.”
“Ah, that explains the suit.”
“I can look professional when I need to.”
“So I see. What’re you hearing about your chief and deputy chief?”
“He’s having surgery on his broken wrist today, and she’s settling into new motherhood six weeks earlier than planned.”
“Our briefing this morning was all about Russians,” Vernon said as he held the back door to the SUV for her.
“I’m sure it was.”
“What do you make of that?” he asked when they were on the way to HQ.
“They set off the bomb so they could grab a body out of our morgue. The ambassador was told to have the body and the innocent bystander they took at the same time returned, and they did that, which confirms their guilt.”
