“I’ll fight you for it.”
That was the last thing she heard before she fell asleep, waking only when she felt Nick moving away from her. She reached for him. “No.”
“I’ve got my briefing in thirty minutes. Go back to sleep for a while.” He kissed her cheek and got out of bed to shower.
Sam closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but her mind was fully awake and once again spinning through the events of the last few days, from the terror of hearing Ethan was missing to the desperate search for him and his friends to the disturbing things they’d learned about online misogynistic culture during the investigation. The horror ran on a constant reel as she revisited every detail and move they’d made to solve the case before it was too late.
Ethan and Tomas had managed to free themselves, but Luna had been assaulted and killed by the monsters who’d taken all three kids.
She felt sick any time she imagined what Luna had gone through in the final hours of her life, or when she recalled the heartbreak of Luna’s parents. Every murder case was brutal, but those involving kids were the absolute worst.
As they had many times in recent days, tears rolled down her cheeks whenever she thought of Luna and her family. The tragedy of her death would haunt everyone who’d worked on the case, but Sam felt personally responsible for not finding her in time to save her. And yes, she knew it wasn’t her fault and there was nothing more she could’ve done, but that didn’t change how she felt.
If her bosses knew she was having these thoughts, they would sideline her and order intensive therapy, so she’d kept it to herself. She should probably get with Dr. Anthony Trulo, the department psychiatrist, who’d patched her back together after previous traumatic incidents, but the thought of picking through the rubble of this latest nightmare made her queasy.
Not to mention, she was probably facing disciplinary action for her involvement in Ethan’s case after she’d been ordered to stay out of it. As if she ever could’ve sat idly by without using her considerable skills and experience to help save one of the most precious people in her life.
The incident had also brought home how little time she’d spent with her nieces and nephews since her life—and Nick’s—had spun out of control last Thanksgiving when President David Nelson died suddenly and Nick became president. She’d barely had time to breathe between juggling three young kids, her work, first lady duties and marriage.
It pained her to think about what she’d missed with the kids who’d saved her sanity during the years when she’d thought she’d never have children of her own. Her nieces and nephews had been her kids, and she needed to spend more time with them before they took off to live their own lives.
Brooke was already grown and flown, finishing her sophomore year of college at the University of Virginia and preparing to transfer to Princeton for her final two years so she could live with her boyfriend, Nate, lead agent on their bonus son Elijah’s Secret Service detail. Elijah would be a senior at Princeton this coming fall and was planning to stay for graduate school since his younger twin siblings were thriving with Sam, Nick and Scotty.
Their lives were complicated, busy and often extremely stressful. Sam hated to admit that Nick might be right about her stepping off the merry-go-round for a minute—or two—to regroup and recover from an intensive period of nonstop trauma.
She and Nick had plans to spend this rare Sunday with no official commitments with the kids, her sisters, nieces and nephews for swimming, bowling and pizza at the White House. The kids loved being together, and Sam would get to spend the afternoon with her sisters, which was a win-win. Tomorrow, she’d see what she could do for Mike. Depending on the vibe, she’d consider asking her boss, Captain Jake Malone, for permission to take some time off to accompany Nick on his trip.
Having a plan helped to ease her anxiety ever so slightly, as did the thought of spending the day with her favorite people for some much-needed fun. Tomorrow would be soon enough to figure out her next move.
Chapter Two
On Monday morning, Sam found a note from Nick that he’d gone to his security briefing but would be back for breakfast with her and the kids. Since he wasn’t always able to return to the residence for breakfast, she was glad she’d get to see him before they parted for the day. As she showered and got dressed for work, the unsettled feeling remained.
Something was wrong.
She had no idea what it was or who it involved or when she’d know about it, but the universe was sending a strong signal her way, and she couldn’t shake the unease no matter how hard she tried. Yesterday had given her a few hours of respite as she’d laughed and played and joked with Nick, her sisters and the kids. Everyone had enjoyed the time together, especially Tracy and her younger two, Ethan and Abby, who’d needed it the most.
Sam had been relieved to hear that Tracy and Mike were “talking.” While they had a long way to go in putting their marriage back together, Sam was glad they’d committed to attend therapy together. Sam had asked Dr. Trulo if he could help, and he’d agreed to see them as a favor to her.
Knowing her sister and brother-in-law would be in her friend’s capable hands had made Sam feel much better about their chances for reconciliation. In the meantime, Mike was continuing to stay at Angela’s house.
“It’s meant so much to Jack to have him around,” Angela had said of her seven-year-old son, who was deeply grieving his late father.
Their family had been to hell and back three times since October, and the trauma of losing her dad and then her brother-in-law’s overdose and then Ethan going missing had everyone reeling. Maybe that was why she felt so out of sorts. It was all catching up to her.
At Sam’s recommendation, Mike had hired Devon Sinclair to represent him, and they planned to request dismissal based on the outrageous claim the other man had made about Ethan. Sam was praying the judge would toss the case before it went any further.
Sam woke Scotty and helped the twins get dressed, laughing and talking with them the way she always did. The Littles didn’t need to know she was anxious or worried or anything other than their stand-in mom as she made French toast sticks for them and an egg sandwich for Scotty in the residence’s private kitchen.
Scotty came stumbling into the kitchen and went straight for the coffee. They allowed him one cup a day because, as he said, “A man needs his caffeine.” He never said a word to them as he stirred half-and-half into the coffee. After two sips, he turned to them and said, “Good morning, people.”
Alden and Aubrey giggled. They’d learned not to talk to him until after that first sip of coffee.
“Anything I need to know?” Sam asked Scotty as he scanned the headlines on his phone.
“Nothing major. There’s a thing about Dad’s trip to Greenland for the NATO meeting. Did you know that if someone declares war on one NATO nation, it’s declaring war on all of them?”
“I think I heard something about that in school once upon a time,” Sam said. “Tell me more so I can speak intelligently on the subject if I need to.”
