NICK WENT BACK down to the kitchen where Elijah held the glass of water for Alden. “Sam will be down in a minute.”
Elijah nodded and cuddled his brother, rocking him gently as Alden’s little body echoed with leftover sobs.
Sam came into the kitchen, her blue eyes sharp as she took in the scene before taking a seat at the table.
“Hey, Alden,” Elijah said, his gaze fixed on Sam. “What you said about seeing the bad guys, can you tell me what you saw?”
“They...they made us go in the car to the bank and... They were hurting Mommy. She was screaming, but when Daddy saw me, he shook his head.”
Under the table, Sam reached for Nick’s hand and held on tight.
“What did you do?”
“I went back upstairs, but I could still hear.” Alden sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve.
“What did they say?”
“They wanted Daddy to give them money. He said...”
“What did Daddy say, Alden?” Elijah asked, his own eyes bright with unshed tears.
“That he would give them money, but they had to stop hurting Mommy.”
Sam held up one finger, then two, then three, hoping Elijah would ask how many guys.
He nodded “How many strangers were there?”
“Two.”
“You’re sure?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What did they look like?”
“One of them was big with brown hair and the other one was skinny. He had yellow hair like mine. The big guy was on top of Mommy, and she was screaming.” His voice caught on another sob. “He was hurting her. I wanted to help her, but Daddy shook his head. Should I have helped her, Lijah?”
“No, buddy,” Elijah said, tears running down his face. “You did the right thing. You did what Daddy told you to. He would be so proud of you for that.”
“I wanted to help Mommy. She always helps me.”
“I know, but Daddy didn’t want you to get hurt too.”
“When I smelled the smoke, that’s when I went to get Aubrey. We hid in the closet.”
“That was really smart. You kept her safe.”
Alden put his thumb in his mouth, his eyes heavy. The poor guy was probably exhausted from holding all that in.
“I’m going to take him back to bed,” Elijah said.
“We’ll be right here when he’s settled,” Nick said.
After Elijah left the room, carrying his brother, Sam and Nick sat for a full minute in complete silence.
“He saw the whole thing,” Sam said, dabbing at her eyes. “He saw them rape his mother in front of his father, who was bound and helpless.”
Nick sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly, aching for the child who had witnessed such horror and the man who’d had to watch the woman he loved be assaulted. The senselessness of it all overwhelmed him.
Sam withdrew the cell phone she kept on her at all times since the night Arnold was killed in the line of duty while she slept through it. She placed a call to Captain Malone. “It’s Sam. We’ve had a break in the Beauclair case.”
* * *
“I HAVE TO go in to work,” she said ten minutes after Elijah and Alden left the room.
“You need to sleep, Sam.”
“I told Malone I’d meet him at HQ.”
“Call him back and tell him you’ll be there at six.” When she started to protest, he placed his hand on hers. “You can’t function on an hour of sleep. Tell him you’ll meet him at six.”
“Fine,” she said with a huff of aggravation. “But you’re not the boss of me.”
“Sweetheart,” he said, laughing, “ain’t nobody the boss of you.”
Sam smiled, even though she ached on the inside for poor, sweet Alden. “That’s kinda true, isn’t it?”
Nick raised that eyebrow that made him look extra sexy. “Kinda?”
Sam called Malone again. “My bossy pain-in-the-ass husband says I have to sleep for more than an hour before I can come out to play.”
Malone snorted with laughter. “Meet me at six?”
“See you then. I’ll give Carlucci and Dominguez some marching orders in the meantime.”
“Sounds good.”
“Happy now?” Sam asked Nick when she’d closed her phone.
“I’ll be happy when you’re back in bed.”
“One minute.” She called Detective Carlucci and asked her to get photos of anyone else related to the case, so they would have them if they were forced to show them to Alden for an ID. Sam hoped it wouldn’t come to that. If they were able to get the perpetrators another way, it would be her preference not to involve him at all.
“A five-year-old eyewitness to murder,” Carlucci said. “How does he get past that?”
“I have no idea,” Sam said. “But one step at a time. Let’s catch the bastards who killed his parents.”
“We’re on it. We’ll get the photos together.”
“Thank you.” She put down her phone, propped her chin on her hand and looked at Nick. “How will I ever sleep with the things he said in my mind?”
“You might not sleep, but at least you can rest. Come on.”
Sam took his hand and let him lead her upstairs to bed. In the hallway, she paused outside the bedroom where the children were staying with their brother, wishing there was something more she could do for them.
Nick’s hand on her back kept her moving toward bed. He tucked her in and then cuddled up to her, putting his arm around her.
Sam tried to relax her racing mind and rigid muscles as she went through the various pieces of the puzzle one by one.
“Stop,” Nick said softly. “It’ll still be what it is in the morning. Close your eyes and rest, Samantha.”
She wouldn’t have thought she could sleep, but the next thing she knew, the alarm was going off, making her groan. Five hours was about four less than she needed, but that was all she was going to get.
“I’ll make you some coffee,” Nick muttered.
“Don’t get up on my account. Get another hour.”
“I’d rather spend that time with you.”
“You’re insane. If I didn’t have to work, not even you could get me out of this bed.”
“Good to know,” he said with a low chuckle as he squeezed her ass.
“I’ll be in the shower. If I’m not out in ten minutes, come after me.”
“I may come after you anyway.”
“After you start the coffee.”
“Of course.”
Sam dozed off under the hot water, coming to when Nick’s arms slid around her, his lips skimming her shoulder. “In case I forget to tell you, you’re the best husband I ever had.”
“It was a low bar,” he said as he always did. Since her ex-husband, Peter, was murdered in a plot that involved President Nelson’s son, it wasn’t as much fun as it used to be to talk about what a lousy husband he’d been.
Sam turned in Nick’s arms and took five more minutes she didn’t have to marshal the strength she would need to get through another difficult day on the job. “Will you be able to stick around until Shelby gets here to take over?”
“Yeah, I’ll stay. I told Terry I’d need some flexibility this week.”
Sam curled her hand around his neck and brought him down for a kiss. “Thank you. For everything. Every single thing you do for me. Especially the coffee.”
His smile stretched slowly across his sinfully handsome face.
“I’m going to talk to Malone about finding a way to go with you next week.”
“Really?”
“With Gonzo and Freddie both off, it’s a huge long shot, so don’t get excited yet.”
“Too late. I’m already excited.”
“Can you hold that thought for the next twelve to fourteen hours?”
“That’s apt to cause injury. The commercials say you ought to seek medical help after four hours.”
Sam laughed, kissed him and stepped out of the shower. By the time she made her way downstairs fifteen minutes later, Nick had coffee and toast waiting for her.
“Do you think other vice presidents make their own coffee and toast?” she asked after taking the all-important first sip of hot coffee. She still craved diet soda for her morning jolt of caffeine but didn’t miss the brutal stomach pain it used to cause.
“I have no idea. I think the Naval Observatory comes with a chef.”
“So, we could have a chef if we wanted one?”
“I suppose. Do we want one?”
Sam took a bite of peanut butter toast. “I don’t, but if it’s a perk of the job, it might be fun to see what it’s like.”
“I’d hate to get used to that perk and then have to give it up when I leave office.”
“True.” She glanced at the clock on the stove and saw that she had twenty minutes until she was due to meet Malone. “What’s the deal with Harry traveling with you?”
“I had inherited Gooding’s doctor,” he said of the former vice president who had recently passed away after a battle with brain cancer. “But he’s retiring, and they told me I could pick whoever I wanted.”
“Well, just so you know, I’ll be giving the various scenarios significant thought now that I know you’re required to travel with a personal physician.”
“Don’t let your imagination run away with you.”
“Too late.” Sam downed the last of her coffee and put the mug in the sink. “And on that bright note, I’m off to figure out who tortured and murdered the parents of those sweet kids sleeping upstairs.” She bent to kiss him as he sat at the table with the morning paper, which had a feature story on the fire at the Beauclair home. She skimmed the story and saw much less than she already knew, which pleased her.
“Have a good day,” he said, looking up at her. “Call me if you need me.”
“You do the same.”
She was about to walk away when he took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips. “Take good care of my wife out there. She’s my whole world.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
“Ha. Now tell me not to breathe.”
Sam gave her hand a gentle tug to get him to let go, when that was the last thing she wanted. But duty called, as it always did. The idea of a full week away from the grind with him became more appealing all the time. Not to mention the chance to meet the queen! As she went down the ramp that led to the sidewalk, Brant was on his way up, wearing a sharp gray suit with a red-and-blue-striped tie.
“Good morning, Mrs. Cappuano.”
“Morning, Brant.” She was almost past him when she stopped and turned. “Brant...”
“Ma’am?”
“Why is the vice president required to travel with a personal physician?”
“So medical assistance is immediately available, should he require it.”
“He’s perfectly healthy. Why would he require immediate medical assistance?”
“As you well know, anything can happen.”
“Anything as in what?”
“You want specific scenarios?”
“Yes, that’s what I want.”
“There could be an accident, or he could catch the flu, for example. Having a doctor on standby who is loyal to the vice president is in his best interest.”
“Would it be possible for someone to poison his food?”
Brant’s eyes went wide.
“Roll with me. I’m told I have a vivid imagination.”
“Our advance team works with the hotels and other establishments, so that would be highly unlikely.”
“But it could happen.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Anything is possible. Our jobs are to reduce the likelihood of anything happening, and I promise you we take that very seriously. Which is why I had no choice but to object to the children being brought here. Ma’am.”
“I understand, and I apologize for making your job more difficult than it already is.”
“Never forget that you and I have the same goals.”
“Yes, we do. Thank you for your time. You have a good day.”
“You do the same, ma’am.”