he was right. Me getting together with Nick would’ve infuriated Peter because he knew how much I’d liked Nick the first time around. He had to know we would’ve put together that he was the one who’d kept us apart.”
Thinking about the long, lonely years between when she first met Nick and when they finally had their chance to be together made her sad for what they’d missed out on. They’d more than made up for lost time in the eighteen months they’d been back together, but they’d never get back the six years they’d lost to Peter’s manipulations.
“Of course, you know the rest, how my squad found bomb-making materials in Peter’s apartment and how he got off on a warrant technicality. Other than him accosting me on the sidewalk outside my house on the night before my wedding, he’s been keeping a pretty low profile.”
“What’s your hunch about whether or not he’s behind this latest threat?”
“If you’d asked me that two years ago, I would’ve said he lacked the balls to threaten the sitting vice president. But after he tried to blow us up, I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
“The good news is his prints are on file after his arrest on the bombing, so if he touched that letter, we’ll have him.”
Her heart sank. “There won’t be prints.”
“Why do you say that?” Avery asked.
“Because he’ll have learned that lesson with the bombs. I called him out on it in interrogation. Like, how could you be so stupid? Didn’t you learn anything from living with a cop for four years? He wouldn’t make that mistake again.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t get him in other ways.”
“He won’t make it easy.”
“Who are we talking about?”
Sam whirled around to find Nick standing in the doorway, his face lined from the pillowcase and his hair standing on end. He hardly resembled the handsome, debonair vice president the rest of the world knew. She held out her hand to him. “Do you feel better after getting some rest?”
He stepped forward to take her hand and sat next to her. “I did until I realized I’d been left out of this conversation.”
“You didn’t miss anything other than a trip down unpleasant memory lane.”
“You’re talking about Peter, then.”
“How’d you guess?”
“What’s your take?” Nick asked Avery.
“It’s as good of a lead as we’ve gotten. Often when someone threatens the president or vice president, they like to crow about it. In this case, there hasn’t been anything. No claim of responsibility. No chatter. No nothing.”
“Which means we’re stuck here indefinitely?”
“We’re doing everything we can.”
Right then and there Sam reached her breaking point. “I want out of here. I’m not under Secret Service protection, and I shouldn’t have to be here if I don’t want to be protected. Everyone here should be given that choice. You can’t hold us indefinitely.”
“That’s not up to you,” Nick said in a tone that told her he didn’t appreciate her doing this in front of Avery, of all people.
For once, Sam didn’t care what he appreciated. “You can’t hold me here against my will.”
“Yes, I can.”
“I’m your wife, not your prisoner.”
Avery stood and gathered up his pad, phone and other belongings from the table. “I’ve got what I need for now. I’ll be back if I have other questions about Peter Gibson.”
“You know where I’ll be.” Sam glared at Nick, who glared right back at her. “Be sure to give Shelby our regards and let her know she’ll still get paid even if she’s not able to assist us with anything at the moment.” Shelby, their faithful assistant, was engaged to Avery.
“I’ll pass that along. She’s so pregnant she’s probably relieved to sit with her feet up and do nothing.” At the doorway, he stopped and turned to look at them. “I know this is hard on you guys. We’re doing everything we can to figure it out as fast as we can.”
“Try harder,” Sam said, aware that she was being a jerk but unable to work up the fortitude to care.
“I’ll be in touch.”
“You’ll have to stop by since you can’t call us down here.”
“Right,” Avery said before he left them.
“Do you really have to pitch a fit in front of him of all people?” Nick asked when they were alone.
“Pitch a fit? Is that what you call expressing my disbelief that an American citizen can be held by her government without her permission for days with no end in sight?”
“You’re being a little dramatic, babe.”
Sam’s brows shot up to meet her hairline. “I’m being dramatic? Don’t you think ordering a dragnet over a letter was a little dramatic?”
His expression hardened. “Not even kinda. You tell me what you would’ve done in my place if you’d been out of the country and found out everyone you love had been threatened with kidnapping and dismemberment.” As he spoke, his voice got louder and his eyes got darker, the way they did when he was turned on. Except now he was furious rather than turned on. “You would’ve done exactly what I did with the resources I have available to me.”
“As vice president—a job you claim to hate until it comes in handy.”
“You’re really going to throw that back in my face?”
“Yeah, I guess I am. I get why you did it, and I agree that I would’ve done the same thing in your place when I was out of the country. But you’re back now and we’re all safe. How long can you reasonably expect to keep us here, Nick? What if it takes a month to find the person who sent that letter?”
Sighing, he looked defeated when he said, “I don’t know. How do I let everyone out of here and go about my life with full protection while hoping whoever made the threat doesn’t make good on it with someone who isn’t protected?”
“Are you guys fighting?” Scotty asked in a small voice from the doorway.
Nick said “no” as Sam said “yes.”
After a second, the three of them laughed.
“I love how you fight about whether or not you’re fighting,” Scotty said, seeming relieved that they were at least laughing.
“This is a stressful situation for all of us, buddy,” Nick said. “No one wants to be stuck in this dungeon, least of all your mother.”
Scotty snorted with laughter. “She’s like a toddler in situations like this.”
“Um, excuse me, the toddler is in the room.”
His smile lit up his face and made his eyes dance with mischief.
Sam loved him so damned much. He always made everything better, even shitty situations like this one. “You know what I need right now?”
“Am I allowed to hear this?” Scotty asked.
“Ewww, knock it off, brat!”
“Well, I do have to witness an awful lot of kissing in my house. I’ve learned to be wary.”
“How does he know words like wary?” Sam asked Nick.
“It was your idea to send him to school,” he replied, making Scotty laugh again.
Sam rolled her eyes. “What I was going to say is I want to play one of those video games