Fatal Series 00 - Fatal Destiny

him what he needed to hear so he would get some sleep. His insomnia had been bad lately as the campaign and wedding compounded his stress.
    “Sure you don’t want to tell me about it?”
    “Same old dream. You know the one.”
    “Hasn’t happened in a while. What brought that on?”
    “We were talking about the Johnson case today. Probably stirred it up.”
    “I’m sorry you have to carry that horrible memory with you.”
    Sam shrugged. “Goes with the territory.” Anxious to change the subject, she tilted her head back and kissed him. “Sorry I woke you.”
    “I wasn’t asleep.”
    “Nick… Will you take a pill? Please? You can’t go another night without sleep.”
    “I’m okay.”
    She ran her hand from her chest to his belly. “I need you very well rested for this weekend.”
    Laughing softly, he stopped her hand before it could go any lower. “And I need you well rested.” He linked their fingers and brought their joined hands to his chest.
    “I will if you will.”
    He rolled to his side and drew her in closer to him. “You got it.”
    Sam took a deep breath and closed her eyes tight against the image of Gardner holding that gun to Nick’s head. A tremble rippled through her body. She blinked back tears, knowing if she broke down he’d never get the sleep he so desperately needed.
    “I hate how you suffer over that job.”
    “I’m all right, Nick. Really. I want you to sleep.”
    “And I love how you care more about me than you do about yourself.”
    Sam gripped his hand. “Always will.” Lying there in the dark, Sam vowed to nail Darius Gardner to the wall. She would get him before he could harm anyone else. And once she had him, she’d make sure he never saw the light of day again.

Chapter 6
    Sam didn’t go back to sleep. She waited until she was sure she wouldn’t wake Nick before she eased herself out of his embrace and got up. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was just after three. Great , she thought. Just what I need this week—a sleepless night . She went across the hall to her closet and found a pair of sweats and pulled them on along with warm socks.
    In the far back corner of the closet, she took the top off a shoebox and withdrew one of the six cans of diet cola she’d stashed there for emergencies. A sleepless night the week of her wedding certainly counted as a caffeine emergency.
    She went downstairs, got a glass of ice and took Gardner’s file into the study to fire up Nick’s computer. While she waited for it to boot up, she took pleasure in rearranging the perfectly placed items on his desk. It made her smile to imagine him finding her calling card the next time he sat there.
    Sam reached for a framed photo she hadn’t seen there before—the picture of them that had run with their interview in the Washington Star . When had he gotten that? Nick sat behind her, with his arms around her. Sam traced a finger over the photo, wishing for one for her own desk. She’d have to ask Nick how he’d come to have it.
    She cracked open the diet cola and poured it over the ice, practically drooling in anticipation. Since Dr. Harry identified it as the cause of her crippling stomach pain, she hadn’t had so much as a sip of soda. One can wouldn’t hurt anything, she decided as she took the first sip. The carbonation zipped through her system, giving her a much-needed boost.
    “Ah, hello, old friend,” she said, taking a second drink. “Oh, how I’ve missed you.”
    Resisting the urge to guzzle, she put the glass aside and reached for the file folder. Inside she found the photos that haunted Faith. “Sadistic son of a bitch,” Sam muttered as she sifted through them. The woman Gardner attacked hadn’t been more than a teenager at the time. Her bruised and battered face told the story of a vicious assault.
    She withdrew the victim’s statement and tried to read it, blinking when the words jumbled into an unreadable mess. “Goddamn it,” she muttered, frustrated by the dyslexia that plagued her at times of stress or exhaustion. Closing her eyes, she took a deep, calming breath and tried again. No good.
    Then she remembered Nick had showed her how the computer could read for her. She scanned the document and sat back to listen to the techno-sounding narration.
    Sam forced herself to focus on the report given by Gardner’s traumatized victim and was chilled by the monotone recitation of what had been an emotionally devastating event. Once again her thoughts