Fatal Series 01 - Fatal Affair

“I really do.”
    Nick hugged Graham. “Why don’t you try to get some rest?”
    “Every time I doze off, I wake up suddenly and have to remember that John is gone… I keep reliving it, over and over. It’s easier just to stay awake.”
    Nick embraced the older man again, and when he finally released him, Sam saw tears in Nick’s eyes. “I know what you mean.”
    “Yes, I suppose you do.”
    “I’ll see you in the morning. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”
    Graham patted Nick’s face. “I love you like one of my own. I hope you know that.”
    His cheek pulsing with emotion, Nick nodded.
    “There’s something I need to talk to you about after the funeral,” Graham said. “Save me a few minutes?”
    “Of course.”
    “Drive carefully,” Graham said as he showed them out.

    Sam slipped her arm through Nick’s and led him from the house, taking the keys from his coat pocket on the way to the car. “Are you okay?” she finally asked once they were in the car.
    After a long moment of silence, Nick looked over at her. “He’s never said that to me before. I’ve always sort of known it, but he’s never come right out and said the words.”
    “You’re an easy guy to love—most of the time.”
    His face lifted into the grin she adored. “Gee, thanks.”
    “We’ve got to do something about your inability to follow orders, however.”
    “Best of luck with that.” He linked his fingers with hers as she drove them down the long driveway. “Thanks.”
    “For what?”
    “For understanding why I needed to see with my own eyes that they’re okay.”
    “They’re your people.”
    “They’re all I’ve got.”
    She squeezed his hand. “Not anymore.”

Chapter 35
    On the way back to Nick’s house, Sam arranged for security at the O’Connor home and participated in a conference call with other HQ detectives to map out a plan for coverage of the funeral in the morning. If Patricia or Thomas showed up at the cathedral, they were prepared to snag them going in. Sam planned to wear a wire so she could communicate from the inside if need be. Because she knew Nick needed her support, she hoped she could get through the service without her job interfering, but she knew he’d understand if she had to leave. He wanted John’s killer caught as much as she did.
    As she followed Nick into his house, she glanced at the front shrubs, recalling once again the sensation of being hurled through the air by the force of the bomb. She shuddered.
    “What’s wrong, babe?”
    “Nothing,” she said, trying to shake off feelings that were magnified by a serious lack of sleep.
    “It’s going to take a while before we can walk in here and not think of it.”
    “I’m fine,” she assured him, amazed once again by how tuned into her he was. “I just need a little more computer time.”
    He hung their coats in the front hall closet and then stepped behind her to massage her shoulders. “What you need is sleep.”
    “But—”
    “No buts.” He steered her up the stairs to his bedroom.
    Sam wished she had the energy to fight him as he undressed her and tucked her into bed.
    “What about you?” she asked, smothering a yawn.
    “I’m going to grab a shower. I’ll be there in a minute.”
    “’K,” she said, her eyes burning shut.
    While she waited for him, Sam’s mind wandered through everything that had happened during that long night, replaying each crime scene as she tried to hold off on sleep until Nick joined her. All at once, she snapped out of the languor to discover that nearly half an hour had passed since he’d left her to take a shower.
    She got up and went into a bathroom awash in steam. Opening the shower door, she found him leaning against the wall, lost in thought. Quietly, she slipped in behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
    He startled and then relaxed into her embrace. “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
    “Can’t sleep without you. You’ve ruined me.” She pressed a series of kisses to the warm skin on his back. “Come on.”
    He shut off the water.
    Sam grabbed his towel and dried them both. Taking his hand, she led him to bed. Wrapped in his arms, she was finally able to sleep.

    Walking into the National Cathedral for the first time in her life the next morning, Sam gazed up at the soaring spires like an awestruck tourist from Peoria.
    She wondered if staring at the president of the United States and his lovely wife like a star-struck