Fatal Consequences (18 page)

“She loves you too. I’ll talk to you later.”

Nick followed the stream of people off the plane. Once inside the terminal, he called Skip Holland. When Celia put him on the phone, Nick said, “I thought you should know that the guy who grabbed McBride threatened Sam.”

Sam would be pissed with him for alerting her father, but Nick had no doubt Skip would make sure the cops were doing everything they could to protect her.

In the cab to the hospital, Nick tried to brace himself to see his mother, to expect that nothing would have changed since the last time, to accept once again that she would never be the mother he’d yearned for all his life. He hated the way thoughts of her took him right back to that tiny apartment he’d shared with a grandmother made bitter by the unwanted responsibility of raising her son’s child. His grandmother used to love to remind him of what a good-for-nothing bitch had given birth to him and then saddled
her
with “the kid.”

So many times his mother had called to arrange visits that never materialized. As often as she’d disappointed him, though, he never stopped hoping she’d change, even if she’d rarely given him any reason to hope. He’d worked long and hard to build a life for himself that wasn’t based on bitterness and disappointment. Seeing his mother set him back like nothing else ever could. It had happened before and would happen again if he wasn’t careful.

This time, he was determined not to let her rip him to shreds. He was a grown man, about to marry the love of his life and inherit a family of in-laws he liked and respected. He had great friends and colleagues, was closer to his father than he’d ever been and he still had John’s family, which considered him one of their own. Keeping all those positives in mind, Nick stepped into the elevator.

As he approached her room, the doctor stepped out. “Senator Cappuano?”

“Yes,” Nick said, extending a hand. “How is she?”

The doctor shook his hand. “Anxious to see you. I told her you were on your way.”

Hearing she was anxious to see him put Nick immediately on guard. To his knowledge, she’d ever been anxious to see him in his entire life. At least not that he could recall. Sam’s warning echoed through his mind. He’d be wise to keep that guard up.

“When can she go home?” Nick asked.

“We’re waiting for the results of several tests. Provided everything checks out, she can leave this afternoon.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The doctor walked away, and Nick stood outside the door. His stomach was queasy, the way it used to get when he’d sit in his grandmother’s window for an entire Saturday waiting for a mother who wasn’t coming. Taking a final unsteady breath, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“Oh! There he is! Look at him,” Nicoletta said to the nurse who was checking her monitors. “My son, the United States
senator
!” She held out her arms. “Come, darling. Give your mother a hug.”

Nicoletta had often been compared to Sophia Loren with wavy auburn hair, flawless skin and dazzling smile. However, as Nick approached the bed to hug her, he noticed lines on her face that hadn’t been there the last time he saw her.

His mother drew him in tight, and Nick was surrounded by her familiar fragrance. Releasing him from the hug, she framed his face with her hands. “Isn’t he so handsome, Roberta? Didn’t I tell you?”

“He sure is, and you sure did,” the nurse said. “I’ll leave you two to visit. Ring the call button if you need anything, Nicoletta.”

“Thanks.” Turning back to Nick, she said, “Well, look at you. So grown up and
so
handsome. Thank you for coming, sweetheart.”

Despite all the warnings he’d given himself before seeing her, Nick glommed on to the compliments and endearment like a starving man who’d just found food. “Um, sure, no problem.”

She dropped her hands from his face. “I know how busy you must be. When I heard you’d become a senator, well…I just couldn’t believe it!”

“I thought I might hear from you.” Nick hated that he sounded like a sad little boy who still sought his mother’s approval.

“I had every intention of calling, but one day became two and then three. I didn’t want to bother you.”

He dropped into the chair next to her bed. “Too bad you didn’t call. Maybe you could’ve come for the swearing-in. The president and first lady were there.” Inside, Nick winced at his shameless name-dropping.

“You don’t say! I’d love to meet the president. How lucky you are!”

“I’ve been very lucky lately. I’m not sure if you’ve heard that I’m engaged.”

“I read that in the paper. Congratulations.”

“They reported our engagement
out here
?”

“I read the Washington paper on the computer,” she said, chagrined. “I was so curious after I heard you’d taken office.”

Sam’s warnings echoed through his mind, louder than ever. If his mother had read about his engagement, she’d no doubt read about the two-million-dollar life insurance payment too. “Her name is Samantha, but she goes by Sam. She’s a homicide detective in Washington.”

“And you’re happy with her, Nicky?”

The nickname was a shot to the heart. His parents were the only people who’d ever called him that. “I’ve never been happier in my life.”

“I’m glad for you,” she said, sounding sincere. “You certainly deserve to be happy.”

“I certainly do.”

Nicoletta looked down at her hands in her lap and then at him. “I know I have no right to call you here, and it’s no thanks to me that you’re the kind of man who comes when his mother needs him even if she’s never done the same for you.”

Nick couldn’t deny that, so he said nothing.

“It’s just that I’ve, you know, fallen on some hard times. And now this accident…”

Here it comes
, Nick thought. “What happened to Mel?” he asked, referring to the man she’d married the last time Nick saw her—at her third wedding during which she’d refused to introduce him as her son. Nothing like being a walking, talking symbol of someone’s youthful indiscretion.

“He’s been gone a while now.”

“What do you want from me, Nicoletta?” She’d asked him to call her that at the wedding. Apparently, it was easier for her to introduce him as an old friend than the son she’d never wanted.

Right on cue, fat tears began to roll down her flawless face. “When Mel left, he took everything. I had a job for a while, but I got laid off and now my benefits have run out. I didn’t know who else to turn to.”

“So you thought this would be a good time to hurl yourself down a flight of stairs?”

Her eyes widened with shock at his cold tone. “Don’t be ridiculous! I could’ve been killed! I tripped over the runner on the stairs.” She held up her arms so he could see the bruises she’d sustained on the way down. She turned those potent, tearful eyes on him again. “You’ll help me, won’t you, Nicky?”

Nick schooled his face into what he hoped was a flat, emotionless expression. “How much do you need?”

Gonzo sifted through the phone records the cell company had finally produced, highlighting common numbers that appeared on the lists for both Regina and Maria. There were three, which gave Sam some of those threads she liked to pull. He was about to report in to her when his cell phone rang.

“Tommy, it’s Andy,” his lawyer said. “I just got off the phone with the child protective services representative who did the home inspection.”

“And?”

“Apparently, when she went to the house, the conditions were so poor that she immediately removed the baby from the premises.”

Gonzo sat up straighter in his seat. “Where is he?”

“At the moment, in foster care, but here’s the good news—a family court judge has agreed to hear our petition for custody. Today.”

“On what grounds?” Gonzo asked, his heart and mind racing. “We haven’t even gotten her to agree to the DNA test to establish my paternity.”

“We don’t have to,” Andy said, sounding ebullient.

“Okay, you’ve totally lost me here.”

“Tommy,” Andy said, “she listed you as the father on the baby’s birth certificate!”

All the air left Gonzo’s body in one long whoosh. “
Seriously?
”

“Yep. Normally, they send written notice of a hearing, but the judge waived the notice.”

“Who is it?” Gonzo asked even though he suspected.

“Morton. Do you know him?”

“I caught his sister’s killer two years ago. Got the guy put away for life with no chance of parole.”

“Well, that explains it. Unless he says something in court, don’t mention that. If he’s doing you some sort of favor, we don’t need to point it out.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.”

“So while the judge will no doubt order formal paternity testing, there should be nothing standing in the way of them awarding you temporary custody today. Can you be in court in an hour?”

Gonzo thought about the case they were working and Sam’s declaration that all leave was canceled. Surely, this counted as an emergency, right?

“I’ll be there,” he said.

“Not to be premature, but I hope to be saying, ‘Congratulations, Dad,’ before the end of this day. See you soon.”

Dad
. The word struck every emotion he’d ever experienced. Joy warred with fear as he remembered he didn’t know a damned thing about taking care of a baby. He’d figure it out, though. If it meant he got to bring his son home, he’d do whatever it took to make it work. Picking up his phone again, Gonzo called Sam.

“Give me something, give me anything,” she said when she answered.

Her familiar line made him smile. He brought her up-to-date on what he’d found on the cell records. “I’ll run the common numbers now and see what we get.”

“Excellent work. Thank you.”

“How’s McBride?” When he thought about what had happened to his friend and colleague, Gonzo saw red. He wanted to be right in the thick of tracking down the monster who’d attacked her, but today he had something else he had to do.

“A little better. It’s gonna be a long road.”

“Yeah. Listen, Lieutenant…something’s come up, and I wondered if I could take some emergency leave.”

The request was met with silence.

In a rush of words, he told her about the call from Andy. “I know this is the worst possible time and you canceled all leave, but if I’m awarded custody I need to be there and the judge needs to see that I’m a fit father and—”

“Gonzo!
Gonzo!
Of course you have to be there. No question.”

“But the case—”

“We’ve got it covered. Go take care of your kid.”

“Jeannie—”

“Would tell you the same thing.”

“Okay,” he said, releasing a deep breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Sam…”

“Yeah?”

“What the hell do I do with a baby? My parents are in Arizona for the winter, my sisters are hours from here.
What the hell do I do?
”

Laughing, she said, “I’ll call my sisters. They’ll set you up with everything you need. Leave it to them.”

“I can’t ask that of you—or them.”

“You didn’t ask. I offered them up, and trust me, they love to butt into other people’s business. They’ll have you fixed up in no time.”

“Wow, thanks. I mean that. Really.”

“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for the poor kid.”

Gonzo laughed. “And for that he will be eternally grateful.”

“What’s his name, Tommy?” she asked softly.

“It’s going to be Alejandro, after my father. But we’ll call him Alex.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

After a long pause he said, “You really think I can do this?”

“Absolutely. I have no doubt that you’ll be great. Let me know how you make out in court. I’ll call my sisters and give them your number.”

“Thank you so much—for that and the flexibility.”

“Go take care of your family. Keep me posted.”

His family. The whole thing blew his mind. “I will.” He ended the call with her and called Christina to bring her up to speed. “Can you come to court? I’m totally freaking out over here.”

“
I can’t
,” she said in a protracted wail. “Nick got called away on a family emergency today, and I’m scrambling to shift all his appointments and meetings to tomorrow. The office is insane, and I’m
still
waiting for my deputy to show up after his stint in rehab. I can’t believe I’ll miss it!”

Gonzo couldn’t believe he had to get through it without her by his side. “I wish you could be there.”

“I do too,” she said with a whimper. “I’ll be
dying
over here waiting to hear something.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

“I love you, Tommy. I’m so happy for you.”

The words were still so new that they caught him by surprise. “I love you too. Thank you for all the support. I couldn’t have gotten through this without you.”

“That’s nice of you to say, but getting custody might turn out to be the easy part,” she said with a laugh.

“No kidding. I’ll call you.”

“Good luck!”

As soon as Sam ended the call with Gonzo, her dad’s number beeped in. “Hey, Skippy, what’s up?” She pictured him in the kitchen wearing the headset that allowed him to use the telephone.

“Just checking on my daughter who’s been threatened once again.”

“How do you know about that?” Neither Malone nor Farnsworth would’ve wanted to worry him, which left…“Nick. Ugh, I’ll shoot him.”

“He’s worried, Sam, and rightfully so. If this guy could grab McBride the way he did, what’s to stop him—”

“I hear you. Farnsworth put a tail on me. They’re right here.” She glanced at the two young officers, who waved at her. When she scowled at them, they had the good sense to look elsewhere. Coupla probies, right out of the academy, no doubt, but at least they were armed.

“If I hear you dodged them or did anything other than exactly what your superior officers tell you to do, you’ll answer to me. Am I clear?”

“You did get the memo that I’m thirty-four now and don’t have to do what you tell me anymore, didn’t you?”

“You’ll do what I tell you for as long as I draw a breath on this earth, missy.”

Sam laughed. “Did you really just call me ‘missy’? I haven’t heard that one since middle school.”

“You drove me to it with your insolence.”

“I apologize for my insolence, and I promise to do what I’m told. Happy now?”

“I’ll be happy when you catch this bastard.”

“So will I,” Sam said with a sigh. “Believe me.”

“Come see me if I can help.”

“Freddie and I will be by later to run a few things past you.”