Fatal Identity (14 page)

She smiled. “Message received. Let me see what's what out there.”

“Could I say something you might not want to hear?”

“Um, I guess?”

“You're suspended. That means technically, this case isn't your problem.”

“Technically, you're right, but I'm invested, and I want to help, especially with Gonzo out for who knows how long.”

“I understand, but I
need
my wife. You cleared my schedule for the next few days. You're suspended. You know what this means, right?”

“Ummm—”

“It means you're mine. All mine. For
days
.”

“I thought that was our plan when we go to Bora Bora.”

“So you're saying no to unexpected bonus days?”

“Definitely not saying no. I'm saying let me figure out a few things and get back to you.”

“You know where to find me.”

“Yes, I do.” She patted his face and kissed him. “Go to bed. You need your rest.”

“That's not what I need.”

“I'm going to have to dial it back in year two if this is how you're going to behave when you hear the word
no
.”

“You're not dialing back anything. We're perfect exactly the way we are.”

Smiling up at him, she said, “You've got to let go so I can get rid of the people in our living room.”

He dropped the arm he had around her. “Make it snappy,” he said, punctuating his words with a light slap to her ass that had her looking over her shoulder at him, eyes ablaze. God, he loved when she looked at him that way. Yes, he knew he was being pushy and maybe a little obnoxious, but they were always so insanely busy. They had to take full advantage of every chance they got to spend time together.

He watched her go through the kitchen door and caught the way Hill's gaze immediately shifted to her when she entered the room. Nick wanted to poke the guy's eyes out of his head so he would stop looking at her that way. Until Sam had come back into his life, Nick would've said he didn't have a jealous bone in his body. But Hill's obvious attraction to Sam made Nick crazy, and it infuriated him on Shelby's behalf. What right did Hill have to look at Sam the way he did when he had an amazing woman like Shelby waiting for him at home?

Nick was well aware that none of these thoughts were particularly dignified or vice presidential, but when his precious wife was involved, dignity was the least of his concerns. Resigned to waiting for her, he left the kitchen and went into the living room.

“Mr. Vice President,” Malone said with a cheeky grin, knowing how much Nick hated to be called that in his own home. “Nice to see you up and about. You had us worried.”

Nick shook hands with Sam's captain and chief, pointedly ignoring the third man in the room. “Thanks for the concern.”

“You're feeling better?” Farnsworth asked.

“Much,” he said, sending a meaningful glance to Sam.

“Sorry to overtake your home,” Farnsworth said. “We'll be out of your hair shortly.”

“Take your time.” Nick kissed his wife's cheek. “You know where to find me when you're done.”

The glower she directed his way nearly made him laugh out loud, knowing how much she despised overt displays of affection in front of other people, especially other people who happened to be her bosses. Fuck it. What did he care if they saw how much he loved her? He had no desire to hide that from anyone, least of all the FBI agent who had taken an interest in his phone the minute Nick came into the room.

Nick had no doubt he would pay for that kiss later. He couldn't wait.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“W
E
'
VE
ARRANGED
A
safe house for Josh until we figure out the next steps in the investigation,” Malone said after Nick went upstairs. They spoke in low voices so Josh couldn't hear them.

Sam would deal with her husband and his habit of staking his claim on her in front of Hill after everyone left. “Who's going to see the director's wife?”

“I will,” Hill said.

“We're coming with you,” Farnsworth said of himself and Malone.

“That's fine,” Hill replied. “I need to speak to my deputy director and make him aware of what's happened. He'll assume command of the Bureau until a permanent director can be named, so he needs to know what's going on.”

“Make the call,” Farnsworth said, “but let him know the MPD is leading the investigation into Hamilton's death and will keep the Bureau apprised as a courtesy.”

Sam loved the way the chief cut through the bullshit to establish jurisdiction. The Feds would want in on it, but that wasn't happening. She also loved the way Avery's golden eyes flashed with anger that he wisely kept under wraps.

“I'm well aware that it would be a conflict for the Bureau to investigate the murder of our director,” he said with a testy edge to his normally honeyed Southern accent. “That's why I called the lieutenant when I found him rather than my own people.”

“Excellent,” Farnsworth said. “Glad we're all on the same page.”

Sam almost laughed at that, but thankfully managed to control herself, knowing Hill wouldn't appreciate it. “In the morning, I'm going to jump all over the Rollings case and any connection Hamilton might've had to Tennessee during that era.” She would've already done that if her husband and son hadn't been sick all weekend.

“I can tell you what connection he had,” Hill said. “He was the agent in charge of the Knoxville Field Office in the eighties.”

Sam felt like she'd been sucker punched. “Holy Christ.”

“I... I know it'll sound like I'm defending him,” Hill said, “but in my wildest dreams I can't conceive of Hamilton kidnapping someone's child and raising him as his own.”

“If I've learned one thing in more than thirty years in this business,” Farnsworth said, “it's that people are capable of anything under the right circumstances.” His words echoed hers from earlier. They'd both seen a lot during their careers and had learned to keep their minds wide-open to all possibilities.

“What
circumstances
could've led him to kidnapping someone else's child?” Hill asked, becoming more flustered by the second.

“Until we know we have a match on the DNA, the kidnapping should take a backseat to the homicide investigation,” Sam said.

“How can they not be related?” Malone asked. “The timing can't be coincidental.”

“Agreed,” Sam said. “But our priority right now needs to be notifying Hamilton's wife and working the homicide. We'll know more about the kidnapping and whether the DNA is a match tomorrow or the next day.” She handed the address Josh had given her for his grandmother to Hill. “That's where you'll find Mrs. Hamilton.”

He took it from her without comment.

Sam asked for a moment with Malone and brought him up to speed on Gonzo's whereabouts.

“Good to know he's getting some sleep,” Malone said.

“That's what I thought too. Christina's concerned about whether she did the right thing. I'd like to put her mind at rest...”

“Yes, tell her I agree with you, and we'll see him when he feels up to returning to duty.”

“I will. Thank you, Captain.”

“I can't say I understand what he's going through because I've never had a partner gunned down right next to me.”

“Same. I hope I never do.”

Speaking of her partner, the agent working the front door admitted Freddie Cruz, and Sam's heart ached at the thought of losing him the way Gonzo had lost Arnold. She couldn't go there, not even for a second.

“We're all set, Detective?” Farnsworth asked.

“Yes, sir,” Freddie said. “I spoke with the Patrol commander and they'll be providing overnight security at the house.”

“Very good, thank you.” To Josh, Farnsworth said, “Mr. Hamilton, Detective Cruz will escort you to a safe house that's managed by the MPD. You'll be under the protection of the department until we know more about what happened to your father and whether there's a connection to the Rollings family.”

“It's the same place we kept Selina during the Lightfeather investigation,” Freddie said to Sam.

She nodded. “Good. Thanks. Did you get anything from the canvass of Hamilton's neighborhood?”

“One neighbor reported seeing someone running from the house at around three-thirty. Carlucci and Dominguez are taking the statement at HQ.”

“Do we have any cameras in that neighborhood?”

“Archie's on that,” he said of Lieutenant Archelotta, who headed the department's IT division.

Sam's cell phone rang, and she retrieved it from her pocket, scowling at the sight of Darren Tabor's name on the caller ID. He was becoming a regular pest. “What?”

“What're you guys doing up at the FBI director's house?”

“How would I know? I'm suspended.”

“You were seen there earlier.”

“No idea what you're talking about, Darren. I'm not allowed to conduct MPD business as you and everyone in the city knows thanks to your reporting.”

“Who's covering for you while you're out?”

“Malone.”

“Where's Gonzo?”

“Gotta go, Darren. Nice to catch up.” She slapped the phone closed. “He's going to call you,” she said to Malone, whose phone rang. He ignored it. “He's digging into what's going on at Hamilton's house. We're on borrowed time to notify the family before the press gets the story.”

“Let's go.” Hill headed for the door, with Malone and Farnsworth following.

“I'll call you in the morning,” Malone said to Sam over his shoulder.

She wanted to go with them so badly she could taste it. This was the kind of case she lived for, but thanks to fucking Ramsey and his big fucking mouth, she was relegated to the cheap seats while the others got to work the case. There was still a lot she could do from the cheap seats, but there was nothing like the front lines when it came to a homicide investigation.

Resigned to her fate for the time being, she turned her attention to Josh, who was putting on his coat.

“Thanks for letting me come here,” Josh said. “Sorry for any trouble I caused.”

“You were no trouble. Hopefully we'll have some answers for you in the next day or two.”

“I don't know what to hope for anymore—that I'm Taylor or that I'm not. It's all very confusing.”

“I'm sure it is. Let me ask you... Did your father ever talk about the time he spent in Tennessee as the field office director in Knoxville?”

Josh's brows knitted in confusion. “He didn't live in Tennessee.”

“Special Agent Hill confirmed that he was the agent in charge of the Knoxville Field Office in the eighties.”

“I don't think that's right. I've never heard him talk about living in Tennessee, and he talked about everything when it came to his career.”

“Well, maybe Agent Hill was mistaken.”

“Must've been.”

“Let's get you out of here and settled for the night,” Freddie said. To Sam he added, “I'll call you.”

She waved him over before he went through the door. “Christina called Nick. She said Gonzo was sleeping for the first time since Arnold was killed, and she let him sleep rather than telling him work had called.”

Freddie shuddered. “Remember when Elin did that to me and I ended up getting shot?”

“A. Elin did it because she wanted a booty call. B. You got shot because you were stupid. Two very different situations.”

“Gee, thanks, Lieutenant. Appreciate the reminder of my stupidity.”

“I'm always here for you, Detective. Now get out of my house. My husband wants a booty call.”

“Ugh.”

Sam cracked up laughing at the face he made.

“Unnecessary.”

“It's actually very necessary. Call me in the morning. I want to be kept in the loop on every aspect of this investigation. Let the others know too.”

“Okay.”

To Josh she said, “We'll be in touch as soon as we know anything about the DNA.”

“Thank you for everything you've done. I'm sorry to have dragged you into this.”

“I'm glad you came to me, and I'll see it through to whatever conclusion it leads to. I promise.”

Nodding, he preceded Freddie out the door.

“Are you expecting other visitors, Mrs. Cappuano?” the agent asked.

“Not tonight.”

“Very good. Have a nice evening.”

“You too.” She shut off the lights in the kitchen and living room and went upstairs to the bedroom, expecting to find Nick already in bed. But he wasn't there or in the adjoining bathroom. Sam smiled when she realized where she would find her husband. Though she was still concerned about his health, she knew by now how convincing he could be when he wanted her. So she took a quick shower, shaved her legs and applied the vanilla-scented lotion that drove him wild, not that she needed any help when it came to driving him wild. He was easily driven where she was concerned, which was one of many reasons she loved him so much.

Her mind refused to shut down, spinning through the events of the day. This was one hell of a time to be hit with a case of this magnitude, with her on suspension, Gonzo spiraling and the Homicide unit already shorthanded due to the loss of Arnold. Those worries had her placing a call to Malone.

“Didn't I just see you?”

“I'm thinking...”

“Always a dangerous pastime for you, Lieutenant.”

“Ha, ha.”

“What's on your mind?”

“This huge case falling into our laps at a time when we're ill prepared to cope with it.”

“Your thoughts match mine.”

She realized he was choosing his words carefully because he was in the car with Hill. “The chief could lift my suspension, and I could serve out the rest after we close this case.”

“Again, your thought process and mine are aligned. I'll discuss it with him and get back to you in the morning.”

“Great, thanks.” Sam was nearly giddy at the thought of being brought back to deal with the Hamilton investigation, not to mention imagining Ramsey's reaction to hearing that she was back on the job because she was so essential to the department.

“You can stop your gloating now, Lieutenant,” Malone said with a chuckle.

“Who's gloating? Have a good night, Captain.”

“You do the same.”

Sam ended the call and did a jig around the bedroom. It sure was nice to be
essential
to so many people, including her husband, who was getting so lucky tonight, even if she wasn't convinced he should be exerting himself after being sick. He said he was fine, and she chose to take him at his word.

She crossed the hall to the room she used as a closet and changed into some of the sluttiest lingerie she owned before tying a big, bulky, unsexy, safe-for-Secret-Service-to-see robe over the ensemble.

She stepped into the hallway to find Secret Service Barbie giving her the eye.
Eat your heart out
, she wanted to say to the other woman.
I'm going to get it on with the sexiest vice president in the history of the world right now
. Of course she couldn't actually say
that
, so instead she said, “Good night, Melinda.”

“Good night, ma'am.”

Sam felt the agent's eyes on her back as she checked on Scotty, who was sleeping soundly, and then made for the stairs that led to the third-floor loft her loving husband had put together as a getaway for them. If the agents knew what went on up there, they never let on, but Sam was sure they had their suspicions. Let them wonder. It was bad enough that their house was overrun with people these days. The time they spent alone up there belonged to her and Nick and no one else.

On the way upstairs, she was greeted by the scent of coconut that took her right back to the blissful days and nights of their honeymoon. As she shut and locked the door behind her, she saw that he'd lit the candles, turned on music and was asleep on his side, the sheet pooling around his narrow hips, leaving his muscular back exposed. She licked her lips at the sight of him, torn between wanting him and not wanting to disturb his badly needed sleep.

Sam removed the robe and the lingerie since he was asleep, tossed her clothes over the end of the double lounge chair, put her cell phone on the bedside table and slid in next to him, tugging the covers up and over her.

His arm immediately encircled her waist, making her squeak inelegantly as he tugged her in close to him.

“I thought you were asleep!”

“That's what I wanted you to think,” he said, laughing.

Her heart beat fast with adrenaline from being surprised and the ever-present desire that flooded her senses whenever he was nearby. She'd never reacted to any man the way she did to him, and she was addicted to the way he made her feel.

He propped himself up on an elbow and gazed down at her, as if seeing her for the very first time.

“What?” she asked, unnerved by his intense scrutiny.

“Just looking at what's mine.”

“You put on quite a show downstairs.”

“When?”

“Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about.”

“
Why
does he still look at you that way when he has Shelby waiting for him at home with his ring on her finger?”