“Objection.”

  “Overruled.”

  “Do you know why he disliked your father?”

  “No, neither of us knew. We suspected he might be jealous because my father, who was a year senior to him, had been more successful in his career. But beyond that, we never knew why. And then when Stahl was reassigned to Internal Affairs and I was put in charge of the Homicide squad, his ire toward me seemed to intensify.” If she were to glance in Stahl’s direction, she suspected his face might be that hideous shade of purple that it took on when he became enraged. She’d seen a lot of that colorful face over the years.

  But she didn’t look. She didn’t care enough to be bothered looking.

  “Prior to the incident on your front porch, had anything happened between yourself and Mr. Stahl?”

  “So many things. We constantly butted heads, most of the time over manufactured offenses that he used to try to discredit me.”

  “Had he ever threatened you before the day on your front porch?”

  “Numerous times. He brought me up before the Internal Affairs Board on charges of misconduct on two occasions, the first over my involvement with Nick Cappuano during the O’Connor investigation. When I only received a suspension for that, he said, ‘You may think you’ve won this round, Holland, but you mark my words—I’ll get rid of you if it’s the last thing I ever do.’” Sam had memorized the details of the various incidents in anticipation of testifying.

  “Did you feel personally threatened by that statement?”

  “Not in a physical sense, but I definitely felt he was threatening my career.”

  “And did he have the power to hurt your career?”

  “Absolutely. He was the lieutenant in charge of Internal Affairs at that time, so he could definitely make trouble for me. And he outranked me as a more senior lieutenant.”

  “Did anyone else hear him threaten you?”

  “Yes, my partner, Detective Cruz, heard it.” As she spoke, Sam felt the heat of Stahl’s gaze on her, but she continued to look at Nick while ignoring the hatred coming from Stahl.

  “What was the second reason you were brought up on IAB charges?”

  “Stahl overheard one of my officers joking about having to work while the rest of my squad attended my wedding. He decided to make something of that.”

  “Did it go anywhere?”

  “No.”

  “And what was his reaction?”

  “He was pissed and seemed to increase his efforts to try to get me in trouble, always inferring that my father’s friendship with the chief was the only reason I hadn’t been fired.”

  “Did you argue with him?”

  “All the time. I will admit that I often enjoyed needling him. I enjoyed watching his face turn purple with rage every time he was anywhere near me, but I never imagined he’d take it as far as he did.”

  “Objection, Your Honor. Could you ask the witness to stick to the questions and quit the editorializing?”

  “Sustained. Lieutenant, please answer the questions and leave it at that.”

  Was she allowed to tell the defense attorney to fuck off? Probably not... “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Lieutenant Stahl was arrested for tipping a reporter off to a detail you had withheld from the public during an investigation. Can you tell us about that?”

  “Yes, when we investigated the murder of DC Feds player Willie Vazquez, we didn’t disclose that his body had been found in a dumpster. I heard from Darren Tabor, a reporter with the Washington Star, that he’d received that information in an anonymous tip. Working with IT Lieutenant Archelotta, we determined the tip was made by Stahl in a call from the Lieutenant’s Lounge at MPD Headquarters. Lieutenant Archelotta produced video that showed Stahl making the call. Upon seeing the video, the chief ordered that Stahl be relieved of his weapon and shield and that he be arrested.”

  “How did Stahl react?”

  “He blamed me, even though the video plainly showed him disclosing information we had deliberately withheld from the public reports.”

  “Did he threaten you?”

  “Yes.” Sam had memorized this part too. “His exact words were ‘You’re going to pay for this, Holland! You’d better watch your back, little girl! That stupid bitch set me up! This is all her fault!’ After he said that in front of myself, Chief Farnsworth, Deputy Chief Conklin and Captain Malone, Stahl was charged with a felony count of threatening a public official.”

  “Did he make good on that threat?”

  “He did. After he was released on bail, he showed up at my house and attacked me on my front porch.”

  “Can you please describe the attack?”

  “He arrived in uniform and wrapped an arm around my neck, squeezing so tightly I couldn’t breathe. Luckily, I was able to knee him in the groin and then kick him in the knee before my son’s Secret Service detail intervened.” The two agents who’d been there were scheduled to testify to what they’d seen.

  “Were you injured?”

  Sam nodded. “My neck was black-and-blue and very painful for some time afterward.”

  “Was it your feeling that he intended to kill you?”

  “Yes, I believe he would’ve killed me if I hadn’t been able to defend myself or had help from the agents.”

  “Objection.”

  “Overruled.”

  “When was the next time you saw Stahl after the attack on your doorstep?”

  “I next saw him at the home of Marissa Springer during an investigation.”

  “What was he doing there?”

  “I learned he was in cahoots with Marissa, who blamed me for the death of her son Billy. Our investigation into the murder of Marissa’s youngest son, Hugo, implicated Billy. He was later killed by police after he took hostages.”

  Faith led her through the details of that day—arriving at Marissa’s house to ask her a few more questions pertaining to the investigation, realizing she’d made a critical mistake going there alone, watching Marissa kill her maid with a shot to the forehead, being marched to the basement that had been a crime scene and made to sit in a chair to await her fate.

  “What happened once you were in the basement?”

  “Marissa made a call, said she’d gotten me to come back and to get over there.”

  “Did you know who she was talking to?”

  “Not until he showed up.”

  “You’re referring to the defendant?”

  “Yes.” Sam would never be able to properly articulate the shock she’d felt when Stahl had arrived, and she’d put two plus two together to figure out that Marissa had paid his bail on the assault charges and entered into some sort of unholy alliance with him.

  “What happened then?”

  “He said some stuff to me, which I ignored, and then he slapped me in the face and pulled my hair, hard, trying to get a reaction from me.”

  “Did he get one?”

  “I spit at him.”

  “How did he react?”

  “He punched me in the face. Then he tied me to the chair as tightly as he could. I also learned they’d set up my partner, Detective Cruz, by having someone mess with his girlfriend, so he’d be out of the picture when they took me hostage.”

  Faith asked her a series of questions that revealed the next few hours of hell to the jury—Stahl’s unpacking of an arsenal of weapons, his argument with Marissa about who was in charge before he shot her in the gut, how he told Sam he hated her because she thought she was better than everyone else. He insulted her father and his relationship with the chief and generally ranted his hatred toward her as he wrapped her in razor wire.

  The jurors, who’d withheld reactions up until then, gasped at that detail.

  “What did you say to him as this was happening?”

  “Nothing.” Faith had told her she wanted to get that detail into the record—that Sam hadn’t said a word to him during the prolonged attack.

  “At all?”

  “I didn’t say a single word to him the entire time.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it was bothering him that I refused to speak to him, so I stuck to my plan to stay quiet and let it unfold however it was going to.”

  “What were you thinking about?”

  Sam kept her gaze locked on Nick, who barely blinked the entire time she was testifying. “My husband, my son, the rest of my family. I focused on thoughts of them and that kept me focused.”

  “Did you think you were going to die?”

  “I was fairly certain I was going to, especially when he doused the area around my chair with gasoline. His intention was for me to burn alive, knowing that I’d be sliced by the razor wire if I so much as moved.”

  More gasps from the jurors.

  This was going well. Very, very well indeed. Nick’s small smile indicated that he thought so too. Even though it was hard for her to relive and harder for him to hear, they were in this together, like always. She just needed to get through this, and then she would be taking a few days to spend alone—or as alone as they ever were with the Secret Service underfoot—with him and the kids. She’d let Lilia know she wasn’t up for socializing after the week she’d had, and Lilia had promised to hold another dinner party with the same guests as soon as Sam felt up to attending.

  “Did you find out more about Stahl’s actions while you were his hostage?”

  “Yes, I learned from what Marissa said that Stahl had tipped the Springer family off that we were closing in on their son Billy as the perpetrator of the murders that had occurred in their basement, which had included their younger son, Hugo.” Sam’s niece Brooke had also been gang-raped that night. “After Stahl shot Marissa, when she asked him why he would do this to her when she’d been his friend, he said she’d outlived her usefulness.”

  “Did he say anything else that indicated why he was attacking you?”

  Sam nodded. “When Marissa continued to criticize him, he dumped gas on her too, and made sure to get it in her wound. He said, ‘I’m so fucking sick of women who think they should have an opinion. Shut your fucking mouths and do what you were put on this earth to do—spread your legs and breed.’ He also indicated that he’d given Lori Phillips, a known drug addict, cocaine in exchange for sex. He said, ‘Worst thing they ever did was let bitches into the police department. Ruined everything.’”

  “Objection.”

  “Your Honor,” Faith said, “Lieutenant Holland is quoting the official police report from the incident in which the defendant’s words were documented.”

  “I’ll allow it.”

  The defense attorney sat but was clearly pissed with the judge.

  “How did the incident end?” Faith asked.

  “He began lighting matches and teasing me that he was going to drop them on the gas he’d spread all over the place. He went through an entire box that way and was down to the last one when SWAT burst in through the windows and took him down.”

  “Can you detail your injuries?”

  “I was told my face was unrecognizable, and I had cuts all over my body, several that required stitches.”

  “One final question, Lieutenant. Did you determine a motive for the defendant’s actions?”

  “Other than satisfying his vendetta against me, we believe he was out to discredit the department and the people who ordered him arrested for leaking sensitive information during an investigation, among other things he held against them, such as their success while his career had stalled—no pun intended.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant. Nothing further.”

  Now came the fun part, the cross-examination from Stahl’s attorney.

  The man stood and gave her a steely look that had her stomach pinging with nerves.

  “The defense has no questions for Lieutenant Holland.”

  Shock zinged through her, quickly followed by relief so profound it made her light-headed. It was over.

  She could walk out of there and never have to see that revolting bastard’s face again.

  The judge turned to her. “Lieutenant Holland, you’re dismissed.”

  She stood, gave herself a second to get her legs under her and then stepped down from the witness box, walking directly into the arms of her husband. He kept one arm around her as they exited the courtroom, which had gone completely silent.

  Neither said a word as the Secret Service whisked them out of the courthouse and into one of the waiting SUVs.

  “You were fucking brilliant,” Nick said as the car pulled away from the curb. “I’ve never been so proud of you. If your testimony doesn’t put that bastard away for life, I don’t know what will.”

  “It’s out of my hands now.”

  “The jury was outraged by what he did to you.”

  “It seemed that way.” She relaxed into his embrace and took a couple of deep breaths as adrenaline continued to zip through her. For so long, she’d dreaded having to face off with Stahl in court, but now it was done, and she could finally put it behind her. “This has been a rather monumental week. We solved my dad’s case and Steven’s, and hopefully disposed of Stahl once and for all. We got rid of a whole bunch of scumbags.”

  “A good week indeed, but a tough one for my love.” He kissed the top of her head and ran his hand up and down her arm. “What can I do for you?”

  “I want two days with you and the kids and nothing to do.”

  “Let’s go to the cabin and take them to the farm to ride horses.”

  “That sounds like perfection.”

  * * *

  AS USUAL THESE DAYS, it took some doing to organize an impromptu getaway to the cabin in Leesburg that John O’Connor had left to Nick. The cabin was located a short distance from the home of John’s parents, Graham and Laine O’Connor.

  The press had been relentless in their attacks against the department, shining the light on the “cancer” that had been permitted to fester under the watch of Chief Joe Farnsworth, who had been equally criticized and lauded for pursuing the truth that had led to arrests in cold-case killings of two respected cops. No one knew for sure whether Farnsworth would be able to hold on to his job or if he even wanted to after the sickening discoveries about his deputy chief. Having Stahl’s trial happening at the same time hadn’t helped to take the heat off the department. Faith had told her it would be at least another week before the trial went to the jury.

  Sam had avoided all requests for comment about the arrests in her father’s case and didn’t plan to speak publicly about it until after the trials had been completed. In the meantime, she hoped and prayed that her beloved chief and uncle Joe would weather the storm, even if she wouldn’t blame him if he decided to retire. In the good news department, she’d heard that Kevin Viera was expected to make a full recovery, and his girlfriend had delivered a healthy seven-pound baby girl. Sam had personally called Lorraine Davis and told her why her father had been killed, making a point to thank her again for what her father had done to save Skip’s life that day on G Street.

  Sam had received the green light from both the department and the White House to pursue her grief group for victims of violent crime and had mentioned the group to Lorraine Davis. With Trulo’s help, she hoped to have it up and running in the next couple of months.

  On the second night they were at the cabin, Graham and Laine invited Scotty and the twins to spend the night, so they could ride the horses some more and make the homemade ice cream Laine was known for. At first, Aubrey and Alden had been hesitant to go, but Scotty had convinced them, telling them Sam and Nick would be right down the road and could come get them if they missed them too much.

  Aubrey had taken a liking to one of the horses, so she’d been easier to convince. As usual, Alden seemed wiser than his years as he carefully considered the invitation before agreeing to go, but only because Scotty was there.

  “Alone at last,” Nick said when they returned to the cabin after having dinner with Graham, Laine, their longtime housekeeper, Carrie, and the kids.

  “How long do you think Alden and Aubrey will hold out before they want us?”

  “With Scotty there, we might get the full night. But since it’s possible they could call us at any minute, what do you say we make very good use of the time we have alone together?”

  Sam gave him a blank look. “To do what?”

  His wolfish grin was the sexiest thing ever.

  She whipped her top over her head and unbuttoned her jeans.

  Nick followed suit, kicking off his shoes, removing his sweater and stripping down to boxers in record time. He wrapped an arm around her waist, taking her by surprise when he lifted her.

  “If you throw your back out, you’ll put a damper on things.”

  “Oh please. You’re light as a feather.”

  Sam snorted with laughter. “Sure I am. Where’re we going?”

  “Right here.” He lowered her to the soft carpet they’d bought to put in front of the fireplace.

  “This carpet was the best idea I ever had.”

  “Mmm,” he said, kissing her. “Definitely one of your best.”

  “You know what my very best idea ever was?”

  “What’s that?” He released the front clasp of her bra, his eyes going dark with lust when her breasts sprang free.

  “Marrying you. Single best thing I ever did in my entire life.”

  “That was a pretty damned good idea you had.”

  Cupping her breast in his hand, he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked hard, just the way she liked it.

  Sam squirmed under him, pushing at his boxers until she could wrap her hand around his erection. “Now. I want you right now.”

  “Whatever my baby wants.” He withdrew from her only long enough to remove her panties and his boxers before coming down on top of her again, making her gasp from the pleasure of his skin rubbing against hers.