“Were there any caveats or special instructions included in the letter?”

  “Just that his things were stored in the basement, so that needed to remain locked and off-limits to me and the kids.” Her eyes darted between them. “Am I going to lose the house?”

  “I’m not sure what’s going to happen. It’s possibly a major crime scene.”

  “What does that mean for me? That’s our home.” Her chin wobbled. “I don’t know what I’ll do if we can’t go back there.”

  “Have you seen or talked to your brother since he went to prison?”

  She shook her head. “I wrote to him to thank him for the house and asked if he’d like us to visit, but I never heard back. I took that as a no.”

  A young girl opened the door. “Mommy?”

  “I’m here, honey.” She looked up at Gonzo. “Is there anything else?”

  “Not right now. If you’ll give me your phone number, I’ll be in touch about the house.”

  She took the pad and pen he held out to her and wrote her number. “Whatever my brother did, it had nothing to do with us.”

  “We understand. We’ll do what we can for you.”

  Cindy nodded, ushered her child back into the room and shut the door.

  “I tend to believe she knew nothing about what he was up to,” Cruz said as they went down the stairs.

  “Same. I also tend to believe he knows exactly what happened to their brother.”

  “Oh my God, I thought the same thing.”

  “Another potential victim to add to our list,” Gonzo said with a sigh. “Crazy that she kinda looks like him, though, huh?”

  “Yeah, seriously.”

  “I want to know what happened with his mother that involved cops.”

  “I’ll get on that in the morning. See what I can find out.”

  “You want me to drop you at the Metro?”

  “Sure.”

  They were quiet on the short ride to the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood station.

  Gonzo pulled up to the curb. “See you in the a.m.”

  “Yeah, see you then.” Freddie reached for the door handle, but didn’t get out. “Whatever happens at Stahl’s, it has nothing to do with us. I think it’s important that we remember that so we can continue to do the job.”

  Before Gonzo could formulate a reply, Freddie got out of the car and jogged toward the station, eager to get home to his wife.

  Gonzo pulled into traffic and directed the car toward home, thinking about Freddie’s parting words. He was right. It had nothing to do with them, even if it felt like it did.

  He used voice commands on the Bluetooth to call Captain Malone.

  The captain picked up on the third ring. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “I’m on my way home after having been to Stahl’s and then to talk to his sister at the hotel. She told us something interesting. He was thirteen when he was sent to live with his father after something went down with his mother that involved the police. The sister doesn’t know what happened. She’s thirteen years younger than him and barely remembers him living in their house. She had only sporadic contact with him and was surprised when he deeded his house over to her after he was convicted. And there was another brother between her and Stahl who disappeared while he was in high school. She said Lenny became a cop because he wanted justice for their brother, Michael.”

  “Jesus. Another potential victim.”

  “Our thought exactly. Although, Cruz and I both came away from the meeting with her agreeing that whatever her brother has done doesn’t involve her.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Cruz will look into what happened with Stahl’s mother.”

  “That was my next question.”

  “Also, we’ve booked Tori Stevens on assaulting a police officer and obstructing a homicide investigation. We found some large payments from her account made by check.”

  “I’ve requested a warrant for the canceled checks from her bank.”

  “Great, thanks. She requested an attorney, so I notified the parents in Wisconsin and heard all about what a good kid she is, how she couldn’t have had anything to do with hurting her boyfriend’s new girlfriend, etc. I told them to get her an attorney, and we’ll see where we stand with that in the morning.”

  “Good work today, Sarge.”

  “Thanks. Have a good night, Cap.”

  “You, too.”

  Gonzo pressed the accelerator as he headed for home. Some days were longer and more difficult than others. Today had been rough as they processed the possibility that someone they’d once worked closely with could be capable of repeatedly committing the unspeakable crime they’d spent their careers investigating.

  He’d never understand the mind of a killer, how they could take someone else’s life without thinking a thing of it in some cases. Sure, he’d seen the cases where something went terribly wrong, and someone ended up dead at another person’s hands—and the killer was absolutely devastated. But those instances were rare. Most of the time, it was someone like Tori who wanted someone like Rachel out of the way, and they thought murder was the best way to achieve that goal.

  Murder would never make sense to him, which was a good thing, he supposed. The minute the urge to kill another person made sense to him, it would be time to hang up his badge.

  He pulled up outside his apartment building and parallel parked. After the recent incident at the home of FBI Agent Avery Hill and his wife, Shelby, Sam had urged their team to make sure their residences were as secure as possible. People Hill had arrested years ago had shown up looking for him and had taken his pregnant wife and young son hostage. The incident was a good reminder that something similar could happen to any of them. Over the course of a career, they arrested a lot of people who’d like to blame the police rather than themselves for their troubles.

  It wasn’t unheard of for them to come out of prison seeking retribution from the people who’d sent them there. Avery and Shelby had had a close call, and it had to serve as a wake-up call to the rest of them.

  Gonzo needed to find a more secure home for his family. The thought of something happening to them because of his work was unbearable. He truly felt for Avery Hill, who was planning to move his family to a gated fortress in the city’s Northwest quadrant. Since they were still in debt from his long stay in rehab, Gonzo and Christina couldn’t afford anything like that. But they could do better than a building in which the security cameras didn’t work more often than they did.

  He charged up the stairs toward the people he loved the most, both of whom were sound asleep when he checked on them. Alex had a smile on his face even when he was asleep, Gonzo noted as he kissed his son’s sweaty forehead. The kid was the sweatiest sleeper ever, which brought his daddy endless amusement. Everything he did amused Gonzo. For now, anyway. He knew the years were coming when his son would challenge his father’s patience. But even that was something to look forward to.

  In the months since he’d gotten sober, he was drowning in gratitude, most especially for the woman who’d stood by him in his darkest days. He sat on the edge of the mattress to brush the hair back from her face. Pregnancy was kicking her ass, leaving her exhausted at the end of every long day as a mother and Nick’s press secretary at the White House.

  Gonzo leaned in to kiss her cheek and then got up to take a shower, needing to wash the grime of this day off his body and soul. Sometimes, it was just too damned much, and lately… As they uncovered more and more crimes committed by their former lieutenant, Gonzo carried a perpetual knot in his belly at how much worse it might get before the full picture was revealed. And what would the fallout be for the department, for people he cared about and respected, such as their chief of police, Joe Farnsworth?

  Like it or not, many of Stahl’s crimes had taken place on Farnsworth’s watch. Would their beloved chief be held accountable for that? Would Farnsworth be forced to resign? And if so, who would take his place, and how would that change everything?

  The questions gnawed at him as he stood under the warm water.

  He startled when the shower door opened, and Christina stepped in behind him, wrapping her warm, naked body around his. “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” he said as he covered her hands with his.

  “I fell asleep five minutes after I tucked Alex in. I didn’t get to shower.” She rested her head on his back. “Rough day?”

  “Rougher than most.”

  “What can I do?”

  He leaned back into her. “This is helping. How was your day?”

  “Long. Still dealing with the bullshit about Nick’s mother and her arrest, and the nausea has become an all-day event.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. That sucks.”

  “Sure does, but she’ll be worth it, or so I’m told.”

  “I can’t wait to meet her.”

  “Me, too.”

  Gonzo moved carefully to turn so he was facing her, tipping her chin up for a kiss. She had dark circles under her eyes and was paler than usual, which worried him. “Should you check in with the doc about the nausea?”

  “There’s nothing much they can do about it. Hopefully, it’ll pass before too much longer.”

  “Let me take care of you.” He moved so she could stand under the water while he washed and conditioned her blonde hair, tossing in a scalp massage that made her purr.

  “Feels good.”

  He soaped her up, added a rubdown of her shoulders and noted her larger, heavier breasts and the gentle swell of her abdomen. “Pregnancy looks hot on you, babe.”

  She grunted out a laugh. “I feel like a swollen whale, and nothing fits.”

  “Don’t talk about my gorgeous wife that way, and if you need new clothes, get them. Whatever you want or need.”

  “Do you still want to move?” Her brows came together as she frowned. “The thought of that is so overwhelming right now.”

  “I want us to find somewhere safer after what happened to Shelby and Noah. We can hire packers and movers. I’ll take care of everything. The only thing you have to do is help me find the place.”

  “I can do that,” she said on a yawn.

  “Let’s get my baby mama to bed.”

  “Yes, please.”

  Gonzo completed his shower service by blow-drying her hair while she seemed to sleep standing up. Then he directed her to the bedroom, where he put one of his oversized T-shirts on her and tucked her into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

  After he made himself a sandwich and brushed his teeth, he climbed into bed and put an arm around her from behind.

  As he breathed in the clean scent of her hair, he was so damned thankful for her, for Alex, for their life together, for surviving the challenges of the past so he could live this happily ever after with her and their children.

  He’d do whatever it took to protect his family and keep them safe.

  * * *

  Nicoletta walked into the luxury high-rise apartment on Saturday morning and took a good look around, calculating the value of each object and determining that many were priceless works of art. She turned to take a closer assessment of Collins Worthy, the man who’d brought her here after she’d finally been arraigned and released on bail that he must’ve put up for her, since all her assets were frozen.

  “What is this place?”

  “My home.”

  “Oh. I see. If you’re hoping I’ll repay you in sexual favors—”

  “Whoa.” He smiled as he held up his hands to stop her. “I’m hoping for no such thing. I brought you here because your home is surrounded by media. I thought you’d be safer and more comfortable here.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Can I get you anything?”

  “I’d really like a shower.” She feared the filth and stench from her time in jail would stick to her forever.

  “Right this way.”

  He led her deeper into the two-story apartment, past a beautiful gourmet kitchen to a hallway. “This is the guest suite. I asked my assistant to pick up a few things for you, and she left them on the bed. Please make yourself at home.”

  She entered the comfortable, well-appointed bedroom with an adjoining bathroom done entirely in Italian marble. “Why are you doing this for me?”

  “You need help. I provide help for my clients. That’s what I do.”

  “You bring them home, have your assistant buy clothes for them and put them up in high style?”

  For the first time, he seemed slightly uncertain of himself. “Well, this is a first, but I’m happy to do what I can for you.”

  The man was too handsome for his own good, with silver hair, a tanned face and piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through her bullshit. That was unsettling, to say the least. He was wearing yet another suit that she suspected had been custom-made for him. This one was gray pinstripe. She’d always been a sucker for a well-dressed man. This one had the added distinction of being the first to ever make her mouth water at the sight of him, a truly unsettling development that had left her off her game and vulnerable. She hated being vulnerable, especially around men.

  “Why?”

  “Because it seems like you need it. Am I wrong? Are you not in a boatload of trouble and the source of a media circus due to the office your son holds?”

  “I am, but it’s certainly not your problem.”

  “I think we can agree this is a unique situation, with you being the mother of the president. The press coverage has been frantic, to say the least.”

  “I wouldn’t know.”

  “Take my word for it. You’re better off staying here, where no one would think to look for you.”

  “It’s that bad, is it?”

  “You know how the media likes to sink its teeth into a juicy story. The arrest of the president’s mother is as juicy as it gets.”

  “What has my son had to say about it?”

  “Nothing directly, but through his spokesperson, he’s claimed to have no relationship with you. Is that true?”

  “I’m sure that’s how he sees it,” she said with a note of bitterness.

  “We should discuss that further, but first, I’ll leave you to enjoy your shower. When you’re ready, come have something to eat.”

  Nicoletta had learned at an early age how to tell when a man wanted something from her. She couldn’t read this one, and that, along with her unprecedented attraction to him, had her questioning her own judgment. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said, leaving her with a charming smile that sparked another unprecedented feeling of pure desire.

  What was it about him that made her blood run hot? She was fifty-four years old and had never experienced such a pure, natural attraction to a man as she did to him the first time they’d met. It had been immediate and primal, the kind of thing she’d read about and seen in movies but never experienced for herself.

  She went into the bathroom that was right out of a dream, with a steam shower and high-end fixtures.

  Someone had stocked it with shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion from one of the best spas in town. Had that been done for her or another guest? And why did it matter, anyway? She wouldn’t be here for long.

  She luxuriated in the best shower of her entire life, scrubbing the filth of jail from her hair and skin. Never again would she take being clean for granted. She’d rather die than ever go back to that hellhole. If this Collins Worthy fellow could keep her from that fate, she’d tell him anything he wanted to know.

  But would she give him anything he wanted?

  He swore that wasn’t why he’d brought her to his home but come on. She’d lived long enough to understand men and their ulterior motives.

  As she smoothed on sage-scented lotion, she finally felt like herself again. A woman like her didn’t belong in jail. She belonged among the crème de la crème of society, not the dregs. Perhaps if she played her cards right with this Worthy fellow, he could help her get back to where she belonged.

  Nicoletta was tired of the rat race, the struggle to survive and thrive in a world in which the game was rigged against women like her. Though she’d shamelessly used men to suit her own purposes since she’d first understood her own power, in the end, they always won. They held the ultimate power. It was exhausting swimming upstream against the patriarchy and always coming out on the losing end of the race.

  She studied her reflection in the mirror, noting the appearance of a few fine lines around her eyes and mouth that hadn’t been there before her incarceration. If a few days without her special face cream could lead to that, then it was only a matter of time before she lost the stunning beauty that was her hallmark.

  Time was running out, and if she didn’t want to end up alone and broke, she needed to act quickly. Fate had brought the handsome, debonair Collins Worthy into her life for a reason. As she ran a brush through her thick dark hair, which stayed that way thanks to monthly visits to a pricey salon, she realized she was fresh out of options.

  With the scrutiny that would come from her arrest, her business was finished, and with it, the lucrative income she’d recently enjoyed. If she could somehow fend off the charges and stay out of prison, she had to come up with a new way to survive. For her entire adult life, she’d resisted relying upon a man.

  The very thought of it revolted her.

  Though she’d spent only a few minutes in his presence thus far, she already suspected she could swallow her revulsion with Collins in a way she couldn’t have with any other man. There was something different about this one, and he could turn out to be her ticket to the future she deserved.

  She was about to reach for the hair dryer that had been left on the counter, but stopped herself. Let him see her for who she really was—unvarnished, unpolished, unadorned. He would either want that version of her, or he wouldn’t.

  What if he didn’t? she wondered with an unusual lack of confidence.

  “He will,” she said to her reflection. “They all do.”

  And that was the fundamental truth of the matter. Yes, there might be something different about this one, but at the end of the day, they were all the same, ruled by their cocks and their insatiable lust for sex. If she was good at anything, it was that, and if he took her for a ride, she’d have him right where she could best manipulate him to do her bidding—in court and out.