Leslie Parrish - Pitch Black

Which was probably why Darwin had jumped the gun, posting his vicious message on Sam’s blog. How infuriated he must have been when she’d canceled.

Then again, knowing how he liked to torment his victims, he could very well have done it intentionally, just to hurt Sam and laugh at the FBI.

“Nate showed up here and, well, talked me out of it. So I canceled my other plans.”

She was obviously trying to be tactful, but the way she and this Uncle Nate looked at each other, it was pretty clear they were involved.

Sam was a little less tactful. A fist on her hip, she said, “Well, it’s about time.”

The older gentleman, who had hovered in the background, not intruding on the reunion, smiled sheepishly. “You don’t mind?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting for you to make your move.”

“I’d given up on him ever making it,” said Mrs. Harrington.

“Hence the desperate online-dating idea?” the man asked, one brow quirked.

“I wasn’t desperate. Just curious.”

Sam squeezed her mother’s hand. “Don’t forget what curiosity did to the cat, okay? Now, we need to go inside so you can talk to these people and tell them everything you know about the man you were supposed to go out with.”

“Randolph?”

“That’s his name, ma’am?” Alec asked.

She nodded. “Yes. Randolph Gertz. He’s a widower and seems very lonely. I felt bad about breaking our date tonight.” Nate Price’s hand landed on her shoulder and she smiled up at him. “Though not too bad.”

“Is there any particular reason you weren’t answering your cell phone?” Sam asked.

“Why, yes, dear. Because I turned it off. This date was a long time coming, and I didn’t want to be disturbed.” Her smile said a lot about that date, and Sam looked either ready to hug her fondly or strangle her.

Gathered inside, Wyatt related what was going on. He didn’t tell them everything, just enough to let them know how serious the situation was. When Sam’s mother realized she might have broken a date with a psychopath, she paled, but seemed much more concerned that said psychopath had any interest in her daughter.

Though the local PD left, the rest of them remained in the house for a few hours, going through the computer history, getting every bit of information they could on this Gertz character. By the time they’d covered every base, Sam looked ready to drop, and so did the older couple.

“Mrs. Harrington, I think it best that you stay somewhere else for a little while, rather than remaining here at home,” Wyatt said as they all decided to call it a night.

The judge laid a hand on her shoulder. “She’ll stay with me. So can Samantha.”

“No way,” said Alec.

“Believe me, son, I am quite used to needing protection and have an alarm system as well as a permit to carry a weapon at all times. You needn’t fear for either of these women.” His tone vulnerable, he murmured, “They’re my family.”

“You’re in a very good position to help keep Mrs. Harrington safe and out of sight, sir, but I’m afraid the obstacle Sam is up against is a little more serious.”

The judge met his stare evenly, and Alec made no attempt to lighten his grim expression. He asked no questions; he didn’t need to. He got the message loud and clear. “Very well.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be fine, Uncle Nate,” Sam said. “They’ve taken great care of me so far, and I know they won’t let anything happen to me. Mom, I’ll keep in constant contact, okay?”

“Please be sure you do. We need to talk so we can reschedule your birthday lunch as soon as possible.”

“Deal.”

Her mother managed a tremulous smile. “Promise?”

“Absolutely.” She lowered her voice to add, “But no more setups. You got it?”

Alec pretended he hadn’t heard, remembering the man who had been at the table the day before. The one who’d looked disappointed when Sam got up and walked out of the restaurant. Of course, the moment her mother stepped out of earshot, the suspicious part of him had to ask, “The setup? Not somebody she met online, right?”

“My divorce attorney.”

“Ouch.”

“Tell me about it.”

With a few more assurances, the exchange of contact information, and another half dozen hugs, they all finally made their way outside to their vehicles. Alec didn’t even think about it; he just opened the car door for Sam, assuming he was the one who would drive her back.

“Alec? Do you want to call Jackie and ask her to meet you at the hotel?” Wyatt asked.

“It’s almost midnight. By the time we get there, it’ll be one. I hate to drag her out, away from her kids, in the middle of the night.”

“Are you all right staying with Mrs. Dalton until day-break, then?”

Frankly, he wasn’t sure he could let her out of his sight if ordered to. “Sure.”

“Very well. Let’s touch base in the morning. I’ll leave a message for Lily, asking her to come in to help Brandon with the communications between Mrs. Harrington and this stranger.”

“She, uh, tell you what she’s up to tonight?”

Wyatt nodded once, only the tightness of his mouth indicating what he thought of it.

Alec didn’t ask. It wasn’t on him to get between his boss and one of his teammates. As long as Lily had come clean, he was out of the equation.

“Ready?” he asked Sam, who had already gotten in the car.

“More than.”

Alec didn’t even consider the ramifications of his overnight assignment until after they were in the car, driving back to D.C. He had offered to spend the night with Samantha Dalton. In a hotel room. Not more than a few hours after he’d realized he had feelings for the woman.

Shit. He was in for a long night.

Sam didn’t seem to share his concern. She was too busy being grateful her mother was okay and, apparently, safely in the arms of someone who had loved her for a long time. “My God, imagine if Nate hadn’t gone over there?” she said, not for the first time. She stared out the passenger window, shaking her head. “What if she’d gone to meet a murderer?”

“We don’t know that this Randolph Gertz guy is Darwin.”

“You said yourself that his e-mails were way over the top. Like the ones he used on other victims.”

Yes, they were. He and Wyatt had read every one while Taggert and Mulrooney had gotten on the phone with Brandon to get tech advice on how to proceed. They were worded strangely, with some outrageous claims. Then again, this was online dating they were talking about, where fifty-year-old salesmen claimed to be twenty-nine-year-old bodybuilders.

“Okay, they were fishy. But I bet so are a lot of the other subscribers to that site.”

They fell silent for a while, and he knew she was sitting there playing the what-if game.

Finally, she whispered, “After tonight, I have never been so glad for life.”

Odd choice of words. “Glad for life?”

“Glad for hers.” She turned in the seat, tucking one bent leg beneath her. “And mine.”

“Ahh.”

“I haven’t been. Letting myself get so down and miserable for the past year-longer, really-was like turning my back on life.” Yawning, she added, “That’s over now.” She leaned her head to the side, resting it on the back of the seat. Within moments, her lids closed.

Alec kept his eyes on the road. That didn’t mean, however, that he didn’t glance over at her a few times, watching her sleep. Watching her dream. Hoping those dreams were good ones for a change. He hoped she had an entire night full of them.

In the next room. Far away from him.

Sam was being chased. An evil, malevolent force kept up with her as she ran through shadowy streets. Every terrified gasp she made brought a low laugh. Each step seemed half the length of the monster’s following her.