Marie Force - Fatal Threat

After a long silence, she heard his deep sigh. Then his hand found hers, and he linked their fingers. “The smudged postmark.”

“What about it?”

“The FBI has seen that particular mark once before in a threat that was traced to a faction of the Islamic State that’s known for brutality against women and children. They think there’s something in the timing of the letter being sent while I was in Iran, and they’ve got counterterrorism people looking into that angle.”

Sam’s mouth went dry, and her heart began to beat wildly. “Why didn’t you tell me this before now?”

“I didn’t see the point in scaring you further when everyone is with us and perfectly safe.”

Sam pulled her hand free of his. “You didn’t see the point. Remember how pissed you’d get when I kept things from you? You tell me we’re better than that, but I guess that only applies to my work, not yours.” She sat up and reached for the T-shirt she’d left at the foot of the bed.

“Where’re you going?”

“I want to talk to Brant about getting me out of here. I can’t help figure this out if I’m stuck down here.”

“You’re not leaving, Samantha.”

“You don’t get to decide that for me. I don’t have Secret Service protection. That was our deal when you took this job, and I expect you to honor our agreement. I don’t technically have to be here.” She pulled on shorts and jammed her feet into flip-flops.

“Please don’t do this.”

“What am I doing?”

“You’re putting me in an impossible position. I already feel impotent enough that I can’t do a fucking thing to protect my family, because I’m not allowed to breathe without the Secret Service’s permission.”

“That’s your situation. Not mine.”

“Sam, you’re my wife.”

“Do you honestly think I need you to tell me that? I know who I’m married to, and if someone threatens you and our loved ones, they threaten me too. All I’m asking for is a chance to do something about it rather than being trapped here with my thumb up my ass, hoping someone else will figure out who the fuck sent that letter. Let me go do what I do best.”

“No.”

“Again with the one-word answer.”

“The Secret Service won’t let you out of here unless I specifically authorize you to leave, so don’t try anything.”

She headed for the door to their room. “I hope you’re enjoying your little power trip.”

“Sam, come on...”

“Don’t tell me to come on. In fact, don’t say anything to me until you’re ready to tell me I can leave this hellhole.” She slammed the door shut behind her as she left the room and stormed through the dark corridor to the common area, where she ran into her stepmother, Celia, heading for the kitchen area.

“What’re you doing up?” Sam asked.

“Your dad is restless. I thought some tea might help.”

Sam was immediately on alert for trouble where her dad was concerned. “Is he okay?”

“I think so, but go ahead in and see for yourself. He’s awake.”

Sam returned to the dark hallway and knocked on the closed door to her dad’s room.

He called for her to come in.

Sam went in and closed the door behind her.

“What’re you doing up, baby girl?”

“Same as you. Can’t sleep. I’m going crazy in this place.”

“I wondered when you’d snap.”

“Are people placing bets?” Sam asked as she fell into a chair next to his hospital bed. She had to give the Secret Service props for seeing to everything they’d need in the hellhole.

“Graham suggested a pool, but I knew better than to take that bait.”

“You’re very funny tonight, Skippy.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s got you all wound up and fully dressed in the middle of the night?”

“I was gonna make a break for it.”

“Is that so? What stopped you?”

“My freaking husband, who apparently has all the power over this situation.”

“You can’t blame him for wanting to keep us safe.”

“I don’t blame him! But how long can they reasonably expect us to stay in this dungeon while they chase their own dicks trying to figure out who’s threatening us?”

Skip chuckled. “You do have a way with words, Sam.”

“You know I’m right. I bet I could get to the bottom of it in twenty-four hours. I’ve got too much crap going on to be stuck here. I’ve got a floater in the river and a freaking wedding to be in next weekend. Or is it this weekend? What the hell day is it, anyway?”

“Take a deep breath, Sam, and think it through from Nick’s perspective. He feels responsible for putting our family in the spotlight and making us vulnerable to threats. It has to be weighing heavily on him.”

“It is,” Sam said with a sigh, “but if he’d only let me out to do my own investigation, we might be able to get everyone out of here that much sooner.”

“How does he have a moment’s peace if you’re out there hunting down a possible terrorist while he’s sealed off in an underground bunker? How would any of us have a moment’s peace?”

“I’m going to lose my mind in here. Which would be worse? Me in danger or me in a mental institution?”

“It’s hard on all of us to be trapped this way. The kids are getting stir-crazy, and Angela is moaning about vitamin D deficiency.”

“There’s a possible tie to an Islamic faction known for brutality against women and children,” Sam said.

“Oh, damn...”

“Nick just told me that part.”

“So that’s what’s got you wound tighter than a two-dollar watch.”

“He’s Mr. Double Standard. God help us all if I keep something from him, but he thinks it’s perfectly fine to keep something like that from me.”

“He didn’t want you to worry any more than you already were.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?”

“I’m always on your side, but I see Nick’s perspective in this one. He has to be regretting taking the job that caused such huge changes in both your lives. I have to admit that I don’t love your newfound notoriety. It makes an already-dangerous job a thousand times more so. Nick certainly knows that too, and it only adds to his already-considerable anxiety where your safety is concerned.”

“I know all that, and I hate that he suffers the way he does over my safety. I got a good idea of what he goes through the other day when I didn’t know why they were bringing me in or where he was or if he was safe. I get it. I really do.”

“What did Avery want earlier?”

“Believe it or not, he wanted to talk about Peter.”

Skip’s brows shot up to his hairline. “As in Peter Gibson?”

“The one and only.”

“What brought that on?”

“I had this crazy dream where everyone who hates me was after me, and he was there telling me I needed a dose of humility. When I woke up, I remembered that he used to say that to me, and I told Nick. He reported it to Brant, and thus Avery’s visit in which I got to revisit that entire unsavory chapter in my life with him of all people.”

“A tangled web you weave.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner, but I’ve stuffed him so deep into the past that I never give him a thought anymore.”

“You honestly think he’d have the stones to threaten the vice president of the United States?”

“Who knows? I never thought he’d try to blow me up.”

“He’s been quiet lately. I’d hoped we’d heard the last of him.”

“Avery said something that’s got me worried it might be him.”

“What’s that?”

“Peter might have a new ax to grind after I didn’t show up when they came to tell me, as his next of kin, that he’d tried to off himself. After all this time, he still had me listed as his next of kin, if you can believe that.”