“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Sam ended the call and conveyed the gist to her sisters.
“You should go there,” Tracy said. “After dinner with the kids. Go there and be with him before he gives that speech.”
“She’s right,” Angela said. “He needs you.”
“Okay, I will. You guys will keep telling me how to do this, right?”
“We’ve been telling you what to do all your life,” Tracy said. “Why would we stop now?”
Chapter Six
An hour later, Sam was ready to visit Gigi in the hospital. She went downstairs, put on her coat and headed out the door like it was any other day. However, the Secret Service agents standing on the ramp, wearing black from head to toe and toting machine guns, were a stark reminder that this day was like no other.
“Gentlemen,” she said to agents she didn’t recognize. “If you’ll let me pass, I’ll get out of your way.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, ma’am.”
“Why not?”
“You’re not to leave here without a detail, ma’am.”
“And where did that order come from?”
“The top, ma’am. The very top.”
Meaning Nick. Huh. That was surprising—and a little disappointing.
“I’d be happy to arrange transportation for you anywhere you wish to go, ma’am.”
Sam realized she had two choices. The first would be to make a scene with the agents, who, as fellow law enforcement officers, were merely following orders. The second would be to allow them to do what they did and take it up with Nick later. She chose option B.
“Give us ten minutes, ma’am.”
Sam went back in the house, stuffing the annoyance deep inside so no one would see how upset she was. Nick didn’t need to hear through any grapevine that she was pissed. Not today, anyway. But they’d be discussing her desire to move freely as soon as possible.
Twelve minutes after the agent had asked for ten, Sam was about to go back outside when the door opened to Vernon and Jimmy. The two agents had recently been assigned to her after Nick’s announcement that he didn’t plan to run in the next election had led to an uptick in threats against him and their entire family.
“Gentlemen.” Vernon was an older Black man with graying hair, his partner a baby-faced blond with an eagerness about him that annoyed her. “I’d rather hoped I’d seen the last of you.”
“Likewise, ma’am,” Vernon said with the cheeky sarcasm that had endeared him to her. She respected the hell out of anyone who could meet sarcasm with sarcasm. “Sadly for all of us, our time together is just beginning.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Indeed we will, ma’am. I understand you wish to go to the George Washington University Hospital?”
“I do. One of my detectives is a patient.”
“We’d be pleased to get you there and back as safely as possible,” Vernon said, signaling to Jimmy to do something.
Sam wasn’t sure what the signal meant, but Jimmy clearly understood it.
“Right this way, ma’am.” Jimmy smiled widely, as if this was the greatest day of his young life. It probably was. He was protecting the nation’s first lady. He’d probably dine out on that for the rest of his days.
Sam got into the back of one of the black SUVs and put on her seat belt, determined to go with the flow and not to do anything to cause Nick any more grief than he was already contending with. If she raised hell with the agents, that would cause trouble for him that he didn’t need. So she kept her mouth shut and did what she was told.
For once.
If there was one advantage to the Secret Service, it was that people got the fuck out of their way, which meant they arrived at their destination that much quicker. As someone who rarely had time to waste, there was something to be said for that kind of efficiency.
Jimmy opened the back door for her, and the two agents followed Sam into the hospital.
The young woman working the reception desk did a double take when she recognized Sam. “Mrs. Cappuano… Ma’am. It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you. I’m here to see a friend. Giselle Dominguez. Can you please tell me what room she’s in?”
“Of course.”
While Sam watched, the woman typed in Gigi’s name, and if her eyes weren’t deceiving her, the woman’s hands trembled as she did so. For fuck’s sake. It would never be “normal” to Sam to provoke that kind of reaction in people.
“She’s in room 520. Take the elevators on your left to the fifth floor, and check in at the nurses’ station.”
“Thank you very much.”
“If I may…”
Sam, who’d started toward the elevators, stopped and turned back.
“I’m sorry about what happened to President Nelson, but I’m very excited that your husband is president and that you’re our new first lady.”
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to pass that along to Nick.”
The woman nearly fainted when Sam said that. She quickly headed toward the elevators, aware of Vernon and Jimmy following her.
“Ma’am,” Vernon said. “Let me go ahead.”
Sam forced herself to stop and allow the agents to arrange things to their liking before she followed Vernon onto the elevator, gritting her teeth and biting her tongue the whole time. On the fifth floor, she inquired about Gigi and showed her badge.
“We know who you are.” The nurse had short gray hair and wore glasses with gold frames. “Everyone knows who you are.”
Her words had an edge to them that put Sam on guard. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be polite and say please when I ask if I can see my detective.”
“She won’t be your detective for long.”
Sam told herself she shouldn’t engage, but damned if she could resist. “Why’s that?”
“You aren’t going to keep your job as first lady.” She paused, took a closer look at Sam and probably saw bullish determination. “Are you?”
“That’s the plan. If you don’t mind, I need to see Detective Dominguez.”
“Down the hall on the right.”
Sam walked away, but could feel everyone looking at her as she headed toward Gigi’s room, escorted by Vernon and Jimmy. Sometimes she wished people could just mind their own damned business, but she knew that was too much to ask, especially today when the world had woken to the news of a transfer of power in Washington. If she allowed herself to think about the implications of that seismic shift…
Nope. Not going there. Denial was her friend.
Outside of room 520, she glanced at Vernon. “You need to wait for me out here.”
“One of us needs to check the room before you go in.”
“That’s not going to happen.” The last thing Gigi needed was strange men in her room. “I’ll be fine. Please wait for me here.” Without giving them time to respond, Sam entered the darkened room, where Carlucci was standing guard over her partner’s bed. Dani, who was tall, blonde and curvy, came over to Sam.