Page 162 of State of Alert

Smiling, he put his arms around her. “We won’t be here long enough for a proper hookup.”

“Damn. You had me all excited.”

He looked around before bringing his gaze back to hers. “We could be quick.”

“As good as that sounds, I have to go to work.”

“I hate when you’re responsible that way.”

“I hate when you go away and make me sleep alone.”

“I’ll be right back. I promise.”

“It’stwo nights, Nicholas.”

“I’ll miss you every second of both those nights and all the daytime, too, Samantha.”

“Swoon,” she whispered. “Hurry back. Nothing is fun without you.”

“You know there’s nowhere else I want to be but right here with you and our kids. Well… maybe not righthere, but you get what I mean.”

Sam laughed. “You just told the people how much you love being their president, so you’d better not let anyone else hear you say that.”

“When did I say that?”

“Everything you said was full of enthusiasm for the task before you. I was wildly impressed.”

He kissed her neck. “Wildly?”

“Mmm. Extremely wildly.”

“Don’t talk dirty to me when you don’t have time to follow through.”

She curled her hand around his neck and combed her fingers through his hair, breathing in the rich, clean scent of home while she could. “Go before I make a scene about you leaving.”

“Don’t want to.”

“Love you more than ice cream,” she said.

“Love you more than anything.”

Sam laughed. “Leave it to you to find a way to top ice cream.”

“I only speak the truth.”

They held on tightly for another few minutes before reluctantly separating and returning to reality, where Terry waited to accompany him to California.

In the foyer, Sam kissed Nick once more and waved him off as he walked out to boardMarine Onefor the trip to Joint Base Andrews.

“Ready to go?” Vernon asked her after the chopper had lifted off, taking her whole heart with it.

She felt unsettled, off her game and despondent after saying goodbye to him for a few days, but she had work to do and a team waiting for her to join them. When Nick got back, she needed to talk to him about the call from Collins Worthy and Scotty having to sit in a classroom and listen to others criticize the job his father was doing running the country. But those things would keep for now.

“I’m going to run upstairs to change,” she said to Vernon, “and then we can go.”

“Ready when you are.”

Sam arrivedto a screaming match in the pit between Gonzo and Frank Myerson, who was demanding to be released from custody.

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