Page 150 of State of Retribution

“Yes, please.I need that, and so do you.”

“Two weeks from now?I’ll ask Brant to set it up.”

“It’s a date.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Me either.I’ll see you soon.Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

“Thanks for calling.”

“Always a pleasure to talk to my lovely wife.”

“Likewise.Now you’ve got to let me go.”

“Never!”

“Go back to work, Nick.”

“If I have to.”

“You have to, and so do I, but I wish it was you and me in one of those huts over the water in Bora Bora without a problem in sight for six to eight months.With the kids next door, of course.”

“Of course,” he said, laughing.“We’ll discuss our plans to run away when I see you.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

Chapter Thirty-One

She was still smiling when Tracy called.“Hey, what’s up?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you.What the hell, Sam?”

“I know.It’s insane.”

Tracy had recently told Sam how much she worried about her on the job—and always had—which had come as a surprise to Sam.“Are you safe from these guys?”

“I’m surrounded by Secret Service, and the department is rallying around me, too.I’m okay.Talk to me about something else, will you?”

“I was going to call you tonight to ask your advice on something.”

“Wait.Stop the presses.Youwantmyadvice?”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I.This is a big moment for the baby sister.You gotta let me enjoy it.What’s going on?”

“It’s Ethan.”

At the mention of her eleven-year-old nephew, Sam sat up out of the hunch she’d been in.

“What about him?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest.Are you sure you have time for this with everything going on?”

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