Page 60 of State of Retribution

“Absolutely.Thank you again for calling.”

“Everything okay?”Freddie asked after she closed her phone.

She filled him in on what was going on with Aubrey.

“Oh damn.That poor kid.”

“Sometimes I wonder if we did the right thing taking them in.”

“Why would you ever question that?”

“They’d be better off with guardians who aren’t surrounded by threats and security and everything that goes with that.”

“That’s not true.They’re better off with you and Nick and Scotty.You love them, and they know it.That’s what they need more than anything.”

“I agree with Freddie,” Vernon said.

“Me, too,” Jimmy added.

“I love them so much.We all do.But I hate to think that being with us is adding to their already considerable trauma.”

“They’ve seen a therapist, right?”Freddie asked.

“Yes, for months after their parents died.We all agreed that we could scale back the appointments after a while because she felt they were adjusting beautifully and doing much better.”

“Maybe a check-in with her would be advisable,” Vernon said.

“Yes, for sure.I need to update Nick and Eli.”She withdrew the BlackBerry to send the text.

Nick wrote back a few minutes later.Sure hate to hear that.

That’s how I feel, too.

I’m sorry to hear it, too,Eli said.I was about to text you guys that I heard from Andy this morning, and he has the adoption paperwork ready for us to review.

Great news,Nick said.

Sam was thrilled by the idea of adopting them, but after Monday’s events and this news from school, she hoped they were doing the right thing for the kids.

She dashed off a text to the twins’ therapist, updating her on the latest and asking for advice on how best to handle the situation.Rebecca was good about getting back to her and would know what to do.Sam also texted her mom and Shelby to let them know Aubrey had had a tough day and might need some extra TLC.She desperately wished she could go home to be with her, but she couldn’t leave work with so much left to do.

We’re on it,Shelby replied a few minutes later.

Absolutely,Brenda said.

Thank you both.

When the SUV arrived at the Georgetown apartment building where Joe and Deb lived, Sam was forced to put her personal dilemma on hold after Vernon, Jimmy and the other agents concluded a sweep and declared the building safe for her to enter.The sheer madness of waiting while other law enforcement officers ensured her safety would’ve sent her over the edge if she didn’t remind herself, every time, that she was putting up with the security because Nick had asked her to.

The delays made her crazy when there was so much ground to be covered in a given day.“I’m becoming too much of a distraction,” she said to Freddie.

“What?No, you’re not.”

“We’ve burned more than thirty minutes that we don’t have to waste waiting for random buildings to be declared safe for me to enter.”

“No one knows that but you and me, and I’m sure as hell not saying anything about it.Don’t worry about crap that doesn’t matter.”

“If anyone else was sitting like a princess in a fortified SUV outside a building, waiting to talk to a potential witness, we’d cry foul.”

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