Page 55 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“I don’t believe you. You’re Gigi’s friend.”

“I’ve kept my word to you so far. Why would I start lying to you now?” Her cell phone was ringing relentlessly, but Sam ignored it to stay focused on Ezra and bringing this unfortunate incident to a successful conclusion. Success in this case meant no one got hurt. “Ezra, are you there?”

“I’m here.”

“Come on out, and let’s figure this out together.”

“You’re the new first lady. What do you care about me?”

“I’m still a lieutenant with the Metro PD, and I will be until I retire. I care about you and about Gigi. You’ve been important to her for a long time, so that means you’re important to me too.”

A sob came through the line. “I love her so much.”

“I know, Ezra. She knows that too. She knows this isn’t you and that what happened to her isn’t you.”

“It’s not me. I’d never hurt her. I’d die before I hurt her.”

“She doesn’t want you to die, Ezra. That wouldn’t help her.”

“I want to die because I hurt her.”

Captain Bruce leaned in to whisper to Sam, “You’ve got thirty seconds. I’m sending my people in whether you’re done chatting or not.”

She again held up her hand to hold him off. “Ezra, are you coming out?”

Bruce scowled at her.

Sam didn’t care if he was pissed. She cared about getting Ezra out of there safely so Gigi wouldn’t have to live with his death on her conscience for the rest of her life. None of this was her fault, but she knew Gigi, and despite what Ezra had done, Sam was certain her detective would never get over it if this incident ended with his death.

They waited another ten minutes in tense silence.

Sam knew Bruce and his team wouldn’t wait forever for Ezra to come out on his own. She was about to ask him again if he’d come out when the front door opened, and he appeared with his hands raised above his head. “Hold your fire,” she said, in case anyone decided to get trigger happy.

Sam stepped around the barrier the police had erected.

“Lieutenant!” Bruce said. “Come back.”

Since he wasn’t her commander, she ignored him and walked toward the sidewalk, wanting Ezra to see her there waiting for him. Maybe if she was in the middle of things, none of the other cops would be tempted to shoot. She kept her hands in front of her so he could see she wasn’t pointing a weapon at him. As she got closer to the house, his gaze locked in on her.

He took a step out of the house.

“I’m here, Ezra. It’s okay to come out. Just keep your hands where we can see them.”

He was crying uncontrollably as he came toward her. Right away, Sam could see he was an exceptionally handsome young man with dark hair and eyes, a chiseled jaw and muscular build.

Sam held out a hand to him, and when he was close enough, he took hold of her hand.

“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking with sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know, Ezra.” She signaled to Captain Bruce. “The captain is going to cuff you and take you into custody. I’m going to keep in touch and make sure you’re given a full mental health evaluation and that you have legal representation. All right?”

He nodded.

Bruce and Dorsey approached them. Dorsey recited the Miranda rights and cuffed Ezra.

“It’s going to be okay, Ezra,” Sam said. “Do you have an attorney I can call for you?”

Shaking his head, he said, “No.”

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