Page 169 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“That’s the plan.”

Sam arrived to unusual quiet in the pit. “What’s up?”

Gonzo turned to her, his expression grim. “We had to bounce Ramsey.”

“What? Why?”

“It came right from Forrester. We didn’t have enough to hold him, and he didn’t want to jeopardize future prosecution. Yada, yada.”

“That’s fucking bullshit!”

“You know that, and I know that…”

Sam was fuming.

“What’s the plan, boss?” Cruz asked when he joined them.

“Since he won’t give us a sample willingly, and the judge wants more before they’ll give us a warrant, we’ll stalk him until we get a sample of his DNA. Anything he discards is open game, no warrant required.”

“Don’t you think his father has schooled him on how to avoid that?” Gonzo asked.

“Probably, but even people who know better screw up. The second he does, we’ll be right there to nab him.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

With overtime authorized by the chief, Sam organized her squad and a team of ten Patrol officers into twenty-four-hour shifts to keep eyes on Shane Ramsey. Because she was still on limited duty, she was unable to be one of the officers following him, but that didn’t stop her from joining Gonzo and Freddie while they took the daytime shift watching the garage where he worked. Freddie had driven his dad’s SUV that day, which made it possible for Sam to go with them. Gonzo’s Charger was still off-limits to her healing hip.

“This is gonna be deadly boring,” Freddie said as he peered through binoculars.

“Boring but necessary,” Sam said.

“Reminds me of what I was doing a year ago today,” Gonzo said from the passenger seat.

The comment hit Sam like a punch to the gut. “Gonzo… I’m sorry. It never occurred to me. If you want to go back to the house—”

“Stop. I’m fine. I’m just saying it’s a reminder of what we were doing.”

“I can’t believe it’s a year already,” Freddie said. “I woke up thinking about that day.”

“I wake up thinking about it every day,” Gonzo said. “And before you jump all over that, it’s not as bad as it was. Mostly, I try to remember the good stuff and not how it ended.”

Sam had no idea what to say to that.

Apparently, Freddie didn’t either.

“I’m okay, you guys,” Gonzo said. “I swear.”

“Would you tell us if you weren’t?” Freddie asked.

“I would. I promise. If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s to ask for help when I need it. That was a bitter lesson, but one that’ll stay with me.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Sam said. “We’re all so driven to prove to the world we can handle anything that we forget to be human sometimes.”

“True, and we all know how trying to muscle through it went for me,” Gonzo said. “I’m lucky to still have a job and a family after the dust settled.”

“You still have both because we all love you,” Sam said. “And would do anything for you.”

“That’s what got me through.”

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