Page 7 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

The feel of his hand wrapped around hers calmed her as parts and pieces of his words from earlier echoed through her mind. Nothing will change. The most important thing is us and our family. We can do anything if we do it together.

One question burned at the tip of her tongue—What about my job?—but she knew this wasn’t the time to ask. A minute at a time. That’s how they had to approach this life-changing challenge, and when they got a minute to breathe, she’d address the issue with Nick. To her knowledge, no first lady in history had ever worked outside the White House while her husband was the president.

Her case was somewhat unique, however, as most first families relocated from outside the DC area. Sam’s job was right in Washington, so no relocation was needed. For that reason, she held out hope that they could work something out to allow her to continue to do the job she loved. Nick had enough on his mind right now, and she wasn’t about to add to his worries, but she had no doubt that the topic of her job would be an issue sooner rather than later.

Her phone rang with a call from Dani Carlucci, one of her third-shift detectives, reminding her that while her life was changing by the second, no one at work knew that. Sam showed Nick the caller ID on her phone. “You mind if I take this?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Sorry to bother you on Thanksgiving, Lieutenant, but I thought you’d want to know that Gigi’s in the hospital.” Carlucci had recently told Sam she was concerned that her partner, Detective Giselle “Gigi” Dominguez, was in an unsafe relationship.

“What happened?”

“An altercation with the boyfriend.”

“Oh God. Is she okay?”

“He tuned her up pretty good. The biggest concern at the moment is a concussion and possible injury to her spleen.”

Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Is he in custody?”

“Not yet. We’re looking for him.” Carlucci sounded stressed and pissed. “I should’ve gotten involved.”

“You tried, Dani. She told you she didn’t want it.”

“Still… I should’ve done it anyway. Sorry again for bothering you. I thought you’d want to know.”

“I definitely want to know. Which hospital is she in?”

“GW.”

“Listen, I’d come if I could, but I’m in the middle of something, and I can’t get there right now.” She glanced at Nick as his lips curved into a small smile at her massive understatement. “Please keep me posted, okay?”

“I will. Thanks, LT.”

Long after the line went dead, Sam stared at the phone in her hand, torn between competing needs. At any other time, she’d already be on her way to GW to see what she could do to help her injured detective and to keep Gigi’s partner from doing something stupid. But that wasn’t possible right now.

“What’s going on?” Nick asked.

“Gigi Dominguez’s boyfriend beat her up. She’s got a concussion and something with her spleen.” Sam knew Nick would understand that she’d want to be with her officers at a time like this. So she acted quickly to keep him from thinking about anything other than the massive thing he was about to do. She flipped open her phone and called Gonzo.

The phone rang four times before he picked up. “Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”

Sam cringed over what she was about to ask of her sergeant on his wedding night, but he was second in command to Sam, and she wanted Dani to focus on her friend and partner rather than the effort to locate Gigi’s boyfriend. Sam was also concerned about what Dani would do if she got her hands on the guy. “I need a huge favor.”

“Okay…”

“Dominguez has been having some trouble with her boyfriend, and it exploded into something physical tonight. She’s at GW with a concussion and other injuries. I can’t go there for reasons you’ll hear about very soon.”

“Seriously, Sam?”

“Dead seriously. Carlucci is about to lose her shit because she knew something was brewing and didn’t intervene. I’m worried about them both. I’d never ask this of you, especially tonight, if it wasn’t urgent.”

“I know,” he said, sighing. “I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Gonzo.”