By
NY Times Bestselling Author
Marie Force

Washington, D.C. Police Lieutenant Sam Holland and her husband, U.S. Senator Nick Cappuano, have been looking forward to a quiet Thanksgiving with their son.

But any thoughts of a restful holiday are dashed when Sam and Nick return home to a gruesome scene: her seventeen-year-old niece Brooke, barely conscious and covered in blood on their front stoop. With lines between personal and professional blurring in this emotionally charged, deeply personal case, Sam is relying on Nick more than ever for support. But when suspicious images from the night in question appear on social media, Sam begins to wonder if her niece is telling her everything she knows about what really happened. And when Nick questions her tactics—and her ethics—as she races against the clock, Sam will need to decide how far she’s willing to go to prove Brooke is a victim, not a murderer.

Having a resounding win to retain the Senate seat he inherited from his best friend John O’Connor, Nick Cappuano has started doing some things he loves. One of those things is hockey and he’s rejoined a men’s league to play. He’s also teaching Scotty the sport. Sam and Scotty are watching a game when he takes a hard hit to the boards and takes a while to get up. Instead of going straight to the ER like she wanted, Nick convinces her pizza for him and Scotty first, then they’ll leave Scotty with Celia and her dad while they go. Fortunately, nothing is broken, but the bruising is severe and painful.

Things take a horrible turn when they reach home and find Sam’s niece Brooke unconscientious, covered in blood and wrapped in a sheet on their porch. Sam’s sister Tracy is her first call after 911, telling her to meet them at the ER. Then she calls her partner Freddie as she tries to keep things on the low. Celia and her dad have Tracy’s younger children as well as Scotty, so they are taken care of.

Brooke was supposed to be at a boarding school in Virginia, so how she came to be here at all is a major question. One they’d have to wait for answer on. While they’re waiting Freddie calls with the information that they’ve been called to a homicide involving teenagers and a knife.

Sam is conflicted and she’s supposed to be on vacation, Nick is not happy when she’s determined to go back to work. They both need this break together with everything that’s happened the past year.

This is a favorite scene.

While she waited for the others to arrive, Sam took a moment to collect herself after hours of hell. Her hands were trembling, her legs and back were aching and her legendary cop cool had been shot straight to hell. Everything was different when crime and violence struck close to home. Someone had had very rough sex with Brooke, but whether she’d been a victim or a willing participant remained to be seen.

Harry had kept Brooke’s parents informed throughout the evening, so when Tracy, Mike, Angela and Nick came into the room a few minutes later, Sam was spared from having to take them through the whole thing again.

Nick came right over to her while the others surrounded Brooke.

Sam stood, stepped into his welcoming embrace and let him lead her into the hallway.

He kissed the top of her head and held on tight, which helped with the trembling that had besieged her.

“How are the ribs?” she asked.

“Fine. I’m far more concerned about you.”

“I’m better now that she’s sedated and settled in a room.”

“We could hear her screaming from the waiting room.”

“It was pretty brutal in there. She came to in the middle of the rape exam, freaking out over what they were doing to her. As far as I know, that was her first pelvic exam. Hopefully, she won’t remember it tomorrow.”

“The press has picked up on the MacArthur murders.”

“Shit.” Sam ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to comb some order into it after the long night. “So we’ve already lost control of the story, and we haven’t even begun to dig into what happened there.”

“Luckily, it’s not your problem this time around.” She kept her voice down in an attempt to keep their conversation private from the nurses who eyed them with recognition and interest as they walked past.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re on vacation.”

“Um, my vacation was canceled the minute I found my niece naked and bloody on my front porch. And it was definitely canceled the second we learned of six teenage murder victims in my city.”

“There’s no reason your team can’t handle this case without you.”

“There’s every reason they aren’t going to handle it without me. Do you have any idea how hot this case is going to get with six dead kids strung out on drugs, stabbed while having sex in the basement of a prominent lawyer’s house?”

“What if we’d left tonight to go to France or Italy or somewhere else?”

“I’d be on my way back.”

He dropped his arms from her shoulders and took a step back from her, his displeasure obvious.

“What do you want me to say? This is my job. She’s my niece. I have to know what happened to her. I have to know for her and for Tracy, and I have to protect her from whatever this investigation may uncover.”

“It doesn’t have to be you, Sam.”

She blew out a deep breath that was equal parts exhaustion and disbelief. “Have you met me?”

“What the hell kind of question is that?” he asked, no longer making an effort to keep his voice down.

“A direct one. If you knew me at all, and I usually think you know me better than anyone, you wouldn’t question my need to run this case.”

“I do question it. Everyone needs a break, even you. We need a break. I’m so freaking sick of the treadmill we live on. I want off for one goddamned week, and I want my wife with me. We had plans.”

“You’re married to a goddamned Homicide detective, Nick. You know the drill. How in the world do you expect me to take a step back from this of all cases?”

“I expect you to keep your plans with me.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this. I never would’ve expected this from you.”

“Sam, come on,” he said imploringly. “We’ve had the year from hell with nonstop work and insanity. We’ve been in a car wreck, lost a baby, nearly got blown up in our own house, had numerous injuries—some of them serious—lost several of our close friends, been stalked by the media, ran a campaign, got married and adopted a son. How am I out of line to desperately need a week completely off with my family after all that?”

“You’re not out of line.” When he recited the list, she couldn’t exactly argue with his logic. “But there’s no way I can relax and enjoy a vacation with six dead kids on my conscience and a niece who’s been drugged and sexually assaulted lying in the hospital when who knows what has been done to her. I’ll go crazy if I can’t work this case.”

“You do what you’ve gotta do. I’m going home to our son. Tell Tracy and Mike I’ll help Celia take care of Abby and Ethan for as long as they need me.”

Sam took hold of his arm, rocked by the rare disagreement. “Nick, come on. Don’t leave mad. Please?” He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “I’m not mad. I’m fed up. I’ve been living for this time with you, and I need it, babe. I really need it. But I guess it’s not going to happen. I’ll see you when I see you.”

Sam watched, incredulous, as he walked away from her without telling her he loved her or asking her to be careful or any of the things he usually said to her. She could tell by the way he walked that he was in pain, and the set of his shoulders indicated he was angry, too, despite his claims to the contrary.

Awesome. That was just what she needed right now. She took a deep breath and went into the room to speak to her sisters and brother-in-law. “I’m going in to work to try to figure out what went on last night. Will you call me when she wakes up?”

“We will,” Tracy said, her gaze fixed on Brooke as she stroked the girl’s long dark hair.

“She didn’t say anything about what happened?” Angela asked.

Sam shook her head. “She was too agitated and out of it for most of the time I was with her. She had a few lucid moments, but for the most part, she couldn’t process what had happened, and I didn’t give her more information than she needed.”

Mike came over to hug Sam. “Thank you so much for being in there with her.”

“Sure, no problem.” Sam tried not to think about the huge problem this case was already causing between her and Nick. “Nick said to tell you he’ll help Celia with Abby and Ethan for as long as you need him.”

“That’s great. Thank you.”

“I’m going to see if I can start to make some sense of all of this.”

“Will you let us know what you find out?”

“Yes, of course.” She eyed Brooke in the bed, pale and sick and changed forever by the events of the previous evening. “Do the names Hugo Springer or Michael Chastain mean anything to you?”

Mike shook his head. “Should they?”

“They’re two of the kids who were found dead in the Springer home last night.”

What’s that got to do with Brooke?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe nothing. Maybe something.”
Force, Marie. Fatal Jeopardy (Fatal Series Book 7). Kindle Locations (508-561). HTJB, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Things get even worse when Nick and Sam find out Scotty saw the car that left Brooke on their porch, and then later sees video of what happened to her online.

Sam has to tell the brass about Brooke being there prior to the murders, but she’s able to keep working on how she was able to leave school. She does that by asking FBI Agent Avery Hill for assistance. That way she’s covered if the two cases intercept as she’s pretty sure they will.

So many twists in this one, as these investigations unfold. Nick goes from angry to resigned, but making up is so much fun for them. Avery in the mix pushes Nick’s buttons as well, as the agent seems to want his wife even though he knows she’s unattainable and he’s also seeing Shelby.

Lots of tears, heartbreak, family, friends, romance and let’s not forget the sizzle.

5 Contented Purrs for Marie!

Marie Force

Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 contemporary romance, romantic suspense and erotic romance novels. Her series include Fatal, First Family, Gansett Island, Butler Vermont, Quantum, Treading Water, Miami Nights and Wild Widows. She has also written 11 single titles, with more coming.

Her books have sold more than 13 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list more than 30 times. She is also a USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, as well as a Spiegel bestseller in Germany.

Her goals in life are simple—to spend as much time as possible with her young adult children, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.