06 Fatal Mistake Read Free

reelection campaign, ever since Sam pinned Victoria Kavanaugh’s murder on former presidential candidate Arnie Parsons and he’d vowed revenge on her family.
    “Senator, we’d like to get you and your family out of here,” Eric said.
    “Not until the game is over,” Nick said.
    “We’d like to go now. Just in case the situation escalates.”
    “I can’t take Scotty out of here now, Eric.”
    Sam’s pager went off, as did those belonging to Gonzo and Cruz. She checked hers. “Wow, the entire MPD is being put on tactical alert.”
    “What for?” Nick asked, as a feeling of unease came over him.
    “The expectation of rioting.” She pointed to the field. “Look.”
    As he glanced at the action below, uniformed police officers stepped onto the field, armed with serious-looking weapons.
    “Special response team,” Sam said with a note of pride in her voice.
    “They were already here?”
    “Hell, yeah. These days we’ve got to be ready for what happens if the team wins—or if it loses. People go batshit crazy either way. They must be expecting big trouble if they recalled everyone.”
    His stomach plummeted at the thought of the city erupting in violence and his wife being smack in the middle of it.
    “I’m going to drop Christina and Alex at home,” Gonzo said to Sam as he hustled his family from the skybox. “I’ll see you at HQ.”
    “Me too,” Cruz said, holding Elin’s hand as they headed for the exit. “Thanks for the great seats, Nick.”
    “Gotta go,” Sam said with a kiss for Nick and a hug for Scotty. “Try not to take it too hard, buddy. No matter what happens, there’s always next year.”
    “Yeah, I know. Thanks for bringing me to the game. It was exciting to be here, no matter how it ends.”
    “That’s the way to be,” she said. “I’ll see you guys at home.”
    “Um, Mrs. Cappuano,” Eric said. “We’d prefer that you remain with us.”
    “I’m sure you would,” Sam said with her trademark cheeky grin. “But I’ve got a job to do, and so do you. You take care of my guys. I’ll take care of myself.”
    Nick tried very hard not to get in the way of her job, but he had a bad feeling about what might happen in the city if the Feds lost. “Sam—” The steely stare she directed his way killed the thought before he voiced it. “Be careful out there, babe.”
    “I always am.” Nick’s eyes were glued to her as she said goodnight to her dad and Celia and hugged her sister. He wanted to go after her and find a way to make her stay. But when duty called, as it often did, Sam always went.
    “Senator?” Eric’s second inquiry was more urgent than the first.
    Nick glanced at the field to find the outfield covered in trash and team security surrounding Willie Vasquez as they led him to the dugout, presumably to get him out of harm’s way. Didn’t the fans know the Feds had three more outs and only needed one run to tie and two to win? It could still be done.
    He glanced at Scotty, who watched the scene on the field with a mix of confusion and anger. “I don’t understand. Why are they doing this? The Feds still have three more outs. The game isn’t over.”
    “I don’t get it either, buddy. Listen, Eric wants to get us out of here in case there’s trouble.”
    “Before the game is over?”
    “Yeah, he wants to go now.”
    “Will they get to finish the game?”
    “As soon as they get the fans settled. We can watch the end on TV at home.” All at once, Nick was anxious to get the hell out of there, and more important, to get Scotty the hell out of there.
    “Okay.” Scotty took a last look at the field before he let Nick guide him toward the exit.
    The rest of their party followed them to the elevator, which the Secret Service had secured for their descent. How they did that—and the many other things they did with seemingly effortless authority—was a source of constant fascination to Nick.
    “I’ll make sure Shelby gets home,” Derek said in a low