Much later, long after she and the boys had gone to bed, Sam was struggling to sleep without Nick. Her phone rang with a call from Gonzo that had her sitting up in bed.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“We found Gigi’s ex.”
“That’s good news.”
“Yeah, not so much. He’s holding her mother, sister and two nephews hostage in the mother’s house in Fairfax.”
Sam’s heart sank. “Seriously?”
“Dead seriously. We talked to a bunch of his friends, all of whom mentioned he’s been increasingly erratic and unstable lately. And the kicker is, he wants to talk to you.”
“To me? What the hell do I have to do with anything?”
“I have no idea, but the Fairfax County SWAT captain asked me to get you here ASAP. Can you do it?”
“I’m on my way.” Sam ended the call, got out of bed, crossed the hallway to the room that served as her closet and put on jeans, a sweater and running shoes. She would miss the amazing closet Nick had built for her. What kind of closets would they have at the White House? Ugh, she couldn’t think about that right now.
Back in the bedroom, she unlocked her bedside table drawer and retrieved her service weapon, sliding it into the holster on her hip. She went up to give Elijah the monitor for the twins.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be,” she said.
“No worries. I’ll listen for them, but they’re probably out cold after the amazing day they had. Thank you again for that.”
“It was entirely my pleasure and all thanks to Shelby. I’ll text you when I’m back.”
“Okay.”
She went back downstairs, knocked on Scotty’s door and poked her head in. “I have to go out for work. Eli is here if you need anything.”
“I’m fine. Just watching the end of the Caps game.”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Are you allowed to just leave?”
“I guess we’re gonna find out.” She dared anyone to try to stop her. The lives of Gigi’s loved ones were on the line, and if her presence would help to save them, she was going.
Downstairs, she encountered Nate still at the door. “Good evening, Mrs. Cappuano. May I help you with something?”
“No, thanks, I’m all set. If you could just let me out, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’m, ah, under orders…”
“So am I. Please step aside.”
After a long moment of staring at each other, neither of them blinking, he finally did as she’d directed. Sam made haste down the ramp and was in her car and pulling away in a matter of seconds. She headed for the checkpoint and didn’t slow down as she zoomed through the exit lane.
She let out a happy laugh as she made her escape and headed for the 14th Street Bridge and Northern Virginia. Maybe there’d be hell to pay with Nick and the Secret Service, but she was determined to keep her life as close to what it had looked like on Wednesday as she possibly could. With that in mind, she turned on her emergency lights and pressed the accelerator almost to the floor. Her phone rang with a call from Captain Malone that she took on the Bluetooth. “Hey.”
“You heard about Dominguez’s family?”
“I did, and I’m on my way.”
“Oh, good. We were worried the Secret Service might try to stop you from leaving.”
“They tried and failed.” Sam couldn’t think about how pissed Nick would be that she’d left without a detail. She’d contend with the fallout after she’d done what she could to stop Dominguez’s nightmare from compounding exponentially. “What’re you hearing from the scene?”
“Fairfax County SWAT is in place and prepared to go in, but they want you to try first. Ezra specifically asked to speak to you.”
“Any idea why?”
“The thinking is that he’s well aware of who you are as Gigi’s boss and now the first lady. He’s wanting attention from a high-profile officer.”
“Well, we’ll give it to him and hopefully talk him into letting his hostages go.” A memory of being held hostage herself, first by Clarence Reese and then by Lieutenant Stahl, made her break into a cold sweat. Reese had shot himself only feet away from her after a standoff in which she’d nearly talked him into handing over the gun before SWAT burst into the diner where she was being held. The situation with Stahl had been a lot worse for her, but she didn’t have the bandwidth to revisit that awful day.
Hostage situations were the worst, and she prayed for Gigi’s sake—and that of her family members—that they’d be able to peacefully resolve this one. Sam’s cell phone rang with a call from Nick.
“Hey, I know you’re pissed, but I got a life-or-death call—not my life or death—that I’ll tell you about later. Everything is fine, but I have to go.”
“This isn’t cool, Samantha.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
“See that you do.”
When he ended the call without telling her he loved her or to be careful, her anxiety spiked the way it did anytime they were at odds. As she pulled onto the street where Gigi’s mother lived, Sam had to stay focused on the task at hand before she dealt with the consequences waiting for her at home.
The street was full of public safety vehicles with red and blue lights flashing. She parked and pressed the button on the door to open the trunk. After retrieving her bulletproof vest, she donned it as she walked toward the epicenter of the activity.
Gonzo saw her coming and waved her over to where he was consulting with Fairfax County SWAT team members.
“Lieutenant Holland, this is Captain Bruce,” Gonzo said, “and Lieutenant Dorsey, the hostage negotiator.”
“Good to meet you both.” Sam sensed instant hostility from both men. Awesome. She could never understand why some officers hated her on sight, when they’d never even met her. Apparently, her reputation preceded her.
“Glad you could make it, Lieutenant,” Dorsey said. “We’ve been talking to the suspect, and he’s very interested in speaking to you personally.”
“I heard. Let’s get me in there.”
“So you’re just going to walk in there, no big deal?” Bruce asked.
Sam gave him a perplexed look. “He wants to talk to me. I want to get my detective’s family members out of there. So yeah, I’m going to walk in there, no big deal. Is that a problem?”
“Not for me,” Bruce said.
“Captain, why don’t you just say what’s on your mind so we can get back to doing our jobs here?”
“I’m just wondering what business the first lady has at a crime scene and how much of a clusterfuck it’s gonna be for me if the first lady gets herself killed on my watch.”
Sam bit back the bitchy reply that burned on the tip of her tongue, which would’ve been something like, Mind your own fucking business. Instead, she said, “Right now, I’m not the first lady. I’m a police commander intent on saving the lives of one of my detectives’ family members. If you’re done wasting time, I’m ready to get to it.”
Gonzo grunted under his breath, which meant he was trying not to laugh.
Giving Sam an openly hostile look, Bruce said, “Fine. Get him on the phone, then.”
Dorsey made the call. “Ezra, I have Lieutenant Holland here, and she’d like to talk to you.” He handed the phone to Sam.
“Hey, Ezra. This is Sam Holland. I heard you wanted to talk to me.”
“Why do you go by Holland when you’re married to the president?”
That was his first question? “I’m Holland on the job. You wanted to talk to me. What can I do for you?”
“I want you to help me.”
“With what?”
“I need you to talk to Gigi. She respects the hell out of you, and if you tell her she needs to listen to me, she’ll do it.”
“I’m afraid I can’t recommend she do that while you’re holding her family and she’s in the hospital with injuries you inflicted.”
“That wasn’t my fault! She wouldn’t listen to me. I tried to tell her…” A muffled sound that might’ve been a sob came through the phone. “I love her so much.”
“If that’s the case, why did you hurt her?”
“I didn’t mean to. I was so scared she would leave me. She stopped taking my calls and wouldn’t answer my texts. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Ezra, you have to know if you hurt her family, you’ll never see her again. Tell me you understand that.”
“I don’t want to hurt them.”
“Then let them go. They haven’t done anything to deserve being put in this position. Please let them go.”
“I can’t do that. If they’re here with me, then Gigi will have to talk to me.”
“She’s in the hospital, Ezra. They had to do surgery to remove her spleen because it ruptured after you punched her in the stomach. Did you know she had surgery?”
“No,” he said, sniffling. “I love her so much. I just wish she’d listen to me.”
“What else can I do to help you? Besides bring her here. If I got her on the phone, would you let her family go?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“I’d need some assurances before I reach out to her. I’ll ask you again… If I promise to get Gigi on the phone, will you release her family members?”
“If I agree, you’re not going to fuck me over, are you?”
“I give you my word that if you release them, I’ll get Gigi on the phone for you. But I’m not going to wait all night, Ezra. You either take the deal, or you don’t.”
“I… I really want to talk to Gigi.”
“Then let them go, and I’ll get her on the phone.” While she waited to see what he would do, Sam used her own phone to call Dani.
“Hey,” Dani said.
“Are you aware of what’s going on at the Dominguez home in Fairfax?”
“What? No…”
“Ezra has taken Gigi’s mother, sister and nephews hostage.”
“Oh my God.”
“I’m there now, and I’ve got him on another line. I think he’ll let them go if he can talk to Gigi. Are you still at the hospital?”
“Yes, I’m with her.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to tell her what’s going on and ask her if she’s able to do this.”
“Hang on.”
In the background, Sam could hear the rumble of voices and the moan of agony from Gigi when Dani told her what was happening with her family.
“She’ll do it,” Dani said. “Patch the call through to my phone.”
“Stand by.” Sam ended that call and returned to the call with Ezra. “Gigi is willing to talk to you, Ezra, but only if you release her family members first.” While she waited for him to reply, she watched the house so intently that she barely blinked. Please, she thought. Please, let them go.
“Ezra, are you there?”
“I’m here. How do I know you aren’t going to fuck me over?”
“Because I gave you my word. Are you willing to give me yours? Will you release Gigi’s family?”
“I… Okay.”
Sam released the deep breath she’d been holding and turned to Dorsey. “Can you conference someone in on your phone?”
He took the phone from her. “What’s the number?”
Sam found Dani’s number in her contacts and recited it. “Don’t put it through yet.” She took back the phone from Dorsey. “Ezra, we’re ready to get Gigi on this call. All you have to do to talk to her is let them go. Just send them out. She’s waiting to talk to you.”
“She really is? You’re not just saying that?”
“I swear on the lives of my husband and children that she’ll talk to you after you release her family members. I can’t think of any other guarantee I can give you that would mean more to me than that.”
After a long moment of silence, a flurry of activity in the doorway preceded two women and two young boys emerging from the house.
“Hold your fire,” Sam called to the line of officers who had guns trained on the house.
Fairfax County police officers rushed forward to meet them, guiding them toward the driveway and away from the activity on the lawn.
“Put through the conference call,” she said to Dorsey.
When he hesitated, she gave him a withering look. “Do it!”
He made the call to Dani’s phone.
She answered on the first ring.
“Ezra,” Sam said, “Gigi is on the line.”
“Ezra,” Gigi said, her voice soft.
“Gigi,” he said, “I’m so sorry I hurt you.” He was almost inaudible over the sound of his sobs. “I love you so much. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
“You need to get some help.”
“I need you.”
“I can’t do this anymore, Ezra.”
“No, don’t say that. You don’t mean that.”
Captain Bruce, back from checking on the former hostages, leaned across Dorsey to speak to Sam. “How long is this going to go on?”
Sam held up a finger to hopefully shut him up. Gigi knew what needed to be done, and Sam wanted to give her the chance to talk him out before SWAT went in after him.
“Ezra, I want you to do something for me,” Gigi said.
“Anything. I’ll do anything for you.”
“I want you to surrender to the police and let them help you. Will you do that for me?”
“I can’t do that. They’ll lock me up, and I’ll never see you again.”
“You’ll see me again, but only if you do the right thing. Put down your weapon, raise your hands over your head and walk out of there. No one will hurt you if you do the right thing. Will you do that for me, Ezra? Please?”
“I’ll really see you again if I do that?”
“You will. I promise.”
“Gigi…”
“It’ll be okay. You just have to do what I said.”
Gigi’s voice had become softer as she got tired. Sam hoped Ezra would surrender sooner rather than later.
“I have to go now,” Gigi said. “The doctor is here, and he wants to talk to me.”
“Gigi, don’t go.”
“I have to, and you do too. You need to surrender, Ezra. Please do that for me.”
“Gigi…” Ezra broke down into sobs that Gigi didn’t hear because she’d ended the call. She’d done what she could.
“Ezra,” Sam said. “You got to talk to Gigi like you wanted. Now you need to leave your weapon in the house and come out with your hands above your head, like Gigi said. No one wants to hurt you. Come out, and we’ll make sure you get the help you need.”
“You’ll throw me in jail.”
“We’ll get you help and figure out what you need.”
“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.”
“I’ve got someone I can call. His name is Devon Sinclair. Wait for him to get there before you talk to anyone. I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
“Thank you. I… Please tell Gigi… Tell her I love her, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“I’ll tell her.”
A uniformed officer led him toward a patrol car.
“That was well done, Lieutenant,” Bruce said, sounding somewhat begrudging.
“You’ll make sure he gets the consult, right? By all accounts, his recent behavior is wildly out of character.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Sam extended her hand. “Thank you.”
He shook her hand. “You’re really going to keep the job?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Well, I wish you luck with that.”
“Do you really?”
He laughed. “Yes, I do. I have four daughters. It’d be nice for them to see you hold on to your career while serving as first lady too.”
“In that case, thank you for the good wishes.”
“I was sorry to hear about your dad’s passing. I knew him years ago when we were both in Patrol. And I was also sorry to hear where the investigation led.”
“Thank you, Captain. I’m going to go call my detective and let her know we were able to resolve this peacefully.”
“Here’s my card if you need anything.”
Sam took it from him. “Thanks.” As she walked away, she placed a call to Dani.
“What’s happening?” Dani asked, sounding stressed.
“He’s surrendered to Fairfax County police. The captain in charge promised a full psych eval.”
“I guess that’s good news.”
“Best possible outcome, all things considered. How’s Gigi?”
“Better since she could talk to her mom and sister.”
“Let her know Ezra said how sorry he is that all of this happened and he loves her very much. It was important to him that I tell her that, so I’m keeping my promise.”
“I’ll let her know.”
“You should go home and get some rest, Dani.”
“That’s the plan. Green is coming back in an hour and planning to stay with her.”
“What’s up there?”
“I’m not really sure, to be honest. He’s been here all day and seems… How shall I say it? Devoted.”
“I picked up on that vibe earlier. Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?”
“Far as I know.”
“Very interesting.”
“Indeed.”
“I know I speak for Gigi when I tell you how much we appreciate you being personally involved in this.”
“Of course I am. She’s one of mine, and so are you.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be by to see Gigi tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
Sam ended that call and checked her phone to see she had ten missed calls from an unavailable number. Crap. She took a minute to check on Gigi’s mother, sister and nephews, who were being checked out by EMS.
“Thank you so much, Lieutenant,” Mrs. Dominguez said, her face awash in tears. “My Gigi… She speaks so highly of you.”
“I’m so glad you and your family are safe.”