One Night With You: A Fatal Series Prequel Novella (The Fatal Series) by Marie Force Page A

reminded her of the many times she’d tried to challenge his authority while growing up. Skip Holland got a lot done with that eyebrow.  
    “I really don’t want to go.” Newly promoted to detective with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, Sam had sore feet and a sunburn after working a full day plus a three-hour construction detail following her regular shift. She wanted a cool bath, another cold beer and a soft bed—in that order.
    Her sister had called her at work earlier to make her case.
    “ Please , Sam,” Angela had said. “When was the last time I asked you for anything?”
    “Um, yesterday when I dropped off and picked up your car from the garage—and paid for the repairs.”
    “I’ll pay you back, and you know I appreciated your help.”
    “So, we’re square. I don’t have to go to this party tonight.”
    “You do have to. Spencer is going to be there, and he wants me to meet him. I can’t go alone. That would be so awkward. All I need you to do is come with me so I don’t have to walk in alone and stay long enough to make sure I find him.”
    “That’s not all I’d have to do. There would be showering, hair drying, makeup application and torturous shoes that most likely won’t go on over my swollen feet.”
    “ Sam …”
    “ Angela …”
    “I’m begging you. I’ve called everyone I know, and they’re all busy. I need you.”
    Sam had been on the verge of begging herself when Lieutenant Stahl walked by her cubicle, glaring at her when he saw her sitting with her feet on the desk as she talked on the phone. Even though she was officially off duty, she dropped her feet to the floor, sat up straighter and raised her middle finger to his departing back.  
    “I really, really, really like him, Sam. Really. Remember when I dated him for a short time when Johnny and I were taking a break? I never forgot him, and I always regretted going back to Johnny after I met Spencer.”
    Since Angela hadn’t sounded excited about any guy since the painful breakup with her high school boyfriend a year ago, Sam began to waver. “How long would I have to stay?”
    “No more than an hour. I promise.”
    “All right,” Sam said with a protracted groan.  
    “I owe you big.”
    “You already owe me big.”
    “I owe you bigger.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Just wait until I start cashing in all these chips.”
    “Anything you want,” Angela said, her voice bright with euphoria Sam hadn’t heard in a very long time. It was well worth the sacrifice of her tortured feet stuffed into heels if it would bring back Angela’s smile. She hadn’t been herself since Johnny decided he wasn’t done playing the field and couldn’t think about getting married until he’d sown his wild oats. Unfortunately, he’d chosen to use those exact words when he ended his long relationship with Angela.  
    At times over the last year, Sam and the rest of their family had wondered if Angela would ever get over the heartbreak Johnny had left behind when he moved on without her. So if an hour in heels made Angela feel better, Sam was more than willing to forgo her night in the tub.  
    “Pick me up?”
    “I’ll be there at eight.” The line went dead. Angela knew better than to give Sam time to change her mind. “Goddamn it,” Sam muttered under her breath as she stood to gather her belongings. After eleven hours at work, there wasn’t much gas left in her tank. But since there was nothing she wouldn’t do for either of her sisters, Sam trudged out of HQ into humidity that made for another stifling summer day in the nation’s capital.  
    And then she’d remembered her plans to meet her dad for a drink on the way home. This day kept getting better and better.
    “Where’d you go?” Skip asked as he took a sip from his beer.
    “Just thinking about Ang and this lame-ass party I agreed to go to with her. It’ll be a bunch of players trying to score.”
    “Want to borrow my Taser?”
    “Yes, in fact, I