to deal with dickwads like him. It’s not as glamorous as it seems.”
“Oh, I know, but I still can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”
“You sound like me way back when. Do you have LEOs in your family?”
“My dad and grandfather.”
“Ah, so it’s in the blood, then. Was for me too.”
“I was sorry to hear about your dad.”
“Thank you. It was a tough loss. He was my buddy.”
“I could tell that from the way you talked about him.” She smiled. “I’m a little obsessed, and now you’ve come to my rescue, completely justifying my massive girl crush.”
Sam laughed. She liked this kid. “What’s your name?”
“Valerie Southern.”
“Nice to meet you, Valerie.”
“Very nice to meet you too, Lieutenant.”
“You can call me Sam.”
Valerie fanned her face. “You’re going to have to give me a minute.”
Sam laughed as an idea hit her. “You want to come with me to HQ to hang out for a bit? Check out the front lines?”
The young woman stared at her, eyes agog. “Are you for real right now?”
“Sure,” Sam said, feeling unusually generous. She also wanted to make sure the younger woman wasn’t bothered again by the guy who’d hassled her. “If you want to. No pressure.”
“Of course I want to.”
“Do you have somewhere to be?”
“Yep, but I’ll get out of it.” She got busy texting on her phone and let out a laugh. “My friends are freaking out. They know about my girl crush.”
“You should know I’m very happily married.”
“My crush extends to him too. Coolest couple on the planet.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“I do. Take my word for it.”
“If I must,” Sam said, amused by the woman’s moxie.
“You must. Who’s the dude over there glaring at you?”
Sam glanced over her shoulder to find Vernon right behind her. Whoops. “Um, well, he’s a Secret Service agent they put on me after the whole damned world freaked out about my husband’s decision not to run, and truth of the matter is, I forgot about him. I think he’s pissed.”
“I was crushed when I heard your husband isn’t going to run. You have no idea how many people I’ve talked to who are devastated. Everyone I know was hoping he’d be president.”
Sam winced. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“The thing is, I get it,” Valerie said, sighing. “I’ve read about his upbringing and saw his effed-up mother spouting off again last night. I think it’s cool he wants to be with you and your kids.”
“I do too, but don’t tell anyone I said that.”
“I never would. Meeting you is the sickest thing to ever happen to me, and even though you don’t know me at all, you can trust me. I’ll never repeat anything you say to me.”
“That’s a good quality to have. Usually takes people a lot longer than their senior year in college to realize they get further in this world if they just keep their damned mouth shut most of the time.”
“I agree. I’m forever telling my friends to stay the eff off Twitter and just live their lives, for crying out loud.”
“Never spent one full minute on Twitter, and I’m doing just fine.”
“You’re doing better than fine. Do you have any idea how many young women look up to you?”
“Um, no?”
“Thousands. You’re our spirit animal.”
“Ah, what’s a spirit animal?”
Valerie looked at Sam like she was crazy or from another planet. She was probably both. “A spirit animal is like a teacher or a guide for others to emulate. Usually in the form of an actual animal, but since you’re a mammal, you count.”
“Ah, good to know. I’m often animal-like first thing in the morning when not yet caffeinated.”
Valerie cracked up. “Me too.”
The train pulled into Gallery Place. Freddie had told her to switch lines there, but she’d had enough of the Metro.
“This is our stop,” Sam said. “We’ve a bit of a walk from here.” Which she wasn’t looking forward to in the brisk wind.
“Are you in a rush?”
“Always.”
Valerie tapped around on her phone. “I ordered us an Uber. It’ll meet us on the street.”
“You’re good to have around.”
“So are you. Thanks for what you did with that weird dude.”
“No problem.”
“What about your Secret Service agent?”
“What about him?”
“Don’t you have to stay where he tells you to?”
“Nope. I don’t want him following me, so it’s up to him—and his partner—to figure out how to do it. I’m not about to make it easy for them.”
“Even though they’re fellow LEOs?”
“Don’t make me feel like a jerk.”
Valerie put up her hands as they rode the escalator to street level. “I