CHAPTER 1

Sam sat in empty apartment holding the note in his hands. The events of the last week spinning in his head. His world had turned upside down in a matter of days. Two weeks ago, he had all the answers. His days were routine, patrolling the streets for the 15 and his nights were simple with a beer at the Penny and the occasional poker game with the boys. He knew what to expect and Andy was safely nearby.

Ah, Andy … he thought to himself. There was something between them. He'd felt it for months. Their near encounter during the blackout cinched it, but he had already known that he had feelings for her. And then there was the chemistry. It didn't matter if was a long passionate kiss or a finger graze when she offered him a cup of coffee. There was a spark. A spark that not only turned on his libido, but that bore a hole straight into his heart. Andy was the one he had waited his whole life for.

She had finally seen the real Luke. He had slept with Jo and suddenly her eyes were wide open. He was only interested in her when it suited him. There was no real relationship. She was a good roll in the hay and arm candy. And Jo … well, who knows what Jo was to him, but she was certainly more important than Andy.

The break up with Luke was still fresh and Sam knew that Andy wasn't ready for him. There had been moments, of course, when all he wanted to do was reach out and kiss her. But he wanted her to want him too and he wasn't really comfortable being her rebound guy. This one was going to be the one and there wasn't anything he was going to do to ruin it despite how badly he wanted her.

Undercover seemed like a right way to wait it out. It was what he was good at and Boyd needed someone to jump in fast. So he went without thinking twice. He knew Andy would figure it out and understand. After all, that's how they had met wasn't it. He still smiled every time he thought about how she had wrestled him to the ground and cuffed him. She was quite a rookie. His rookie.

All was going well. He had connected with Brennan and the operation was going as planned, that is until Andy and Nash showed up at the Alpine. He'd only been away two weeks, but she somehow she looked different. She was confident and boldly her own person. And sexier than ever. Had it been fate that they ran into each other than night? Probably not. Andy didn't know that he'd there, but she see knew where to start looking, that's for sure.

When he found her outside the Alpine later that evening, he had honestly expected to put her in a cab and send her back to the 15. But she was ready. Ready for the spark to electrify and there was so way he could say no. It was stupid and more than dangerous, but she rendered him powerless. He laughed at himself, remembering how nervous he was.

That moment has been everything he had imagined. Sensual, magically and the best physical experience of his life. There had been others, although not as many as most would think. That just wasn't his style. He wanted the real thing and he wanted it with Andy.

Now all that was in jeopardy. Brennan had seen to that. Sam still had the note clenched in his hand.

He'd taken her. Damn it, Brennan. It was all in the note. The note left on the floor in front of the wood burning stove along with Andy's black boots for safe measure. Sam could almost see Brennan smirking at himself at the irony. Her boots had been how he'd discovered Sam and Andy had been together that morning. The boots she had been wearing when she left.

Sam was at a loss of what to do next. He could call Boyd, but there was a very high likelihood that he'd do nothing. He never liked Andy, but that was beside the point. All Boyd wanted was to solve the case and be the victor. He was in it for the accolades and the glory. No, he had to call Frank. The case would be blown and it would put Andy's career on the skids and likely his too, but it was his only choice. Frank would overstep Boyd to protect one of his own. It was Andy's only chance.

Sam, his head still spinning, put down the note and pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

Frank picked up almost immediately. "This is Best, can I help you?"

Sam could hear the stress in Frank's voice, but the familiarly of his voice gave Sam a sense of hope. "Hey Frank, it's me Sam."

"Man, where have you been? Are you back from UC?"

"Frank, listen. I need your help. McNally's life is in danger."