Seeking Vengeance (10 page)

Doreen snorted.
“Yeah, well, grief will do that to you. When my William passed on, I lost twenty pounds.”

Sam just nodded, but
then must have remembered his manners. “Doreen, this is Molly and her daughter, Kelsie.”

Doreen eyed Molly with reserve, but held out her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Molly.”

Molly returned the handshake.
“Doreen.” Why was she sensing hostility from the older woman?

Doreen
leaned over Kelsie and exclaimed about the beautiful picture. Kelsie beamed and Molly chalked up the hostility to her imagination.

When the food came, they were all too hungry to talk. Even Kelsie ate without her usual chatter. When the bill came, Molly reached for her purse hanging on the back of her chair, but Sam waved her off.

When she started to protest, he said, “I’ll get it, Molly. I dragged you all the way up here and you wouldn't have this expense if it weren't for me.”

It was on the tip
of her tongue to remind him that her brother had instigated everything. Sure, he'd brought Sam to her door, but the Ravens would have been chasing him whether Sam had been at her house or not. She let the subject drop when Doreen approached and rested a hand on Sam's shoulder.

“
Sammy, are you staying long? I'm sure some of the old gang would love to see you. Victoria got back in town last week.” The woman leaned in as though telling a secret, but her voice was as loud as before when she said, “She and her husband split up, ya know.”

Sam shrugged.
“We haven't decided how long we'll be here, but tell Victoria I said hello and I'm sorry about her marriage. That's rough.” He held an arm out for Molly and Kelsie to precede him to the front of the diner.

“
I will. She'll be excited to see you again. She's been so upset that she couldn't make it to the funeral services.” Doreen followed them to the door.

Molly turned at the words and saw Sam's eyes flick
er with pain. Didn't Doreen realize how callous she sounded?

She must have opened her mouth to say s
omething because Sam gave a swift shake of his head. The last thing she wanted to do was add to his discomfort, so she snapped her mouth closed and herded Kelsie back towards the car.

“
We can leave the car parked here. The store is just across the street.”

The store was tiny, not much bigger than a convenience store, but it still had all the usual departments, just
on a smaller scale. Molly chose four apples, a bunch of bananas and a mango. Sam made a face when she asked if he wanted a mango too.

“
Sorry—too slimy for me.”

She laughed and shook her head.
“Oh, but they're so sweet and juicy.”

His eyebrow rose and a speculative gleam came to his eyes.
“Mmm…sounds…delicious.”

Something abou
t his tone made her face burn and she glanced away. “Kelsie, put the pineapple back. Sponge Bob doesn't really live in one.” Molly wouldn’t have minded buying the pineapple but Kelsie never actually ate the fruit because she didn’t like the texture.

Sam chuckled.
“Hey Kelsie, do you want to split a pint of strawberries with me?”

Kelsie put the pineapple back and scampered around the shopping cart to stand beside Sam.
“I love strawberries!”

“
Smart girl.” He put a pint in the cart and looked directly at Molly. “I wonder if these are sweet and juicy?”

Cer
tain her cheeks were flaming, Molly cleared her throat and hurried out of the produce section.

They bought chicken and hamburger in the meat department, some staples, and Sam ran off and came back with two cartons
of ice cream. One vanilla, the other Rocky Road. He held them up as if asking permission. She couldn't help laughing at his little boy expression. He tossed in graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate bars. Molly covered them with a loaf of bread, not wanting Kelsie to see them just yet.

Molly never would have considered grocery shopping a form of intimacy, but seeing what kind of cereal, bread and vegetables Sam chose
told her things about the man. He had a sweet tooth, but also had a penchant for carrots and broccoli.

They each carried a couple of bags and Kelsie had one bag light enough for her as they made their way back to the car.

Just as they added the last bag to the trunk, a woman sauntered across the street towards them. “Sammy!”

Sam turned and she caught a flash of annoyance in his expression before a polite smile replaced it.
“How are you doing, Victoria?”

The woman stepped right up to Sam and flung her arms around him.
“Oh Sammy, I was so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother and your son. I cried for days when I heard.”

Sam returned the hug but his po
sture remained stiff. “Thank-you.” He pulled her arms from around his neck and held her hands in front of him, like a politician on campaign tour. “I see you've spoken to your mother.”

It didn't take a Rhodes S
cholar to figure out that this woman was the recently divorced Victoria. She recognized a woman on the hunt when she saw one. Well, let her have him. It wasn't like Molly was looking for a man.

Molly shepherded
Kelsie into the car, reminding her to buckle up. Then she took a few steps to the back of the car and touched Sam's arm to get his attention. She felt the strange urge to lean into him as she held her hand out to Victoria. “Hello. I'm Molly.”

Victoria
glanced at Molly as though seeing her for the first time then slowly took Molly's hand a brief shake. “I'm Victoria.”

“
Pleased to meet you.” Flashing her teeth in what she hoped was a smile, Molly added, “We met your mother in the diner a little while ago. Lovely woman.”

Sam's mouth quirked as if he were biting back a grin. It was all Molly could do to hold her own laughter in check.

Victoria's eyes narrowed as she glanced between the two, but her teeth gleamed as she ran her hands under her hair, lifting it into a loose ponytail. “It sure is hot out here today. I think a swim would feel delicious, don't you?”

Sam turned towards Molly and snapped his fingers.
“Speaking of swimming, we need to stop by the gift shop and get a suit for Kelsie. Did you pack one for yourself?”

Molly hadn't planned on swimming, but something in the other woman's eyes goaded her to answer,
“No, I didn't, but Victoria is right. The water would feel wonderful this afternoon.” She smiled at Victoria. “But we'd better hurry before the ice cream melts.”

“
Right.” Sam held out his hand to Victoria. “Well, it's been great seeing you again.”

Victoria
ignored his hand and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon.”

* * *

The air shimmered with heat, but Sam hardly noticed as he tried not to gawk at Molly in her red swimsuit. It was hardly revealing, with a modest scoop neck and a racer back, but it hugged her curves better than a Ferrari on a racetrack. He was glad for the dark sunglasses as he reclined on the Adirondack lounger and tracked her movements while appearing to be dozing. Molly had implored him to go in the water, but he'd resisted. The last time he'd gone swimming, it had been with his son. It didn't feel right to enjoy a swim. Not without Sean.

Molly hadn't pushed, but the sadness in her eyes forced him to pretend to find something fascinating on the fa
r side of the lake. After a bit, Molly quit sending him concerned looks as she and Kelsie played in the water. He sighed and rested his head back. His muscles ached from last night's long drive and his eyes burned from lack of sleep. Closing them, he took a deep breath as the heat of the afternoon soaked into him.

As he relaxed, his pain eased and he recalled the sand castle h
e and Sean had built a year ago. It had been a doozy, complete with parapets and a moat. Sean had collected bits of wood along the water's edge to use as knights, planting them at intervals along the top of the castle. Sam had tossed pebbles at the castle in a barrage from the bad guys.

Sam smiled
at the memory. Sean could have played that game for hours, but a late afternoon thunderstorm had cut it short and destroyed the castle. Sean hadn't minded though, and had already started planning the next one.

An infectious giggle drew him from his memories, and he smiled as Molly and Kelsie kicked water at each other before Molly ran at Kelsie and swept her up, spinning her in a tight circle. Kelsie's little legs flew out as she shrieked in delight while Molly nuzzled her neck.
“I caught you, you little imp.” Molly faced Sam and held Kelsie at arm's length. “Look, Sam! I got the biggest fish in the lake!”

Sam grinned and played along.
“Naw, I don't think so. I think you need to throw that little shrimp back.” He planted his feet on either side of the chair, pushed to a standing position and headed for the water line. He winked at Molly as he raised his arms as if he wanted to take the little girl. “Yep, gotta toss that one far out into the lake. Don't want it coming back and stealing my bait again.”

Kelsie tried to wriggle out of Molly's grasp as she eyed him in mock terror, but her shouts for help dissolved into laughter. The sound washed over him, as soothing as the cool water that lapped at his ankles.

Molly set Kelsie down and the little girl took off with her mother in pursuit. Sam watched them for a moment and then turned to look out at the lake. The play of sunlight on the waves seemed to tease him…to beckon him. Sean had loved the lake. They had enjoyed so many good times on this beach that he couldn’t help feeling some of that remembered joy. His throat tightened when it hit him that he would never have another perfect summer day on the beach with his son. His jaw tensed and he blinked hard before he took three running steps and dove under the water in an attempt to wash away the agony. The clear cool water closed over his head, and he opened his eyes a tiny bit as he glided along a foot above the lake bed. Sunlight cut through the water, reflecting off the sand beneath him, and making a few stones sparkle like diamonds. His lungs felt about to burst but held out as long as he could. Down here, it was as though a part of his son was with him again. He surfaced with a shake of his head. After swiping water from his eyes, he found Molly watching him, her lips curved into a smile.

An hour later, Sam left the two so he could do some laps between his pier, and the one fifty yards away in front of the neighbor's home. Swimming had always relaxed him, the rhythm almost hypnotizing as he had to concentrate on the strokes an
d when to take a breath. The motion tugged at the tape holding his wound together, but the heat and the water had loosened the muscles. He hadn't realized how much he missed swimming. He missed the control. For the last two years, first with his undercover work, and then after the fire, he'd felt like his whole life had been out of his control, but today, he'd taken the first steps toward regaining it.

Sam swam at a steady pace and allowed his mind to work on the problem of Johnny and his
entanglement with the Ravens. When Sam had planned his own revenge on Howard, he hadn’t counted on anyone else being involved in his plan to exact justice from Howard, only now Johnny was smack dab in the middle of it. For the last year, Sam had been assigned minor cases—the same level he had been assigned when he had first become an ATF agent. He had been told it was for his own safety until they had Howard in custody, but Sam suspected they didn’t trust him anymore. Last month he had confronted his boss, and demanded to be reassigned—to be allowed to track down Howard, but his demand was denied. They said someone else was working on it. With that, Sam tendered his resignation. His boss hadn’t accepted it. At least, not yet. He insisted that Sam take a month and maybe he would feel differently. Sam had grudgingly complied, but he had no intention of changing his mind, just his plan. Since it seemed nobody was interested in bringing Howard to justice, Sam planned to exact his own vengeance. With no family left, he had no reason to be cautious and when he finally found Howard, he planned to be judge, jury and executioner all in one.

At the end of his second round trip between the dock on his property and the next one, about fifty yards away, Sam held onto the pilin
g and caught his breath. A speedboat zipped across the lake, and farther out, a small sailboat skimmed the surface. He should take his boat out of storage. Kelsie would probably love to go for a ride. He made a mental note to take a look at it. One of the neighbors had taken care of pulling it off the lake last fall and winterizing it. It wasn’t a fancy boat, but it had a big enough engine to tow a water skier.

He was in his home territory. It would be hard for the
Ravens to find them here. The house was set back from the road and didn't have a house number. Any mail went to a P.O box in town. The Northwoods were dotted with small towns like his, and there were dozens of small lakes surrounding the town.

Outsiders had a hard time finding their way through the winding forest roads. Some roads cut between lakes, then circled one lake before branching off to encompass another lake. It all looked the same. Sam counted on that to help keep them safe.