Seeking Vengeance

by McDonald, M. P.

  Embarrassed, Molly glanced down, folding her arms and resting them on the table. “I didn’t mean it as a slight to Sam. He’s been wonderful to Kelsie. It’s just, I wouldn’t blame him for his feelings.”

  Victoria leaned forward. “Does this have something to do with Sean?”

  Molly swirled her iced tea, the clink of ice cubes on the glass loud in the room. She didn’t reply, just glanced up at Victoria and then gave a half-shrug.

  “I have a confession to make.”

  Molly’s head shot up. That was the last thing she expected the other woman to say. “Confession?”

  “When Sean died, I thought I could be the one to comfort Sam. I was never in love with my husband, and started divorce proceedings when I heard about Sean’s death.” Victoria shook her head, her mouth twisted into a rueful smile. “It seems so cold-hearted now, but I wasn’t thinking. I had this whole little fantasy about Sam needing me, but he wasn’t around. I came back home because I had nowhere else to go. Then I heard Sam was back in town.”

  “And you thought that was your chance?” Molly felt fear, as cold as the ice swirling in her glass, grip her heart.

  Victoria shrugged. “What do you think?” A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “But then I saw how he looked at you, and I literally wanted to claw your eyes out.”

  “Oh?” Molly sat up straight. When Victoria said confession, she really meant it.

  “Yeah, but then I met Kelsie and Sam clearly adores her, too. I wanted to hate both of you, but I couldn’t.” Victoria poured the rest of her beer in the glass and downed it. “Besides, your brother is cute and he looks at me the way I looked at Sam.”

  Molly didn’t know whether to be relieved that Victoria had given up her dreams of being with Sam, or worried that she was now interested in Johnny. While she hated to do it, feeling like she was betraying her brother, she had to be as honest as Victoria had been. “I love my brother, but he might not be the best guy to get mixed up with. He’s had some problems of his own.”

  Victoria threw back her head and laughed. “Don’t all men?”

  “I suppose, but seriously, right now, Johnny has some motorcycle gang after him. It’s why we came up here and how I met Sam. Johnny was already the target of a couple of attempts on his life, and in one of them, Sam saved Johnny, but was injured. Johnny and a couple of buddies brought Sam to me because Sam refused to go to the hospital.”

  “Oh, so that’s what happened to his back.”

  “Yes, and he had to stay at my place a few days while he healed up. Then Johnny showed up with the Ravens hot on his tail and, well, it’s a long story, but Sam brought us here thinking it would be safer.”

  “The Ravens?” Victoria had an odd expression on her face.

  “Yes…why?”

  “I saw some bikers wearing jackets that said that. They were in town earlier—probably going to that rally.”

  It felt as if every drop of blood drained out of Molly’s head. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure.”

  “Oh no. You think the guys went to the rally?”

  Victoria looked at Molly as if she was a simpleton. “Two guys—bikers no less — mysteriously lie about who they’re with on the very same day that there’s a big biker rally just a few miles away? I thought you were a smart lady.”

  Molly rubbed her temples. Sam wanted to kill Howard, and likely, the leader of the Ravens was here with his gang. “I have to stop Sam.”

  “Stop him? From doing what?”

  “The leader of the Ravens was the one who ordered the torching of Sam’s mother’s house. He’s the one responsible for Sean and Sam’s mom’s death.”

  “Oh crap.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Sam’s going to kill that guy.” Victoria shook her head. “What are you going to do?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, he’s your guy.”

  Molly bit her lip. “He can’t be my guy.”

  “Why not?”

  Victoria had already confessed her feelings for Sam and had admitted that it was one-sided. That took a lot of guts, but could Molly trust her with this secret? No, she couldn’t—not now and probably not ever, if she was honest. “He just can’t. There are things about me that he doesn’t know, and if he did, he would hate me.” That was the gist of it. Victoria didn’t need to know the details.

  “Well, whatever you’re hiding isn’t gonna matter when Sam’s arrested for murder.”

  Dipping her head, Molly massaged the back of her neck. “I know. I can’t let that happen, and then there’s Johnny. He might as well have a red bulls-eye painted on the back of his shirt.”

  “Maybe that’s what Sam is counting on.”

  Molly looked up. “What do you mean?”

  “Listen, I watch cop shows. Sam probably talked Johnny into being the little worm on the end of his hook.”

  “Sam wouldn’t do that.” But she remembered the hatred in his eyes when he spoke of Howard. He wasn’t rational where Howard was concerned.

  “Oh, I don’t think he’d let anything happen to Johnny.” She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “My brother knew I liked Sam and would always tease me with news of his accomplishments. For instance, I know he’s an expert marksmen. I don’t know if that’s what they call it, but he’s a crack shot.”

  “I still can’t let him kill Howard.”

  “The guy deserves it, but yeah, you’re right. Sam would probably be charged with something.”

  “What if Howard’s friends turn on Sam? It’s not like Howard is there alone. Meanwhile, all Sam has is…Johnny.”

  “Johnny!”

  They spoke in unison.

  “Okay. I have to go find Sam and stop him.” Molly jumped up, running to the door, but then jerked to a halt, slapping a hand to her forehead. “I can’t do it.”

  “Why not?” Victoria had trailed her into the living room.

  “One, because I can’t just leave Kelsie alone, and two, I don’t have a car. I let Johnny use mine.”

  Victoria fished in her purse and pulled out a set of keys. “Here. Take mine, and I can stay with Kelsie.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Victoria shook her head. “I’d go myself, but…” She shrugged, her eyes moist as she confessed, “I don’t think Sam would listen to me.”

  “Do you think he’ll listen to me?” She prayed Sam would, but he had been focused on revenge for a year. Molly knew whatever she and Sam had going, it could never compete with a father’s love for his son and his need for vengeance. She only hoped he’d listen to reason. It was a slim thread of hope, but it was all she had to cling to.

  Victoria bit her lip, and nodded, swiping a finger beneath an eye. “Yeah, I do.” She raised her chin. “Besides, it’s about time I paid attention to some of the other guys out there who’ve been chasing me since I got back into town, including your brother.”

  Molly smiled. “I’m sure any man would be thrilled to have your attention.”

  Digging in her purse again, Victoria found a pen and scrap of paper, and jotted down her cellphone number. “And here. Call me when you get there and let me know what’s happening. Do you know how to get to Kendall?”

  Molly shook her head. “No.”

  “It’s easy. Go into town and take the main highway straight west. It’s the next village over; about ten miles. I’m sure you’ll see lots of bikes on the way there.”

  * * *

  True to Victoria’s directions, the rally was easy to find. She just followed the stream of motorcycles and soon found herself in a small town not much different from Sam’s town. Everywhere she looked were bikers riding all manner and style of motorcycles. She wished she’d paid more attention to what Sam’s bike looked like, but she knew she’d never be able to pick it out among the hundreds. As she found a lot and paid to park, she realized it would be easier to find her own car here somewhere. It was pretty clever of Johnny to use her car instead of taking one of Sam’
s motorcycles. It kept the charade up that he was going out with Victoria.

  Her car wasn’t in this lot, and she crossed the street to another, but didn’t have luck. Not that she knew what to do if she found it, unless Johnny was there. The noise of the crowd and the roaring of bikes cruising past made it difficult to think. Hold on a second, she could call Sam and see if she could hear anything in the background. Pulling out her phone, she tried to call him but it went straight to voice mail. Next she tried her brother, but couldn’t reach him either. Exasperated, she shoved the phone in her pocket. Why did they bother carrying them if they weren’t going to use them?

  She wound through the crowd, wondering where she’d have the best chance of finding either Sam or her brother. Most of the activities seemed centered in a clearing just west of the quaint downtown area. White tents and vendors’ booths dotted the expanse of open area and she headed for it. Bikes themselves were restricted to entering the grounds, probably due to the crowd, but people seemed to be happy to park on the street and mingle in the large field.

  Molly made her way through the park searching for Johnny or Sam. While there was ample lighting, it was still shadowy and hard to make out anyone’s face until she was close. It spooked her and she wished Sam had answered his phone. She wanted to ask around and see if anyone remembered them, but there was too great a chance that one of the Ravens might be about and she didn’t want any of them to hear her. She moved through the crowd, and when she’d gone through the grounds once, she turned around and headed back, this time stopping at a few booths, once for an ice cream cone and then for a soft drink.

  Each time, she had an opportunity to stand still and observe people chatting, drinking and generally carousing. For the most part, the atmosphere was easygoing and friendly, but there were pockets of bikers who remained apart, mingling only with each other. They looked harder and more dangerous. She decided it wasn’t the number of tattoos on their skin, or even the amount of leather they wore, but instead, it was the lack of smile and warmth in their expressions. Howard had mastered that same look of cold amusement and she couldn’t believe she had ever spent time with the man.

  Molly tried to push the memories away, what little she had, that is. Ever since that rally seven years ago, any time she thought of it, she focused on Kelsie. She wouldn’t undo the events of the rally if it meant that Kelsie wouldn’t exist, but she wished with all her heart now, that some magic could change things and Sam could be Kelsie’s father. Her daughter deserved someone like him.

  She took a deep breath, struggling to squash the memories back into the mental box where she kept them under lock and key. Coming here had opened the box as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine being twenty-three again and excited to be around all the bikes and the tough guys. She’d attended that rally with a few friends, but at some point, their group had been separated. Later she found out they had gone for joyrides with a couple of bikers, but at the time, she’d wandered around looking for them, occasionally asking people if they’d seen the other girls. One inquiry had been to Howard’s group. Molly remembered being a little tipsy at the time, but the guys had offered her a few more drinks. She should have said no, but she was flattered by the attention. The guys had been surprisingly polite, and when Howard had put an arm around her shoulders, she’d been nervous, but covered her anxiety with a laugh. She only vaguely remembered Howard trying to convince her to leave with him.

  The next thing she recalled was hanging onto him as they raced along a two lane highway on his bike. He said something about taking her home, but the ride had taken a detour to some dingy motel that Molly could barely remember. She was foggy on the details and unable to recall if she had agreed to go with Howard, and that’s what drove her crazy. The memory was hazy and she didn’t know if she’d been given something in her drink or if she’d just drank more than she’d thought she had. Her next clear recollection was waking up at the hotel with Howard snoring beside her.

  When she’d found out she was pregnant she didn’t know what to do. Molly was young, but she wasn’t so naïve that she expected Howard to marry her. She hadn’t even planned on telling him, but he’d tracked her down months later, apparently having found out she was pregnant. Her cheeks burned at the remembered humiliation, just as they had that day. She took a sip of her soft drink. He’d looked at her big pregnant belly and then smirked at her. His only comment was he’d wanted to see if it was true. She never found out how he’d learned of the pregnancy. After that, she had never spoken to him again, but surprisingly, after Kelsie’s birth, he had sent a few gifts, including what became Kelsie’s favorite stuffed animal, Tiger. It was that act that had kept Molly from completely hating him.

  Molly tore herself away from the past. What if she had missed Sam or Johnny because she had been lost in thought? She didn’t think she had, but still, she had to pay attention. She turned, and stopped short. There he was. Not Johnny, or Sam, but like a ghost from the past and almost as if she had conjured him up with her thoughts, stood Ray Howard. The instant she saw him, he spotted her as well. At first, he squinted as if unsure, but then he smiled and ambled her way.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Sam kept in the shadows just outside of the beer tent. He sat on a barstool pulled up to a small high-topped round table. A dozen of them had been set up around the tent for those who wanted to drink outside. It was a make-shift beer garden, with strands of white lights strung between poles sunk into the earth. It formed an enclosed space, but still gave a view of the concourse. He had pulled his table a little deeper into the corner and had moved the other three stools that went with it to other tables. He didn’t want anyone to join him, and the stools had quickly been claimed at the other tables so there weren’t any extra anyway. The last thing he needed was some chatty motorcycle enthusiast striking up a conversation. If the Ravens were here, they would eventually make their way to the tent.

  Johnny was inside and had called Sam, saying he’d already put down four glasses of beer. Sam gave a little shake of his head as he put his phone away after telling Johnny there was no sign of them yet. If Johnny drank any more he’d be too wasted to follow the plan. At the first sign of any of Ravens, Sam was going to call Johnny and warn him. Sam had instructed him to catch their attention, but then leave the tent. Hopefully, they’d follow him. Sam and Johnny had parked as close to the tent as they could, but they were still about a block away. Sam counted on the Ravens not wanting to do anything in public, but they would follow Johnny in hopes of catching him alone and away from the rally. However, he was only to leave the tent if Howard was in the group. It would do Sam no good if only the low level guys showed up.

  Sam’s role would depend on how the Ravens reacted. His darkest wish was that Howard would threaten Johnny, but only so Sam would have the law on his side when he killed the man. If Howard didn’t make an attempt, then Johnny was supposed to act scared and beg that The Ravens spare him if he can give them an ATF agent. Sam would be that agent, of course. When Howard found out who Johnny was going to give them, chances were good he’d let Johnny go. Sam was worth more to them than the amount of drugs Johnny had lost, and besides, if he killed everyone who screwed up a drug run, nobody would risk it anymore. Failed smuggling attempts were a cost of doing business, and Howard should know that.

  The hardest part would be how Johnny could explain how he knew Sam, and then Sam realized the truth was probably the best bet. They’d leave Molly out of it, just saying that Sam had saved Johnny’s hide the last time. Johnny could just claim he was up visiting a girlfriend and had come to the rally and spotted Sam and talked to him for a few moments. Sam had rigged a campsite off an old fire road. It wasn’t a legal campsite, but he figured the few hours he needed it, it would be safe from discovery. Police and forest rangers were too tied up with the rally to worry about one lone campsite.

  When they showed up at an old forest road that led to a small pond where Sam had hi
s campsite, he would be waiting. Sam would try to get a confession out of Howard first. The day before he had bought a pre-paid phone and had arranged for Dave, his partner from the ATF, to answer it and record the call. Since Sean’s death, Sam had neglected his friendship with Dave. It had been too painful to hear Dave casually mention something one of his kids did in school, or something funny one of them did. Sam’s face burned at the memory of his breakdown the night of Sean’s funeral and how Cynthia, Dave’s wife, had witnessed it. Had she told Dave about it? She probably had, not that his friend had ever mentioned it. Dave had just said that whenever Sam needed something, to let him know. Well, now he needed something, and Dave had been happy to help. Sam set aside his embarrassment and concentrated on the plans for Howard.

  Sam had purchased a small camera usually called a nanny cam, the day before after taking a long drive to the closest electronics store. The camera was designed to be used to watch child-care givers, and Sam had it already rigged to the front of his tent. It was hidden inside a rolled sleeping bag that looked like it was just tossed on the ground. He’d wanted a live feed to Dave, but hadn’t had time to get that set up. The phone recording would be good enough should something happen to Sam. The guy was a tech guru and would have no problem making that happen. With luck, they’d get it all recorded and no matter what happened after that, the recording would be safe.

  Then Sam would attempt to arrest Howard while Dave stood by with Kendall's police on speed dial, ready to send back-up to Sam. The biggest worry for Sam was Johnny’s safety. It was going to be tricky. Sam was counting on Howard forgetting about Johnny when confronted by Sam, and in the confusion, Johnny could fade into the woods. Sam had instructed him to only go about twenty feet in, and then lie flat. The woods were thick and pitch-black. Chances were good they’d never find him. He could always call the police later if he became lost. While it was remote out here, there were plenty of lake homes scattered in the woods. He’d run across one eventually.