Authors: Dianne Venetta
Desire pulled at her. Beneath that cool exterior of his Sam sensed some hot emotion churned. Though she didn’t really know him, she felt there was more to this man than the eye could see. A whole lot more.
And she found it very alluring. “Let me get it,” she offered, though it was the last thing she wanted to do. First and foremost was a desire to linger in the intimacy of Vic’s presence. But when he turned to her, Sam was presented with a distinct wall of indifference. This man was here on business, nothing more and nothing less.
“It’s in the kitchen.” She went indoors and retrieved the files from the black granite counter. Vic followed her inside and she led him to the sofa. Depositing herself on one end, she eyed the cushion next to her. “Have a seat.”
As he did so, she judged his comfort level. Tense. More than the close personal quarters, something was bothering him, keeping him at arm’s length.
Had to be the beach incident.
Sam flipped open the folder and fingered through a few loose pages. She settled on two and handed them to Vic. “Here’s my summary on the case. Let me know what you think.”
He scanned the pages in short order then turned to face her. “They look fine.”
“Any suggestions?”
He peered at her with the slightest hint of question. “Let me take a better look at them and I’ll get back to you.”
“Of course.” She didn’t really expect him to make any snap judgments. Taking the papers from Vic, she slid them neatly back into place and closed the manila folder. Folding her hands atop the file, she wondered how to begin.
Should she ease into it? Should she come right out with it?
He put hands to his knees. Though he remained still, Vic seemed impatient to leave.
Nothing left to discuss about the case, she decided to dive right in. “I spoke to Diego.”
Understanding lit up Vic’s eyes, but he drew the shades quickly, making sure his guard was securely in place.
“He told me what happened yesterday...at the beach. Selena’s lucky you were there to help her.”
The muscles in his jaw jumped. “I didn’t do anything.”
Surprised by his rebuke, she said, “Diego said you went out after her. I’d say that’s something.”
“The lifeguards pulled her from the water, not me.”
Sam waved it away like an irrelevant bug of a detail. “Diego told me the lifeguard noticed you before he ever realized Selena was in trouble.
You
were the reason they went in, not her.”
“How does he figure that?”
“I guess one of his teammates is good friends with the lifeguard staff. After it happened, he got the inside scoop.” She rolled back through his version of events. “They told him one of the guards was uneasy about you and went in. When you went further out, he called for backup and that’s when they saw her.”
Vic grunted. “Whatever. They would have seen her sooner or later.”
Sam sat back, puzzled by the deferral. Was this male bravado talking? Or was he
that
humble? Personally, she thought it damn courageous of him to go in after the girl in the first place. Unfamiliar with the ocean currents, what to do if he got into trouble... Hell—he could have gone under himself!
Was he stupid? Ignorant? She narrowed in on him. “What gives, Vic?”
“What do you mean, what
gives
?”
She noted the flash in temper, as well as his quick check on the same. “Why are you so hesitant to take credit? It’s not every man that would have gone in after someone in trouble. Most people would have summoned a lifeguard rather than chance it themselves.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not most people.”
Respect for his sense of duty warred with a resentment of his callousness. His put-off was unwarranted. Sam sank back into the cushion. She folded her arms over her midsection and snipped, “No, I guess not.”
Vic expunged a heavy sigh. “I didn’t mean it that way.” Clearly uncomfortable, he looked around.
As though searching for an escape.
Had she miscalculated
?
Vic turned suddenly and trained his attention on her. And while his eyes softened, he maintained a hard line. “Look, I wasn’t trying to be some kind of hero, okay?”
“Never said you were.”
The mood cooled. The space between them grew.
It was a distance that bothered him.
Damn
. Vic raked a hand over his head and down the back to his neck. This was the last conversation he wanted to talk about, but Sam seemed bent on discussing the issue. He rubbed the tight muscles and forced himself to relax. She wanted to talk, he would talk.
Because disappointing Sam Rawlings was not on his agenda. Not professionally and not personally.
“Listen...” He slid the hand from his neck and dropped it to his thigh with a heavy thud. “I’m sorry if I sound like a jerk, but the scene brought up some bad memories for me.”
Expectation filled her eyes and Vic knew he had to commit. He had to confess. Reservation cut deep as he murmured, “I witnessed a girl drown, a long time ago.”
Sam shot forward. “Oh Vic,
I’m sorry
. I didn’t know.”
He shook his head. “No way you could. It was years ago, but something like that...” The blade of the past poked into his heart. “It sticks with you.”
“I imagine...” Concern mellowed the brown of her eyes. “Did it happen at a beach, like with Selena?”
“No.” He breathed in, then out, and the knife plunged deeper. “A pool.”
Vic placed forearms to his thighs and leaned into them. He threaded his fingers together and pressed his thumbs hard against one another giving himself a focal point for the pain. “She got into trouble underwater, and panicked. From there, everything happened so fast, by the time anyone could react, it was too late.” The memory ground in his failure, like sand rubbing into a fresh wound. “She was only under for a few minutes...but her surprise, her struggle...” Grief coursed through him and he squeezed his hands together, an effort to keep from losing it. “There was no hope of recovery. The paramedics arrived and pronounced her dead at the scene.”
His heart split as he gazed into Sam’s trusting eyes. He hated what he was doing. But he had no choice. He couldn’t tell Sam the truth about his sister. If he did, she wouldn’t let him anywhere near the Perry case. “You can see how when Selena went under, it sort of sent me back through time.”
“A time you’d rather forget.”
“Exactly,” he said, relieved the explanation would suffice.
“Did you know the girl?”
“Yes.” The knife angled and plunged.
“Were you close?”
Jagged and rough, it slashed and tore. “No.”
Anna and I never had the chance
.
Sam didn’t say a word but the urge to touch him was strong. She wanted to stroke his back, to console him, to let him know she understood the trauma he must have endured when Selena went under. How awful an experience to suffer through once, let alone twice!
But she didn’t reach out. Couldn’t. A move so intimate would cross a boundary they had yet to erase, a line they had yet to cross. Besides, Vic sat rock rigid. His hands were locked in a white-knuckle grip and she feared the slightest touch could shatter him.
Securing hands in her lap, before any involuntary gesture could be made, she softened her voice and said, “You know, no matter how painful, no matter how horrible, a failed attempt in the past doesn’t negate what you did for Selena. You saved her life.”
No response.
“You saved a
life
, Vic. That counts for something.”
He grunted, as though her sympathy grated on him.
“At great personal risk, you went in and rescued her from near certain death. That’s a whole lot of something if you ask me.”
His eyes became an inferno of emotion. “It was a stupid thing to do. If I lived here year round and knew the risks, I probably would have thought twice and wouldn’t have done a damn thing.”
Sam hesitated. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t know me.”
Leaning forward, she mellowed her tone to a near whisper. “I think I do. I know a little.”
He bristled, but she forged ahead. Diego had confided in her. Told her where he wasn’t worried about his sister, Vic was. The minute Selena broke the first round of waves, Vic had been the one to express unease. “You have an intuitive sense of duty, Vic. It lives inside you despite your attempts to downplay its significance.”
He stilled.
“I bet, knowing the risks wouldn’t have changed a thing.” Sam spoke from instinct and if the fluidity of Vic’s reaction was any gauge, she was right on target. “I may not know the details of your past, but I guarantee you I could guess your response to any given situation.”
Because it mirrored that of her own.
“I told you before,” he said, springing the tiniest leak in his façade of bravado. “I had nothing to do with getting her to safety.”
Sam didn’t object to his version of events. It wouldn’t make a difference. Vic was determined to paint the picture his way and he’d be damned if he’d walk away the hero.
Why
? What was the deal? Did he have issues? Insecurities?
Sam quieted the restless line of questions funneling through her mind. “Regardless of
how
she came through, she did. Because of you.” She reached out and covered his hands with one of her own.
Vic’s eyes darted to their hands.
“You deserve her gratitude. You’ve given her a new lease on life. A brush with death says something to a person. While we never truly understand the reasons, it can often be a call to change priorities. See the light, so to speak. It can be a gift, in more ways than one.”
“Really?” Vic swung his face up to meet her, his gaze hard and penetrating. “What happens when they
don’t
make it?”
Sam pulled back. Anger she could understand, but this was palpable, seething.
This hit close to home.
“Does that mean they’re less deserving? They don’t get a second chance? Or did the powers that be slip up? Oops,” he mocked, “you didn’t need to change anything. You were young and innocent,
but we took your life anyway
. Is that the way it works?”
The angry, blistering challenge hung between them.
Though stunned, Sam refused to be intimidated. Anger didn’t scare her. It meant Vic was passionate, fully engaged in the subject at hand. “Sometimes Vic, the lesson isn’t about the individual in question.” She paused. “It’s about those around them.”
At the metal click of her front door, Sam’s heart stopped.
Chapter Five
Both Vic and Sam whirled around.
The front door opened. Vic leapt up and Sam gasped. “
You scared me
,” she exclaimed, hand flying to her chest.
Vic stopped dead in his tracks.
“Whoa,” Jessica paused at the door. Backpack slung over her shoulder, dressed in T-shirt and low-waisted jeans, the girl looked like any other college student on their way to class. But she wasn’t. She was here.
Unexpected.
“You guys into something?” Her gaze stumbled about the room. “Should I leave?”
“Not on my account,” Vic clipped back. “I’ve got to get going anyway.” Visibly working to regain his calm, he turned to Sam. “You want me to take those files?”
“Yes.” Sam slid them toward him, making awkward introductions. “Vic, this is my sister, Jess.”
He froze. “Your sister?”
“Hi.” Jess gave a small wave. She brushed long brown hair behind an ear, revealing wide leather cuffs at her wrist.
“You live here?”
“No. Tallahassee. I go to FSU.” She glanced at Sam and mumbled, “I’m just visiting.”
Sam rose and clarified, “She usually stays with me when she’s in Miami on break,” she said, more to Jess than Vic, implying she did not recall this being
break time
.
He nodded, but couldn’t take his eyes off Jess, as though captivated by some kind of ethereal creature. Sam thought, sure the kid was young and pretty with her long straight hair, more brown than her own. They shared the same prominent nose and same lips...though Jess’ expression differed.
It held more of their mother. More delicate, sensitive. More sweet.
Sam felt a sting of jealousy at the attention her sister drew from Vic. “Here’s the file.” She grabbed the thin manila folder from the table and handed it to him. “If you have any ideas for final arguments, give me a call. We begin closing first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.” He took the file from her, but his attention held onto Jess. Until he seemed to realize he was staring.
Vic abruptly switched focus to Sam. “Sorry about earlier.”
She dismissed his apology with a quick hand. “Nothing to be sorry for. If I overstepped—”
“You didn’t,” he cut her off. “I appreciate what you were trying to do.” He smiled, supple and quiet, a gesture meant only for her. “It helps to know someone cares.”
Her heart lurched.
“Yesterday was a tough day, but I’ll get over it.”
She nodded, unable to add anything intelligent, fully steeped in the warm connection he had opened between them.
“Nice to meet you, Jess,” he tossed on his way out. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”
Both women watched as he left in silence, closing the door behind him.
Jess’ eyes lit up. “Who was
that
?”
“Victor Marin,” she said, and couldn’t stem the smile spreading across her face. “He’s an associate from the office.”
“He’s hot.”
“He’s
nice looking
, yes.”
“But he looks young. What’s he, about twenty-five?”
“Twenty-eight and it’s none of your business.”
Jess assumed an air of reproach and commented, “You know they call that robbing the cradle.”
“Not at my age, it’s not.” Sam turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen.
Jessica ambled further inside. “Does he know how old you are?”
Pleasure streamed through her, a mixture of affection and lust. “Oh God,
I hope so
.” Experience was like the call of the wild to a younger man and with Vic it was a prospect she was looking forward to. Today she had a glimpse of the man within and it was a sight she wanted more of—much more.