Seeking Vengeance (8 page)

“
Two of them that I saw.” Johnny hiked Kelsie higher and rubbed her back when the little girl woke up and protested the movement. “Shhhh, hon. It's okay.” She relaxed and Johnny kissed the top of her head.

Sam grudgingly admitted that
Johnny's affection for his niece seemed genuine. For her sake, and Molly’s, Sam would do his best to keep Johnny in one piece, and keep him out of prison at the same time. It wasn’t going to be an easy task. The kid might be safer in a cell than on the streets.

Sam spotted a pen on the counter.
“Molly, do you have some paper? I'll write out directions to where we can meet up.”

She opened her
purse and took a small note pad out. “Here you go.”

“
Thanks.” Sam jotted down the information. “I'll try and get there first, but if I'm not there, go ahead and go into the cabin. There's a key under the third flowerpot in the window box.”

Sam took out his wallet. He didn't want to do this in front of
Johnny but there was no way around it. He counted out five hundred dollars, keeping a few hundred for himself. Long ago, he'd learned to carry cash for emergencies. It was untraceable and with enough of it, people could vanish without a paper trail. “Molly, take this, in case we get separated. Follow the directions carefully as the road has a lot of twists and turns. When you reach the lake, take a left. The road parallels the lake, but at one point, it angles back towards the woods. When it does, look for a brown A-frame. It's hard to see at night, but there's a red mailbox on a post by the road.” Sam drew a sketch of the house and an approximation of the twists and turns to get to it.

“
The cabin might not look like much, but it's solid, and it's hard to find if you don't know the area.” Sam was about to hand her the note, but then pulled it back. “Damn. I forgot all the utilities will be shut off. It’s just a matter of flipping some switches in the fuse box and turning the water valve. Normally it’s easy to do because I usually arrive in the middle of the day. At night, it’s trickier because the box is on the wall in the laundry room, which will be pitch-black when you arrive.”

“I have a flashlight in the car.”

“Perfect.” He handed her the directions. “Just flip the main circuit breaker—it’s labeled.”

Molly nodded, but raised her gaze from the paper to latch onto Sam's face, her brow furrowed in concern.
“You make it sound like you won't be there?”

Sam didn't want to frighten her, but if the
Ravens thought they were making a break for it, he'd have to make sure the bikers didn't follow them and he damn well wasn't going to let them follow a mother and child, no matter what happened to him. “Listen, Molly. Those guys out there, they aren't playing games. However, I know their tactics. I was one of them for a year.”

“
What? When?” Johnny stepped up to the counter.

Sam barely spared him a glance as he tapped the paper with the address.
“The cabin belonged to my grandfather on my mother's side. When my mother…was killed…I inherited it, but I haven't yet had to pay real estate taxes, so it won't show up anywhere under my name. I keep it stocked with non-perishables as a safeguard. Everything you need for up to a month is right there.”

Molly’s eyes widened in alarm.
“Sam, I have a job. Kelsie has school. We have a life right here. What am I supposed to do? Just leave it all?”

“
I know how hard this is. Believe me, and I'm only looking at the worst case scenario. In all likelihood, this won't take more than a few days.”

Molly looked from
Johnny to Sam, her eyes flashing. “This is crazy.”

Sam hated that they'd been dragged into this mess. The last thing he ever wanted to do was put more innocents in harm's way
and even though Johnny was at fault this time, he couldn’t help thinking that if he had brought down the Ravens a year ago, none of this would be happening. He stepped close and drew her against him. “I know it’s crazy. I'm sorry.”

Molly returned the hug, but only for a moment before she stepped out of his embrace.
“Okay. Fine. Let's get this over with—the sooner the better. I guess Kelsie can miss the last few days of school.”

Johnny
pushed in front of Sam, his mouth twisted into a sneer. “You and Molly got a thing going on? Is that why there’s the rush to get her to your conveniently stocked house in the woods?”

The guy had balls, Sam had to give him credit for that. Too bad God
hadn't given him more than two brain cells to go along with them. He moved alongside Johnny, the side opposite from Kelsie, and kept his voice low as he said in Johnny's ear, “Listen, you little turd, it's none of your damn business what goes on between me and your sister. Now, get the hell out there and drive them to safety.”

Johnny
's bravado wilted at Sam's tone. “Whatever. I'm taking Kelsie out to the car.”

Molly and Sam exchanged cell
phone numbers and despite the dire circumstances, he felt a rush of pleasure knowing he could contact her. “Sorry about that scene with your brother.”

Molly sighed.
“I can't figure out what he's so touchy about. He should be happy—after all, he's constantly trying to set me up with his biker friends.”

Sam didn't like the sound of that, but didn't have time to pursue the topic.

Five minutes later, he tucked the blanket around Kelsie as Molly and Johnny got in the front seat of Molly's SUV. He gently shut the door and moved to Molly's window. “Give me a few minutes to walk the bike up towards the road. I want to take a look around and with a little luck, nobody is waiting. If everything looks clear, I'll call you and let it ring once then hang up. No need to answer. I'll take a right out of here and do the same at the next intersection. If I feel the way isn’t clear, I'll let it ring twice. That will mean stay put until I do the one ring call again. I'll try and draw them away. If I can’t, I’ll come back and we’ll think up something else.”

Molly nodded
and gave him a half-wave as she rolled up the window. Sam limped to Johnny's bike. It was a sportster and he didn't think he'd have any problem wheeling it to the end of the drive. Its speed might come in handy too. His own bike was heavier, but would be more comfortable on a long ride. No matter, this would do. The rustle of gravel under the tires made him cringe and wish the driveway was paved. As he came to the end, he paused every few feet to listen. All he heard was the chirping of crickets, the far off sound of a dog barking and the zing and crackle of bugs flying into the bug zapper in the front yard. All clear. He let out a deep breath and tried not to get his hopes up. Sitting right at the end of the driveway probably wasn't something even boneheaded Johnny would do. He straddled the motorcycle, and pulled out the cell, hitting the quick dial for Molly's phone. He clicked end after one ring and started the motorcycle and hung a right onto the road.

The country highway was empty and dark at this time of night, only the moon's glow competing wit
h his headlight. He rode slowly, partially to make sure nobody was following and also to get used to Johnny's bike. Stretching for the handlebars tugged at the wound on his back, but it was bearable. Rolling his shoulders, he grunted as the muscles loosened and the pain decreased. At the first intersection, he stopped and examined the crossroad for any sign of a trap. Nothing. He sent the signal to Molly's phone.

It would take them a few minutes to catch up to him, so he drove a few hundred feet down each side of the crossroad. The cornfields hugged the road, and Sam hated how they seemed to close in over him. The fields would be the perfect hiding spot for a few bikes, but as far as he could tell, it was clear in both directions.

When he returned to the intersection, Johnny was just pulling up. Sam waved and took the lead. They drove for ten minutes without incident. The highway was just ahead and Sam turned onto the frontage road to get to an entrance ramp. He slowed as they approached. The ramp appeared empty but something about the shape of a bush just off the shoulder seemed off. At the last second, he swerved back onto the frontage road. He couldn't have pinpointed exactly what it was if someone had asked him, but he'd learned to trust his instincts, so he swerved and hoped Johnny would follow.

The kid must have been paying attention for once because h
e stayed to the frontage road. In Sam's mirror, he saw two lights head the wrong way down the ramp and turn onto the road going in the same direction as Sam was heading.

“
Shit!” Sam crossed the center-line and waved for Johnny to pass him. No way was he going to let those guys come up behind Molly and Kelsie. He swerved back into his lane, glad that Johnny had sped up, but worried about Johnny getting in an accident. It wouldn't do much good to stop the bad guys if they got killed in the process.

Sam slowed, allowing
Johnny to create a large gap between them. The guys tailing them would have to make a decision to either follow him, or the car. For all Sam knew, they weren't even interested in the car. If they didn't know what kind Molly had, they might disregard it.

Just as
he'd hoped, Johnny took the next exit. Sam stayed on the frontage road and watched the riders behind him hesitate at the entrance ramp but then pass it by. They gunned their bikes and he did the same. Sam couldn't help the thrill that shot through him. The speed and the danger was intoxicating. It was his vice. His weakness. If he was a normal guy, he'd be content with a desk job.

The motorcycles giving chase were choppers, and while cool, they were no match for the crotch rocket Sam rode. He didn't wan
t to get too far ahead though. Not until Johnny had a chance to put some highway between them.

Ten minutes later, Sam allowed the choppers to get close, then he headed towards a boarded up gas station and pulled in. Running was fine when there was no choice, but now that Molly and Kelsie were safely away, he had to take a stand.

He made a U-turn around the capped gas pumps and faced the two choppers as they pulled into the station.  Gun ready in his hand, but pointing down, he waited to see what they would do. He had no doubt he could pluck them off their bikes with a shot to the chest if need be. If they got him in return, then so be it. These guys may not be the ones who ordered the hit on his mother and son, but they worked for him.

The bikers seemed confused at Sam's sudden switch from running to standing, and they stopped about ten feet from him.  He hoped he'd recognize them from his time in the gang, but they were strangers to him. One wore a dew
rag and sported an impressive gut. The other had a scraggly ponytail and even in the dim light from a half-moon, showed evidence of an ongoing battle with bad skin. Buddha and Pimple.

Buddha pulled closer, squinting at Sam before shaking his head.
“Look, dude, we thought you were somebody else.”

“
Flea?”

Buddha's eyes opened wide.
“Yeah.”

Sam nodded.
“Well, your surveillance or whatever the hell you’ve been ordered to do, ends now.”

Pimple laughed.
“We don't take no orders from you, asshole.”

Sam forced a laugh.
“Yeah? Well, I don't blame you. That scumbag you take orders from wouldn't hesitate to murder your firstborn if you disobey.”

Pimple appeared to think about that, as though puzzled.
“I ain't got no kids.”

Sam rolled his eyes.
“Okay, so that leaves your mother, siblings, hell, even your dog, but I don't give a shit about that.” And idea hit him and he went with it. “I'm giving you a message to take back to Howard.”

Buddha
’s uni-brow raised in surprise at Sam’s use of the enforcer’s real name. It wasn’t something commonly known, but this guy obviously was part of the inner circle. Good. That meant Howard would get the message for sure.

T
he surprise changed to belligerence and Buddha opened his mouth, but Sam cut off whatever he was going to say. “You tell him that Flea's debt is paid in full. If he doesn't accept that, tell him that Sam Brennan came to collect a debt, but I'll take the forgiveness of Flea's debt and call it even.” It killed him to let Sean's killer off so easily, but if it saved Molly and Kelsie, it'd be worth it. “If he declines the offer, tell him I'll find him and collect what he owes me. The only currency I'll recognize will be his blood.”

Before either could respond, Sam aimed his gun at Buddha's back tire and pulled the trigger. Both
Ravens ducked as Sam fired another shot at the ground. As much as he wanted to kill them, they had an important message to deliver. Satisfied by the mass of rubber that had been Buddha's tire, Sam gunned the throttle and roared away.

* * *

Molly nudged Johnny, while keeping one hand tight on the wheel. “Hey, wake up!”

Johnny
groaned and turned away. “I'm tired.”

He
was tired? Molly rolled her eyes. She'd been driving the last three hours while her brother had snoozed. She shoved her brother's shoulder. “You need to watch for the cabin.” Luckily, Kelsie had slept most of the drive, but she'd be waking up in the next few hours, and Molly wanted to find the cabin and get at least a little sleep before Kelsie woke up for the day.