Black Smoke (34 page)

“Sure did. I’m glad you’re going home,” he lowered his eyes as he spoke.

Sam wondered if Mark had a setback, but bit her tongue to stop from asking. “So, what’s next for you guys? Back to the salt mines so to speak?”

The two men looked at each other and smiled. “Somethin’ like that,” Ricochet answered.

“Don’t be strangers okay. Give me a call, or stop in and see me if you’re in the area.” Tears began to well in her eyes at the thought of not seeing them everyday. Her chest felt heavy from the loss of two friends.

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Boomer said smiling.

“What’s not a problem?” Walt’s voice came from behind Boomer.

“I just told them not to be strangers Uncle Walt,” she said turning her back to them so they wouldn’t see her tears.

“Oh.” He smiled at the two men, then walked over and kissed Sam on the top of the head.

“Ready to go?”

“More than ready,” she said rubbing her eyes. Then she turned, walked over to Ricochet and hugged him tightly. “I’ll miss you guys.” Boomer held his arms open to her as she walked over to him. She couldn’t stop the tears this time, they rolled down her cheeks as she hugged him.

“Don’t worry Sam, we’ll see each other again,” he said lifting her off her feet.

“God, I need a hot bubble bath,” she said wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Oh, that reminds me.” Boomer reached out into the hallway and picked up a wrapped box.

“This is for you,” he said handing it to her.

“You shouldn’t have guys, but thanks anyway,” she said as she started to unwrap it.

“We didn’t.” Ricochet was still sitting with a huge grin on his face.

“Oh. Well, who did?” When Boomer looked away, she had her answer. She tossed the box into her pack. “Ready Uncle Walt?”

Goodbyes were said once more then she walked out of the hospital and never looked back. The feeling that she left something behind nagged at her the entire thirty-minute flight home. Finally she just told herself to get over it, whatever it was she could replace it. The sight of her house as Walt pulled into the driveway relaxed her. Home. There was truly no place like home.

“Oh my God, I forgot all about my Mustang,” she said with a horrified look on her face.

“Don’t worry Sam I’ve taken care of it. You’ll have it tomorrow.” Walt left the car and pulled her pack from the backseat. He followed her to the door and unlocked it.

“Aren’t you coming in?” she asked when he stood at the door.

“No. You need some time to yourself. Call me if you need anything,” he yelled back at her as he walked away.

“Okay,” she muttered to herself watching him drive away.

When she tossed her pack on the couch, the box Boomer had given her fell out. She eyed it for a few seconds, then snatched it up and opened it. Inside was a bottle of freesia bubble bath. Sam opened the top and drew the fragrance deep into her lungs. She never got tired of the fragrance. Then she spotted the note in the box and picked it up carefully, like it was snake ready to strike. Figuring it was better to get it over with, she opened it and read.

Dear Sam,

I hope you enjoy your bubble bath. I figure it’s the first thing you’ll do when you get home. I hope you like the kind I picked out. It’s the same thing I smelled in the desert that day. Remember? I’ve never been able to shake it. Anyway, Boomer has kept me up to date on your progress and I’m glad you’re doing so well. My greatest fear was that the world would lose such a caring person. Not to mention, I would lose you. I guess I already have, but it would have been worse if you, well, you know. I hope someday you’ll give me the chance to explain things to you. Take care of yourself and make sure you soak for a long time in the bubbles. I’ll be thinking of you sunk in the water up to your lovely neck.

Mark

Sam crumpled the note in her hand. She wouldn’t cry she told herself. She had promised she had cried for the last time over him. Tossing the note aside, she walked to the bathroom and began drawing water. The scent filled the bathroom as bubbles grew inside the tub. She wiped her mind clear of thoughts and sank to her neck in the water. Home.

When morning broke, the sun was shining so brightly Sam had to walk outside and stand in it. The warmth on her skin made her smile. It felt like a new beginning, a fresh start. When she heard the neighborhood kids walking to the bus stop, she turned and watched them. Funny, she thought. Most of them were carrying umbrellas and on such a beautiful day. Sam shrugged her shoulders and walked back into the house.

The light on her answering machine was blinking, so with hesitation, she punched the play button.

“Hi Sam, I guess you’re not home. I just wanted to call and tell you that your agent friend, you know the one? Well, he’s been put on desk duty. They say they can’t take his badge away from him, because technically, he was doing his job, but the fact that he tried to blow you guys up and cover his tracks was enough to make them doubt his mental state. So he’s a desk jockey for a while. I just thought you’d like to know.”

Sam seethed at the thought of that little man and what he’d done to her. Well, she’d just have to train harder and come up with new ways to defend herself if she ever came up against those circumstances again. Never ever did she want to feel that helpless and pitiful again. Renewed with a new sense of purpose, she went to the bedroom and pulled a tank top and an old pair of her black pants from her drawer and slid them on. The pants were snug, giving her yet another reason to train harder. Two weeks on her back had made her gain a few pounds.

Realizing she had no car to drive, she called a cab and grabbed some toast as she waited.

Her eye kept wandering over to the crumpled note she’d tossed on the couch last night. Anger flared in the pit of her stomach. She promised herself she wouldn’t do this, it was over. He didn’t care for her the way she cared for him. Holding on would only bring her misery. The honk of a car horn outside forced her to push it all aside. Today she would start strengthening her muscles again and move forward.

Kong was walking out of Cannon’s office when he saw the cab pull up and Sam get out. His breath seized in his lungs as he watched her walk to the training field. He knew she wouldn’t stay down long, it wasn’t her nature. Slipping out of sight, he watched where she went. He had vowed he’d give her some time, but now that he saw her, he couldn’t wait any longer. So he used his training and made himself invisible among the buildings and followed her.

Pain surged up Sam’s knee as she stretched it out. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she had to keep it working. Letting it atrophy would end her career. Clenching her jaw through the pain, she started jogging into the small patch of woods. The sun had disappeared behind heavy dark clouds, but the air was thick with humidity. She loved August.

A snapping twig behind her caused her to stop and listen. Was someone following her? There wasn’t supposed to be anyone on the field today. A rustle in the decaying leaves that were scattered on the ground made her pulses quicken. Foolishness, she told herself. Probably some small animal scurrying about. She began to jog again, this time she could hear footfalls slightly off rhythm from hers.

This wasn’t an animal, it was human and following her. Someone wanted a game, so she decided to give him one. Darting off to her left, she slid into a crawl space formed by large rocks.

Listening, she could tell the person was only a few feet away from where she hid. She picked up a pebble and tossed it out in front of her. As she suspected, the person stepped further toward her.

Like a large cat, she sprang from her hiding spot and kicked out with her good leg. Contact was made and a loud thud shook the small saplings that surrounded her.

Sam looked down at the intruder and gasped. Kong was rolling from side to side clutching his stomach. Regret replaced the satisfaction she was feeling. “Oh God, are you all right?” she asked holding her hand over her mouth.

“Nothing a few stitches won’t fix,” he gasped with a smile.

His perfect smile and his sexy eyes only made her furious. “Serves you right. You shouldn’t be sneaking around like the rat you are.” Turning, she started to jog away. How dare he show his face here, intrude on her private time.

Kong pulled himself to his feet and gave chase. When he was within arm’s length, he reached out and touched her shoulder. He knew she would react and planned his next move carefully.

Sam grabbed for his hand, only to have his other one grab hers. Using his weight, he pushed her against a nearby tree.

“I just want to talk,” he said looking down into eyes that were filled with rage. “I need to talk to you. Please.”

His voice was soft, gentle and pleading. She shouldn’t listen to him. It would only give her more heartache. But God, he felt so right pressed up against her. “There’s nothing to say. We had our time together. It’s over.”

“Not by a long shot Sam.” Rain began to fall. Small drops that only annoyed rather then soaked. “You need to know something about me and you’re going to hear me out.”

Sam decided this had gone on long enough. Using her good leg, she gave him a shot to his shin. When he loosened his hold, she wiggled out from between him and the tree. Kong reached out and grabbed for her. His fingers slid into the waist of her pants, he pulled hard, jerking her down to the ground.

She wasn’t going to make this easy, so he fell to his knees and wrapped his large arms around her body, pinning her arms to her torso. “I didn’t grow up like you did, having parents that loved me. Mine constantly told me I was mistake. My father loved telling me how they tried to kill me when my mother was pregnant. That the only reason they kept me was that it meant more money from the state every month.”

Sam stiffened as he talked. She didn’t want to know this, didn’t want to hear his life story. It would cause her heart to break again.

“When they died I never grieved. I just felt relief. No more beatings, no more watching them snort drugs up their noses and no more women walking around the trailer high, drunk and naked.

“I was sent to one foster home after another, not once feeling anything for the people that took care of me—probably because most of them felt nothing for me. It was just extra money they received each month for taking care of some poor orphan.”

“See Sam, I never knew what love was. I’d never felt it in my entire life. You were loved, you know how to love. I don’t.” He nestled his face in her hair, breathing in her scent, feeling her soft hair brush against his skin. He felt her body start to relax and sink into his.

“When you came along, well, let’s say I wasn’t sure about you at first. How someone could be so caring and so tough at the same time blew me away. Then, the more I got to know you, the more I liked you. I started feeling things that I had never felt before in my life and it scared me.”

The rain began to fall more heavily, soaking their hair and their clothes. But Sam felt warm and protected wrapped in his arms. His story saddened her, yet sent chills up her spine. She listened, waiting to hear the rest. He was holding her heart in his hands. The rest of what he told her could fill it, or crush it.

“I ran Sam. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I ran scared. Every morning I thought of you, every night my arms ached to hold you. My dreams were filled with the sound of your voice and pictures of your face. I didn’t understand it, because it had never happened before.” He started gently rocking them back and forth. His need for her to understand was overwhelming—he couldn’t lose her again.

“When Cannon called and said you were missing, the Earth dropped out from under me. I got physically sick. I can’t even begin to tell you the feelings that swamped me. Boomer laid into me. He sees himself as your big brother.”

Sam smiled, she felt the same way about him and Ricochet. The family she never got the chance to have. Them feeling the same way about her filled empty spaces in her soul.

“God Sam, Boomer had to tell me it was love. I just had no idea. Can you understand that? As pathetic as it sounds, I didn’t know what love was.” His voice broke with his last words.

Sam leaned deeper into his body when his arms relaxed their hold on her. She wasn’t going anywhere now. “I had no idea,” she said softly. “Mark, if you had just told me.”

“Your uncle didn’t want me coming along to find you. He only wanted Boomer and Ricochet. I understood that, knew he hated me, but I couldn’t stay behind. I threw my chance away once, I wasn’t throwing it away again.” His arms tightened around her again. “When I saw you chained to that damn cot, beaten and bruised, I nearly died right there.”

Sam turned in his arms, placed herself between his legs and held his face. “You almost did Mark. You almost died on me. Do you have any idea how scared I was?” The water running through his short dark hair and over his eyes made her want him in a way she never wanted anything before.

“I didn’t care if I lived. I just had to make sure you were safe. That’s all that was important.”

A smile lit in his eyes. “Besides, we were only two rooms away from each other for the last two weeks and you never came to check on me.”

She dropped her hand away from his face and turned her head in shame. All the hateful feelings she felt toward him were for nothing. He’d loved her the whole time, but didn’t know it. Would he ever be able to forgive her?