Riptide

play at the gym? Fine by
    me."
    Becca stood by the front window as Savich stained the front
    door, her Coonan held loosely in her right hand, looking all
    around, just like a pro. After a bit, Adam couldn't stand it and took
    the brush from Savich.
    Savich grinned at him. Sherlock said, "I love to see a real macho
    guy in action."
    Adam brushed on the stain, slowly, carefully, gritting his teeth
    because his arm hurt. But he wasn't about to whine. He whistled
    low, between his teeth, hoping Savich heard it.
    Tyler showed up with Sam an hour later. "Hey, what's that smell?
    Who are these people?"
    Becca went blank for a moment, then said, "I didn't like the stain
    on the front door. It was looking tatty and old. I just finished re-staining
    it." She waited to see if Tyler would say anything about
    hearing bullets, but he didn't.
    Sam stared up at her, sniffing, but as usual he didn't say anything.
    "Smells weird, huh, Sam? Hey, here are some friends.of Adam's.
    This is Sherlock and her husband, Savich."
    Sherlock went down on her knees in front of the little boy. She

made no move at all toward him, just said after he'd studied her for
    a bit, "Hi, do you like my name?"
    Sam didn't step back, but he did lean his head back a bit. He
    gave Sherlock a bit of a smile and eyed her hair. He reached out
    two fingers and patted the top of her head.
    Savich came down beside her. "We've got a little kid, Sam, a lot
    younger than you are. His name is Sean and he's only six months
    old. He can't pat the top of his mania's head yet. He doesn't even
    talk yet. But he is growing teeth."
    "Teeth are good," Sherlock said, "but all that drool is a pain."
    That drew Adam up really fast. These two had a kid? Well, why
    was he so surprised? Most men his age were married and had children.
    He'd been married once, and he'd wanted a kid, lots of them
    as a matter of fact, but Vivie hadn't been ready yet. A long time ago
    now, five years, nearly long enough to forget her damned name, if
    it hadn't sounded like a song out of Cabaret.
    Becca said easily, "Sam doesn't talk much, Sherlock. I think it's
    because he's always thinking so hard."
    "I like a kid who thinks a lot," Savich said. "Do you want to
    come to the kitchen with me and we'll find you a goody to eat?"
    Sam didn't hesitate, just lifted his arms. Savich scooped him up
    and carried him away on his shoulders. "I don't think I'll even have
    to burp you, Sam. I'm really good at that. Sean likes to burp a lot."
    Sam grabbed Savich's hair, and Becca saw the smile on his face.
    Then he turned his head and looked at Adam, at his bandaged arm.
    He shook his head, frowning, looking confused, then afraid.
    Adam said, "It's okay, Sam. I didn't hurt my arm bad, just a little
    bit. Becca fixed me right up."
    "Yep, and I did a good job, Sam, don't worry." Then Sam and
    Savich were gone, and Tyler said, "What the hell happened here?
    No, Becca, don't try to lie to me."

She thought of Tyler and Sam and the two of them accidentally
    being in the line of that madman's fire, and said, "The stalker found
    me. He fired at me and Adam. I shot him, but he got away. We're
    okay, but I'm worried about you and Sam coming here. It's not a
    good idea, Tyler."
    He shook his head at her and said, "He shot the door?"
    "He fired through it a couple of times, really messed it up. I
    don't want the sheriff to see it. He'd ask too many questions."
    "Don't worry, Mr. McBride," Sherlock said. "Things will be under
    control, but you know Becca's right. It's best if you keep Sam
    away from here until we bring this guy down. It could be dangerous
    until we catch him."
    Tyler looked both angry and determined. "Yeah, I'll go but I
    want Becca to come with me and Sam, either to my house or away,
    maybe to California. I want her kept safe."
    "No, Tyler," Becca said, lightly touching her fingertips to his
    arm. "We've got to clean it up. There are lots of people here now
    to help me."
    Tyler turned to Adam. "Who the hell are you, really? And you?"
    he added to Sherlock.
    "Savich and I are FBI, Mr. McBride. Adam here is on special assignment
    to protect Becca." That sounded like he was with the Bureau
    as well, Adam thought, which was probably for the best. An
    independent security consultant didn't sound like he'd know what
    to do with a madman. FBI did.
    "You never told me," Tyler said to Becca, his voice low. "You
    didn't trust me. You let me think he was your cousin. Why the hell
    did you do that?"
    Becca couldn't think of