“Mechanical things defeat you, do they? No, don’t say it, only mechanical things that involve work could defeat a guy.”

Adam eyed Savich’s outstretched hand, grunted, and handed him the stain. His arm burned and ached and Savich knew it, the damned interloper. He said to him, “You know something? I’d really like to rearrange your pretty face when this is all over.”

Savich stared at him, then laughed. “If you think my face is pretty, then you’ve got a big problem, because that’s what I think about yours.”

“Bullshit.”

Savich shook his head. “You want to 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 mama’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.”