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“She’s here at Midnight Lake?”
Sam nodded. “She is.”
“I’ll talk with her. See if she’s interested in working through some of it with me.”
“Leave it for tomorrow. It’s getting late and Tansy likes to have everyone gather for a bit in the evening when possible. She’ll want you to meet the others so she’s probably making sure everyone’s there.”
Flynn nodded. He’d been waiting for over a decade to find Pavic, another night wasn’t going to make any difference.
A canoe appeared in the dusk and Flynn flinched. There was snow on the ground. This was not canoeing weather. Was it another intrusion onto the property? Although there were approximately a million more effective ways to approach. Especially with him and Sam clearly visible on the shore.
When Flynn jerked his chin toward the approaching canoe, Sam chuckled. “Speaking of Tess, here she comes now.”
“Does she know it’s almost December? And that she’s in Vermont, not Texas?”
Sam laughed. “She’s studying turtles.”
As if that made any sense. Flynn didn’t have a clue what turtles did in the winter, but he was pretty sure they weren’t freezing their asses off paddling around the lake. This was the woman who was supposed to help him take down a major crime family?
Sam waved and headed down the dock where Flynn assumed she would tie up her canoe. Curious, he followed Sam.
The light was dim but he could tell she was at least bundled up against the cold. Her long dark hair flowed out of the knitted cap, complete with a pompom. She wore a thick jacket and mittens.
She kept her head down while she maneuvered the canoe close to the dock and then smiled up at Sam.
Flynn’s heart stuttered in his chest.
That smile.
That face.
His knees wobbled and then she turned toward him.
The smile froze on her face and for a moment, he doubted either of them breathed.
Then fear filled her eyes. Terror. Absolute terror. It was so vivid, Flynn looked over his shoulder to ensure no one had snuck up behind them.
When he turned back, she was using her paddle to shove back off the dock. “Sorry. I forgot…”
And then she paddled quickly, almost swamping the canoe on the turn. Once she was steadied, she poured on the steam and hurried away across the lake, back the way she’d come.
Sam looked between Flynn and the retreating canoe. “What the hell just happened? Why is she afraid of you?”
Flynn couldn’t form words yet.
Sam pressed. “Do you know Tess?”
How the hell did he answer that? “She’s not Tess.”
“What?”
Flynn rubbed his hands over his face and pulled up the image of the face he’d just seen. It was her.
“Flynn, what the hell is going on?”
Flynn didn’t have a clue, but he’d just seen Catalina Blanco. Alive. “She’s supposed to be dead.”
Chapter2
