Chapter 18

Home was still the beach house for a couple more weeks. Sam had one last appointment with Dr. Kirby, who declared that there was no longer a need for Sam to take the drugs. It was time to let his body take over and either improve his eyes naturally or leave them the way they were. He'd already had a new prescription for his glasses. They didn't look like the bottoms of soda bottles, and they were light enough that he could change to a frameless kind. He hated wearing glasses, and anything to make them less conspicuous was okay in his book. Maybe in a year's time he could switch to contacts.

Michael noticed the new glasses when Sam pulled up in his car and parked across from Carlito's. Sam looked both ways, and when the traffic cleared he hurried across the street. Amazing, how something like that could ever be considered commonplace! "Hey Sam, like the new look!"

"Thanks, Mikey." He took his seat and glanced up as their server approached.

"Can I get you anything?"

Sam recognized her voice, and he looked up at her and grinned. "Melinda, right?"

"Yes." She looked down and noticed that there was something different about him. The dog was missing, for one thing, and his glasses were very different.

"Yeah, it's been awhile since I was here last. I got my sight back."

"So I see," she giggled self-consciously at the pun, then she quickly shifted gears and asked again if he would like to order.

"Sure. I'll have a mojito." Just saying the word made his smile widen.

"Sam, aren't you worried about the meds?"

"Nope, they took me off them last week, Mike. I thought I told you that."

Fiona shook her head in pity. "He's been too busy worrying about Heinrich again."

"That guy's like a bad rash, Mike. What's the scoop on him?"

Michael talked about his nemesis as the three sipped their drinks and hung out like old times. Sam hadn't realized just how much he missed this until he was back at it again. He listened as Michael relayed the intelligence he received from the CIA. It looked like they were sending him to Heinrich, rather than wait for Heinrich to come back to Miami.

"When do you leave, Mike?"

"In a couple of days." He set his beer down and eyed his friend. "Don't worry, Sam, I'll be back in time for the divorce and wedding."

"Are you sure, Michael?" Fi gave him a glare that said he better not be lying.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll hunt Heinrich down and be back in time for the whole thing. And if Pearce wants to debrief me, I'll tell her to stick it. I've got someplace more important to be." He grinned at Sam. "Can't have a wedding without the best man, right?"

"That's right." Sam reached across the table and clinked his glass with Michael's beer bottle. "Good luck on that. And come back in one piece, will ya? I love ya, Fi, but I don't wanna have to make you my best man."

Michael tilted his head and said, "I'll see what I can do. I promise!"

"Nervous, Sam?"

"No, why should I be?"

"Well, I figured since you seem to be having trouble with your tie, that you might be." Veronica approached him and worked at straightening it. Today was his day in court. They didn't know if Amanda would show or not. If not, it would be over in no time. If she did, it would mean that maybe she didn't hate Sam as much as he thought she did, and maybe she might have changed her mind. That was what made Veronica nervous. Just because Amanda had remarried prematurely didn't stop her fears. Apparently, Sam thought the same.

"Call me crazy, Ronnie, but I'm afraid she's actually going to show up and ruin everything."

"You're reading my mind again, Sam." She gave him a kiss for luck. "Let's go and get this over with. She wouldn't dare contest it. And if she does, well, there's always charging her with polygamy."

"I know. It still doesn't make it easy to stop thinking and worrying about it. But hey, we'll never know until we get there, so, let's do this." He looked down at her, seeing clearly in her eyes the love and support he found in her.

Theirs was a relationship that started because she was sexy, and then he found out she was rich, which sweetened the deal. But somewhere along the line it became less about the physical and financial. When she showed up in his life again and gave him her eyes to see the world, he learned what he truly had with her was the most precious thing he could ever attain. Sam desperately hoped that nothing would go wrong, because if she wasn't his by the end of the day... He didn't even want to think about that. It only increased the nerves.

Everything went off exactly as they'd hoped. Michael, Fiona, Jesse and Maddie appeared in the gallery with them, and when it was Sam's turn to go before the judge, they all held their breaths. The other table stayed unoccupied. The judge even waited a couple of minutes, just in case. From where they sat, they saw Sam's shoulders relax as the judge went through the motions and declared his marriage dissolved. His head bowed in relief, and his attorney patted him on the back. When he returned to his friends, his smile was broad and bright as he spoke.

"Hey, we've got a wedding to get to. Don't wanna be late!" Sam took Veronica's hand and threaded it through his arm, and the two of them led a small parade down the hall to another chamber where weddings were conducted. They could have had the most lavish ceremony and reception that Veronica's money could buy, but they didn't want to wait any longer. Within a matter of twenty minutes, one marriage was officially over and another began. It brought two people together for better or worse, two people who had seen how bad worse could be, and came out stronger and better together.

They ended their first day as husband and wife sitting in a couple of lounge chairs on a gulf coast beach watching the sun go down. Their fingers entwined and they kissed across the space between them.

It doesn't get any better than this, he thought. Veronica didn't have to say anything. He knew she agreed.

After a week of taking it easy and spending time together having fun, they needed to get serious about the other stuff that made up their marriage. Sam and Veronica sat with her financial professionals, her attorney, and an insurance agent in that order. Nothing was left hidden, and what they revealed threw Sam. He knew Ronnie was rich, but he had no idea. And by the reaction he displayed, she knew once and for all that he wasn't just after her money, contrary to what some of her friends said. Sam wouldn't have to work a day for the rest of his life, but work satisfied him, and so he went back to his old routine. But there was always time to lavish on Ronnie.

Veronica answered the knock on the door carefully. Ever since she married Sam, she had to be careful that some goon wasn't on the other side wanting to get to him or hurt her. She glanced through the peephole and saw it was Fiona. The building that their condo was in had high security, but with it being Fiona, she was sure the other woman found a way to get in without being detected.

She opened the door and put on a smile for her. "Fiona! What a surprise! No one announced you were coming up."

"Veronica, you simply have to talk to the security chief around here. A child could have gotten into this place, it's that easy." Fiona walked in past Veronica and looked around the open concept living/dining/kitchen area decorated in white with aqua and light blue accents. The floor to ceiling windows and a sliding glass door opened up onto a balcony with an ocean view. "Wow, nice place!"

"Thanks. Um, Sam isn't here right now. He went off with Michael somewhere, I think."

"Yes." Fiona turned and gave her a smile. "I knew they were going off to chase down a lead. I was about to go get my nails done, and I thought of you."

"Me?" She glanced down at her fingernails. As usual, they were perfect. "I just had these done a couple of days ago!"

"Can you stand to get them done again? My treat."

Veronica stood in the foyer staring at Fiona as if she'd gone crazy. "I don't understand. What's going on here?"

Giving her a reassuring smile, Fiona came back to the area, took her by the elbow and said, "Come on. How can you resist a free manicure and pedicure?"

She wasn't sure what Fiona had in mind, but she was, after all, Sam's friend. She would hardly do anything to hurt her. While they'd managed to forge some kind of silent truce, Fiona was still not someone she could consider a friend. Maybe with a little girl time, that could change.

As they sat in the chairs letting their fingers and toes dry, Veronica looked over at Fiona. She had a small smile on her face. She noticed Veronica watching her and she turned.

"Something wrong?"

"Why are you doing this, Fiona?"

"Well, I thought it would be nice if we spent some time getting better acquainted. I mean, with Michael and Sam back working together, it's bound to happen that you'll be pulled into our circle. You can't stay outside it. Your marriage would never survive." Her smile widened. "Since everything that's happened, I've begun to look at Sam like a brother, an annoying brother, but one that you still love no matter what. He's very very happy with you, and I don't want to see anything come between you, because it would hurt him."

"That's very admirable, Fiona."

"Thank you. I thought if we got to know each other, maybe break down some of these walls that I feel we have built up against each other, well, it will only help Sam, Michael, and the team, not to mention you and me." She grinned. "So, where should we go to lunch?"

"Sam said if things worked out, he and Michael would be at Carlito's later."

"We could go a little early and surprise them."

Just then, Veronica's phone rang. She carefully picked it up from the table next to her comfy chair. "Hi sweetie, we were just talking about you...Fiona and me...uh huh, no, it's all been quite civil." She giggled. "We're getting our nails done, and then we're going to do some shopping."

Fiona could only imagine what Sam was saying on the other side. The conversation ended quickly, Veronica put her phone back onto the table, and turned to her.

"Their schedule got bumped back, so they won't be at Carlito's until almost two."

"Wonderful! That means more time for us to shop!"

When Veronica told Sam that she was with Fi getting her nails done, and that they were going shopping together, he didn't know what to make of it. He told Michael as they sat in the Charger waiting for the standoff to end. They followed Heinrich to this bank. He went inside, and the next thing they knew cops swarmed the place on a silent alarm. But when they converged on the area, Michael drove around looking for an alternate way out of the bank. No doubt once Heinrich got what he wanted inside, he would slip out and they would have him.

"Fi and Ronnie are together, Mike. It's kind of scary."

"I knew Fi had something up her sleeve this morning, Sam. I just didn't know what it was. She said it was 'mending fences'. I had no idea that's what she meant."

"I just hope she behaves herself and doesn't make things worse. I have to live with Ronnie, and she isn't that great to be around when she's upset." His thumb played with the gold band on his ring finger. He liked the feel of it as he adapted to the new piece of jewelry. "When she gets really mad, she likes to throw things."

Michael smiled, recalling the time Sam told him that she threw a vase at him because she thought he was cheating. That was a long time ago, and these days, she had no doubts that Sam was completely devoted to her.

"Don't worry, Fi will play nice." He sat up straighter in his seat. "Sam..." He pointed to the roof.

"Yep, I see him. Let's go." He pulled his gun and checked it before getting out.

He and Michael slipped out of the car and took up positions in the alley. Heinrich had found a way out of the bank, and he emerged from a vent on a building two doors down. The cops weren't even looking this way. Michael couldn't believe how easy this was going to be. They waited until his feet hit the pavement before coming out of hiding. Michael's shoes barely made a sound as he snuck up behind him, while Sam came out and distracted Heinrich.

"Freeze." Michael pressed the barrel of his gun into Heinrich's back as he got him into a choke hold. Sam came forward and held his gun on him from the front.

"Westen. How nice to see you. Keeping fit, I see."

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Michael kept his attention on Heinrich, but Sam looked down the alley. "We've got company, Mike. The cops."

Next thing they knew, they found themselves surrounded by three men in SWAT uniforms. Heinrich smiled and elbowed Michael in the ribs hard enough to get him to loosen his hold. Then he turned, kneed Michael and had him down in two moves. He picked up Michael's weapon and turned it on Sam.

He laughed. "You two thought you were so clever, didn't you. I should have shot you that night when you were lying there in the rain with that pitiful whelp. I guess I have a soft spot for blind people. But you're not blind anymore. Fair game, I say." As he spoke, Heinrich lifted his gun and aimed for Sam's heart. He needed to get this business over with and leave with the valuable item he stole from a safe deposit box within the bank. Getting rid of Westen and his friend would be the second highlight of his day.

The air around them was still, and every sound still acute in Sam's ears. When he heard the action on a sniper rifle, he quickly backpedaled. Heinrich's expression was priceless. In a fraction of a second his face registered surprise that Sam dared to move, and the second ended with his face wearing the wide eyes of disbelief as the bullet tore into him. The fake SWAT team spun and looked for the sniper, but they couldn't find him. They were now vulnerable, and Michael sprung from the pavement and took out one easily. Sam handled another, and Jesse, who came down from a building across the street, handled the third.

They hoped to tie them all up in a neat bundle, but Jesse's shot gave them attention they didn't want. Michael pressed his glasses up on his nose and said, "Let's scatter. See you later, Jesse?"

"Nope, got a hot date. See you tomorrow!" He ran through a gap between two buildings and was gone.

"Meet you back at the car, Mikey."

Michael nodded, and he found his own way out of the alley. As he passed Heinrich's body, he noted the vacant glassy eyed stare. He'd finally gotten his man.

The Charger slipped into a parking space and the two men got out. They walked down the sidewalk to Carlito's not sure what they would find when they arrived. They approached the table and noticed three things: lots of shopping bags surrounded the bare legs of two women, they wore brand new dresses, and they were both laughing hysterically.

Veronica managed to sort of recover first, and she looked up at Sam with a twinkle in her eye. "Oh, hi honey! Fiona and I have been having the greatest time! And what about you and Michael?"

"I think you could say we had a great time. Not fun, but we got what we were hunting for." He sat in the chair that Veronica cleared for him.

"You got Heinrich, Michael?" Fiona glanced at him.

"We did. He won't be helping any rogue countries get their hands on military secrets anymore. He won't be doing anything other than hanging out in a morgue."

"You say that so casually," Veronica said as she studied him with a sober expression. "I don't know if I could ever get used to that."

"You don't have to, Ronnie. Just let us worry about the bad guys, and you," he said with a smile, "You just be you, baby." He leaned over and kissed her.

"I see you two bought out the stores," Michael teased.

"Not quite. Just enough to have a totally fabulous time," Fiona responded with a grin as her eyes slid to her new friend.

Veronica mirrored her grin and they clinked glasses.

Michael watched the two interact and realized that his worst nightmare regarding these two had come true: they bonded, and now, who knew what the future held with them as friends. He knew Sam was thinking the same thing as he watched them carry on the conversation they started before the men arrived. This was the new normal, and they'd better get used to it.

Michael and Sam were well acquainted with change. They'd weather this, along with anything else that crossed their paths.