Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2) (10 page)

“Sorry. Do you?”

“No, but do I want to know? That's part of your past, and it's private."

"I want to tell you." He turned toward her, placing his mug on the coffee table.

"Okay." Kathryn changed her position and faced him.

“Unless you don’t want to hear.”

“No, I’d love to know what happened.”

"Promise not to laugh."

Kathryn raised her right eyebrow. "I can promise, but since you've already broken that promise to me twice…"
She twirled a tendril of hair and stared out the window.

He bent his neck until he captured her gaze with his. "All right, all right. Guilty as charged."

Kathryn patted his knee. "I promise not to laugh."

"
Maria wanted to be more physical than I wanted to be. I know that sounds like I'm some kind of freak or something, but I was trying to do things differently than the men in my family. I didn’t want any unplanned children, and I didn’t want there to be deep scars if we didn’t make it, the kind you get when you’re physically attached to someone. Apparently she wasn't willing to wait."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't make you a freak. It makes you admirable. It shows you respected her even if she didn’t respect herself. For the record, I didn’t know any of that. I just always assumed y’all were…involved.”

“I think a lot of people thought that. Maria liked it that way.”

“That’s kind of how things happened with me and Zeke. He did a lot of unwarranted talking. I probably wasn't as chaste as you were, but I'd been raised pretty conservatively and wanted to keep my reputation clean, so I wouldn't move in with him when he asked me to and wouldn't spend the night. As a side note, my dad was cheating on my mom the whole time he was telling me to remember that people were watching me and that I'd better live an upright life."

"Crazy."

"I know. Such a hypocrite. I thought I'd marry Zeke, but he wanted to test drive the car first, so we were at an impasse. He was too busy being a playboy to realize how much I cared for him. When we broke up, he moved in with a friend of mine a few weeks later, and I pretty much swore off men."

"So we've both had the same situation happen to us. Has it made you reluctant to get involved again?"

"You have no idea. I figure all men must be cheaters, so I'm better off focusing on my career." Kathryn raised her eyebrows and shook her head. She'd succeeded at everything but love. Phil waited for her to continue, seeming to take everything she said in seriousness. "
I'm not good at relationships. I fell in love in high school, or thought I did, and that ended poorly like most high school relationships do. I fell in love again in college, and that was a disaster because he wanted me to put him through med school and promised to put me through law school after he graduated but had no plans of marriage in his future. I knew that would end one-sided, leaving me without a ring on my finger and no law school while he had trysts with nurses in the hospital.”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened.”

“See, you see my side of things. Thank you for that. When I got to law school, I met Zeke. I didn't know how to have a successful relationship because I'd never seen it modeled before. I saw too many of my friends fall in love with the wrong person—or be the wrong person, like Maria. With the way my parents' hypocritical relationship was, and the way things turned out with Zeke, I figure I'm not going to be any good at it for a long time."

"I'm not a gambling man, but I'll bet that's not true."

Chapter Ten

Phil pulled away from the dock at Kathryn's rental condo, as she waved at him from the porch. Lunch had possessed a different flavor than their lunch on either Saturday or Sunday. How in just two days had they formed a bond that felt like they'd known each other their entire lives? They couldn't be more different. She, the Southern belle of the courtroom. He, the runaway attorney whose voice reverberated like a cymbal.

Something in Kathryn's eyes told him she was open to exploring the possibility of getting to know him more. The distrust he'd seen in them earlier had melted away. Could he show her the flipside of what men could be like? Could he prove to her that not all men were cheaters?

Was knowing him dangerous for her? His life could be in danger if he didn't defend Uncle Louie and his goons, so hers could be by association, as well. There had to be a way to keep her safe yet allow him to spend time with her.

"Lord, you know what I need. You know how lonely I am. I'd love an opportunity to make Kathryn a part of my life. But despite the danger, there's also her trust issues. She doesn't trust men, and I'm not sure if she trusts you. Please work in her life."

In the stillness of the afternoon heat, a gust of wind blasted across Phil. God had always spoken to him through the wind. He'd take comfort in the breeze that now blew and trust God to resolve the barriers that threatened to keep them apart.

Phil eased up to the dock, his shoulders slumping. Drew's black Mercedes sat underneath the fifty-year-old Live oak and the scraggly palms. "What is he doing here again?" He tied the skiff to the dock post and sprung out of it onto the dock. He tossed his sunglasses onto the front seat of his SUV through the open window when he walked past it on the way to the stairs.

If it were possible for his blood to boil, it would be boiling right now. It was bad enough that Drew had to come to Cedar Key uninvited, but to show up uninvited at his house again was ridiculous. Phil climbed the steps to the porch, taking two at a time. He opened the screened door and slid his key into the lock.

Drew cleared his throat from where he sat in the swing at the end of the porch, facing the water. Without turning around, he called out in a gruff voice, "I've been waiting for you to get back. Are you done with business? I'd like to get on the road."

Phil wrenched his key out of the lock and let the screen door slam behind him as he stepped to the side porch. "No, Drew, I'm not. You can't just come down here and expect me to drop everything to help our uncle."

Drew stood from the swing, sending it into a frenzy, hiked his shorts up higher on his waist, and closed the distance between them. He towered several inches over Phil and outweighed him by thirty or forty pounds. He stared into Phil’s eyes with clear blue eyes hooded by thick-lashed eyelids, the scar over his right eye contributing to his menacing guise. "Why not? It's what families do."

Phil stepped back and scowled. "Family? Family is when you're there for each other all the time. Mutually. Unselfishly. Not just when you're in trouble and need someone to bail you out."

Drew lifted his ball cap off his head and wiped away his sweat with the back of his hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatevah." He returned the cap to his head.

"Whatevah is right." Phil turned away and headed toward the front door.

"You're coming with me." Drew grabbed Phil by the arm, yanking him around to face him.

"Get your hands off of me!" Phil yanked his arm free and locked his knees. If Drew wanted to go a round or two, Phil welcomed it. "This is ridiculous." Phil turned away from Drew and unlocked the door. He stepped in and then turned back to his cousin. "I'm not coming to Georgia with you."

Drew followed him into the house. "Are you coming on your own then?" He lit a cigarette and plopped down on Phil's sofa.

"Maybe. I'm going to call Uncle Louie this afternoon." He grabbed the cigarette out of Drew's mouth. "Don't smoke in here." He carried the cigarette over to the sink and shoved it into the disposal. He turned on the water and clicked the switch to turn the disposal on. His hands were as unsteady as a new surgeon in his first surgery.

"When did you become such a jerk? And a traitor?"

Phil swung around to face Drew. "I'm not either of those things. I've just learned to take care of myself and to live without being manipulated by others. You should try it sometime."

Drew rubbed his face and chuckled. "No thanks. I like the security family brings."

"Some security. Doing the dirty work for someone else will come back and bite you in the…" Phil shook his head. It was useless trying to explain things to Drew.

"In the what? Mr. Goodie-goodie can't curse anymore? Is that it?" Drew slid another cigarette out of the pack and twirled it through his fingers almost daring Phil to try to take this one from him.

Phil poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the counter, and he gulped it down in a few swallows. Sweat trickled down both sides of his face, half from anger, half from fear. "I'm not a goodie-goodie, Drew. I'm living my life better now."

Drew stuck the cigarette behind his right ear and folded his hands in mock prayer. "For
God,
is it?"

"Yes. For God. Now, if you will, leave so I can get the rest of my work done." He motioned toward the door.

"Can't we stay here?"

Phil tipped his head. "We?"

"Yeah. Me and Barney."

"Barney is here with you? Why did you bring him? He'll cause more damage than good." Phil sighed. His cousins held less sense in their heads combined than a mindless sheep.

"He's the best one for convincing people to do what we need them to do. Capisce?"

"No, no capisce. I don't want to hear anything about your plans, and I don't want any part in them. Now leave." Phil shoved his hands into his pockets.

"We seriously can't stay?"

Phil shook his head.

"Well, that's okay. I've got to pay a visit to the D.A. who's here in Cedar Key trying to dig up dirt on Louie."

The freight train of Drew's words collided with Phil's heart and pinned him against the wall. He couldn't let his cousins endanger Kathryn, but he couldn’t let on that he knew her either. "Wait! What are you talking about?"

Drew's gaze roamed over Phil's face, obviously picking up on Phil's nervousness. "If you must know, some D.A. named Kathryn from Perkins County is here. Sam at the grocery told me she's been snooping around the last few days."

"So what? She's not worth the effort, I'm sure. If there’s something here that ties Louie to the murder, it's probably been taken care of. Right?”

“How should I know, Phil?” Drew roared with laughter.

That confirmed it. Drew knew where the gun was. So why didn’t he just go get it and get out of Cedar Key? Why did he feel the need to stay and harass both Phil and Kathryn? Phil’s throat locked up on him. Drew must know they’d met. He had to convince Drew to stay under the radar. “Why bother with a woman? She's no threat.”

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, man. They say she's like a rabid fox on a hunt when she's after evidence. I can't risk letting her slip through the cracks. I already tried to warn her, but she doesn't take hints too well."

Phil ran his fingers through his hair and then held on to the back of his neck. If he could take Drew down right here in his kitchen, he would. But his confidence dissipated like the coolness of the morning breeze. "Drew, just go back to New York. Haven't you gotten into enough trouble already?"

"Not nearly enough."

“You’re going to end up turning the attention on you and Barney, and you’ll be brought in for questioning."

“Already was, and we’re out on bond. We’re untouchable, Phil. When are you going to learn that?” He laughed and walked out through Phil's screen door, letting it slam behind him.

From the doorway, Phil stood, hand on cell phone, waiting for Drew to pull away. Drew and Barney were the two associates Kathryn had told him about. Well, they weren’t missing anymore.

#

Kathryn leaned against her car, waiting for Phil to answer his phone, her orange sherbet sundress blowing in the hot breeze. She tried to return to the calm state she'd been in earlier, but it wasn't working. She'd convinced herself that the rest of the week would be as smooth as an adventure around Cedar Key in a sailboat. Slipping through the water. Wind in her hair. Phil by her side. What a mistake that had been. Here she stood on the side of the road surrounded by nothing but trees, both of her back tires flat, almost shredded.

"Hello?"
Phil's voice created a balm on Kathryn's spirit, like ointment on skin after a sunburn.

"Hey, Phil."

"
Kathryn? Are you okay? I was just about to call you."

"I'm okay, but I can't say the same for my car.
I've just had two flat tires."

"
Two
flat tires? Did you hit something?"

"No."

"Where are you?"

With no road signs in sight, how could she point Phil to her exact location? "I'm stuck on Florida 24. I was headed to follow up on a lead I found in the file."

"How far out are you?"

"About thirty minutes. I'm out in the middle of nowhere. I haven't seen a car since I stopped."

"I'm on my way now. Stay in your car with the doors locked, in case someone followed you."

She looked in all directions. "I doubt anyone did. I'm out here alone except for a dead armadillo. Why would someone have followed me anyway?" She walked around the back of her car and shut the trunk hatch. She would have changed the tire herself if there had only been one flat.

"You've been getting threats, right?"

"Not since they took me off the case."

"Listen to me. I have reason to believe you're in danger."

"What?" She might as well have stepped on a rattlesnake for all the adrenaline that shot through her body.

"Drew was at my house when I got back from lunch with you. My cousin Barney is here with him. He's the one who does the convincing, if you know what I mean. They know you're here."

She squeezed her scalp. "They know I'm here? Are they the ones who threatened me?"

"Drew didn't admit to it, but I'm positive it's them. I'm 99% sure they're the associates you said were with Louie."

"What are their legal names?"

"Matthew Bernard Ezzo and Andrew Thomas Ezzo."

"That's them!"

"I pretended not to know you and tried to discourage Drew from pursuing you. If they're following you, they're hoping to catch you defenseless."

Kathryn jumped into her car and locked the doors. "Phil, I'm freaking out! What if one of them—or both—is following me now?"

"How long have you been sitting there?"

She stared into the rearview mirror. "I—I don't know. About fifteen minutes."

"Okay, that's good. If they were following you, they'd already have come up to you. Probably pretending to assist you. Unless—" Phil groaned.

"What?" She ducked her head.

"Unless they're waiting to see if I'm coming to help you."

"But you said they didn't know you knew me."

"Yeah, well, they're not always as dumb as I'd like to think they are. Drew did look at me kind of funny when I tried to convince him to leave you alone."

"What should I do?"

"Exactly what I said. Just sit there in the car with the doors locked and windows rolled up. Don't take help from anyone but me. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Okay." Kathryn cranked the car and rolled up her windows. Somehow, she'd tricked herself into believing there'd be no more threats. Not smart. Whoever leaked it to the D.A. that she'd been seen with Phil could just as easily have leaked it to Ezzo's goons--his nephews. Or they were the ones who leaked the info in the first place. She wouldn't be safe until Louie and everyone involved with him lived behind bars.

Kathryn pressed the seek button on her radio to find something soothing to listen to until Phil got to her. Old rock-n-roll wouldn't do the trick today. Neither would hip-hop. Old love songs were too depressing. On the fourth try, an ambient sound with a guitar solo caught her attention. That would do. She sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. Phil should be here in fifteen minutes.

Are you lonely and in need of a friend?

Are you scared and need a rescue?

Call out to the Father and let Him come in.

He wants to take care of you.

Kathryn's eyes popped open, and she sat straight up in her seat. The song continued, but she heard no other words after the ones that had spoken directly to her heart. It's as if the song was her song. Written just for her. On the radio screen, there was nothing. No artist and no song title.

Kathryn shivered. Was this song even playing on the radio? Was it a message to her from God? She laughed and shook her head. She'd obviously lost her mind from all the stress of this case. God didn't work that way.

Did He?

She rested her head on the headrest and closed her eyes again. The chorus repeated twice more, and the song ended without fanfare. It left behind a feeling of peace though. She wasn't alone. No matter how lonely she felt at times and how scared these threats made her, someone was watching out for her.