Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2) (19 page)

#

Kathryn showered, dried her hair, and dressed in her black bike shorts and the blue Cedar Key T-shirt she'd bought on Saturday at the Trading Post. Who cares if she looked like a tourist? Cedar Key would forever hold a special place in her heart. She’d learned about surviving and discovered how much courage she had deep inside her more this week than in her entire life.

She went to the closet and pulled her clothes off the hangers. This would be her last night here, and she might as well go ahead and pack while she waited on Phil to return in case she had to flee in a hurry.

After she'd packed everything, she placed her bags beside the front door then packed her laptop and files into her laptop bag. She stacked her books beside the laptop bag on the bar, the unread crime novels, and giggled. Who had time for reading about crime when there was real crime unfolding right before her eyes?

She moved Sadie's bed to the foyer. Sadie cocked her head and perked her ears. "We're going home tomorrow, Sadie." Sadie whined. "I know. I don't want to go either, but we don't live here. And I have a job to get back to."

Kathryn's shoulders slumped. Why did she dread going back? It wasn't the Ezzo case alone that had her reluctant to return. It was everything. Being trapped inside a courthouse building all day every day, spending hour upon hour researching, filtering through the truth versus the lies, dealing with the heart-broken families when a criminal went free. It's a wonder she ever slept at night.

Kathryn yawned and stretched. It was only 7:00 p.m., but she couldn't keep her eyes open. The antihistamine must still be in her system, and the hot shower had relaxed her to the point that she needed a nap or she'd never make it through whatever was ahead for her and Phil later that night. She clicked the air conditioning down a few degrees and grabbed the seashell fleece blanket off the back of the sofa. A chilly room and a soft blanket were a perfect combination for a nap.

"Come on, girl. Let's take a short nap." Kathryn tossed her phone onto the coffee table and stretched out on the sofa, as thunder rumbled in the distance. Sadie sidled up next to her and tucked her nose underneath Kathryn's arm. She closed her eyes. Just a few minutes, and she'd be refreshed and ready for the evening.

Chapter Twenty

Phil raced ahead of Drew out of the jail and straight toward the taxi. If traffic held off, they’d be at the airport by 5:15 p.m. and back in Cedar Key long before sunset. Phil needed to think up a good escape plan for ditching his cousin and getting to Kathryn as soon as possible.

"How about we grab something to eat before we head back to Cedar Key?" Drew whacked Phil on the back.

Phil shook his head as he sank into the backseat. He'd rather be used as shark bait than to spend one more minute with his cousin than he had to. "I'm not hungry."

"I know you are. You probably haven't eaten a thing since lunch." Drew tapped the driver on the shoulder. “McCollum airport, please.”

"Why ya being so nice to me now?"

"Because you did what I asked you to do. I know you'll make sure Uncle gets released from jail."

Phil huffed. He hated to disappoint Drew, but he couldn't guarantee Louie's freedom, especially since he wouldn't tell him anything about his involvement. "Thanks for the offer, but I just want to get back home. I've got to let the person who I was meeting know where I went."

"I can go with you and personally explain to
this person
why you ditched." Drew winked.

"Drew, there's no reason you need to go back."

"I have to get my car. You think I'd let Barney drive it back to New York? No way! Besides, I'd like to see that little honey of a D.A. You should really make good use of your time with her."

"Shut up, Drew. You’re disgusting.”

“You’re getting mighty defensive about someone you don’t know.” Drew looked down his nose at Phil.

Phil balled his fists. “I met her. Okay? I doubt she's that kind of woman."

"You met her and didn’t take her for a ride?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“If you're not interested in her then she's fair game."

Phil interlocked his fingers to avoid punching his cousin in the face. "Absolutely not. Leave her alone."

"I may have no choice if Barney's already had his way with her. I don’t need his leftovers." Drew screwed up his face as if disgusted by the thought of Barney getting to Kathryn before he could.

"Drew, you had better hope he hasn't because if he has, there will be hell to pay! Now let's get back to Cedar Key."

#

Phil and Drew arrived via taxi at the Cobb County Airport and waited in the FBO for the pilot to finish a call. Phil sat in one of the leather guest chairs and crossed his legs, the ankle of his right leg resting on the knee of his left. After all of today’s sitting and being cooped up, he couldn’t wait to get back out on his skiff and take a tour around the islands of Cedar Key, hopefully with Kathryn by his side.

Drew stepped outside and lit a cigarette, and Phil pulled his phone from his pocket. He powered it on, pulled up his messaging box, and typed out a text to Kathryn.

We're at the airport getting ready to fly back. It should take less than two hours. Maybe we can catch the sunset.

He locked his phone and shoved it into his pocket. How quickly things change. Four nights ago, he was carefree, reeling in sharks on the pier, and renting out his properties to happy vacationers. Last night, he was taking care of Kathryn after her allergic reaction, and now he was miles away and trying to get back to her on what would probably be their last night together. It was good she’d found the gun, but now she had no reason to remain in Cedar Key. If he searched hard enough in the recesses of his mind, maybe he could find a reason to make her stay. He groaned. How had he let his heart become attached to a woman he couldn't see with regularity?

The pilot ended his call and shook his head. He turned around toward Phil and slipped off his sunglasses, revealing serious blue eyes. "Excuse me, Mr. —" He adjusted his shirt collar.

"Tagliaferro."

He scratched his chin and sighed. "Sir, I'm afraid we're not going to be able to fly out just yet." He shook his head again, exposing a sunburned neck beneath a head full of brown hair.

"Why?" Phil leaned forward on the edge of the seat and shoved his hands into his pockets in an effort to hide his anxiety. Why couldn't he have been dressed more professionally instead of in his running shorts and a T-shirt? Maybe if he looked better the pilot would realize the importance of his flight.

Drew returned from smoking his cigarette, the stench of smoke lingering on his clothes. "What's up? Is there a problem?"

"Yes, sir. There's a rough storm blowing over the Florida Panhandle right now, and it's hitting Cedar Key pretty hard."

"So we can't fly in?" Phil raked his fingers through his hair and pivoted in his seat.

"No, sir, but we should be clear for takeoff in an hour. Why don't you go over to the restaurant at the FBO and get a drink or something to eat? I'll call you when we're good to go."

Drew was going to get his way after all. Phil shrugged and pointed for him to lead the way.

"The restaurant is real nice, and you can watch the planes take off and land."

"Thanks." Drew nodded.

"All the planes but the one we're supposed to be on."

Drew whacked Phil on the back. "What's the problem, Cuz? I know you've got to be as hungry as I am."

"Yeah, I guess I am. I just want to get back home. You guys basically kidnapped me and didn't even let me dress decent enough to go to the jail. I felt like a bum in there today. I’m really going to look like a bum in the restaurant. Besides, I had to leave my car parked in some random parking lot and leave my client hanging. You don't understand the concept of professionalism."

"I don't? I'm very professional at what I do."

"Yeah? And what's that? Roughing people up and manipulating them to get what you want?"

"Hey, I resent that. You might want to watch the way you talk to me."

Phil followed Drew into the restaurant and let the conversation drop. Unfortunately, Drew was right about the way he treated him, and it had nothing to do with his fear of them burying him out behind the shed. He should treat Drew better because he was another human being, family. Drew had no concept of the gift God could give him, and if Phil didn't treat him better, he might not ever know.

The entire Ezzo family, mainly the men, knew nothing about the great gift of freedom they could have if they'd only surrender their lives. True, some of them went to Mass and confession on occasion, but few of them did it, he guessed, for reasons other than asking for forgiveness for the crimes they'd committed.

Phil stood next to Drew as they waited for the hostess to seat them. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. No text from Kathryn. His arms and legs tingled with apprehension over her safety, but he pushed the fear away. He couldn't do anything to help her until he returned. "Hey Cuz, have you talked to Barney since we've been up here?"

"Yeah, he went clamming again. Can you believe that?" Drew laughed.

"So he really went the other day?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I figured that was a cover up for some drug deal or something."

Drew punched him in the arm as they walked to their table overlooking the runway. "No, man. He really went clamming. He spends a lot of time on the water back home. He loves to fish. Everybody needs a life outside of work."

A jet took off, and the building vibrated as Phil tucked his legs under the white tablecloth. "Why doesn't he do something like that instead of doing what he does for Louie?"

"He's thirty years old. He's kind of too old to change his ways."

"Maybe, but one day he's going to end up in jail. Or dead."

"I don't think he cares. He just lives one day at a time. What else does he have to live for?"

The waitress came and took their order; Phil ordered the salmon, Drew, the burger. "Doesn't he want to settle down? Have a wife and kids?"

"He's got kids. He's had several girlfriends for a while, but he can't decide which one he likes the most."

Phil scratched his eyebrow and grimaced. "He's got kids?"

Drew laughed. "Yeah. Two boys and a girl. Cute little brats."

"All with the same woman?"

Drew laughed again as if Phil were the stupidest man he knew. "Nah, three women. Two of them are married now. The other was married at the time he fathered the kid."

Phil's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Drew was clueless about how good and pure life could be, and apparently, so was Barney. There was no way he could ever do the honorable thing for these women. How sad. "What about you, Drew?"

"What about me?"

"You got any kids?"

Drew dug into his right ear with his pinky finger. "Nah. I've been too busy with business. And I’m too careful to make the mistakes Barney has made."

Phil could relate. He’d been consumed with business too for a while—so consumed that he’d lost his fiancé. "Don't you ever want to settle down? Ever get tired of this way of life? You're my age, right? 28?"

"Yeah."

The waitress came with their spinach and artichoke dip appetizer and tortilla chips. "Don't you ever think about leaving a legacy? A good legacy?"

Drew sat back and folded his arms across his chest. "What are you now? Some kind of counselor or something? Or a priest?"

"No, man. I just...I want to settle down and be a part of something bigger than myself. I want to belong to someone."

"I'm surprised you want to try again after what happened with Maria."

"Yeah, I'm surprised too, but I get lonely. I want someone to share my life with."

"So get a woman for the night. That'll cure what ails you." Drew flicked a chip at Phil.

"Drew, no. I'm looking for something more fulfilling than that. I want what Ma and Pops have. I want commitment, honesty, faithfulness, love." There was so much more to life than making money and gambling it away, more than blindly following a mob boss, more than viewing a woman as an object to satisfy a man’s most primal urges.

"Your Ma and Pops have that? I thought your Pops just kept your Ma put up in that nice house so he could golf and spend time with the ladies.”

“No, man. Pops may be a lot of things, but he’s not a cheater.” Or was he?

“You've gotten even softer than I thought, Phil. You sound like a character in one of those chick flicks."

Phil shrugged and scooped a heap of dip up with a tortilla chip. He shoved the chip into his mouth and held Drew's clear eyes with his own. "I'm all right with that."

"What gives?"

"What do you mean?"

"What makes you so relaxed and resigned to live a boring—peaceful life?"

Phil felt his insides burst with excitement. The opportunity had finally come to share with Drew about his faith. But first, he needed to apologize for his bad attitude when dealing with Drew and Barney earlier. He took a sip of water, pushed down the lump of humility that grabbed at his throat, and began to tell the story of the day that changed his life.

#

Kathryn bolted up off the couch, knocking Sadie to the floor. She grabbed the fleece throw to her chest, and her heart pounded in her ears. What had startled her awake? A clap of thunder and a flash of lightning outside the window answered her question. Something banged and scraped the glass patio door. Could it be Barney?

She ran to the door and peeked out into the darkness. What time was it? Where was Phil?

She shifted her weight to her right leg and crossed her arms across her chest. The banging and scraping continued, and she leaned her head to the right to try to see around the corner of the house. She flipped on the floodlights, but the rain came down so hard the lights did little to illuminate the yard.

She reached for the doorknob to check outside, but her phone vibrated on the coffee table with a reminder notification. A text from Phil awaited her. She'd missed it because she'd been sleeping.

We're at the airport getting ready to fly back. It should take less than two hours. Maybe we can catch the sunset?

Before sunset? He’d missed the sunset. According to the time he'd sent the text, he should've arrived already. Where was he? Kathryn sent him a return text.

Phil, I just got your text. I fell asleep and didn't know you sent it. Where are you?

She put the phone down and returned to the door to try to figure out the source of the noise. When she reached the door, a palm frond hit the glass. Sadie yelped, ran to her bed in the foyer, and Kathryn let out a nervous laugh. The storm was playing games with her mind. It brought little comfort knowing that she only imagined something menacing happening to her and that she would, in fact, be safe there until Phil returned.

A flash of lightning lit up the darkness through the dwindling rain and revealed a broad-shouldered silhouette. Kathryn shrieked and yanked the heavy drapes across the door. She reached through them to make sure the door was locked then ran to the front door to secure it. She jammed a chair underneath the doorknobs and returned to the sofa, scooping up her phone in the process. Sadie whimpered. "Come here, girl. It's okay." Kathryn received another text from Phil.