Common Enemy

by Sandra Dailey

  Connor looked at Jordan with a confused expression. She shrugged with equal bewilderment.

  “Your Honor, I mean no disrespect, but we haven’t been approached by anyone. There’s a lot of material to cover in order to get a co-counsel up to speed.”

  “You have until Monday morning at nine o’clock to bring him up to speed, Mr. McCrae. I’m recessing this hearing until that time.”

  A man moved forward from the observers to stand beside Connor. Jordan looked at the briefcase he set on the table. It was a perfect match to Connor’s, right down to the little brass plate engraved CM. The man was almost a perfect match to Connor as well. The only difference, his suit was a camel color, his hair was short, and his face was flawless. They stood face to face with identical scowls. Connor was the first to break eye contact lowering his head. His brother’s eyes softened and looked away next.

  As soon as Judge Bender had left the courtroom, Connor grabbed Jordan’s hand and pulled her down the aisle. He didn’t say a word as they rapidly walked out of the building to her car. They were half way home before Jordan had the nerve to speak. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

  “No,” he snapped.

  She looked back to see the other man following closely behind. They parked in front of the house as Mr. Coleman stepped outside.

  “Why are you back so soon?” he asked.

  “Ask him.” Connor pointed to the dark gray BMW 6 series convertible that pulled in behind them.

  The other man got out of the car and stood looking at all of them.

  “Holy hell!” Coleman exclaimed. “You’ve been cloned.”

  “Why are you driving my car?” Connor angrily inquired of his brother.

  “Pardon the hell out of me. I thought you’d like to have it back.”

  “I don’t want it, and I don’t want you.” Connor stomped up the front steps and into the house.

  “You must be Jordan Holbrook. It’s nice to meet you.” The stranger held his hand out. “I’m sorry I caused so much trouble, but this case seems important to my brother and I’m sure it’s important to you. I know he can use my help, but he’s too damn stubborn to admit it. I’ve gone over the information our men collected. I just need to convince Connor to let me in. By the way, my name is Caleb McCrae, you can call me Cal.”

  “Hi Cal, I’m sorry, I’m still a little stunned. Connor didn’t tell me he had a twin.”

  John and Ted got out of the car that pulled in next.

  “Looks like the reunion is over,” Ted said. “I guess that means it’s time to get to work.” They walked into the house. Cal followed.

  Mr. Coleman watched the three men walk inside the house and then turned to Jordan. “I guess I’d better figure out what I’m going to feed all these guys for lunch. I hadn’t planned on a party.”

  By the time Jordan reached the living room, Cal and Connor were standing in the middle of the room, toe-to-toe, jackets off, and sleeves rolled up.

  “I see you still haven’t cut your hair,” Cal was saying.

  “Do you still expect me to look just like you? Take a better look, dickhead. We aren’t twins any more.”

  “Try telling that to our mother, asshole. I just think you could look a little more professional.”

  “Who are you to tell me how to wear my hair?”

  “If you two don’t sit down, I’ll knock you down.” John stood and shouted. “I still answer to your father and he would not like this at all. We’ve got work to do.”

  “He’s right, guys,” Ted interjected. “We need to focus on the real issue here, how to keep Lizzy away from that lunatic.”

  They sobered instantly and sat on opposite sides of the room.

  The four men pored over papers and pictures for several hours. Jordan gave up trying to understand all the legal jargon. She knew Connor would explain anything she needed to know later. Finally, John and Ted came to the kitchen to say good-bye.

  “We’re going to get some dinner and a hotel room in town,” John explained. “We’ll take turns watching Butler, but one of us will probably be around all weekend. I hope this doesn’t put you out too much.”

  “Are you kidding?” Jordan laughed. “You guys are trying to save my little girl. I can’t do enough to repay you for this. Which reminds me, how much am I paying you?”

  “You’re not,” Ted answered. “The firm pays us, McCrae and Sons Family Law. You were lucky the day Connor McCrae knocked on your door. They’re the best attorneys in the state.”

  ****

  Connor and Cal had gone up to Lizzy’s room.

  “I don’t believe I’ve ever slept in a canopy bed before.” Cal shook his head after checking out the miniature furniture. “I think I’ll sleep on the couch and keep my clothes in the hall closet.”

  “You’ll probably want to be down there anyway. Jordan is a real bathroom hog. She was locked in there for two hours this morning.”

  “I’ve got something I have to ask you, Connor.” Cal hesitated for a moment. “You seem to be doing so well now, almost back to your old self. You’re obviously crazy about Jordan. I see the look in your eyes when you watch her. You’ve moved heaven and earth for this little girl of hers. And now, you’re back in the courtroom. So why are you still giving me such a hard time? We used to be close. Why do you hate me so much?”

  Connor sat on the edge of the bed beside him and combed his hands through the length of his hair before answering. “It’s real hard for me, Cal. I’m never going to be normal again. You remind me of that every time I look at your face. The face I used to have. I’m a handyman who lives out of an old van, but Jordan and Lizzy accepted me that way. This morning Jordan told me that she loves me. She’s an angel to me. I can’t live without her. I want to ask her to marry me when this is over. But then you walked in looking so perfect. It really knocked me off my pegs. I’m not sure she’ll feel the same way about me now.”

  “You don’t give her much credit, do you? If she doesn’t love you after seeing my pretty face, she never did. But, I think you’re going to find out that she does. She doesn’t seem like the kind of woman to say things she doesn’t mean. She’s not Tiffany, Connor. She’s not going to kick you while you’re down like that superficial little bitch. You’ve got a real woman this time, brother, and I’m happy for you.”

  “I really am glad you’re here, Cal.”

  “I know you are, but I’ve really got to get out of this room. I’m starting to get the urge to play with Barbie dolls.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  On Sunday night, Jordan felt as nervous as she had before the first court date. It had been nice to have all the men to keep her mind busy over the last few days. She’d just returned from spending the evening with Lizzy and the Douglases. It was getting harder every day to leave her behind.

  She was standing in the barn door watching the sunset when Connor approached from the house. He looked more like himself in jeans and a T-shirt. At least he looked more like the Connor she knew. She wondered how much he missed his old life. He’d been a little distant since his brother’s arrival.

  He and Cal had stayed up late every night in strategy meetings. By the time he came to bed, she was sleeping. Maybe she and Lizzy had become too much trouble for him. Maybe he didn’t really love her, but just felt a huge sense of obligation. She couldn’t blame him if he’d changed his mind about her. Maybe she should let him off the hook.

  “What are you doing out here?” he asked.

  “I was just thinking.” She walked further inside the barn. Connor followed. She slid the ring off of her finger. “I want to give this back to you. I can’t lie about something like this. I’m not good at it. Someday, if you want me to have it for the right reasons, you’ll give it back to me.”

  “Jordan, I bought this ring for you weeks ago. I love you so much it hurts. If you walk away from me now, I swear to God, I’ll just stop breathing. I can’t live without you.” His voice broke. “Please marry me, Jordan.
I’m begging.”

  Jordan was stunned to see tears in his eyes. All his confidence seemed to have suddenly drained.

  “I’m sorry I hurt you, Connor. I thought you’d changed your mind. I was trying to make it easier for you. I do love you, but I didn’t want you to feel trapped.”

  He looked at her with anger in his damp eyes. “Well, it hurt like hell, so don’t ever do that again. Are you going to marry me or not?”

  “I’ll marry you on one condition.” Jordan gave a wicked smile.

  “What?” he asked suspiciously.

  “I think it would be nice to restart an old tradition.” She pulled him into the nearest stall.

  “I suppose you plan to have your way with me anytime you like.”

  “Is that a complaint, Mr. McCrae?” Jordan unsnapped his jeans and lowered the zipper.

  “Actually, it was a wish.” When she slipped her hand inside his shorts, he groaned. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

  An hour later they walked into the kitchen. Coleman, Cal, Ted, and John were sitting at the table sharing an apple pie.

  “We have an announcement to make.” Connor grinned.

  “I’ll be damned!” Cal jumped up to swing Jordan around in a big hug. After returning her feet to the floor he picked a piece of straw from her hair. “There are some things twins can just feel about each other. You’ll be good for that old dog.”

  “I can’t wait for the old man to hear about this,” Ted whispered to John.

  “I know.” John chuckled. “He doesn’t like anybody to make a decision without his approval first.”

  ****

  On Monday morning, Bobby Ray paced the hallway outside the courtroom. “I have a bad feeling about this whole thing. Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Bennett?”

  “Don’t worry, man. The court loves to reunite families. You’ll have the kid in your house by the end of the week. There isn’t any reason for them to deny your request. You haven’t had any history of child abuse or anything. Just be cool and I’ll take care of everything.” Bennett shrugged casually.

  “Don’t tell me to be cool. You’re the one who had better be cool. If this doesn’t turn out right, I’ll ruin you. You know what I’m talking about.”

  “No need to get nasty. I know what I’m doing.” After another minute of watching Bobby Ray pace, he asked, “What do you plan to do with the kid? Take her and run?”

  “Hell no,” Bobby Ray sneered. “I don’t want that brat around. I just want her as bait. I’ll have that bitch crawling on her knees back to me. Then, I’ll make her pay in every disgusting way imaginable.”

  “That, I’d like to see.” Bennett laughed.

  “First we have to get past those two lawyers standing guard over her. They look like a couple of serious contenders,” Bobby Ray said.

  “They have a huge reputation in Tampa. It’s mostly the big money, playboy thing though. It doesn’t mean a damn thing to a judge down here.”

  “They come from Tampa? No wonder I keep thinking they look a little familiar. Jordan must have started fucking that ugly one before she moved. Why else would they be all the way down here? She’s really moved up in the world. It’ll just make it that much sweeter when I knock her back down.” Bobby Ray smirked.

  ****

  Judge Bender was announced and seated. He called the room to order.

  Bobby Ray strutted to the witness chair wearing the same dark blue suit as he had the previous Thursday. His six-foot-two frame seemed bulkier than six years earlier. The set of his jaw was a little harder. There was a touch of gray in his hair, but the same cold, gray eyes bore into her from across the room. The heat of evil emanated from him. She looked down at the table to break his spell.

  Connor pushed a note her way. Don’t look down. Look over his head. He feeds on your fear.

  After Bobby Ray was sworn in and seated he gave his full name and address.

  “How long have you been at that address?” Bennett asked.

  “Two weeks,” Bobby Ray answered.

  “Where did you reside before the past two weeks?”

  “I was an inmate at the Florida State Prison for five and a half years.”

  The observers stirred as Bennett let the answer soak into their heads.

  “What were the charges against you?”

  “Armed robbery and assault.”

  “Isn’t it true that you held you’re wife at knifepoint while you robbed a convenience store?”

  Murmurs were heard all over the room. The judge banged his gavel once and the room fell quiet again.

  “Why would you do such a thing, Mr. Butler?”

  “We had a baby coming in a few weeks and we needed the money. I didn’t want to take the chance of hurting anyone, but my wife said she would make sure she was careful if I used her as a hostage. I was laid-off from my job and I didn’t know how I’d be able to pay the hospital bills. I was desperate and Jordan was insistent.”

  “You loved your wife, didn’t you, Mr. Butler?” Bennett wore a smarmy smile.

  “Yes, I would have done anything for her. I still think about her every day.”

  “You agreed to a divorce only two months after you were incarcerated. Why is that?”

  “It’s what she wanted. My lawyer at the time advised me that it would be best. I thought I was looking at a fifteen-year stretch. I knew she just wanted to be free to move on with her life. Like I said, I’d do anything for her. I’ve regretted that decision ever since. If she had ever come to see me, maybe I could have talked her out of it.”

  “So, she never visited you in prison? Does that mean that you’ve never seen your daughter?”

  “Not one time, sir. I’ve only dreamed about what she looks like and how it would feel to hold her. She’s the only child I have.”

  “Do you honestly feel you could give her a good home, Mr. Butler?”

  “Yes, I do. I already have a room made up for her in my new apartment. My fiancée has helped me decorate it for her. We plan to get married in two weeks. I hope my daughter will be there.”

  “How do you plan to support your family, Mr. Butler?”

  “I’ll be starting a job in road construction right here in town. It’s not the kind of work I’m used to, but it’s hard to find good jobs after prison. It makes enough money to pay the bills.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Butler. I have no more questions.”

  The judge looked to the defendant’s table. “Do you have any questions for the plaintiff, Mr. McCrae?” he asked.

  The brothers rose and looked at each other, and then Caleb sat down to allow Connor to answer. “No thank you, your Honor. We’ll call him back to the stand later.”

  “Would you like to call anyone else to the stand, Mr. Bennett?”

  “Yes, your Honor. I’d like to call Ms. Jordan Holbrook.”

  Jordan looked at Connor nervously. He gave her hand a squeeze before she stood. Her knees shook as she walked to the witness chair. She sat down and looked across the room. All eyes watched expectantly. She wondered if the pink chiffon blouse and black skirt had been a good choice. She looked back at Connor with doubt written all over her face. He smiled and winked. She wished she had as much confidence in herself as he seemed to have in her.

  She was sworn in, and then gave her name and address with a shaky voice.

  “No need to be nervous, Ms. Holbrook. We’re all just here to decide what’s best for your daughter. You want the best for her too, don’t you ma’am?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Can you tell us where your daughter is now, Ms. Holbrook?”

  “She’s staying with a friend.”

  “How long has she been staying with this friend?” Bennett asked.

  “For nine days.” Jordan nearly whispered her answer.

  “Did you need a break from your daughter, Ms. Holbrook?”

  “No. I just wanted her to be safe.”

  “You didn’t feel that she was safe at your h
ome, interesting. How many people are staying at your house right now?”

  She looked at Connor. He patted his hand over his heart. He wanted her to know that he loved her.

  “Both Mr. McCrea’s and Mr. Arnold Coleman,” she replied.

  “And your daughter wouldn’t be safe with you and these three men in the house. That’s quite a crowd.” Before she could respond, he continued. “Why didn’t you ever visit your husband in prison, Ms. Holbrook?”

  “I was afraid of him,” she said.

  “Let me understand this correctly.” Bennett paused for dramatic effect. “You were frightened of him when he was behind bars. But while he was still living at home, you were not afraid to pick up a phone and turn him in for robbing a store, a robbery that you were involved in.”

  “I wasn’t involved,” Jordan insisted.

  “Did you walk into that store with him willingly?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t know what he planned to do.”

  “After the robbery had been committed, you left with him.”

  She looked at Connor again. He looked down at the papers in front of him, but his hand rose slightly from the table. His second and third finger were curled under to make the sign for, I love you.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “What have you told your daughter about her father?”

  “Nothing,” she admitted.

  “Why not?”

  “I didn’t want her to be ashamed of where she’d come from.”

  “Did you think she might be ashamed of what you’d done to him, Ms. Holbrook?”

  “No. It was the bravest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “You didn’t grow up with your parents, did you, Ms. Holbrook? You’d been abandoned, left to be raised by elderly grandparents. You don’t know much about how families work.”

  “That’s not true—”

  Bennett cut her off before she could finish.

  “Your mother left you when you were seven and died of a drug overdose when you were twelve. You hadn’t ever been told who your father was. I guess you were lucky to have grandparents to rely on. Your daughter doesn’t have grandparents, does she?”