Secrets Among the Cedars (Intertwined Book 2)

by Johnson, Sherri Wilson

  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 shre
dded.

  "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.

  A knock on her window made her jump out of her seat. She turned to stare straight into the tiny blue eyes of a scraggly bearded man in greasy overalls. Was this one of Phil's cousins?

  He tapped on the window again. "Miss? Do you need help?"

  She shook her head as she pressed the lock button making sure she'd locked the car. "Someone is on the way. Thanks."

  "You sure?"

  "Yes, thanks."

  "Alrighty then. Have a good day." The man walked behind Kathryn's car and climbed into an old beat up wrecker. He honked his horn as he passed her and waved.

  Kathryn let out her breath and ran her fingers through her hair. That was close. She had to stay alert. If that had been one of Phil's cousins, she could have been overpowered. She turned up the radio and let the next song fill her mind with something besides her fear.

  Chapter Eleven

  When Phil arrived, he honked his horn before approaching Kathryn’s car. Now that was a gentleman.

  Kathryn hopped out of the car and ran to him. He wore khaki pleated dress shorts, a white golf shirt, tucked in, and brown leather sandals. This was the most businesslike he'd looked since she'd met him, and the look suited him well. Casting aside all inhibitions, she embraced him. Phil encircled her waist with his arms.

  "Thanks so much for coming to my rescue. No one has ever rescued me before."

  "You're welcome." He pulled back and looked down into her tear-filled eyes. "No one?"

  "No. I suppose it's because I'm usually acting as if I don't need help. But I'm starting to believe that that's the wrong approach to this life. It's not such a bad thing to need others."

  "Life lessons learned in Cedar Key, huh?" Phil squeezed her waist and then released her. "Let's have a look at what we've got here." He bent to look at the back left tire, then walked around to the other side. When he stood, he sighed. "This doesn't look good."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Your tires were slashed."

  "Slashed! How can you tell?"

  "Come over here and look."

  Kathryn walked around to the back right side of the car. Phil pointed out the cut marks in the tire. "I can't believe this. Who would have—"

  "Who do you think?"

  "Your cousins are serious about their work, aren't they?"

  "You have no idea. See why I said you can't handle an Ezzo alone?"

  "Yes, I see now. So what do we do now?"

  Phil pointed at her trunk. "I'm assuming you don't have two spares in there."

  She shook her head.

  "Okay. Let me call my mechanic, Elmer. I'll get him to bring two new tires over from his place, and he'll put them on here."

  "How far away is he?"

  "Oh, his shop is just a few miles up the road. If he was further, I'd recommend towing your car. But he's pretty quick and always handy." Phil dialed a number and waited. He winked at Kathryn.

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kathryn almost planted a whopper of a kiss on Phil's face. Of course, that wouldn't have been a ladylike thing to do. Unless she played the part of the damsel in distress. She giggled. She was losing her tough woman image, and it didn't bother her at all.

  Phil raised his eyebrows, obviously wondering what she was laughing at. "Hey, Elmer? This is Phil. Yeah, I've got a fri
end's car over here on 24. She's got two sliced tires. Can you bring some replacements out here and put them on for us?" Phil waited, then knelt down beside the back left tire. "Yeah, they're P215/60R16. Thanks, man." Phil hit the end button and leaned back onto the back quarter panel. "Elmer will be here in a bit."

  Kathryn leaned against the car beside Phil and circled her elbows with her fingers. "Did he say how much they'd cost?"

  "No, but probably a hundred per tire."

  "Ugh! This little trip is starting to eat away at my savings."

  "You need me to cover you?"

  "No, thanks. I've got it. I just hate spending money I don't have to spend."

  Phil bent over and looked between his legs at the busted tire. "Looks like this is one of those times you have to spend money."

  "You're funny. Truly funny." She smacked his arm.

  “You can turn it in on your insurance depending on what your deductible is.”

  “I suppose. I guess we could sit in the car in the air conditioning."

  "If you want. Or we could just stand out here in the breeze with the armadillo and chat."

  Kathryn laughed. "This isn't a breeze. This is a burst of hot air."

  "Then into the car we go."

  “Would you mind terribly if we sat in your car? I want a working mode of transportation in case we need to escape without much notice.” She chewed on her forefinger.

  “Absolutely. This way, ma’am.” Phil escorted her to his SUV, opened the passenger side door for her, and shut it behind her.

  Kathryn inspected the inside of the vehicle. Clean. Detailed. Not a gum wrapper in sight. No surprise. Although, he'd said his vehicle was worse than hers. He'd probably made it sound as if he was messy in order to make her feel better about herself. How sweet. After Phil slid into the car, he cranked it and turned down the radio then pointed the air vents toward her.

  "Okay, so tell me about your cousins and how they plan to convince me not to prosecute your uncle—even though I'm actually not prosecuting him anymore."