Chapter 14 Digging Up The Dead #2
Josh took a step towards her, and Officer Bryan Watson strode to the front of the room, putting a hand on his chest as he got close to her.
“I think you need to calm your ass down, son,” Bryan said.
“We forgave you of all of that, and you’re still here living your life without anyone undermining your every decision. It’s time you start showing the same gratitude that was given to you,” Aunt Mae finished, her eyes never leaving his reddened face as he panted like an animal cornered.
She tossed her kitchen towel over her shoulder, grabbed her menu, and walked towards the double doors leading out onto the street. She stopped as the people in the chairs shifted and watched her. Turning, she looked at the faces of her neighbors, friends, and colleagues.
“We can’t be the pot calling the kettle black.”
Her face softened, and she smiled as she looked each one in the eye.
“What’s happening to our community? This used to be a place where we all loved one another, supported one another, and most importantly, forgave one another.
You all might want to take a good, hard look at yourselves and our town.
We’re the last of the olden ways. If we teach the children that this behavior is OK, then we’re no different from any other place outside our city limits, and Hamby is lost anyway. ”
With that, Aunt Mae walked out into the street towards her diner, where dinners were getting ready to be served.
LUCIAN EMbrY KEPT his composure and matched the stature of the men on either of his sides.
He was a true professional in every sense of the word; he wouldn’t budge an inch.
It’s the reason he was in demand, and his reputation preceded him.
The reason Vincent and Maureen Capshaw hired him as their private investigator and personal security.
He smiled inside as they walked through the revolving door of the federal FBI building in New York, NY, and removed the Rolex watch from his wrist. He gently laid it into the bin so that it could pass through the security scanners, and removed his shoes, placing them in a bin of their own.
It would be a long forty-eight hours, he thought, as Jake Washington ushered him towards a security guard holding a wand.
LANA PULLED UP to the peer and switched the engine off. She smiled at Kayden.
“Ready to experience the only attraction in town?” she asked.
Kayden had never been to her city before, and she wanted to take him to her favorite place on the beach.
He grinned at her, then tossed his phone into the glove box.
He hadn’t noticed the three missed call messages on the screen before he shut it closed.
He shut the truck door, walked over to Lana’s side of the truck, and inhaled the humid, salty ocean breeze.
He reached for her hand, and they began making their way to the wooden staircase.
As they began the ascent hand-in-hand, he squeezed her hand gently and thought about the three months apart that loomed ahead of them.
He was doing his best to put on a good show and not express how sad he felt inside.
He hoped he could continue his charade the entire night, but it was hard.
As they made it to the actual peer deck, Lana saw the same Pick Your Pearl lady laying out different jewelry pieces and stopped when she saw a beautiful black pearl bracelet sitting in a bowl of coarse sea salt.
Kayden leaned over the table and pointed at it.
“That’s very pretty, don’t you think?”
Lana shook her head because it was. The pearl was giant, and it was set in her favorite colors, turquoise and light blue.
“How much for the bracelet?” Kayden asked the blonde sitting at the table.
“Well, typically you have to pick an oyster and then whatever pearl you get, you put in a place setting. But, if you want to purchase this one outright, it’s called Love Wave and it’s eighty-five bucks,” she chirped.
Kayden reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet when Lana touched his arm.
“You don’t have to buy me anything.”
“I want to. When you look at it, you’ll think of me when you’re off saving the world,” he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Lana smiled faintly, grabbed his chin, and turned his face to hers.
“I don’t need a bracelet to do that.”
The pretty blonde lady put the bracelet in a mesh gift bag and stuffed it with a catalog for more pearl jewelry. Kayden handed her a hundred-dollar bill, opened the small bag, pulled out a bracelet, and placed it on Lana’s right wrist.
“Perfect,” Kayden said.
He nodded at the blonde, then he and Lana walked away.
Lana played with the oil slick globe on her wrist when she felt Kayden stiffen.
She looked up, and her eyes narrowed in disbelief.
Sam was there. And with Carmen! Kayden shifted his eyes to Lana, trying to gauge her reaction at seeing him with her best friend.
Lana couldn’t believe her eyes. It was as if a train wreck was happening in front of her and she couldn’t not look at it.
Were they on a date? she asked herself. From the looks of it, they were.
It wouldn’t be a surprise with them spending so much time together, and Carmen always thought he was hot—and said it often.
Lana looked at Kayden and recognized that he was waiting for her reaction. She grabbed his hand, smiled, and they walked toward both of them.
“Fancy meeting you two here,” Lana announced when they approached.
They both looked like two armed robbers caught in the act, mouths open, nervous glances exchanged, unsure of what to do.
It was almost funny. Carmen stuttered, tripping over her words as she looked frantically between Sam, Kayden, and Lana.
Lana put her hand up and stopped her, although no actual word ever came out.
“You don’t have to explain yourself, Carmen.
I already knew you were attracted to him even back when we were dating.
And Sam, well, it’s not a surprise. I’m not bothered, really, but it is interesting now that I think about it.
Was this part of the reason you helped convince my mother about the program?
” Lana asked, beckoning her friend for the truth.
“I...” Carmen started, still at a loss, the words lost.
“Like I said, it’s fine, all you have to do is be honest with me. Both of you,” Lana finished, looking at Sam.
Sam, however, was looking at Kayden, and Kayden was staring at him intensely, too. It was as if they were about to attack each other, the mood shifting from uncomfortable to tense.
“I see you haven’t learned your lesson yet,” Sam responded to Lana, never taking his eyes off Kayden.
Kayden snorted, his confidence so exuberant that it pissed Sam off even more.
“I guess she could say the very same thing about you,” Kayden replied.
“Look, I don’t have time for this, and Kayden, he most definitely is not worth your time,” Lana said, grabbing Kayden’s hand.
They began walking away from them toward the end of the pier, their actual destination.
“Did you hear back from Jake?” Sam shouted at her.
Lana froze. Damn it, that son-of-a...
“Who’s Jake?” Kayden asked, looking down at her.
Lana turned on her heel as Sam approached with a forlorn Carmen. Lana crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes shooting darts at Sam. He knew exactly what he was doing, the bastard. Lana looked at Kayden again.
“Jake is Sam’s brother. A federal agent,” she admitted.
Kayden frowned, his eyes still on Sam, his hand still clutching hers.
“Don’t act innocent, as if you don’t keep secrets yourself, Lana,” Sam spat.
“Tell him that you have my brother investigate his mother,” Sam spat.
“I hate you,” Lana barked.
Sam looked visibly affected by the words, his face wincing. Carmen moved her hands from his and backed away from him.
“I can’t do this,” she said.
“What?” Sam asked, annoyed at her reaction.
“I’m not gonna be in the middle of this. Or be who you settle for because you’re still in love with my best friend,” Carmen turned and stalked down the pier, and Sam turned his attention back to Lana.
“What investigation?” Kayden breathed.
He was pissed. Really pissed.
“Kayden, I...”
“He’s just like her, Lana. I suggest you call Jake back and do it soon,” Sam spat, interrupting her.
As he turned to leave, Kayden took a step forward, grabbed Sam’s shoulder, spun him around, and decked him in the face. He stumbled back, holding his nose as the blood erupted from it.
“Stay away from my wife, you son of a bitch. That’s your last and only warning!”
Carmen turned around when she heard the commotion. She ran back to Sam’s aid and ushered him away from Kayden, who looked like Thor standing over the shorter, less muscular man. When they were safely away, Kayden turned back to her, his twisted face uncoiling, his breathing returning to normal.
“What’s going on?” he asked again.
“Your mother told me what she told you, about your dad and the insurance fraud. But you weren’t there with me.
She all but admitted there was more to the story, and I’m trying to find out what that is.
I don’t want to wait for it to drop in our laps in six months or a year from now.
I want it all out in the open. The hard, ugly truth. ”
“Which is what?”
“Jake took the PI Lucian in for questioning in New York, but I don’t know much more than that,” she admitted.
Kayden flexed his fingers, and Lana grabbed his hand, lightly rubbing her fingertips over the tender knuckles. She kissed them, then turned to the ocean, her hand on the railing, her eyes closed, and took in the salty sea air.
“Whatever you find out, I want you to tell me. I don’t care how bad, don’t keep me in the dark. Ok?”
He wrapped his warm arms around her small frame from behind and rested his chin lightly on her shoulder. She opened her eyes lazily and stared over the ocean, the moonlight dancing over the waves, the ripples moving for miles toward the deep darkness.
“I promise, Kayden,” Lana sighed, feeling the calm of the ocean take over her.
“And no more Sam or favors after this?”
“Agreed,” she breathed.
“It really didn’t bother you, seeing them together?” he prodded.
“Sam and Carmen are the last people on my mind. I couldn’t care less what they do or who they did it with. I guess we have that in common, too,” she said.
“What’s that?” he quizzed, the tone of her voice one he had never heard before.
“We’re magnets for people who end up hurting us,” she said.
“As long as we don’t become those people, we’ll be fine.”
Kayden gave Lana a kiss on her cheek, and they watched the waves in silence as they danced below. As calm as the ocean was, Kayden couldn’t help but think about the troubled waters that could still possibly lie ahead for them both and squeezed Lana tighter to him, never wanting to let her go.