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And no one held him.
“Oh, I could believe just about anything out of Johnny,” Dawg bit out, slowly drawing away from her and heading back to the table where the picnic basket still sat. “He’s definitely his mother’s son. ”
Dawg’s heart was breaking for the things they had both lost because of his ignorance—for his child, for the woman he loved before he knew what love was. He wasn’t that same immature man any longer. He had been too damned rock dumb to go after what he wanted, even though he had sensed what Crista would mean to his future. He wasn’t dumb anymore.
“Why would he do this, though?” Crista set the basket on the far end of the bar before moving into the kitchen and pulling ice from the freezer for the tea that had been packed with the food. “He’s your cousin. When I left Somerset, Johnny followed after the three of you like a shadow. ”
Dawg shook his head. “Johnny followed us like a shadow to see how much trouble he could brew up. We knew he was gay even then, and he was terrified we’d tell on him. Not that we cared either way; it was his damned troublemaking we couldn’t stand. His and his mother’s. ”
Crista frowned heavily as she filled the glasses with ice.
“I always remember how nice Jcohnny was. ?
? She bit her lip as she lifted her gaze to him, and Dawg wondered if he had ever seen that look in anyone else’s eyes. It wasn’t pity; it was compassion and anger for him. She was angry on his behalf, because she loved him. Even now, after everything he had done to her.
His chest clenched at the thought. She had even said the words, and this time, it wasn’t just a hazy memory. She loved him, and he’d be damned if he was going to spend precious time distrusting her.
No, she wasn’t part of the Trinity, but she was a gift from God himself. The days he had spent with her, despite the problems that had arisen, had been freer, happier than any he might have known in his life.
“Johnny’s a deceptive little bastard. He likes to draw you in, and every second that he’s playing the concerned buddy and dear friend, he’s looking for ways to slash your throat. He learned the art at his mother’s knee, and after the death of his father, she had free rein to reinforce the lessons. ”
“His father, Ralph, was one of my dad’s few friends. ” Crista’s lips tilted sadly. “Mom hated Nadine, though. She hated to even see her come into the store. ”
Dawg nodded in response. “Everyone liked Ralph. If he had lived, he would have divorced Nadine eventually, but maybe Johnny would have had a chance. ”
“How do you think he got mixed up in this thing with the missiles?” She frowned then. “And don’t think you’re not going to pay for lying to me about drugs. ”
“I never said it was drugs, Crista Ann; you assumed. ” He sighed.
“You could have corrected my assumption. ”
His grin was still tinted with the grief that lingered in his gaze, but at least a measure of amusement tipped it now, Crista thought.
“Johnny makes a habit of making friends with military types,” he told her. “They feel sorry for him at first, until they realize it’s lust and not hero worship he’s displaying. Somehow, he finally hooked up with someone dumb enough to get pulled into one of his schemes or let out the information, and he used it. Either way, as soon as Natches and Cranston have the information together and a warrant, he’ll no longer be a threat. ”
She paused, staring back at him as disbelief slammed inside her head.
“What are you talking about? Aren’t they arresting him now?”
“Not without enough proof. We don’t have enough yet. ” Dawg set plates on the table as she continued to stare at him in horror.
“But it was him. We all recognized him, Dawg. ”
He shook his head, his expression weary, bitter. “Doesn’t matter, Crista. Any decent defense lawyer would have him out of jail within an hour and a lawsuit against the arresting agents not long afterward. We need proof, not the testimony of two cousins who have every reason in the world to want to crucify him. ”
The bitterness in his voice wasn’t one of hatred but one of disillusionment.
“I’m sorry. ” She fought to rein back her anger. “Family should stick together, not try to destroy each other. ”
She couldn’t have survived childhood without Alex. Her brother had been her rock, her anchor, and later, her best friend. She couldn’t imagine having him hate her enough to try to destroy her or anyone she loved.
“Yeah well, that’s in a perfect world, sweetheart. ” He shook his head as though shaking away his own regrets, then flashed her a smile that was at once teasing and filled with hunger. “Let’s eat our lunch.
We’re hanging around the marina for the rest of the day, until Natches gets back to us. Once we’ve decided what to do to, things will move fast enough. Let’s enjoy the quiet time we have for a while. ”
As he said that, a knock sounded at the door.
Crista’s lips twitched as she glimpsed three shadows, two taller, the other petite and delicate.
