Appalachian Prey Read online

  Harlan rubbed his face. Lilah shook him like no one else. Every word, every gesture, every touch left him broken and hungering for more. Why did he have to fall for her of all people? He lay on his bed and heard Lilah toss and turn in the next room. She should be here, lying beside him. Did she feel it, too? Need and desire tumbled within him like a summer storm.

  He heard a small hiccup and bolted upright. Was she crying?

  Harlan padded to the closed door and knocked. No answer. Gently, he pushed it open. Lilah lay curled with her knees drawn to her chest, knuckles stuffed in her mouth. Another moan escaped the physical barrier she’d created with her fist.

  “Stop,” he said gruffly, sitting beside her. The mattress gave under his weight, and her body rolled toward his. She stiffened, and he brushed a strand of damp hair that clung to her face. “Don’t cry,” he demanded softly. “It’s not good for you or the baby.”

  “The baby,” she sniffled. “I still can’t get used to the idea.”

  “Are you sure it isn’t mine?” he blurted.

  “I’m sure,” she muttered, turning her head away from him.

  He leaned against the headboard and put an arm around her shoulder. A long silence stretched between them. He kissed the top of her head. “Everything’s going to work out,” he promised.

  “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

  “Fine. But I’m staying here with you tonight.”

  Lilah pulled away and sat up. “No. You—”

  He put a finger to her lips. “Shh. I just want to hold you. At least until you fall asleep.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  Slowly, she lowered her body and snuggled against him. In almost no time, the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest assured him she’d finally fallen into a deep slumber. He stroked the side of her soft cheek, chasing away a fallen tear.

  Regret twisted his gut. Had he done the right thing breaking off their relationship? Every moment he spent with her would make their goodbye so much more difficult. Still, holding her as she slept felt right. Somehow, they’d figure everything out once the immediate danger had passed.

  Chapter Six

  Lilah pulled her car into her uncle’s driveway. If anyone had a clue what kind of new mischief Dad had gotten into before his death, Uncle Thad would know. Hell, he was probably in the thick of any criminal activity. Dad had been the master moonshine blender with the killer recipe, but Uncle Thad had the connections and a natural-born salesman’s charisma.

  A cloud of red dirt marked her abrupt halt at the entrance to his cabin. Holding her breath through the dust, she marched to the porch and rapped on the door.

  Cousin Lavon opened it, scowling. “Since when did you start knocking?” he complained, turning his back to her and plopping down in front of the TV.

  Surly guy. Poor Aunt Viola had a house full of adult children with no apparent desire to move out and get a real job.

  Vi emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron and appearing even more tired and drained than usual. Her faded olive eyes were red-tinged from crying.

  “What brings you here?” she asked. “Figured you’d be too upset about poor Darla to come a callin’. You know we’ll all be at visitation tonight.”

  “What?” Lavon jerked his gaze away from the television. “Can’t go. I got plans.”

  “Stop being so disrespectful.” Uncle Thad strolled into the den and frowned at his eldest son. “You’re going. Six o’clock sharp.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lavon grumbled, clearly unhappy, but unwilling to disobey his father.

  Uncle Thad gave her a sympathetic smile as Aunt Viola quietly slipped back into the kitchen. “Tough day for the Tedders, especially you.”

  Guilt flickered in her belly. She was plum tuckered from crying and had awoken this morning full of resolve to discover what might have caused her father and sister’s deaths. Better that than dwelling on sorrow.

  “I—I’d like to talk with you, if you have a moment.” Unexpected tension twisted her tongue. Fueled by anger and despair, she hadn’t thought through how best to broach the subject. And she sure hadn’t counted on others being underfoot.

  “Of course.” He rounded on Lavon. “Leave us alone.”

  Lavon sprang up from the chair with just enough sass to show his displeasure, but not enough to risk his dad’s anger, either.

  “Vi, bring us some tea on the porch.”

  “I can help her with that—” Lilah began.

  “No, she doesn’t mind.”

  A little presumptuous of him deciding what his wife did and didn’t mind—but what did Lilah know? They were one of the few couples in the family who’d stayed together for decades. She followed him onto the porch where he took a seat and motioned at the rocker next to him.

  “What’s up?”

  Lilah bypassed the rocker and dragged over a chair, sitting directly across from her uncle. His gray eyes flickered at the subtle act of defiance and she suppressed a triumphant smile. Uncle Thad was one of her favorite relatives but it didn’t hurt to bring him down a peg or two now and then.

  Best to get straight to the point. “Have you had anyone stalk you or break into your house?”

  “No.” His head snapped back an inch. “You had any more trouble since the night you called me?”

  “A neighbor saw a man creeping around my apartment the other night.”

  His brow creased. “How’d they know he targeted your apartment, specifically?”

  “She caught him looking in my window and hanging out by my door.”

  Disgust curled his lips. “A Peeping Tom.”

  That hadn’t occurred to her. A random coincidence? “Maybe. If there weren’t two recent murders in the family, I might not even connect the two incidents.”

  “Still no proof that they are. The world’s full of sick people.”

  The screen door screeched open and Aunt Vi emerged, carrying a pitcher of sweet tea and two glasses of ice. Thad pulled a silver flask from the pocket of his pants and poured a splash before angling it toward Lilah. “Care for a nip?”

  She quirked a brow. He’d never offered before. “No, thanks.”

  “Might take the edge off your nerves. You appear mighty riled.”

  “No.”

  He shrugged and tucked it away. Behind his back, Vi nodded approvingly and slipped back into the house.

  “I am shaken,” she admitted, picking up her glass and taking a long, cool swallow. “I don’t feel safe anywhere.”

  “Stay here with us. Our house is yours. Always was, always will be.”

  If it wasn’t for the sullen Lavon, she might have been tempted. “No. You have a full house. And if someone’s targeting me, I don’t want to drag y’all into the mess.”

  “You’re family,” he insisted. “Couldn’t bear it if something happened to you, too. You’ll be safer here than anywhere else. Me, Lavon and two of the younger boys all have guns, and we won’t hesitate to use them.” He pulled a cigar from his front pocket and struck a lighter.

  Normally, she didn’t mind his porch smoking, but the scent of burning tar and tobacco had her tasting bile at the back of her throat. Quickly, she washed it down with another sip of sweet tea.

  “I’m staying with Harlan Sampson for now.”

  The stogie almost fell out of his mouth. “Why?”

  “For protection.”

  Uncle Thad narrowed his eyes. “You seeing that fella again?”

  “No. It’s just a temporary arrangement until things settle down.”

  “So you say.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You and him were hot and heavy a few months ago. I warned you then and I’ll warn you now—stay away from government men. They’re nothing but trouble.”

&
nbsp; Lilah started to make a crack about paranoia, then thought better of it. A little paranoia just might keep her alive at the moment. The lace curtains behind Uncle Thad moved a fraction, and she glimpsed Lavon’s face at the window. The big sneak. She’d never liked him. He was a few years older than her and was always the bully at school when they were growing up.

  “Harlan means well,” she said stiffly, wondering how he had turned the tables on her and her decisions. She set the glass on the wicker table. “I came here to ask you a few questions.”

  His mouth puckered at the end of the cigar, and he drew a long puff of smoke, exhaling it into an elaborate chain of smoke rings. “Shoot.”

  “Harlan suspects you and Dad, maybe even Ed, have been business partners for more than just moonshine.” She pushed through her hesitancy. “You’re family, and you know I love you, but I need to ask—have y’all ever been involved in drug operations?”

  Uncle Thad drew a sharp breath and coughed. “Drugs?” He coughed again and his face reddened under his beard. “I can’t believe you’d ask such a thing. Insulting enough you believe me capable of such a crime—but you suspect your own father? A man who’s not here to defend his reputation?”

  “It’s horrible, and I’m sorry. I asked because I can’t explain the thirty thousand dollars cash I found hidden under his mattress.”

  “For all I know, Chauncey had been saving that money for years. Not really all that much for a lifetime of savings, if you ask me.”

  “So you deny branching out into marijuana and heavier stuff?”

  “I won’t even dignify that with an answer.” He took a long swallow of ’shine-laced tea.

  Awful early for indulging. She’d never observed him to be a heavy drinker, unlike her dad, but the recent deaths apparently weighed as heavy on his heart as they did on her own. Still, she had to push.

  “I only ask because there’s some reason for the killings.”

  “I loved Chauncey, but my brother was a hothead. He got in a rousing bar fight at least once or twice a month. You ask me, someone came up there to his cabin to settle a grudge.”

  “Maybe. But what about Darla? How do you explain that?”

  His face darkened and his left hand balled into a fist. “Word is—the cops think it’s Ed.”

  “You can’t believe that. He loved her. I was with him when he had to identify Darla’s body. The poor guy fell apart.”

  “Guilt can do that to a man.”

  “Grief, not guilt.” Was she the only one who believed him innocent? “Thought you liked Ed—wasn’t he working with you and Dad on the side for extra money?”

  Uncle Thad drew another long puff of tobacco. A shuttered expression on his face replaced the simmering anger. Lilah remembered that look well. He and Dad wore it often when someone inquired too closely about their business.

  “He didn’t do much outside of a few deliveries,” Thad grumbled.

  “At a significant risk. Sounds like Ed was the one risking the rap for distribution.”

  He ignored the subtle gibe. “You know it’s usually a spouse in these kinds of cases, don’t you? Crimes of passion happen all the time.”

  Lilah set down her glass with an emphatic thud. “You used to preach family loyalty.”

  “Ed Stovall is an outsider.”

  “How can you say that? He was married to Darla for years. They have three children.”

  “He only married her ’cause Chauncey forced the issue.”

  “It may have started that way, but they stayed together. That should count for something.”

  Hearing a crunch of tires on gravel, Lilah turned her head and spotted the familiar brown-and-white cruiser pulling in. She groaned inwardly. What was Harlan doing way out here? Checking up on her? She shouldn’t have left a note in the kitchen telling him where she was going. Any hope of gaining information from Uncle Thad was lost for the time being.

  The car stopped and he exited, his long and slender frame slowly unfolding in the sun’s glare. He stared at them from behind dark polarized sunglasses, but she knew by the twitch of a muscle in his jaw that he was seriously annoyed.

  Too bad. So was she.

  * * *

  WHAT GOOD WAS it to have Lilah stay at his house for protection if she ran around all over these mountains without an escort?

  Not a damn bit.

  Harlan slammed the car door and made his way to the porch, working to control his irritation. It’s not as if he’d spelled out the danger to Lilah, but surely she had enough sense to realize she’d put herself in a vulnerable position.

  Time to be clearer.

  With an effort, he twisted his mouth into a humorless smile, climbed the porch steps and extended a hand to Thaddeus Tedder. “Morning.”

  Thad rose, obvious reluctance in the slow extension of his own hand. “Harlan.”

  Lilah smiled brightly. “So you got my note. Want a glass of sweet tea?”

  She wore a pink sundress and her loose blond waves tumbled about her shoulders. For all the world, she appeared carefree and poised. But he’d held her last night as she’d cried for her sister, and the faint smudge of purple under her eyes belied the strain she’d been under. A strain for which he was partly responsible.

  “No, thanks. I’ll pass on the tea,” he replied.

  Thad gestured to a chair. “Lilah tells me she’s staying with you for a spell.”

  He sat down, aware that Thaddeus was far from pleased at the news. “Seemed for the best.”

  “She can stay with me. It don’t look good—her staying at yer place.”

  He glanced at Lilah. Spots of red dotted her cheeks. What did her uncle know about them? If he wasn’t aware of their prior relationship, he would be in a few weeks. Everyone would be. And they were bound to think he was the one who got her pregnant. And perhaps he was.

  “Nobody cares these days,” she quickly chimed in. “It’s only temporary, anyway.”

  “Ask me, you should put a ring on that girl’s finger. Now that Chauncey’s passed away, it’s my duty to look after her welfare.”

  Lilah stood and dug her car keys out of her purse. “It’s my decision and no one else’s.” She went to the screen door and called, “Thanks for the tea, Aunt Vi. Catch you later.”

  Hastily, Harlan said goodbye to Thad and followed Lilah down the porch steps to her car. Even with his long loping strides, he had to hurry to catch up to her.

  “We need to talk,” he said as she opened the car door.

  “Not now. Not here. Shouldn’t you be out arresting bad guys or something?”

  “Protecting you is part of my job.”

  “I’m fine. Nothing’s going to happen to me in the middle of the day.”

  She slid in and closed the door, but Harlan leaned in the open window. “Darla was shot in broad daylight.”

  Lilah flinched and he wanted to kick himself. He opened his mouth to apologize, then snapped it shut. The reminder was for her own good.

  “She was alone at her house,” Lilah replied. “I’m here with family. There’s a difference.”

  “No one is above suspicion.”

  Pfft. “Warning received.” Lilah inserted the key and turned the motor over.

  This wouldn’t do. He didn’t want to leave her angry and upset. “Wait a sec. I came home for lunch but never ate. Let’s call a truce. Want to grab a bite with me?”

  Her hand hovered over the ignition. “I am hungry,” she admitted, a sheepish smile curving her lips.

  “Lucille’s Barbecue?” It was her favorite. She couldn’t say no to that.

  “Deal.”

  He opened her door and gestured at the cruiser. “Come with me. We’ll swing by after and pick up your car.”

  Twenty minutes later, he congratulated himself. Good call on taking her to lunch. Lucille’s w
as bustling with the clatter of plates and silverware and chattering patrons as they placed their order, and an enticing aroma of smoked pork wafted through the country diner. It was plain with red-topped Formica tables and scuffed aluminum chairs, but the barbecue was the best in three counties.

  He quirked a brow at Lilah as the waitress walked away, scribbling down their order. “A salad? Who are you?”

  “Figured I needed to clean up my act a little for the next few months.”

  Her smile was thin, and he was struck at how delicate she appeared, how frail. Life had dealt her nothing but hard blows lately.

  Elbert Anders and his two brothers approached—mouths and shoulders sloped downward, but their eyes were determined and lit with commiseration. Elbert came to a standstill by their table and his brothers aligned on either side of his large, bulky frame. The mountain men all sported long bushy beards and wore faded denim overalls. Privately, Harlan dubbed them the ZZ Top triplets. “Sorry ’bout Darla,” Elbert mumbled. “We’ll be payin’ our respects tonight.”

  “Thank you,” Lilah whispered.

  It was as if Elbert had opened an invisible barrier between them and the diner patrons. Slowly, others drifted over and expressed their condolences. Tedder or not, the folks around here felt sorry for Lilah losing her father and now her sister. Harlan’s spine stiffened as J.D. rose from the back and sauntered their way.

  “Sorry for your loss,” he said to Lilah, slipping Harlan a loaded look.

  Her mouth compressed in a thin line, and she gave a stiff nod, turning her chin away a fraction. A subtle rejection.

  “Our office is working tirelessly to find the person responsible for Darla’s murder.”

  “Like you did for Dad?”

  “It’s an open investigation. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  “By harassing my brother-in-law?”

  J.D. shot him a can’t-you-control-your-woman look, and Harlan laid a hand over Lilah’s, stifling her drumming fingers. “We have to explore all avenues,” he said quietly.

  The waitress glided over with a tray and set down their orders. “Eat up, darlin’,” she urged Lilah, patting her shoulder. “You lookin’ mighty frail.”