Page 21 of Desert Thorns

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“I did. Was getting a little too hot.”

I chuckled. “I can only imagine. Who in their right mind works in the blistering heat while wearing a habit? A black one at that.”

“Well, usually I don’t wear—” He cleared his throat. “I wear something else. But for modesty reasons when having a female guest . . .”

“So you’re almost suffocating because of me? Why didn’t you just tell me not to come back here?” Despite burning to know whatsomething elsemeant, I didn’t press him. He was obviously uncomfortable elaborating, or he would have.

“It’s no big deal. You’re great company.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” I nudged his arm with my shoulder, grinning up at him.

The corners of his mouth tugged upward, then he dropped his gaze. “Want some?” He held up the sandwich.

“No, you eat it. You’ve been working like crazy.”

“You, too. The kitchen is hard work.” He carefully tore the sandwich in half and handed me one part. “Please don’t make me resort to aggressive love.”

I snickered. “We don’t want that.”

He blessed the food and thanked God for it, then we ate. Birds singing and the wind rustling the leaves of the bushes and trees around us filled the comfortable silence. The warm air smelled of cut grass, dirt, and mangoes. How could anyoneexperience the beauty of nature and argue there was no God? His fingerprints wereeverywhere.

I swallowed the last bite, then rubbed my hands on my olive maxi skirt. “What’s that Bible verse about no one having an excuse to not believe in God because of nature?”

“Do you mean Romans 1:20?For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

I pointed at Kingsley. “That’s the one. God’s existence couldn’t be more obvious, yet people still reject the idea of Him.”

“Some prefer to be their own god.” Kingsley ran a hand through his wet hair. “Although we all have our moments where we act as if we don’t need Him.”

“Yup, I’ve definitely been there.” Again, I wondered what Kingsley did. What kind of sins he wrestled with. For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine him sinning in any way.

Which was ridiculous. Only Jesus had been without sin.

“Can I tell you what had me so spooked last night?” I blurted. I needed to talk about what I’d seen, but not with Rome. He wouldn’t hesitate to set Craig straight. And Bella . . . She’d grown up very sheltered. Hearing that this island was crawling with Mafia and corrupted cops would burst her bubble. Getting my other friends involved wasn’t an option either. Noa Rose worked for the DRPD, and Coco had enough problems of her own to deal with.

Kingsley glanced over at me. “Of course.”

“He killed several guys. Craig, I mean. He made some kind of deal with shady figures, then he shot two of them. Two men were with him. I think they were Italian Mafia, but I’m not sure. Those two shot the other three guys.”

Kingsley’s brows drew together. “Where?”

“At Silent Wharf. They unloaded some kind of wooden crates, andbang! Killed them in cold blood.” I shuddered. How had I not had bad dreams last night? “They caught me watching, and I ran, but I took a wrong turn at the bottom of the mountain and ended up here.”

“How did you even end up in that situation?”

“I was at a friend’s house, and on my way home saw Craig’s Charger ahead of me. He drove . . . unfocused. So I followed him all the way to Silent Wharf.”

Kingsley nodded. “And why didn’t you tell Rome if the Mafia was involved?”

“Because I’m not even sure it was the Italian Mafia. It was too dark to see much.”

“And the crates? What do you think was in the crates?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but it has to be something illegal considering all the cloak-and-dagger behavior. What if it’s something that could endanger people? Maybe even the entire island? I really want to talk to the authorities, but I don’t know who to trust.”

The crease between Kingsley’s brows deepened as he ran a hand over his beard. “My brother, Wentworth, is a member of a clandestine military unit. They technically don’t exist. He’s deployed at the moment, but I could get him involved once he’s back.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. Craig has lots of friends in the military, all branches, and the CIA and FBI, too. As you saw today, he has a long arm.”