Tracie Peterson (7 page)

A ringing telephone drew Cara’s thoughts away from prayer.
Who could be calling at this hour?
she wondered, quickly closing Brianna’s door behind her. She reached the phone in her bedroom but found no one on the line.

“Hello?” she repeated before hearing the distinct click that signaled disconnection.

Deciding it must have been a wrong number, Cara shrugged off her clothes and pulled on pajamas and a robe. There was still time to look over some paper work before she went to bed, so Cara made her way to the dining room and spread out her work on the table.

She’d barely read through the first page when a knock sounded on her door. Another glance at her watch revealed
that it was nearly ten o’clock. Immediately thinking of her elderly next-door neighbor, Cara opened the door expecting to see Mrs. Pritchard.

“Good evening, Mrs. Kessler.” It was Russell Owens. Beside him stood a very distinguished-looking man.

Cara stared at them in open-mouthed surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“You agreed to meet with Mr. Kerns, and I thought perhaps your home would afford us an element of privacy,” Owens answered.

Kerns waited no longer for his introduction. “I’m Bob Kerns, the next governor of Kansas.”

He smiled in a way that immediately put Cara on her guard.

“May we come in?” Bob asked smoothly.

“Certainly not!” Cara exclaimed and pulled her robe together tightly. “It’s after ten. Surely we can have this discussion in my office on Monday.”

“It won’t wait,” said Kerns, pushing Cara aside to admit himself into the apartment.

“You can’t just barge in here!”

Kerns eyed her for a moment, then shook his head and replied, “Calm down and hear me out. What I have to say could be quite profitable to you and your business.”

By this time Russell had come into the apartment behind her and was quietly closing the door. Cara whirled around at the sound of the lock sliding into place. Her fears mounted with every second as she looked first at Owens and then to Kerns.

“This is uncalled for. Get out of my apartment.” She tried hard to appear authoritative, but her voice sounded childlike even in her own ears.

“Calm down, Cara,” Russell said, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Cara shuddered and pushed him away with her elbows. “Don’t ever touch me again.” Her voice held new power, and Russell backed away with his arms raised.

“Easy does it. I didn’t mean anything by it. We aren’t exactly the neighborhood boogeymen, you know.”

Kerns chuckled. “I believe we’ve just taken this young woman off guard. Cara, why don’t you come sit down and we’ll tell you why we’re here.”

She realized they weren’t going anywhere until she heard them out. “Very well, but I need to change my clothes first. Wait here.”

Hurrying to her bedroom, Cara went immediately to the telephone. She started to dial 911, then put the receiver down. Robert Kerns was a gubernatorial candidate. She recognized him from numerous television interviews. Surely he was on the up and up. She drew a deep breath. There was really no reason to be afraid or to call the police. Was there?

Biting her lower lip, Cara hurried into a lavender sweat suit. She resented the way Owens and Kerns pushed her around, but perhaps she could get this over with and be rid of both of them for good.

She walked slowly back to the living room and assumed a defensive posture. Kerns and Owens looked up at her from where they sat on the sofa. Both were perfectly attired in business suits and striped red-and-blue ties. And both looked at her with the same self-satisfied smug expression.

Cara switched to the offensive. “If you’re comfortable, I’d appreciate it if you would tell me what merits coming here in the middle of the night.” She held a stony stare on Kerns, hoping the man would grow uncomfortable and apologetic. He didn’t. Instead, he seemed only amused and smiled broadly, looking too much like a Cheshire cat.

“Please,” Kerns motioned, “have a seat with us and we’ll explain.”

Cara noted the ease in which he commanded the situation. His square jaw was firmly set and the smile was frozen on his face, but it was eyes the color of steel that held her attention most. They were cold, lifeless, shark’s eyes. Cara could see
that Robert Kerns was the one in charge, and in that moment of revelation she could also see that he knew it as well.

Almost against her will, Cara sank into the nearest chair. “All right, I’m sitting. What is it that couldn’t wait until Monday?”

Owens and Kerns exchanged a brief look of satisfaction before Kerns turned back to Cara. “As you know, I’m running for governor.”

“Yes, both of you’ve made that abundantly clear,” she replied dryly. “And you want the support of HEARTBEAT.”

“In a way,” Kerns said in a slow hypnotic manner. “In a way. You see, I’m very impressed with the work you’ve done in that organization. You have a great deal to offer this state, including a dynamic personality that will automatically draw people to you.”

“I don’t see why this has anything—” Cara began, but Kerns quickly silenced her.

“If you’ll give me a chance to speak, I’ll tell you what it has to do with you.”

Cara crossed her arms against her chest and waited in obvious irritation.

“That’s better,” Kerns replied.

His manner and tone suggested he was a parent dealing with a child rather than a grown woman. His entire demeanor made Cara angry. How dare he come into her house late in the night and order her around! Cara had never felt so helpless, and without even realizing what she was doing, she found herself praying for God’s protection.

“. . . and that’s why I want you to be my running mate.”

Cara suddenly realized she hadn’t been paying attention. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?” There was no way he could have said what she’d heard.

Kerns’ eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “We will be here all night if I am to repeat everything I say. This is a matter of utmost importance, and I’d appreciate it if you would give me your undivided attention.”

Cara held her temper in check and drew a deep breath. “You have exactly”—she looked at her watch—“ten minutes to wrap this thing up. I’ve had about as much as I’m going to take for one evening.”

Kerns smiled in his patient annoying manner. “I’m certain this must be a surprise for you, but as I said, I’ve done my homework and you have a great deal to offer this state. You have a recognizable name out west with your father’s terms in the statehouse. People respect his name, as well as that of Kessler for a variety of reasons. You know how the political scene works, at least from a small district approach. I can’t imagine a stronger, more beneficial team for Kansas than Kerns and Kessler.”

With perfect timing, Russell pulled out the makeshift banner and held it up for Cara to see.

“You can’t be serious!” Cara gasped. “You want me to be your running mate?”

“That’s the general idea here,” Kerns said rather snidely.

“Forget it,” Cara said, quickly getting to her feet. “Politics is a dirty nasty business and I want nothing to do with it. Being the district representative nearly killed my father. The work wasn’t the hard part, either. It was the messiness of the game surrounding the job. I don’t ever want to subject my loved ones to that kind of ordeal, and if you had made yourself clear the other day, I would have said no then, just as I’m saying no today.”

Instead of making a move to leave Cara’s apartment, Kerns eased back into the plush cushioning of the couch and crossed his legs defiantly. “I think you should hear me out.”

Cara felt as though hands were around her throat strangling out any reply. Robert Kerns somehow made her feel helpless to deny his demands. Feeling like a trapped animal, Cara moved toward the front door.

“I want you both to leave. Now.”

“Cara, just listen to us,” Russell said in a soothing tone, coming to her side. “You have a chance here to reach a lot
of kids. I thought your ministry was to better the youth of Kansas.”

“Exactly,” Cara replied, “and I can’t do that from an office in the Capitol.”

“You can’t do it if HEARTBEAT folds, either,” Kerns said flatly.

Cara turned. “What are you saying?” She felt her pulse speeding and her breath coming at a quickened pace. Everything in her told her to get as far away from this man as possible. Robert Kerns represented a very serious danger.

Perhaps Kerns sensed he was losing her with his railroading tactics. Perhaps he read the fear in her eyes and worried that the scene would become unpleasant. For whatever reason, he seemed to change his approach right before her eyes.

“I need you, Cara Kessler. You represent the traditional morals and family ethics that I value. People know you for those principles and they respect you. I want to do great things for this state, and I believe with the right partner we can make Kansas the best state in the union.”

Cara relaxed a bit. “I want Kansas to be the best state in the union as well, but I’m no politician. I’m not even remotely interested in government, and I certainly have no desire to find myself answering to a legislative body, or to you. I answer to God and my direction comes from Him. Believe me, I’d know if He were leading me in this direction, and I would act on it. But He isn’t, and therefore, I have no other recourse but to say no to you and your plans.”

Kerns continued as though Cara had never spoken a word. “I’m a family man with two great kids and a beautiful wife. We’re a close-knit group, but we aren’t as widely recognizable as you are. Together, you and I would virtually reach every voting taxpayer in Kansas. We would—”

“You are not listening to me, Mr. Kerns!” Cara shouted above his speech. “I am not interested. End of subject. Period!”

Kerns motioned Owens. “I believe we have something here that might help you to change your mind.”

Owens handed Kerns a briefcase. The snap of the latches echoed in the uneasy silence. Cara felt she was becoming an unwilling participant in a very bad theatrical production. What could he possibly have that would change her mind?

Bob Kerns held up a thick folder. “This might be of interest to you.” Cara stared at him, uncertain what she should do. “Take it. You will find it self-explanatory.”

Stepping forward hesitantly, Cara reached out for the papers. Her gaze never left his face. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s in here?” she asked.

“I’d rather you see for yourself. Go on, open the folder.”

Kerns waited for her to obey, and Cara felt no other choice but to do exactly as he commanded. Opening the folder, she stared down at crisp white bond paper. Obviously typed in the legal jargon of which Kerns was most comfortable, Cara read, “
State of Kansas verses HEARTBEAT Ministries.

“I don’t understand,” Cara said, looking back up to catch Kerns’ stoic expression.

“It’s really quite simple. You come on board as my running mate, willingly, happily, and of course, offering your utmost support for my candidacy, and HEARTBEAT will continue to thrive. In fact, it will probably blossom into everything you ever dreamed it could be. Reject my proposal, however, and HEARTBEAT Ministries will be tied up in lawsuits from now until that God of yours calls you to kingdom come.”

“But HEARTBEAT has done nothing wrong,” Cara said softly. She closed the folder, knowing even before Kerns answered that the truth didn’t matter. She had attracted the attention of the very powerful, and now she was going to pay dearly.

“It will take years to prove otherwise, and by that time all of your resources will be exhausted and the ministry will die. And believe me, it won’t be a quiet death. No, Cara, I
will personally see to it that the battle is ugly and vicious and very, very public.”

Cara felt as though someone had knocked the air out of her. Nearly stumbling, she fell into her chair again and hugged the folder to her chest. “Why are you doing this? I’ve done nothing to you. You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough,” Kerns said with frightening certainty. “I know you don’t need the money generated by HEARTBEAT for your living. Your husband’s life insurance and the award from his wrongful death suit have left you and your daughter financially solid.” Cara’s mouth dropped open in shock. “But your friend Joe Milken is not as fortunate. He desperately needs this job to help subsidize his meager earnings as a youth pastor.”

“And you don’t care that an innocent man and his wife will be ruined if you carry out your plans?”

Kerns eyed her with contempt. “I leave caring about such things to big-hearted people like you, Mrs. Kessler. What Milken does with his future is of little interest to me, but you should know one other thing.”

“And what’s that?” Cara questioned warily. What more could he possibly throw her way?

“Milken’s wife is expecting a baby. She just found out today.”

Cara stared in disbelief. “Joe said nothing to me about it.”

“It’s my understanding they are keeping it to themselves. You see, Mrs. Milken has suffered through two miscarriages. I guess they’re a little afraid to get their hopes up.”

Cara looked at Russell Owens as if expecting him to deny the truth of Kerns’ words.

“It’s all true, Cara,” he said, seeming to read her mind.

“How can you know these things?” Cara asked, turning her attention back to Kerns.

“I learn what I need to know when and where I need to know it most. Remember that. There will be no secrets between us.”

Ten

Cara looked across her desk to find Joe Milken’s puzzled expression most disturbing. She couldn’t help but recall what Kerns had said in regard to Suzanne and the pregnancy, but because Joe hadn’t volunteered any information, Cara hadn’t brought up the subject. What she had brought up was her resignation.

“I don’t understand,” Joe said again. “Just a few days ago you assured me that leaving HEARTBEAT was the furthest thing from your mind. If you don’t mind my asking, what changed?”

Cara bit her lip. There was no way to explain that she had to leave because an overbearing tyrant with secrets and power beyond her imagination was forcing her. She tried to smile at Joe, but it was a poor attempt. “I can’t begin to give you all the details,” she said, “but another project, of sorts, has come up.”