Chapter Three
Later that night, the van was quiet save for the faint hum of the fridge, the soft creak of trees outside, and the sound of a waterfall nearby.
They’d spent the day cutting ties with anything that could track them—pulling plugs, disabling GPS, filling water tanks to the brim.
Groceries had been oddly familiar. Normal, even.
Like slipping into a life Hogan hadn’t realized he knew.
The supermarket came back to him in flashes.
He’d grabbed the cart without thought, steering through the aisles like muscle memory.
When they reached the cereal aisle, his hand shot out for a particular box at the same time Kai did.
He hadn’t even thought about it, just reached, dropped it in the cart.
Kai had arched a brow, half-amused. “Didn’t know you were a fan of sugar bombs.
” Then he had moved off down the aisle in the odd shuffle walk he had going on.
“You love these things,” Hogan murmured to himself, frowning at the box. “Half the time you don’t even bother with milk.” The words were out before he could pull them back. They’d felt too certain, too familiar.
In the dairy section, Hogan had automatically passed the regular milk and pulled two cartons of soy instead. Kai hadn’t needed to ask. Just gave him a look, the corner of his mouth tilting up. “Careful, Ace. People will think you pay attention.”
“I do pay attention,” Hogan had shot back, more defensive than he intended. “Always did.”
They’d argued lightly over the bakery section, both pretending they weren’t tempted.
Kai eyed the glazed doughnuts, Hogan the chocolate croissants, but in the end, they walked on.
“Sweet tooths,” Hogan muttered. “Pair of liars, that’s what we are.
” They settled on red meat, tossing cuts into the cart with unspoken agreement—fuel they both needed.
Now they were parked on a concrete pad surrounded by dense trees, the sound of a waterfall carrying through the night air.
Private land, owned by local Native Hawaiians, and Kai had the access code to the sturdy metal gate across the access road.
No eyes on them. No amenities. Just the two of them, a van, and the knowledge they were off the grid.
Dinner had been simple—steak seared in the skillet, greens tossed together, bread still warm from the oven.
They’d eaten at the small dinette, doors open to let in the sound of rushing water and the cool night air.
Hogan had watched Kai fading, his shoulders slumping, his eyes going glassy.
Without a word, Hogan had tugged him gently to the bed, settled him down, and pulled the blanket over him.
Now Kai lay half-dozing, and Hogan sat with his laptop open, glow painting his face.
The keys clicked softly as he checked reports, files, making sure there was no chatter out there about them, other than the fact two dead bodies had been found lying in the street a week ago, and no leads on who had committed the crime.
Crime my ass. They had deserved to die, and Hogan had been more than happy to give them exactly what they had deserved.
Hogan let the quiet stretch until Kai’s voice slipped free to break it, heavy with exhaustion.
“It’s nice,” Kai murmured, voice low. “Not to be running. Not to have people shooting at me. Or hitting me.”
Hogan’s head snapped up, anger flashing in his eyes. “That shouldn’t be normal for you, Kai. The thought of you being beaten and shot at makes me want to go hunting.”
Kai cracked a tired smile, lids half-shut. “Always quick to protect. Quick to anger. But me—I could always calm the beast. Don’t forget that.”
The heat that had exploded within Hogan at the thought of Kai being hurt cooled, though the edge never left entirely. He studied Kai, jaw tight, until Kai’s breathing slowed and evened.
Hogan leaned back, laptop idle on the table. Kai’s words lingered, strange and unsettling. He hadn’t told him much, not really. But it made a certain kind of sense, like puzzle pieces trying to fit.
Then it hit him. A flash of vision. A sharp pain spiking through his temple, right where the injury had left its mark. Hogan gritted his teeth, eyes squeezing shut as memory slammed into him.
A tourist shouting, shoving. Hogan ready to put the man on the ground.
And then—Kai. Hand flat against his chest, voice calm, words soft but firm.
Deescalating the moment with nothing but tone and presence.
The anger bleeding out of him because Kai had been there to catch it before it got out of hand.
The pain subsided, leaving Hogan breathless, hands braced on the edge of the table. He dragged in air, eyes drawn to Kai asleep beneath the blanket. The steady rise and fall of his chest. The shadows across his face.
Hogan sat there, pulse still pounding, and wondered—not for the first time, and not for the last—what exactly it was that lay between them.
****
Morning light filtered through the van’s open skylight, the air cool and damp with the scent of trees and water, not yet tainted with the true heat of the day.
Kai stretched carefully, noting the pull in his side where the staples tugged, but the rest of him felt better.
Stronger. Definitely on the road to recovery.
They’d taken a walk earlier that morning, the trail down to the waterfall quiet and slick with dew.
When they arrived, Hogan had stripped down to his running shorts and plunged in without hesitation, the sunlight glinting off the creamy expanse of his back and the water as he swam.
Kai had stayed on the rocks, frustrated but knowing infection would be a bitch he couldn’t afford to deal with.
So, he watched instead, lips quirking, his mind wandering as Hogan cut clean strokes through the water.
Kai leaned forward on the rocks, shading his eyes against the sun, and couldn’t help the low whistle that slipped free when Hogan rose out of the water like the God he was.
Hogan smirked, pushing wet hair back, and called up, “You better not even be thinking about getting in here.”
Kai raised both hands in mock surrender. “Relax, Ace. Last thing I want is to tear open the staples or get an infection and make you play nurse for longer than necessary.”
“Good. Because I’d hogtie you to the bed before I let you near the water,” Hogan shot back, voice rough with authority but softened by the glint in his eyes.
Kai smirked, letting his gaze sweep over Hogan’s shoulders, the water beading and running down the defined muscles of his chest. “Not complaining about the view, though. You could charge admission.”
Hogan floated lazily on his back. “Figures. I finally get a private waterfall and I’m stuck with a heckler on the rocks.”
“Not a heckler,” Kai drawled, shading his eyes against the sun. “Just an appreciative audience. Some of us know quality when we see it.”
Hogan barked a laugh, sending up a spray. “Careful, Kai. You’re going to start drooling.”
“Already am,” Kai muttered to himself, heat curling low in his stomach. Drool later, heal now, he told himself, dragging his gaze away, though it took effort.
Back at the van, Hogan tossed him a protein shake and slid a bowl of cereal across the table.
Soy milk pooled cold against the flakes, a cup of coffee steaming beside it.
Kai picked up the spoon, pausing when the memory of yesterday’s grocery run tugged at him.
Hogan had reached for the box before he did, hand brushing his, like it was second nature.
Then the soy milk—no hesitation, no question. He had known.
Kai’s chest tightened around the thought. If Hogan’s memory was bleeding back, piece by piece, then what else might surface?
The thought vanished when a sharp chime echoed through the van. The speakers hissed to life, a low tone that didn’t belong to any normal system. Hogan stiffened, frowning. “What the hell is that?”
Kai moved fast, sliding his bowl aside. He pressed a hidden catch in the tabletop, revealing a slim panel. Hogan blinked as Kai used his thumbprint to open a secret compartment, drawing out a thin matte-black laptop.
“What the—how the hell did you know that was even there? And why did it open for your thumbprint?” Hogan demanded.
Kai didn’t look up. “Later.” He flipped the laptop open. The screen scanned his face, went dark, and then lit up with a familiar face.
“Hey, braddah,” Surge greeted, voice warm and thick with island cadence. “Been too long. You look like shit.”
Kai let out a breath that almost passed for a laugh. “I’ve been worse than this brah which you know all too well. But I’m good, and have been getting good care.” His eyes slid toward Hogan.
Surge grinned, laughter booming. “Hogan? That dude must make one big-ass nurse. Who would’ve thought? Tell me, does he wear a nurse’s uniform while he’s taking care of you?”
Hogan arched a brow but didn’t bite. “You two done flirting, or are we going to get to the part where you tell us something useful?”
Surge chuckled, but his tone shifted, more serious now. “Just wanted to update on what happened after you got that intel through to Bateman about the four assholes from Chechnya gunning for Dale.”
Kai nodded. “An update would be good. And thanks for that intel. That was good work finding leads where there weren’t any, Ka—Surge. Mahalo.” Crap almost dropped his real name.
Surge caught that slip if his raised eyebrow was anything to go by but inclined his head.
“Bateman got the message at just the right time. Fuckers had yanked Dale right out of the gym. They all moved pretty fucking fast, though. Within minutes there was nothing left but four dead bad guys and Dale pulled out alive. The immediate danger to the Pathfinders is gone—for now.”
Relief tugged at Kai’s chest, and Hogan leaned forward, expression serious. “Thank you, brother. We owe you one.”
“Anything for ohana, and we sure as shit do not keep count” Surge said simply.
Then his eyes narrowed. “But don’t think it’s pau.
Bruddah, it is far from over. The focus is shifting.
Word is, the heat’s turning toward Hawai’i.
Different players, same game.” He paused, then added, “And on the other matter—it’s moving, slow but sure.
Can’t say too much until I know what Hogan knows and what he doesn’t. ”
Kai’s gut twisted. He angled the screen. “I’ll bring him in on the DEA stuff.”
Surge’s brows shot up. “All of it?”
Kai winced, but Hogan’s voice cut in, firm. “Yes. All of it.”
A pause, then Surge nodded. “Then here’s what you need to know.
Kavaci’s making bigger and sure as shit bolder moves in the States.
Recruiting, building, spreading. It’s bigger than we thought.
The trafficking of drugs and guns is already up and running, the human side is just kicking off, and it is starting here. ”
Kai’s stomach turned. The thought of anyone, let alone kids being trafficked for sex was abhorrent to him. Hell, to anyone who wasn’t inherently evil.
“I’ll send through what we have,” Surge said. “I’ll welcome your insights into the intel.”
Kai nodded. “You’ll get it. A hui hou, brah.”
Surge lifted his chin in a Polynesian acknowledgement known the world over. “Mālama pono, bruddahs.”
The call ended with a hiss of static, the laptop going dark. Hogan leaned back, arms crossed, waiting.
Kai rubbed at the scar on his forearm, buying time. “Surge is Kael, my brother from the orphanage. This van? A product of his company, Black Tide Customs. They customize vehicles into pretty much anything you might need.”
“But, given what this is kitted out with, I am guessing that they do more than just customize recreational vehicles for a living?” Hogan asked, suspicion edging his voice.
Kai’s smile was thin. “There’s always more.
” He drew in a breath. “For the past couple years, I’ve been chasing corruption inside the DEA.
A mole who has cost the lives of too many really good agents.
Maybe more than one traitor, I cannot be sure.
Every time I get close, someone tips them off.
I started this hunt about the time you were in Chechnya. ”
Hogan’s eyes darkened. “Why am I not surprised that you know about Chechnya?”
Kai pushed on. “And the Kavaci? They’re connected.
A month ago, I tried to infiltrate a sect, follow the trail, but I got burned by the same mole I have been trying to find in the DEA which is how I know this is all interconnected somehow.
I went into hiding, avoided going to Black Tide to keep them out of this mess, and that’s when I reached out to you for help.
I was caught two days before you found me, beaten then left for dead.
But soon, once we have more information and a plan, we need to call in the Pathfinders because this isn’t just about me and the DEA anymore.
It’s a vendetta against the Pathfinders. They want you all gone.”
Hogan’s growl was sharp. “We should’ve been involved from the beginning.” He shoved back from the table, anger flashing. “You don’t get to decide where we draw the line.”
He stormed out of the van, the door slamming behind him.
Kai sat still, letting the silence settle. He knew Hogan needed time. Reaching for the laptop, he opened it again, pulling up files on Kavaci.
Hogan would come back.
And when he did, they’d start unraveling the puzzle together.