Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
George remained beside Emi through the night, fully dressed, barely moving and uncomfortable as hell. He fought the urge to shift, to turn and press his lips to hers. Given what she’d endured, she had a lot of healing to do, both mentally and physically. He didn’t want to be that guy who held her back from the road to recovery by doing something stupid like kissing her without her knowledge or acceptance.
Emi slept, her breathing slow and deep. She was so exhausted by everything that had happened to her that she didn’t twitch or moan throughout the night.
He’d conducted missions that had forced his team to remain in operational mode for over forty-eight hours. The adrenaline had only lasted so long and had eaten at their energy, leaving them at less than their top physical form or endurance. And they had been highly trained and in the best shape of their lives.
Emi had spent the past eight years confined to a small room and a tiny courtyard. Even if she’d worked out every day, her endurance wouldn’t be as built up as members of the active-duty Marine Force Recon.
When he’d laid down beside her, he hadn’t had the opportunity to turn off the lamp in the sitting room. Soft light poured across the floor into the bedroom.
In the early morning hours, when the sun had yet to clear the horizon, he slipped his arm from beneath her and leaned on his elbow, staring down at her sunburned face. Even painfully pink, she was beautiful. The soft glow from the sitting room caught the coppery highlights in her auburn hair splayed across the white pillowcase.
The woman was amazing, loyal to her daughter and strong in the face of adversity. She’d weighed the odds of escaping with a small child and had chosen to stay for her daughter’s sake.
George found it hard to believe this Fallon dude had been able to keep the compound and the people trapped inside a secret from other inhabitants of the island.
He supposed that trapping them and refusing to let them leave kept them from talking to others outside his prison compound.
George’s stomach rumbled. He glanced over at the nightstand where he’d set the tray loaded with food the night before. They hadn’t eaten the sandwiches he’d prepared. Now, over eight hours later, he didn’t trust that it would still be safe to eat them. Besides, it was almost time for breakfast on the ranch, and the Parkman Ranch chef was good.
George slipped out of the bed, grabbed his shoes and carried them into the other room. He sat in a chair and pulled on the shoes, his gaze going to Emi’s face, bathed in a soft golden light.
As much as he wanted to stay and watch over her while she slept, he also wanted to check in with Swede to see if he’d made any headway on finding the real name of Fallon Vance or the compound where Sara was being held.
He eased out of the room into the hallway, closing the door softly behind him. He headed for the kitchen, where he knew people would be moving about, preparing for a day on the ranch.
He could hear voices before he reached the kitchen.
Kalea, her father, John Parkman and Hawk sat around the table, helping themselves to the spread the cook had provided.
A television was on in the corner with local news, the sound turned down enough the group at the table didn’t have to talk over the newscaster.
John Parkman looked up from his plate. “How’s Ms. Sands this morning?”
“Still sleeping,” George responded. He turned to Hawk. “Any news from Swede?”
Hawk shook his head. “He hasn’t contacted me. He’ll let us know if he’s found anything.”
“I know, but I’d still like to give him a call this morning and see if there’s anything we can do on this side to help speed up the process. Maybe we can help review satellite images,” George said.
“We can bring him up in a video conference call after breakfast,” Hawk said. “Not only does Hank have Swede from the Montana office working this case, but he’s also got Kyla Russell from the Yellowstone office working the issue. But it’s like shooting in the dark. Fallon Vance could be anyone. We really need something solid and real to go on.”
George nodded. He knew that.
Kalea tapped her finger on the table, her brow knitted. “Do you think that if Emi went under hypnosis, she might remember something about the compound, the boat or her captor that would help in your search?”
George shrugged. “Maybe. Do you know someone who can do that?”
“I do,” Kalea said. “Sachie Moore, a friend of mine, is a licensed hypnotherapist in Hilo. She used to work with the Honolulu police and victims to help solve violent crimes.”
“Did she travel back and forth from the Big Island to Oahu to work with the Honolulu police?” George asked.
Kalea shook her head. “She lived in Honolulu back then. She moved to Hilo a couple of years ago when a stalker started harassing her. She consults with Honolulu on the side now. Sachie would understand the urgency and want to help.”
George nodded. “I’m sure Emi would be up for anything that will help us find her daughter.”
“If you’d like, I’ll ask Emi as soon as she’s awake,” Kalea said.
“Ask me what?” Emi stepped into the kitchen doorway, wearing a pair of fashionably faded blue jeans, a pale, moss-green shirt and flat, leather sandals. She’d combed her hair back from her forehead and swept it up into a messy bun on the crown of her head.
The clothes that fit, the casual and elegant hairstyle, shoes and a good night’s rest seemed to give the woman confidence.
George’s groin tightened. Damn, she was beautiful.
She gave him a shy smile and repeated, “Ask me what?”
“If you would be willing to be hypnotized,” Kalea said.
Emi’s brow wrinkled. “Hypnotized? Why?”
Hawk answered, “The idea is that a licensed hypnotherapist might be able to draw from your memory some kernel of knowledge, an image, a conversation... anything that could help us find the compound and its owner.”
Emi’s gaze met George’s.
“I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “Sometimes, you’re able to recall things from your memory that didn’t seem important at the time.”
Emi’s brow smoothed. “If it will help me find Sara, I’ll do anything.”
Kalea pushed back from the table and stood. “I’ll call my friend, Sachie, and see when she can come.”
The frown returned to Emi’s face. “Do you trust her?”
Kalea pressed a hand over her heart. “With my life.”
“Would you trust her with your daughter’s life?” Emi asked softly.
Kalea nodded. “Absolutely.”
Emi sighed. “She can’t let anyone know I’m alive.”
“I’ll make sure she understands,” Kalea said with a reassuring smile and left the room.
George held out a chair. “Have a seat.”
“Please,” Mr. Parkman said. “Ule Kekoa, the ranch chef, is possibly the most important member of our staff and family on Parkman Ranch. He’ll make you whatever your heart desires.”
A short, dark man waved a spatula from his position at the stove. “ Mahalo .”
“Don’t worry,” Mr. Parkman said. “You can trust Ule to keep your presence a secret. He’s prior service Navy.”
Emi smiled toward the man as she crossed to where George stood by the table.
“What would the pretty lady like for breakfast?” Ule asked.
Emi blushed. “I’ll eat anything,” she said.
“When was the last time you had blueberry pancakes,” Ule asked.
Emi’s eyes filled with tears.
George’s chest tightened. He lifted a hand to rest against the small of Emi’s back.
She pressed a hand over her mouth and breathed in and out a few times before answering in a choked voice. “The last time I was home, my mother made blueberry pancakes for me. They were my favorite.” She brushed a tear from her cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“Blueberry pancakes coming up,” Ule said from across the room, drawing attention away from Emi long enough for her to pull herself together and take the seat George held out for her.
George sat beside Emi and reached for her hand beneath the table.
She slipped her fingers into his palm and squeezed gently but didn’t withdraw.
“I spoke to my friend with the drones this morning.” Hawk reached for a biscuit from the basket in the middle of the table. “He said he could send a couple of his guys over to Kauai this afternoon. The majority of the island is undeveloped due to the mountainous terrain or because it is protected. They’ll start the search on the ten percent considered developed and run a grid pattern at night in the less populated areas of the more mountainous terrain using their infrared capabilities.”
“Will they pick up a lot of structures that way?” Emi asked.
Hawk nodded. “I told them to look for a concrete structure, half-buried in the hillside with a few guards on its perimeter. Most normal homes on Kauai will be lit up. A concrete bunker won’t have a significant heat signature. A few men standing guard on the middle of a hillside will look a lot different.”
Emi nodded.
“Still seems like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Mr. Parkman said.
“It is, but the drones and satellite images are all we have for now,” Hawk said.
Kalea entered the room and took her seat at the table. “Sachie can be here after noon.
George saw the look of disappointment flash across Emi’s face, quickly disguised by a smile.
“Thank you for setting it up,” Emi said.
Ule chose that moment to place a plate full of fluffy blueberry pancakes in front of Emi, along with a bottle of warm blueberry syrup. “ Ho’omau .”
Emi smiled up at the man. “Is that Hawaiian for bon appétit ?”
He shook his head. “ Ho’omau means persevere. Never give up, and you will find your daughter.”
“Thank you, Ule,” Emi said.
“ Mahalo ,” Ule corrected.
Emi nodded. “ Mahalo .”
Ule laid a plate full of eggs, bacon and toast in front of George and gathered the empty dishes to carry to the sink.
George released Emi’s hand beneath the table. While she dug into the blueberry pancakes, he worked on the eggs and bacon on his own plate.
“Kalea, are you representing Parkman Ranch at this year’s Charity Luau?” Mr. Parkman asked.
Kalea frowned. “Isn’t it your turn?”
The owner of Parkman Ranch shook his head. “I did it last year. It’s your turn.”
Kalea’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “Darn. I was hoping you wouldn’t remember.”
Mr. Parkman glanced across the table at George and Emi. “Since the 1920s, they’ve had a massive Luau on Oahu once a year to raise money for many of the charities across the islands.”
Kalea nodded. “Celebrities from the island and the mainland perform, drawing huge crowds and raising lots of money. We’ve purchased a table and had a representative from Parkman Ranch at the luau every year from its inception, along with a sizable donation to the fund.” She turned to Hawk. “Don’t forget. It’s tomorrow night, and you’re my plus one.”
Hawk held up a hand. “It’s on my calendar. As long as I’m not needed anywhere else, I’ll be there.” He drank one last sip of his coffee and set the mug on the table. “I’m headed to the war room to check on other members of the team and to see if we have anything from Swede or Kyla.”
George laid down his fork. “I’m coming.”
“Me, too,” Emi said.
Hawk shook his head. “Finish your meal. It’ll take a few minutes to touch base with everyone. By then, I’ll be ready to bring Swede and Kyla up on a video chat. So, take your time.”
“I want to check on that mare and her new filly,” Kalea said. “I’ll be in the barn if you need me.”
“I’d like to check on her as well,” Mr. Parkman said. “You’ll know where to find us.”
Mr. Parkman, Hawk and Kalea collected their dishes and carried them to the sink. When they offered to help with the dishes, Ule shooed them out of his domain.
George forced himself to pick up his fork and continue eating his breakfast when he wanted to follow Hawk to the war room. He hoped by staying at the table, Emi would finish the other half of the pancakes left on her plate.
She stared at the plate for a moment and then looked toward Ule. “I hate leaving food on my plate when Ule went to all the trouble of fixing these for me,” she whispered.
“You won’t hurt my feelings,” Ule said from across the room. “Leave your plates. I’ll take care of them.”
Emi looked up at George. “I want to hear what Swede and Kyla have to say.”
“Me, too.” George stood and held Emi’s chair. Ignoring Ule’s words, he gathered their plates and carried them to the sink. “Thank you, Ule. As always, the food was outstanding. Mahalo.”
Ule gave them a brief nod and went to work cleaning his kitchen.
George rested a hand lightly on Emi’s back and guided her through the kitchen to the back door.
Emi pulled the ball cap from her back pocket and held it up. “Thanks for the loan.”
He grinned. “My pleasure, though it seems a shame to hide all that glorious red hair.”
She shoved her hair up into the cap and tugged it down on her forehead. “My mother always told me that it’s not red; it’s auburn.”
George nodded. “Mom’s always right. I stand corrected.” He held the door open. “After you...Red.” And he winked.
Her cheeks brightened, and her lips twitched. “Auburn,” she murmured as stepped across the threshold.
“Now, Auburn doesn’t have the same ring,” he said. “I’ll stick to Red. Just don’t tell your mother.”
Emi left the house with a smile on her face—the first genuine smile George had seen since he’d pulled her from the ocean.
That smile made George smile, as well. In fact, it made the day brighter. He felt hopeful.
His steps were lighter as he crossed the yard and settled into tour-guide mode. “When Hank Patterson sent Hawk out to Hawaii to protect a cattle baron’s daughter, he probably already had it in the back of his mind to set up an office of the Brotherhood Protectors on one of the islands. Hawk made such a good impression on the Parkmans he was soon to be married to the cattleman’s daughter.”
“Kalea?” Emi guessed.
“Right. And, boy, from what I heard, she gave Hawk a run for his money when he was playing bodyguard to her.”
“I can imagine,” Emi said. “She seems to be a strong, independent woman. And a pilot.” Emi shook her head. “I bet he had to work hard to win her over.”
“He did.” George led the way toward a group of outbuildings. “You should have him tell you the story of how a cowboy from Montana became a Navy SEAL and ended up on a cattle ranch in Hawaii.”
“Hawk’s from Montana?” Emi asked.
“Born and raised,” George said. “When Hank decided he needed a branch of his organization in Hawaii, with Hawk there to manage it and the staff, Mr. Parkman offered a building to set up the Brotherhood Protectors Hawaii office.” He stopped in front of one of the outbuildings that looked just like so many others and lifted a panel beside the door, exposing a biometric reader. He pressed his thumb over the reader for a second. A lock clicked. He grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.
“After you,” he said and stood back for her to enter.
The room they walked into looked like a tack room with horse gear hung on the wall and a couple of saddle trees loaded with saddles.
Emi frowned. “Are we in the wrong building?”
George engaged a hidden lever, and a portion of the wall with the bridles, brushes and curry combs opened, exposing a dark corridor.
As they stepped into the corridor, the panel behind them closed automatically, and lights blinked on.
George passed several doors on either side of the hall, leading the way to the door at the end.
He opened it to a large room with a conference table and enough seating for a dozen people. A bank of computers, each with an array of monitors, lined one of the walls. The opposite wall was covered with a large dry-erase white panel. At the end of the conference table was a giant display monitor.
“Oh, good,” Hawk called out from where he sat in front of one of the computers. He grabbed a laptop and a remote-control device and carried them to the conference table, close to the display monitor. “I just finished speaking with the other members of the team. They all wish you luck in your current assignment. I gave a heads-up to those on standby for assignments. They’re ready whenever you need them.”
“Good,” George said. “I have a feeling we’ll need them.”
Hawk gave George a grim nod. “Let’s see what Swede and Kyla have to say. I told them we’d call within the next fifteen minutes. That was five minutes ago.” He shot a smile toward Emi. “Ready to meet our tech support folks who work miracles?”
Emi nodded. “Yes.”
Hawk waved his hand at the seats near him. “Please, have a seat while I bring them up.”
George pulled out a chair for Emi.
She sank into it, and George sat beside her.
Hawk dropped into another and ran his fingers across the laptop’s keyboard. Moments later, the giant display lit up with Swede’s rugged face and white-blond, closely cropped hair and the dark-haired, dark-eyed former assassin, Kyla Russell.
“Hey, Hawk,” Swede said.
Kyla raised a hand. “Hawk.”
“Thanks for joining us,” Hawk said. He turned to Emi. “This is Emi Sands; you know her backstory. Emi, this is Axel Svenson, aka Swede, and Kyla Russell. Both work the computers for Brotherhood Protectors.” He faced the monitor. “I figure since you haven’t contacted us, you don’t have anything new on the location of the compound or the real identity of Fallon Vance.”
Both Swede and Kyla nodded.
“I’d like to say we found something of use,” Swede said, “but we need a little more information. There are a lot of people who own property and a yacht in Hawaii.”
Kyla grimaced. “What Swede said.”
“Emi is going to work with a hypnotherapist this afternoon,” Hawk said. “We hope she can come up with something out of her memory that could help with the search. We’ll let you know more on that after her session.”
“That’s good to know,” Kyla said. “We’re still combing through satellite images, hoping to find anything that looks like a bunker set into the side of a hill.”
“I know this isn’t going to help us find the little girl,” Swede said, “but I thought Ms. Sands might be interested in what happened after she disappeared. I dug into the news reports and the police records. I also looked up her family, figuring she’d want to contact them eventually.” Swede’s gaze swung to Emi. “First, you should know your mother, father and brother are safe and well. It’s just that some of the news reports can be disturbing. Do you want to see what I found?”
Emi reached for George’s hand beneath the table.
He took it and held it firmly. “You don’t have to,” he said softly.
“It’s okay.” Emi swallowed hard and nodded toward Swede. “Show me.”