Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
Jenny, the cute, blond waitress, arrived carrying a tray loaded with Reid’s two hamburger platters, overflowing with steaming hot fries, and the grilled cheese sandwich with potato chips and a pickle spear. While she set them on the table, Maliea stepped over to the playset to bring Nani in to eat her lunch and to get a grip on her overstimulated libido.
Nani came as soon as her name was called.
Maliea’s heart brimmed with pride at how well-behaved her daughter was. For a three-year-old, she acted more like an old soul than a small child all too often.
If her marriage had been more stable, her husband home more often, and if they’d had any kind of sex life, Maliea would have wanted more children.
Nani needed siblings. Maliea had always wished she’d had a brother or sister to share her childhood with. She’d always dreamed of having three or four children. A house full of love and laughter. Her own mother had wanted that many but had to settle on her one daughter when cervical cancer struck her shortly after Maliea’s birth. A hysterectomy had ended her ability to have more children at an early age.
When Maliea returned to the table, she noted that Jenny had set one of the two hamburger platters in front of Maliea’s chair. Her mouth watered at the juicy burger with the mound of fries. She helped Nani into her chair and cut the grilled cheese in half before turning to the plate before her.
“This is yours,” she said, pushing the delicious-smelling burger toward Reid.
“I’m not quite as hungry as I thought I was when I ordered. I hate to see it go to waste. You do like hamburgers and fries, don’t you?”
“Yes, but these are yours,” she insisted. “Nani and I will split the grilled cheese sandwich.”
“I’m hungry, Mama,” her daughter said. “Can I eat all of it?” she asked, already nearly done with half of the gooey, cheesy sandwich.
“My treat,” Reid said. “You’ll save me from insulting the chef by eating all that. He has a reputation for making the best burgers on the island—hell, on any of the Hawaiian Islands. ”
“I’ll pay for our food,” Maliea said.
“Too late. I already did,” Reid said and took a big bite out of his hamburger.
Maliea’s stomach rumbled loudly. She was so hungry her hands shook in her lap. She’d fed Nani the last of her granola bars and splurged on chocolate milk for her at a convenience store on the drive over from Honolulu. It had satisfied Nani, but there hadn’t been anything left for Maliea.
And, wow, the fries smelled so good.
“I’ll pay you back.” Maliea lifted the burger in both hands and sank her teeth into the bun and thick beef patty, juice dripping down her chin.
Before she could stop herself, she moaned.
“Right?” Reid laughed. “The best hamburgers ever.”
“Yes,” she said around the big bite of food in her mouth. Then she remembered her manners and chewed thoroughly before swallowing. She didn’t talk again until she’d consumed three-quarters of the massive burger. She laid it on the plate and drank from her water glass.
Reid chuckled. “Were you hungry?”
Heat rose up her neck into her cheeks. “I guess.”
Nani picked at the potato chips on her plate, having eaten more than half of her sandwich.
“Are you finished?” Maliea asked.
Nani nodded and yawned. “Can I go play now?”
Even tired, Nani didn’t want to miss an opportunity to play on a really cool play set. The one at their apartment complex wasn’t nearly as interesting. Also, her apartment didn’t have the view Burger Bar afforded from its location on the beach.
“You can play for a few more minutes,” Maliea said. “Then we have to leave.”
“Do we have to?” Nani stared up at Maliea, disappointment turning her usual happy smile upside down.
“Yes, ma’am.” Maliea waved her hand at her daughter. “Now go, or you won’t get to play at all.”
Nani skipped off the patio out onto the sandy playground.
Maliea’s gaze followed her daughter. Once Nani was busy swinging, Maliea turned to Reid.
His gaze was on Nani, his lips pressed into a tight line. A shadow seemed to have fallen over him.
“Do you like children?” Maliea asked.
Reid’s gaze shifted to the empty plate in front of him. He pushed it to the side before he answered, “Yeah, sure.”
She sensed more to his answer than the two words. “Do you have children from your marriage?”
For a long moment, he said nothing.
The way he shut down made her regret asking the question. Apparently, it hit a cord with him.
She was about to tell him not to answer the question when he spoke.
“I have a daughter. ”
“Oh, yeah?” Maliea brightened. She couldn’t picture this man with the brooding face being the father of a child. But then, she didn’t know him well enough to pass judgment. Despite his clipped responses, Maliea was dauntless in her desire to know this man better. If he was to provide their protection, she should know a little more about him. “How old is your daughter?”
“Three.” His gaze returned to Nani who’d abandoned the swing to climb the ladder to the top of the play fort.
The pain in that one-word response hit Maliea square in the chest.
“Does she live with you?” Maliea asked, already knowing the answer.
“No.”
She touched his arm. “I’m sorry.”
He pushed back from the table. “Are you ready to go?”
If she wasn’t, it was too damned bad. He was.
“I am.” Maliea pushed away from the table, stood and called out, “Nani, it’s time to leave.”
Nani waved from the top of the fort, slipped down the slide and ran toward Maliea and Reid. As she always did, she slid her hand into Maliea’s.
To Maliea’s surprise, Nani placed her other hand in Reid’s.
His eyes flared, and he shot a glance down at Nani .
Nani smiled up at him. “Thank you for bringing me here to play.”
He looked at the tiny hand in his, cleared his throat and said, “You’re welcome.”
Maliea held her breath, fully expecting Reid to extract Nani’s hand from his.
It would confuse Nani, but she’d get over it as long as Maliea didn’t abandon her.
To Maliea’s surprise, Reid didn’t shake Nani off.
The three of them walked back through Burger Bar hand-in-hand.
They looked like a happy little family.
Well, minus Reid. His face appeared carved in granite, except for the little tic in his jaw. Since she’d brought up the topic of his little girl, he’d retreated into a stony silence.
At the Porsche, he held the door open for Maliea.
She sank into the soft leather seat and waited for Nani to climb into her lap.
Nani turned to Reid and held up her arms.
Reid frowned, hesitated and then swung her up into his arms.
Maliea’s daughter wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a loud kiss on his cheek. She leaned back and said in her most grown-up voice, “There. You can put me down now.”
Reid lowered her into Maliea’s lap, his hand brushing lightly against Maliea’s breast as he released his hold on her daughter .
That accidental connection shot sparks throughout Maliea’s body, making her suck in a sharp breath.
Reid backed away quickly as if he’d been scalded, hurried around the hood of the sports car and climbed in. Was he embarrassed, or had he felt the same bolt of electricity?
Girl, get a grip , she mentally admonished herself. He’s only here to protect you and Nani, not to seduce you into his bed.
That thought, once mentally voiced, was impossible to erase.
Maliea closed her eyes and held onto her daughter to keep from staring at the gorgeous ex-SEAL.
Nani was Maliea’s reason for living.
Unfortunately, Reid had awakened in her needs she hadn’t realized she’d missed.
After his boob-brush with Maliea, Reid couldn’t think of anything else but how soft and full her breasts were. She might be petite, but the woman had full, luscious tits and a nice swell to her hips and ass.
Whoa, dude.
Those weren’t thoughts he should be having about a potential client.
Without another word, he drove the very short distance back to the row of cabins. He parked in front of his unit, got out and came around to help Nani and Maliea to their feet.
At that moment, Logan and Rex pulled up in Logan’s black four-wheel-drive SUV.
Logan had barely shifted into park and turned off the engine when he jumped out of the driver’s seat. “Reid, I thought you said Tish’s friend was a guy.” He grinned and held out his hand to Maliea. “Logan Atkins, at your service.”
“Maliea Kaleiopu,” Maliea said, her brow wrinkling.
Reid had a sudden desire to knock Logan’s hand away. To keep from doing just that, he shoved his hands into his pockets and gritted his teeth as Logan lifted Maliea’s hand and pressed a kiss to her pretty knuckles.
His gut clenching, Reid ground down hard on his back teeth. He wanted to tell Logan to back off, that Maliea was his.
But she wasn’t. She didn’t belong to anyone and could choose any man, including his buddy Logan.
Then why did seeing Logan kiss her knuckles make Reid want to plow a fist into his friend’s face?
A little hand touched his arm.
Dragging his gaze away from Logan and Maliea, Reid glanced down into the large, soft brown eyes of Maliea’s mini-me, Nani.
The little girl raised her arms.
Reid automatically bent and lifted her .
Nani looped one of her skinny arms around his neck. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Who are those men?”
Though he didn’t feel at all happy or serene, he smiled at Nani. “These two men work with me. They’re my friends.” At least Logan used to be his friend. If he didn’t let go of Maliea’s hand in the next ten seconds, Reid would end that friendship with a right uppercut to the other man’s jaw.
Maliea pulled her hand free of Logan’s and shoved it in her pocket. “Nice to meet you, Logan. Do you work with Reid?”
“When we’re assigned to the same security detail or a team mission. Reid said you’re experiencing some trouble. How can I help?”
“By loaning me your SUV,” Reid answered.
“Not a problem,” Logan said. “I can take you anywhere you need to go.” His comment was aimed at Maliea, not Reid.
“We need the SUV,” Reid said through gritted teeth. “Not a driver.” He pulled the keys to his Porsche from his pocket and tossed them toward Logan.
The younger man snagged the keys in the air and grinned. “Awesome.” He glanced at Rex. “Feel like going for a drive with the top down?”
“I could be convinced,” Rex said. “As long as it gets us to food.”
“Burger Bar?” Logan asked .
Rex snorted. “Since it’s the closest restaurant and my belly is grumbling, it will have to do.”
“I thought you liked the food there,” Logan said.
“I do,” Rex said. “But I can only eat so many burgers before I’m sick to death of them.”
“Burgers are like the holy grail of junk food. I could eat one at every meal,” Logan admitted. “And Burger Bar makes the absolute best.” He flashed a blinding smile at Maliea.
“And you have the emotional and culinary maturity of a ten-year-old,” Rex said. “Burger Bar is fine by me. But if we’re ever going to get there, you’ll need to quit flirting, shower, change and get back out here in under five minutes, or I’m leaving without you.”
“You can’t without the keys.” Logan dangled the set of keys in Rex’s face.
Rex’s hand shot out. He snatched the keys from Logan’s grip and grinned.
“Well, damn,” Logan said.
“Damn right, damn,” Rex turned to Maliea and held out his hand. “Rex Johnson. Pleasure to meet you.” He glanced at Reid. “Need help with the new assignment? Do you want Logan or me to handle Ms. Maliea and her daughter’s protection detail?”
Reid had had all intentions of handing off the mother and daughter pair to someone else.
Nani leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I don’t want those men. I want you. ”
Reid’s heart swelled inside his chest. He didn’t want her words to mean so much to him, but they did. Nani trusted him to be there for her and her mother.
He just had to remember it was a short-term assignment until they found the man responsible for the attacks.
After that, Reid would walk away and never look back.
Only it wasn’t that simple. How could he walk away from a little girl who gave the best hugs and, when she held his hand, made him feel special and alive again?
And what was that jolt of electricity he’d felt when his hand had brushed against Maliea’s breast? His thoughts had gone straight to touching her naked breasts, not her fully clothed ones.
His groin tightened.
If he really wanted to turn over Nani’s and Maliea’s protection to someone else, Logan and Rex would be his first choices. No, make that Rex. He would be his first choice. Logan was too much of a player.
“Did the movie crew finish today?” Reid asked.
Rex shook his head. “One of the main cameras was acting up. They’ll be back at it tomorrow morning.”
Which meant they were still needed for that job.
“I’ll get in touch with Hawk and let him know about the set and Ms. Kaleiopu. He might want to assign another man one way or the other.”
Rex nodded. “Let us know.”
“In the meantime, Logan,” Reid gave the man a pointed look, “I need the keys to your SUV.”
“Seems like a reasonable trade,” Logan said with a grin. “I’ve wanted to see if your Porsche can really do zero to one hundred in a second.”
Reid held out his hand. “Give me your keys.”
Logan handed over the keys to this SUV. “A deal’s a deal.”
Reid’s eyes narrowed. “There are speed limits for a reason. Especially around here. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Logan grinned. “Challenge accepted.”
“I’m already regretting giving you my keys,” Reid murmured and forced himself to turn away. He couldn’t worry about a car when this woman and child were now his assignment until he solved their problems or Hawk assigned someone else to see to Maliea and Nani’s needs. “Come on, ladies, we have an appointment to keep.”
Once settled and buckled into Logan’s SUV, Reid glanced to the backseat where Nani sat with a seatbelt across her little lap. She looked so small and fragile it made Reid’s heart squeeze hard.
“We need to find a car seat for her,” he said. “That seatbelt will do little to protect her if we should be involved in an accident. ”
“We had to leave her car seat in my vehicle to get her out of the apartment complex without being detected.” Maliea glanced back at her daughter. “Maybe we could meet up with Tish and get that car seat or have her drop it off somewhere we can find it.”
“See what you can arrange,” Reid said. “I need to inform my boss of our additional requirements.”
Maliea gave a fleeting smile. “Me and Nani?”
He nodded and pulled out his cell phone, selecting the number at the top of his list.
The call didn’t even ring on his end when Jace Hawkins answered, “Reid, you and the guys wrapping it up at Kualoa Ranch?”
“Not quite.” Reid shifted into drive, checked both ways and pulled onto the highway. “Camera equipment glitches slowed them down today. If they get it fixed, they hope to finish up tomorrow.”
“Good to know,” Hawk said. “I had a request come in from a man on Kauai. Fortunately, he’s flexible and can wait a couple of days.”
“Had a text from Tish Jenkins this morning,” Reid said.
“The woman you guarded while she was in a coma?”
“Yes, sir,” Reid answered. “She sent another client our way.”
“Fill me in. ”
While Maliea texted Tish about the car seat, Reid laid out the situation for Hawk.
When Reid was finished, Hawk said, “I can send one of our guys from Maui to look out for Ms. Kalieopu’s safety. In the meantime, I take it you’re running interference for her?”
Reid’s gaze went to Maliea’s pretty face and the frown of concentration denting her brow. “Yes, sir.”
“Two men on Kualoa Ranch duty is enough?” Hawk queried.
“It’s pretty quiet,” Reid said. “One more day, and they’ll be done, barring any technical glitches.”
“Good to know. I’ll get one of the guys on a plane this evening to take over with the woman and her child.”
“Maliea and Nani,” Reid said.
“Right.” Hawk hesitated. “Kalea uses the legend of the pirate attack during the story-telling portion of the annual Luau here on Parkman Ranch. I thought it was all some mystical fabrication. It would be interesting if it turns out to be based in truth.”
“Maliea’s father chased clues for years. He thought he had the final pieces of the puzzle and was on his way to Niihau when his plane went down.”
“Had he documented his findings and the information that led him to believe the stories?” Hawk asked.
“Maliea thinks so,” Reid said. “She indicated that her father kept a journal of his detailed interviews with other island folk.”
“Has she found the journal?” Hawk asked.
“Not that I know of.” Reid stared down at Maliea’s silky dark hair, wanting to sink his fingers into the soft lengths and pull her closer.
She tucked her phone into her pocket and looked at him, catching him staring down at her.
“I’ll be with Ms. Kaleiopu through the evening. Let me know who you’re sending. If you give him my number, we can arrange a meeting location and hand-off.”
“Then you’ll head back to Kualoa Ranch to conduct the out brief with the production company?” Hawk asked.
“Logan and Rex are fully capable of conducting the out brief. I can be available if they need more help.”
Hawk chuckled. “Fair enough. Get some rest. We’ll be in contact tomorrow morning, bright and early.”
As Reid ended the call, he thought about the “hand-off.” His gaze went to Maliea in the seat beside him and then Nani smiling happily in the back. He couldn’t picture meeting up with one of his team, handing over the reins and walking away from them. They’d come to him for help. If something happened to them after he’d stepped back from the case, could he live with himself ?
Not that he didn’t trust his teammates. Given his aversion to working with children because of his separation from his daughter, was he the right person to provide their protection?
Or was he the right person because he was a father and knew how devastating the loss of one’s child was to a parent?
Could he walk away?