Chapter 3 #3
But if Lu had been in the back of that truck all fucking day, and I hadn’t done anything to save her?
That, that would be the most heinous and unforgivable thing I’d ever have done in my lifetime.
It didn’t matter that I hadn’t known. It didn’t matter that I thought she was living on the Mainland and nowhere near the potential danger I’d been investigating.
I should have known. I should have helped her. I’d done nothing.
Fire burned inside me, hot and smoldering. I didn’t know who I was more pissed at: the soon-to-be-dead Bloody Scorpion that had had his hands all over her or myself.
My eyes landed on Tangaloa. He knew. Of everyone on this fucking planet, he knew everything about what had happened between Lu and me. He was the only one who could ever understand.
“I have to get to her,” I managed to get out.
I couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t I breathe? Looking down my body, I realized that Aftermath had both arms locked around me in a vice. Red was on my other side, both arms wrapped around one of my legs. When he realized I saw how he was holding my leg, he flushed and immediately let go of me.
Tangaloa gripped my chin, bringing my face forward towards him. “We’ll get to her. But we’re outnumbered. We need to even the odds, and then you can kill all the Bloody Scorpions you want. Okay, brother?”
I nodded, my rage not cooling in the slightest. They touched my wahine.
I won’t kill them.
I’ll eviscerate them and bathe in their blood.
I met Luana Palakiko nearly a decade ago.
Two years my junior, she was everything I wasn’t.
Sweet, kind, fun, carefree, beautiful… After my mom’s death and my dad’s disappearance, I’d turned bitter.
I couldn’t control my sister and my island was in need of protection.
I took my rage out on those who dared to harm my home.
Then I was introduced to Lu at a friend of a friend’s party, and it was like the world shifted.
She had a way of softening my hard edges and making me feel not so wild.
But she also had a tendency to land herself into a world of trouble.
Some had warned me that her nickname growing up was “Bad Luck Lu”, but I hadn’t cared. I wanted her, bad luck and all.
It took me a long time to realize that, yeah, she did have bad luck.
She could choose a convenience store at random and that’s the one that had to get robbed while she was inside.
Or the weather was perfectly fine for her to go sailing, but the minute she hit the water, a thunderstorm raged.
There was no doubting her rotten luck, but not all of it was Lono turning her back on her.
A lot of her trouble was one-hundred percent Lu.
I loved her loyalty, because once you had it, it was yours for life.
She was kind to a fault, and sometimes that kindness came back to haunt her.
Like when a homeless man she used to give money to started stalking her and eventually broke into her home.
Or the friend she let borrow her car got into a car accident and tried to sue Lu because it was Lu’s car she was driving when she ran that red light.
Lu’s ability to find trouble was unprecedented, but I loved her in spite of it.
I loved her so much that I’d asked her to marry me.
But things were…bad around that time for me.
In retrospect, I had used Lu as a crutch to ease my pain without doing anything to ease it myself.
My actions and work with the activist groups had only buried my pain and grief.
After nearly dying, Lu had made me swear to quit. In my defense, when I had made that promise, I thought it was true. I thought I could stop. But then word got back to me about a group of poachers hunting sea turtles, and I couldn’t ignore that. Not on my island.
They thought they could hunt the sea turtles for their shells and toss the carcasses back into the ocean? Let’s see how they liked it when I removed their spines and did the same.
I thought Lu would understand. I’d gone home to explain my reasoning to her. I needed her to see that I hadn’t been hurt again. Instead, I walked in to her waiting in my kitchen, my ring already off her finger.
She’d had enough. She couldn’t stay home worrying about me, wondering if this was the day I was going to go too far, and either be killed or arrested. I’d stood there in silence, letting her talk and explain her reasons.
She kept playing with the damn ring the entire time she talked.
Round and around between her fingers, and all I kept praying for was that she’d put it back on.
Tangaloa had gone shopping with me for it.
He’d tried to convince me to buy a traditional diamond ring, but I’d said no.
I knew my Lu. She didn’t want diamonds. She loved pearls, specifically Tahitian black pearls.
So that was what I got her, even though both Tangaloa and the dealer had said a diamond ring would bring better luck to our union.
I hadn’t believed them. And then I’d watched her place it on the counter between us. I couldn’t stop staring at that damn ring. Like if she’d just put it back on, it would solve all our problems.
I hadn’t stopped her from walking out my front door. Something broke within me the day Lu left. Something I hadn’t even known I’d possessed. Those pieces were now held together by glue, duct tape, and paperclips. I was doing the best I could with the shit I had.
If Lu couldn’t love me, no one could.
I’d moved on. She’d left me, I’d forget about her. And I had, for the most part. Every once in a while, I’d get a pang in my chest when something reminded me of her, but that was it. I’d push it aside and get drunk, smoke a joint, or fuck a cam girl until that pang vanished.
Seeing her on the shoulder of a Bloody Scorpion… It all came rushing back in a tidal wave. Lu was mine. She might have walked out my door, might have given me back that pearl ring I’d saved up over a year for to give to her, but that didn’t change anything.
I was going to save her.
I was going to get her back.
I just might have to call in a lot of favors to do it. I didn’t care, though. I’d owe Ulupoka himself if it meant getting her back alive and unharmed.
The mission had changed. It was no longer about getting the Bloody Scorpions off my island, but getting to Lu.
I didn’t know if I could trust Red and Aftermath.
They were Royal Bastards, and technically I was supposed to be helping them, but I would not risk Lu’s life on their inexperience.
I didn’t know what they could do or how accurate they were.
I was barely in control of myself, knowing Lu was inside that storage facility. We were back outside the SUV, Tangaloa always between me and that fucking building. Like he was afraid I was still going to bolt towards it.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t.
I needed to get inside that building. To do that, I needed the twins. They were young, but they’d suffered through a lot of trauma, making them scarily lethal. Except they were guarding the Royal Bastards Ol’ Ladies.
I had no choice. I called a number I thought I’d never have to. Who actually called their neighbors?
“Hello?”
Fuck. What the hell was the guy’s name? I just had him in my phone as Kinky Neighbor. “Uh, howzit, this is Aloiki. Your neighbor.”
There was something going on in the background. A hum of some sort. “And what can I do for you, Aloiki, my neighbor?”
The guy’s voice sounded fucking amused, and I didn’t have the patience for it. “There are two ladies on my property that are in current need of protection. You’re a former cop, yeah?”
The humming noise stopped and there was a whine I knew very well. Someone feminine had just been denied an orgasm. “I am. Can you tell me anymore than two women need protection?”
“Unfortunately, no. I’ll explain when I can.” That was a total lie, but I was pressed for time. “My employees will bring them to you, if you’re willing.”
“I will not put my woman in danger—” There was a scuffle, then, “Little Owl!”
Suddenly the voice on the phone changed and a woman answered, “We’ll help. Where do you need us to meet them?”
“Little Owl,” came across the phone like he was standing behind her. “Don’t you ever take my phone away from me like that—”
“I will not allow these women to be in danger on my behalf,” she snapped at him. Fuck, I had no idea what her name was either. I’d seen them fucking on their beach, but had no idea their names. “Punish me later, Sir, but I’m helping them with or without you.”
I heard cursing and then another scuffle. “How soon will they get here?” he asked into the phone.
“Ten minutes,” I told him.
“Fine.” Then he added, “If my little owl gets hurt because of whatever you’re involved in, I will end you.”
There was a dangerous steadiness to his voice that made me believe him. He’d killed before, and I doubted it was in the line of duty.
“Fair enough,” I said before hanging up. After a quick conversation with one of the twins, because they only had one phone between the two of them so I had no idea which one I was talking to, I turned to Aftermath and Red. “We’ll need your weapons.”
Both men’s expressions turned angry. “What the fuck for?” Aftermath demanded.
“Because I have men I trust coming and they’re going to need to be armed.”
Red’s face flamed. “You can trust us—”
“That is my wahine in that building,” I sneered, cutting him off. “I will not risk her life on two unknowns and I do not have time to argue with you. If it was your woman in there, would you trust a stranger to rescue her because he is wearing a certain cut?”
While Red did not argue, Aftermath did. “If my Kensi was in the hands of the Bloody Scorpions, I’d use every weapon at my disposal to get to her. You can’t afford not to use us.”
I ground my teeth together. I didn’t have time for this! “If either of you do anything that endangers her life, I will turn you into chum. I don’t give a fuck if it pisses off Jameson or Capone. Get in my way, and I will make widows out of your women.”
To my surprise, both nodded their agreement. If anything, their determination to help seemed to grow at my words, and they were about to risk their lives for my wahine.
That was the only reason I added, “No matter what happens, your women are safe. You have my word.”
The possibilities of what could happen were endless.
I turned to Tangaloa. “Who do you have coming?”
“This short notice and nearby, Virgil and Rory. I left a message with Kanoa. Hopefully he gets it in time.”
Fuck. Not that they weren’t good men, but I was hoping for more than two, possibly three. Looking around, I asked, “Where’s Hiro?”
“I sent them to disable the boats,” Tangaloa answered. “They haven’t returned yet, and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”
I cursed under my breath. I couldn’t worry about rescuing Hiro too. They better not have gotten caught. “Virgil coming by sea or land?”
Tangaloa nodded to his right over his shoulder. “Sea. I figured speed was more important than stealth.”
It would have to do. My phone buzzed in my hand. I looked down to see a message from an unknown number.
Unknown: They’re herding the women but not touching them.
Unknown: Wait 10 minutes if you can. Some sound like they’re about to leave in the trucks.
Unknown: I was wrong. They’re saying there IS heroin in that truck. I missed it!
I wasn’t caring about the drugs. I didn’t want that poison flooding my island, but my priority was Lu.
“Hiro snuck into the storage building,” I said to the others as I texted them back. “They say a group of them are leaving soon and there is heroin in that truck.”
Me: Do you have eyes on Lu?
Unknown: She’s trying to undo her ties.
A picture came through, and my heart seized. There she was. Just shy of naked, bound, gagged, and blindfolded. But it was her. My Lu.
My hands were shaking so badly that I barely was able to get my message out.
Me: Can you get her out?
Even if I wasn’t the one to rescue her myself, if there was an option to get her out of there, I would take it.
Unknown: Can’t. Sorry. But I’ll keep an eye on her, promise.
Fuck. Disappointment filled me, but I should have known better. Nothing was that simple when it came to Lu.
I turned to Red. “I’m willing to risk that truck of heroin to save my wahine. Are you?”
“We have the tracker still. As long as they don’t dump the heroin somewhere, I can follow it.” I could tell he wasn’t happy about it, but I appreciated him not arguing with me on it.
I nodded to him before turning to Tangaloa. Together we started to strip down, removing our constricting slippahs and shirts. Though we did leave our pants on, we used a knife to cut them down to be shorts.
“What are you doing?” Aftermath questioned. His face a mixture of horror and confusion.
“Our ancestors went into battle with nothing but a loincloth and the weapons in their hands,” Tangaloa answered. “We honor them by doing the same.”
Unknown: 6 Scorpions leaving. Leaves 21 that I’ve seen.
I relayed this message to the others. Together, we watched as the trucks were moved around so the one with the heroin could leave. I still didn’t understand the random clothing within those boxes, but that was a problem for later.
An engine behind us had us all turning to see Rory coming up the lane. The Irish-Hawai‘ian was not wearing a shirt, but he was wearing cargo pants and boots.
I walked up to him, where he parked his motorcycle by the SUV. “Mahalo for coming.”
He glared at me as he dismounted. His Irish accent was heavy with anger as he said, “I’m here for Lu, not for you, boyo.” He walked past me without taking the hand I offered him. “Rory O’Malley,” he introduced himself to the Royal Bastards.
Tangaloa walked up to me. “At least he didn’t punch you this time.”
I nodded. “He blames me for Aaleah’s death. I’m surprised he came at all.”
“He refused until I told him it was Lu.”
Rory might be pissed at me, might wish me thrown to the bottom of the sea with a millstone around my ankles, but he would never do anything to hurt Lu. Of that, I was positive. “The twins will be here soon. Let’s get into position.”