Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
The next day I sent most of the club to Lu’s little apartment to pack up her things and end her lease.
Lu wasn’t happy about not being there to help, claiming the club members were not her servants, but I argued that that was exactly what they were.
To her, at least. She was our First Lady, our Queen, and they would stop at nothing to do her bidding.
Neither would I.
Hiro, Kanoa, and Tangaloa remained behind.
I put Mal in charge of the apartment dismantling.
First, because I wanted to see how he would handle it, and second, because I wanted to see how the others would handle taking orders from him.
He was more of an outsider than anyone else, but he had the most experience.
It was a fine line, but I stood by my decision that he would be a good SAA for the club.
Hiro had the info on Lu’s ex. They’d had it yesterday, but I had asked them to wait to give me the info. At the time that Hiro had gotten back to me, I hadn’t known if Kanoa was going to be joining my club or not. Since my phone was destroyed, Tangaloa couldn’t text or call me.
Kanoa was an expert tracker. He was extremely spiritual and in touch with his roots.
He was a no-brainer for the position of Tracker within the club, but there was no guarantee he’d want to be part of a motorcycle club.
I wasn’t even sure he knew how to ride a motorcycle.
But he’d accepted, and I was about to send him on his first assignment.
Red and Aftermath were still present. They’d been staying at Mal’s house with their Ol’ Ladies.
Apparently, Kensi and Nadia were getting along well with Holly and hadn’t wanted to go back to the hotel.
Plus, Holly was now giving both of them aerial pole dance lessons and they had an open invitation with the twins to come back for their next horseback riding lesson.
I had only met Holly once. She was small, five-two, but I kept getting a vibe about her from Mal, Red, and Aftermath that there was more to her than just being Mal’s girlfriend and now Ol’ Lady.
Mal had insisted that I didn’t need to have anyone guard his house because Holly was there.
I knew better than to judge a book by its cover, but still.
There was definitely something I was missing.
As soon as the others left for Lu’s apartment—they were also picking up a truck from Yooko to help bring everything back—the six of us, Tangaloa, Red, Aftermath, Kanoa, Lu, and I, squeezed our way around my little kitchen table.
I really needed to find a better meeting place.
Just one of many things on my to-do list over the next few days.
I’d already posted a sign at my surf shop that I was going to be gone for a week or so and to call Tangaloa if someone needed something urgent.
The locals knew Tangaloa’s number, and if you weren’t local or a pro, you shouldn’t be down at Banzai Pipeline anyway.
To save room at the table, and also for my sheer enjoyment, Lu was on my lap. Tangaloa was sitting on the kitchen counter sipping coffee while smoking a joint. That left Hiro, Red, Aftermath, and Kanoa squeezed around the table.
Hiro passed me a tablet. “His name is Calvin Preacher. Thirty-seven, he lives in Santa Barbara. Moved there six years ago after receiving an inheritance from his parents. Both passed in a drunk driving accident. Since then, Preacher has been living the dream life. Babes, booze, and blow.” They looked to Lu, a disappointed look on their face.
“What exactly did you see in this douchebag that made you sleep with him, let alone date him for two months?”
It was a fair question. Lu stiffened on my lap.
I picked up the tablet to take a look at the pictures Hiro had of this prick.
I’m not sure if it was a good or bad thing that the first thing I noticed was how similar he looked to me.
He was certainly a haole version, but I could still see the similarities in our hair and features.
I tossed the tablet across the room to Tangaloa.
Hiro gasped like I’d just tossed their firstborn.
Tangaloa caught the tablet like a frisbee. His eyes jumped from me to the picture a few times before he shook his head. He placed the tablet safely on the counter beside him. To save Hiro the heart attack, I presumed.
I turned to Kanoa. “Bring him to me.”
“I’ve already called Blayze, my VP,” Aftermath told Kanoa. “He knows Aloe Krispy only just created your chapter. But just because you don’t have your colors yet doesn’t mean you’re not a Royal Bastard. You’re welcome to stay at our clubhouse and to whatever supplies you’ll need.”
I ignored the mispronunciation of my name.
Kanoa nodded once. “Appreciate it, but I have a feeling your methods are a bit, uh, louder than mine. Still, I’d like to see your clubhouse. If I have time, I’ll be sure to stop by.”
Aftermath slid a business card across the table at him. “It’s an open-ended offer.”
Kanoa took the card, standing. He looked to Lu. “Where did he hit you?”
Lu scowled. “You are all blowing this way out of proportion! He didn’t hit me.
I mean, he did, but there are women out there who suffer through a lot more abuse on a daily basis.
I wasn’t abused. I wasn’t in fear for my life.
Yes, he slapped me. It was a single strike across my cheek and I left as soon as it happened.
He wasn’t happy, tried to get me back, but I was not going to take him back after that.
Plus, it was what solidified my decision to return to O‘ahu. Please, don’t do anything that’ll get you into trouble. ”
Kanoa and I exchanged a look. She clearly didn’t get it. I gave Kanoa a nod, giving him permission to try to explain.
“My actions, Lu, whether you were sitting on Aloiki’s lap or not, would be the same. But you are sitting on his lap, which makes what Preacher did to you all the more offensive. You’re his, which means you’re ours.”
“It’s just… It’s not a big deal.” She glanced behind herself at me quickly. “I’m safe and I’m alive. But Nishi… She’s out there somewhere, and I need help to find her. I’d rather you put your efforts there than hunting down my ex.”
I turned her on my lap so she could look at me without having to crane her neck.
“Nishi is our priority. I’ve had Hiro looking into her abduction since the night we learned about it.
I promised you that I would find Nishi, but I will never put anyone above you, Lu.
Preacher struck you. You say it was just once and with an open palm…
” I shook my head. “But it doesn’t matter.
No one lays a hand on you and gets to live.
” I turned to Kanoa. “Get going. I don’t want him breathing a second longer than necessary. ”
Kanoa stood, clasped me on the shoulder, gave Lu a brotherly kiss on the top of her head, and pounded fists with Tangaloa before heading out my front door.
The longest part about Kanoa’s mission would be physically getting to the Mainland and back.
Once he was in Santa Barbara, he’d have Preacher within a matter of hours.
I turned to Hiro. “What do you know about Nishi?”
“I found the security footage from the night of her abduction,” they answered, nodding to the tablet by Tangaloa’s hip.
My new VP picked up the device to take a look.
“Lu and Nishi were at a bar on Waikīkī. A man approached them. He was not wearing a BSMC cut, but I was able to confirm he was the one you killed at the storage yard,” they added to me.
“He spent some time flirting with Lu and Nishi, though mostly Nishi. Around midnight, Lu took an Uber back to her apartment while Nishi got on the back of the Bloody Scorpion’s motorcycle.
Unfortunately, that’s where I lost her. I was able to obtain footage from an ATM and two store security cameras that showed them riding north, but that was it.
“All of the footage from the storage facility for the night Nishi disappeared as well as the night we were there has also been scrubbed. I’m still looking to see if I can find the footprint of who did it, but my focus has been on hacking into the Coast Guard’s records to see if the boat Virgil saw was spotted on any of their buoys, sensors, or ships so we can identify it.
” They looked to Lu. “I’m working as fast as I can. I promise.”
Lu nodded solemnly. “Mahalo, Hiro.”
Red piped up then. “I’ve been working with Hiro to help lighten hi—shit, their load.
” His cheeks flamed. “Sorry.” To my surprise, Hiro just waved off the slip of the tongue.
I didn’t know if that was good or bad for Red.
“Anyway, I’ve tracked the truck, but unfortunately, the Bloody Scorpions ditched it.
And set it on fire. Yooko was not happy when I spoke to him. ”
“So we don’t know where the Bloody Scorpions who got away are or where the heroin is?
” Tangaloa asked. As harsh as his question was, I knew he still agreed with my decision to let the truck go.
Lu’s life had been in the balance, and six additional Bloody Scorpions to fight could have meant one of us didn’t walk away from such a battle.
When Red glanced my way, his expression turned worried. “No. Not by following the lead we had, anyway.”
“I have to put the word out,” I told him, rubbing a hand up and down Lu’s back. I didn’t want her to feel any guilt over my decision. “Make sure people know about the club as well as to keep an eye out for the Bloody Scorpions.”
“Will they tell you?” Aftermath asked, skeptical.
“We’re kama?āina,” I reminded him. “They won’t want the Bloody Scorpions here anymore than we do.” I looked to Hiro. “Usual contacts. Make sure they know I’m back in play but I’m my own man now.”
“Kahoku isn’t going to like that,” Hiro muttered as they started typing on their laptop again. “He’s been trying to get you back for years.”