Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
Emi’s heart thudded against her chest as she stared at the face of the man who’d held her hostage for eight long years—the man who’d brutalized her and then tossed her overboard to die.
He stood in the background, appearing as if he was talking to other guests at whatever event they were attending.
“What event was this?” George asked.
“The Annual Charity Luau on Oahu last year,” Kyla said.
“Is this a photo from a news story?” Hawk asked.
“It is,” Kyla said. “But it only names Hollingsworth and John Ka?aihue, a local leader representing the people of Hawaii at the luau.”
“I just looked up this year’s luau speakers and prominent attendees,” Swede said. “John Ka?aihue and Edgar Hollingsworth are scheduled to attend, as well as many of the same big-ticket contributors as last year.”
“We could try to run that man’s image through a facial recognition database to see if we can get a hit,” Kyla said. “He’s a bit blurred in the photo. It might not be clear enough.”
“Most of the same people will be at the luau tomorrow night,” Kalea said. “Hawk and I can be on the lookout for him.”
Emi faced Kalea and Hawk. “I need to be there. I know his face better than any of you. If he’s there, I’ll recognize him.”
“I’ll arrange tickets for you and George,” Mr. Parkman said. “And I know Edgar Hollingsworth personally. I could take a copy of the photo with me and ask him if he knows the man.”
“We could have the Honolulu Police on standby when you do point him out,” Kalea said.
“No.” Emi shook her head violently. “We can’t. Assuming Sara is still at the compound, he could have left word to get rid of her if anything happened to him. He can’t know we’re on to him until we find Sara and free her.” Her jaw hardened, and her hands clenched into fists. “Then you can call in the police, the FBI, the National Guard and anyone else we need to take that bastard down.”
“I’m putting the team on alert,” Hawk said. “When we locate Fallon, we’ll need time for Swede and Kyla to dig into the records to find all his properties on the islands.”
“What if he leaves the luau and goes directly to the compound?” Emi said. “He’d planned to be away for several days before returning. If he’s a regular attendee at the luau, he might have planned to attend all along and go back to the compound when it was over.”
“Then we follow him,” George said.
“We do that with a little added assurance.” Hawk stood and walked over to a wall full of cabinets and drawers. He pulled open a drawer and fished selected several items from inside. When he came back to the others, he laid the items on the table.
Swede grinned on the big screen. “You’re going to tag him with a tracking device.”
Hawk nodded. “One of us will have to get close enough to him to slip it into his pocket. Every one of us that attends will carry one of these. Whoever has the best opportunity to slip it on the target will make the drop.” He turned to Emi. “For this to work without endangering Sara, you’ll have to go in disguise.”
Emi nodded, her heart pounding in her chest, hope growing inside. If all went according to plan, she might have her daughter back in her arms soon.
“The plan depends on Fallon, or whatever his name is, going back to the compound. If he goes back to his home, he’ll change out of his clothes and lose the tag.”
George met Hawk’s gaze. “All the more reason to follow him until he makes the move to go to the compound,” George said.
“Right,” Hawk said. “If he gets on the yacht, we need to be right on his tail to tag that watercraft. We can’t lose it. Tailing him in another boat would be too obvious and alert him to the fact he’s being followed.”
“While your Hawaii team plans for tomorrow’s activities,” Swede said, “Kyla and I will dig into the guest list and try to find the real name of our target.”
“Thanks, Swede, Kyla,” Hawk said.
“Yes,” Emi said. “Thank you.” Their digging had come up with a kernel of knowledge, giving Emi the hope she needed to carry her through and give her the strength to find and free her daughter.
“Out here,” Swede and Kyla said at once. Their faces disappeared, leaving a blue screen.
Hawk pulled out his cell phone. “I think we could use a few more members of the team to keep an eye on things at the luau tomorrow. There will be a lot of people there. We can’t afford to let our target get away.”
While Hawk called on members of the team already on Oahu, Kalea smiled at George and Emi. “Ule has dinner ready. We don’t need to wait on Hawk. He’ll join us when he’s finished contacting the other members of the team.”
“We’ll go clean up and meet you in the kitchen.” George held out a hand to Emi.
She placed her hand in his and gave him a tentative smile. “We’ll find him, won’t we?” she said as they left the war room.
“We will,” George answered. “Just promise that you’ll stick to me like glue at the luau.”
“I promise.” Emi squeezed his hand. “I know I can’t free Sara on my own. I’m thankful for all you’ve done and all the Parkmans and the Brotherhood are doing to help. You’ve come together for someone you don’t even know.”
“It’s what we do,” George said. “We protect those who need someone with our skills and training. I’ll ask Kalea if she has another shower she wants me to use.”
“That’s not necessary,” Emi said. “You can use the one in my room. No use getting another one dirty with all the dust we picked up on our ride.”
George frowned. “If you’re sure...”
“Positive,” she answered with a nod.
Emi was first in the shower while George went in search of the duffel bag he’d left at the ranch when he’d been assigned bodyguard duty for the wedding on Oahu. The few things he’d taken with him for his fishing vacation on Kauai were still on Kauai. He hadn’t thought to bring anything when he’d hustled Emi off the island and into Kalea’s plane.
Thankfully, the bulk of his things were in a duffel bag in a storage room beneath the stairs. The Parkmans had been gracious enough to offer members of the Brotherhood Protectors a place to stay at the ranch, either in the ranch house, if there were rooms available, or in the bunkhouse with the ranch hands.
He located the duffel bag and carried it back to the guest suite. If he was a better man, he’d ask Kalea if she had another room available. After spending the previous night lying next to Emi in her bed, he told himself he’d stay close in case she needed him again. If Emi was comfortable and preferred to sleep by herself, the couch would make a good alternative. He’d slept in worse places.
If he was honest with himself, he hoped Emi would want him to sleep with her again. No matter how painful it was to lie next to her and not touch her, he’d rather do that than be in another room on the opposite end of the sprawling ranch house.
He entered the bedroom, dropped the duffel bag on the floor, opened it and found clean jeans, a T-shirt and his larger toiletries kit. He’d taken a smaller version with him on assignment and vacation. When he finished taking out what he needed, he closed the bag and leaned it against the wall behind the couch.
The bathroom door opened in the bedroom beyond. Emi stepped out, wrapped in a fluffy white towel and nothing else.
Seeing her like that should have reminded him of how he’d found her, naked and nearly dead. A drowned rat floating in the ocean.
That’s not what he saw now.
Emi, as petite as she was, stepped out of the bathroom barefoot, her slim legs and bare shoulders the only parts of her body George could see.
They were enough to spark a fire that raced through his system to ignite his desire.
Her hair hung down to her waist, the auburn tresses dark and damp, curling in waves.
“It’s all yours,” she said.
Oh, he wished it was all his. Correction...he wished she was all his.
He gathered his thoughts, his clothes and toiletries and passed her coming out as he went in.
The scent of her shampoo lingered in the air around her and in the bathroom.
George closed the door between them before he was tempted to tug the towel loose from her body.
Once inside the bathroom, he stripped out of his dusty clothes, leaving them in a neat pile on the floor. He turned on the shower, adjusted the water temperature to lukewarm and stepped beneath the spray, hoping it would tamp down his raging desire and soften the hard-on that had sprung up when he’d seen her in nothing but that blasted towel.
Lukewarm wasn’t cutting it. George lathered, washed and rinsed in cold water. By the time he stepped out of the shower, he was back in control.
After quickly drying off, he dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, ran a comb through his hair and brushed his teeth.
Done in the bathroom, he emerged to find Emi fully dressed in a short, pastel green sundress sprinkled with tiny purple flowers. The colors suited her pale complexion and auburn hair.
His lips twisted. Now she had him calling the color “auburn.”
“What’s so funny?” Emi looked down at the dress. “Is it the dress?”
“Not at all,” he said. “You look amazing in it.”
Color filled her cheeks. “Thank you.” Her green-eyed gaze swept over him. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He nodded his acknowledgment of the compliment, glad that she seemed to find him attractive. “Ready for dinner?”
She nodded.
He offered her his arm.
She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and left the suite with him.
“I’m not sure I can eat a bite,” she said, pressing her other hand to her flat belly.
He frowned. “Not eat an Ule creation? That’s blasphemous.”
She sighed. “My stomach is knotted at the thought of tomorrow night. I wish it was already tomorrow, and we were in Honolulu at the luau.”
“It will be here soon enough,” George said. “I’m glad Hawk is bringing in more of the team to manage the mission.”
“I know it’s only a day.” Her hand tightened around his arm. “But it’s one more night without my sweet Sara. I hope she’s not scared and lonely.”
“I know it’s useless to say don’t think about it,” George said. “You wouldn’t be much of a mother if you didn’t worry about your child’s wellbeing and happiness. My mother still worries about her children even though we’re all grown up and some of us have kids of their own.”
“You’re an uncle?” she asked.
“I am,” he said. “My youngest brother has two little boys. Luke and Mark.” He smiled. “They keep him on his toes.”
“What about you? Have you ever been married?” She blinked. “Or are you married?” She blinked. “Wow. I guess I should’ve asked that question before I practically forced you to kiss me.” She rested her other hand on his arm. “Please tell me you aren’t married.”
He chuckled. “I’m not.”
“Divorced?”
He shook his head.
“You’re a good-looking guy,” she said. “How have you lasted so long without getting married?”
“Never met someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”
“Oh,” she said. “Do you think you ever will?”
They arrived at the door to the kitchen before he could answer, saving him from saying exactly what was on his mind.
He’d never met a woman he’d even slightly considered spending the rest of his life with.
Until now.
He let Emi enter the kitchen ahead of him, his gaze following her all the way.
For a woman who’d been through as much as she had, she wasn’t letting it bring her down. She was a fighter, a mama bear ready to go for the throat of the man who’d held her and her daughter hostage.
Spending the day with her had shown George the lighthearted side of Emi. When she got her daughter back, she’d be even more joyful and happy, something he was sure she hadn’t been while living in the bunker, and she’d do everything in her power to make Sara happy.
George found himself wanting to be included in that happy life. He could see spending his life with her. Sara would be a bonus. She’d be the daughter his mother had never had. Based on his brother’s two little boys, Sara would be the only granddaughter his mother would ever get, and the only daughter George would have. In a family that historically produced all boys, what were the chances of getting a girl?
He couldn’t wait to meet Sara. If she was anything like her mother, George would find it easy to love her, too.
Love?
George almost tripped over his own feet. The “L” word had never surfaced in his vocabulary except for the love he had for his family.
Hawk looked up from setting plates on the table. “Hey man, are you feeling all right? You look a little pale.”
George drew a deep breath and let it out, hoping it would clear his head of some very unsettling thoughts. Thoughts he wasn’t ready to internalize. “I’m feeling fine,” he looked around, “and hungry. What’s Ule whipped up for dinner?”
“Chicken Cordon Bleu, fettuccini with cream sauce, Ceasar’s salad and a chocolate cream pie,” Kalea said. “All of my favorites.” She leaned close to George. “I think he’s trying to impress Emi.”
“It won’t take much to impress me,” Emi came up behind Kalea. “For the past eight years, I dreamed of spaghetti and meatballs, hamburger and French fries or my mother’s meatloaf.”
“I’ll let Ule know,” Kalea said. “He makes an incredible meatloaf. And you’ll have to try some of his more traditional Hawaiian dishes.”
“I’d love that,” Emi said.
“Emi, before I forget, Dr. Rhodes stopped by while you were out with George.” Kalea leaned closer to Emi and whispered in her ear.
Emi smiled. “That’s good. I’m glad to hear it.”
“He said you can take a multivitamin with iron to improve that,” Kalea said. “Or eat some of Ule’s good cooking.”
“I will.” Emi grinned. “Thanks.”
George wondered what kind of food Emi had been given in the compound. He suspected not the best and not enough. She was almost too thin.
Every time he thought of her alone in the cell or being forcibly raped, anger burned through him. He’d be hard-pressed to keep from killing the bastard at the luau. If not for Sara, he’d beat the shit out of the man like that bastard had done to Emi. Then he’d take him out into the ocean and leave him, just like he’d left Emi.
They settled around the table, passing platters of food around until everyone had a plate full of deliciousness.
George ate quietly, his thoughts on finding the man who’d stolen eight years of Emi’s life. He listened as Hawk went over what would happen the following evening at the luau. He’d arranged for four more of his teammates to be there. Three of the four were already on Oahu. The fourth one would fly over from Maui that night to be ready to roll out the following day.
Kalea would fly Hawk, George, her father and Emi over in the morning. They’d meet at Devlin Mulhaney’s home in Honolulu, distribute communications devices, tracker tags and check their weapons. When it came time to go to the luau, they’d split up and travel to the event location in different vehicles.
George and Emi would rent a car to take them. Emi would dress like a teenage boy and go as George’s younger brother. Hawk, Kalea and her father would arrive in another car and mingle with the other top-tier philanthropists. Mr. Parkman would work on Hollingsworth to see if he could name the man in the picture.
“The other four team members will float in through the attendees, keeping in contact via their radio headsets.
“George, your number one priority is to protect Emi,” Hawk said.
George didn’t need his boss to tell him that. Protecting Emi already was his number one priority. It had been since he’d pulled her from the ocean.
After dinner, Kalea and Hawk went to the barn to check on the mare and her baby and to look in on the puppies.
George asked Emi, “Do you want to go with them?”
Emi shook her head. “No. I just want to go outside and breathe the night air.”
“Sounds perfect.” George walked out onto the back porch with Emi.
She leaned against the rail and stared up at the sky. “I haven’t seen the stars in eight years,” she said. “I’d almost forgotten how beautiful they were. Sara has never seen stars.”
“Another first for her,” George noted.
“I can’t wait to show her,” Emi said. “And I can’t wait to introduce her to her grandparents. My mother will spoil her with hugs, kisses and cookies.” Her smile faded. “I wonder how my mother and father will act when I show up on their doorstep.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m not who I used to be. What if they don’t like who I am?”
George gripped her arms gently and pulled her back to lean into him.
She went willingly.
“Sweetheart, they’ll be over-the-moon happy to have their daughter back. And they’ll love you with all their hearts. You’re a beautiful woman, inside and out.”
Emi sighed. “I hope so. I want Sara to know her grandparents, to feel the love I knew growing up.”
“She will,” George said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.
“I miss my baby,” Emi said.
George turned her in his arms.
She rested her cheek against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.
For a long time, they stood silently, holding each other.
Voices sounded from the direction of the barn.
George and Emi stepped apart, leaning casually against the rail.
Hawk and Kalea walked hand in hand in the starlight, talking softly with each other.
They stopped halfway to the ranch house and embraced, sharing an intimate kiss.
Then they laughed and continued toward the house, arm-in-arm.
George found himself envying the couple. He hoped one day he’d feel as free and easy and totally in love as Hawk and Kalea.
He had to remind himself it hadn’t always been that way for them. They’d had to find their way to each other.
George glanced at Emi. Her face glowed a faint blue in the starlight. Her mouth curved in a gentle smile as she watched Hawk and Kalea approach the house.
“They make a beautiful couple,” she spoke quietly, barely above a whisper.
George had to lean closer to hear her words. He smiled at her observation, having thought the same. “Yes, they do.”
“Hey, you two,” Kalea called out as they climbed the stairs. “Beautiful night, isn’t it?”
“It is,” George said.
“It’s so clear, you can almost see Mauna Kea.” She pointed in the direction of the tallest mountain in Hawaii.
George and Emi descended the steps and looked out over the horizon at the dark silhouette of the mountain.
“I bet the astronomers are hopping tonight in the observatories,” George said.
“One of these days, I’d love to go inside one of the observatories,” Hawk said.
“I might have some connections,” Kalea said. “I’ll see which strings I can pull.”
“You know the way to a man’s heart,” Hawk gave her a loud smack of a kiss. “You’ll have to excuse us,” he said to George. “We need to get our beauty sleep. Big day for all of us tomorrow.”
Kalea snorted as she walked ahead of Hawk into the house. “Beauty sleep. As if. We won’t get to sleep before midnight if you have your way.”
“My way,” Hawk was saying as they entered the house. “You’re the one who can last all night. You’re like that battery bunny.”
“First one to the bedroom gets to be on top,” Kalea said.
Footsteps pounded up the staircase. The echo of Kalea’s giggles lingered even after their bedroom door slammed shut.
“I suppose we should call it a night,” Emi said.
George nodded, his lips still curved at Hawk and Kalea’s playfulness. “I suppose the sooner we sleep, the sooner it will be tomorrow, and we’ll be on our way to Oahu.”
Emi led the way into the house and down the hallway to the guest suite. She opened the door and stepped inside.
George followed, stopping just outside the door.
Emi glanced over her shoulder and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“This is your room,” he said. “I don’t want to assume anything. If you want me to stay, you’ll have to tell me. Same if you want me to go. Either way, you won’t hurt my feelings or make me mad.”
Her frown deepened. “I don’t want to inconvenience you any more than I already have.”
“Sweetheart,” he gave her a crooked smile, “you’re anything but an inconvenience.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “What do you want to do?”
“I told you. It’s your choice. I would never force you to do anything, and I don’t want you to ever feel bad for making a decision that isn’t what I would do. I want you to do what you want to do. You’re free, both physically and mentally.”
“It’s been so long since I’ve had a choice,” she said, her voice fading away.
George gave her time to think about it. He could almost see the gears turning in her brain.
Her chin lifted, and she met his gaze. “I want you to stay with me.”
“Because you want it? Or because you know I want it.”
Her eyes widened. “You want to stay?”
He grinned and nodded. “I do.”
“Then it’s a win-win.” She raised her eyebrows. “What are you waiting for? Get in here and close the door.”
George chuckled. “Bossy now?”
“You said my room, my choice.” She lifted her chin higher. “I choose for you to stay with me.”
He entered, closed the door behind him and twisted the lock. As he turned, he said, “I don’t mind sleeping?—”
Emi wasn’t standing behind him. A green and purple swath of fabric lay on the floor where she’d been.
“—on the couch,” he finished saying beneath his breath. Despite the echo of logic clamoring for him to think with his head, not his dick, he followed a trail of clothing across the sitting room, collecting the items as he went.
First, the dress, then a bra; next, he found a pair of panties just inside the bedroom doorway.
His gaze swept the room for further clues, landing on the bed where auburn hair splayed across the white pillowcase and green eyes stared at him above the comforter pulled all the way up to Emi’s nose.
George’s groin tightened. “Do you always leave your clothes lying around?” He dangled her bra from his fingertip.
“Do you need written instructions?” she asked.
“Do you always answer a question with a question?”
She cocked an eyebrow and lowered the comforter to the base of her neck. “Are you just going to stand there, marine?”
He chuckled. “You must be feeling better. You’re getting sassier.”
“That’s what good food and fresh air will do.” She flipped a strand of her hair back behind her. The movement caused the comforter to slip lower, exposing the top of one rounded breast. Emi didn’t adjust for the slippage. Instead, she met his gaze head-on.
George sighed. “What do you want from me, Emi?”
Her brow wrinkled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve attempted to seduce a man. I’m not even sure how. I thought all I had to do was get naked and that would be enough.” Her lips twisted. “But then you’ve seen me naked. I guess you weren’t impressed.” She sank deeper into the comforter. “Never mind. Ignore the idiot in the bed and close the door behind you when you run from the room.”
Emi pulled the comforter over her head.
George fought back the laughter bubbling up in his throat. He waited to see what she would do next, keeping a tight rein on the desire pulsing through his veins.
Emi had been trying to seduce him?
Holy hell.
She was succeeding more than she could possibly know or understand.
He was mere seconds away from taking her up on her offer.