Chapter 9 #2
Leilani cocked an eyebrow at Rex. “We might.” She waved a hand toward the gangway. “Please come aboard and make yourself comfortable.”
Kimo crossed first, followed by Rex.
Angel waved from where he was arranging life vests, snorkels and masks. He waved at Kimo and Rex. “Aloha. I’m your deckhand, Angelo.”
“Aloha, Angelo,” Kimo responded.
Rex raised a hand at his teammate. “Angelo, where do we need to sit?”
Angel waved toward the benches lining each side of the interior. “Anywhere you like.”
Rex and Kimo sat on the starboard bench.
A moment later, two men showed up, wearing swim trunks and Hawaiian shirts that didn’t scream with their colors; they only chirped a little. They carried large gear bags and wore sunglasses and ball caps.
Kimo recognized Kiana’s guy, Devlin Mulhaney, but not the other man with him. She assumed it was Teller Osgood, sent from the Big Island by his boss, Jace Hawkins. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing these men would provide cover on the boat while she, Angel, Leilani and Rex were diving.
The men boarded and found a seat on the opposite bench from Rex and Kimo.
Leilani unhooked the line from the cleat on the dock and tossed the line into the boat.
Angel grabbed it, wrapped it, lifted the lid of a box and laid it inside.
Leilani stepped aboard and drew in the gangway, stowing it on the side of the craft.
She straightened and smiled. “We had an entire family cancel because they all came down with something. So, this is all of us. Sit back and relax as we take you on an adventure you won’t soon forget.
” Her gaze swept the dock. “If you’re ready, we’ll get going.
Angelo will give you the safety briefing on the way out of the marina.
” She strode through the boat to the helm and started the engine.
Soon, they were on their way out of the marina with Angel reciting the safety briefing until they were well out of earshot of anyone at the marina.
Once they were in open water, Leilani cranked up the speed and drove the boat along the west side of the island, heading for Maalaea Bay.
As soon as they were reasonably out of sight of land, Devlin and Teller opened their gear bags and extracted a rifle and handgun, along with extra magazines full of bullets.
Kimo’s blood chilled, not so much at the weapons but at the fact that they might have to use them. What was the world coming to?
Rex reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “They’ll have our backs.”
Kimo nodded.
Angel came through the cabin to hand Rex and Kimo wetsuits. A full-length one for Kimo to protect her injured leg and a shorter one for Rex. He grabbed one for himself, stripped out of his Windsong Tours polo shirt and slipped into the wetsuit. Then he took the helm while Leilani put on her gear.
Kimo shrugged out of her beach cover-up and stepped into the wetsuit. When she fumbled to find the armholes, Rex was there to help her. Once she was in it, he drew the zipper up the front, his knuckles skimming across her breasts.
Her breath caught and held as she raised her gaze to his. He stared down into her eyes for a long moment. “Everything’s going to be all right,” he said softly.
Kimo nodded, too flustered by how close he was and how much closer she wanted him to be.
He stepped back, took off his shirt and reached for his wetsuit.
She couldn’t help herself. Kimo feasted her eyes on the man’s broad, tanned chest, narrow waist and those loud, crazy-colored swim shorts.
“Good to see you’re getting some use out of your Ugly Hawaiian Outfit winner,” Devlin said. “It’s good that you’ll be wearing a wetsuit over those trunks so that you don’t scare the fish.”
Rex’s lips twisted. “Bite me.” He dragged the wetsuit up his legs and zipped it before Kimo could offer to return the favor.
Leilani handed flippers to all four divers, then a mask and snorkel to Kimo.
Rex held his up. “Got my own.”
Leilani nodded and checked the BCDs, regulators and tanks once more before taking the helm again.
Devlin rose to stand beside her as she showed him how to operate the tour boat. After a few moments, Dev took the helm while Leilani pointed ahead to the island, telling him what to look for and places he could pull into should he have to drive the tour boat.
Kimo hoped they wouldn’t come to that. She wanted to get there, find the camera and get back before another boat full of gunmen showed up to cause trouble.
Devlin pulled a small buoy out of his bag and set it on the deck.
Angel and Rex moved to sit beside Devlin to adjust their dive watches and add preset messages.
Kimo watched with envy. She’d always wanted subwave sonar capabilities but had chosen to spend her profits on additional photography equipment and software first. She leaned forward, watching them adjust the buoy and their watches, eager to learn more.
“We already have Are you okay?,” Devlin said. “And Surface now. What else should we add?”
“Low on air,” Rex said.
“We don’t know what we’ll find down there,” Kimo said. “How about Incoming bogey?”
Rex smiled at her. “That could mean anything dangerous—animal or human.”
“Good,” Dev said and keyed in the words.
“And how about Need help?” Angel added.
“Got it.” Dev keyed in the message and tested them out on Angel’s and Rex’s watches, using the onboard monitoring device. “Now you two send a message to each other.”
Angel sent one to Rex. Rex gave him a thumbs-up and sent a message to Angel.
Angel nodded. “Works.”
“We need to be vigilant out there. These people aren’t playing around,” Rex said. “They don’t want what’s on that camera to get out, and they probably don’t want anyone who has seen what was in that shipping container to live to tell about it.”
“That would be Kimo and Alana,” Angel said.
Rex moved to sit beside her. “We need to stay together. No more than three feet apart.”
Kimo’s brow furrowed. “We’ll be bumping into each other.”
“Better to bump into each other than to lose each other,” he said softly.
“I’ll be the same with Leilani,” Dev grinned as Leilani chose that moment to glance back at them and cock a questioning eyebrow.
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ve got you covered,” Dev called out over the engine noise.
Leilani and Kimo had spent many hours together diving around Maui and the other islands. Kimo trusted her abilities. Angel, an ex-Navy SEAL, as well as Rex, had trained extensively in scuba diving. They had the right team.
“We’ll start at the coordinates where we found the shipping container,” Kimo said, “and then move toward the reef. We were on our way back to the dive boat when the other craft arrived and ran over Alana and then dragged her onboard. I headed for the reef when they came after me. I was close to the reef when bullets hit my scuba tank and grazed by leg.”
Rex reached for Kimo’s hand and held it as she continued.
Kimo liked how he made her feel safe. She drew in a breath and continued. “I dropped the BCD with the tank. I think that’s when I dropped my camera, too, because I don’t remember having it with me as I surfaced and hid among the rocks. If we can find the BCD and tank, the camera should be nearby.”
“Since you were close to the reef, we’ll spread out in pairs and swim in that direction,” Rex said.
“And if we don’t find it by the time we reach the reef?” Angel asked.
“We move along the base of the reef in opposite directions from there,” Kimo said. “It has to be there.” They had to find it. For Alana.
As they neared Maalaea Bay, Kimo stared out at the water and the sun that was moving closer to meet it. “We have about two hours before sunset. It will be easier to search while we have light than in the dark.”
“So, let’s make the best of daylight,” Rex said.
Leilani slowed the tour boat, bringing it to a halt at the coordinates Kimo had given her.
Kimo stowed her cell phone in the console near the helm, removed the floppy hat and unwound her long, thick braid, letting it fall down her back. She fit her mask and snorkel over her head and reached for a BCD-tank combination.
Rex took it from her hands. “Let me.”
Used to suiting up herself, Kimo’s brow dipped momentarily.
“If it makes you feel better, you can help me next,” he said with a smile.
“Deal.” She turned and slipped her arms into the harness.
Rex settled the equipment on her shoulders, his hands lingering to adjust the fit. He turned her gently and buckled the straps in front.
While his focus was on the buckles, she studied his face. A five o’clock shadow spread across his chin, cheeks, and neck, but he’d taken time to shave his upper lip. Smart. The mask would fit better that way.
The stubble on his chin tempted her. She fought the urge to reach out and run her fingers across it to test its stiffness. She wondered how it would feel if he trailed kisses down her neck and across her breasts.
Rex was so close that she could easily fall against him and blame it on the waves rocking the boat.
His gray-eyed gaze rose to meet hers, a smile curving just the corners of his lips.
Could he read her thoughts? Heat bloomed in her chest, spreading upward into her cheeks.
A wave chose that moment to tilt the boat sharply.
Rex gripped the straps of her BCD, bringing her closer.
Before she realized what was happening, he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers.
That light touch was enough to spark a flame that rushed through her system like an out-of-control wildfire, burning a path through her and culminating at her core.
As quickly as it happened, it ended when Rex released her BCD and reached for another set. He held it out to her with a smile. “You turn.”
She took the BCD and tank into shaking hands, her mind in turmoil, her thoughts ping-ponging like a pinball being batted back and forth. He turned his back to her, giving her a moment to pull herself together.
Rex slid his arms through the BCD harness and let her adjust it on his shoulders. When he turned, Kimo focused on the buckles, unable to meet his gaze, afraid he would see her feelings mirrored in her eyes.
That little bit of a kiss had rocked her even more than the waves tossing the tour boat.
What did it mean?
When her fingers fumbled with the buckles, Rex raised his hand to capture hers. “Hey. I’m sorry if I rattled you,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Then why did you?” she asked, finally looking up into his eyes.
He shook his head. “I just...couldn’t resist.” His brow dipped. “I won’t do it again,” his tone deepened, “unless you want me to.”
Kimo leaned toward him, caught in the moment, in the now stormy-gray of his eyes. “I—”
“We don’t have much daylight left,” Angel called out. “Are we ready?”
Kimo stepped back quickly and faced Angel and Leilani.
Leilani’s brows were raised, her lips pressed together as if she wanted to say something but wouldn’t.
Kimo ignored her knowing look, checked her gauges, grabbed her regulator and nodded. “Ready.”
“Ready,” Rex echoed.
Angel handed Kimo and Rex each a dive knife. “You might need these.”
They secured the knives to their BCDs.
Typically, Kimo carried a knife, not only for protection, but to dig for interesting objects in the sand or on the reef. Having one now had an entirely different connotation, giving her a chill down her spine.
Devlin tied a line to the sonar buoy and dropped it into the water.
Kimo, Rex, Leilani and Angel moved to the back of the tour boat and sat to put on their fins and fit the regulators into their mouths.
With their masks fit over their faces, they dropped one by one into the water.
Teller stood on the deck, rifle in hand. “We’ll cover the surface.”
Devlin waved the sonar tracking device. “Check your watches.”
Rex and Angel checked and gave Devlin a thumbs-up.
Kimo held up her hand with the okay sign. Once the other three repeated it, she pushed thoughts of Rex’s kiss to the back of her mind and dove. She led the way to the bottom, where the shipping container had been. Her purpose for being there was to find her camera.
Alana’s life depended on it.