Chapter 10 #2
“I take it you ran into some trouble down there,” Devlin said as he helped stow tanks.
“We did,” Rex said.
“We had some excitement up here, as well,” Teller said.
“A boat with a couple of men played chicken with us and then opened fire.” Devlin grimaced. “I’m sorry, Leilani, but some of those bullets hit your boat.”
“As long as you two are okay, we can fix the boat,” Leilani said as she shrugged out of her BCD. “We just have to get it back to the marina before it takes on too much water.”
“The camera?” Teller asked.
Kimo shook her head. “We didn’t find it.” She glanced toward Leilani, her lips pressing together.
Leilani shook her head. “We didn’t see the camera or the ditched BCD and tank.” She glanced toward the sunset. “We could go back down, but it’s hard enough to search for them in the daylight. We can start again first thing in the morning.”
Kimo faced the west where the sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving them in the gray haze of dusk. “That storm is supposed to hit us late tomorrow night.”
“Already the ocean is stirring,” Angel said. “The waves are growing and will be worse tomorrow. Will it be too dangerous to dive?”
“Dangerous or not,” Kimo squared her shoulders, “I have to find that camera.”
“I’ll be out here at first daylight,” Leilani promised.
Angel frowned his displeasure. “I’ll be with you.”
“As will I,” Kimo said.
Rex wasn’t any happier than Angel about the rough seas and the possibility of running into more trouble from whoever had come at them that day. Kimo wouldn’t be deterred. If Kimo was going down again...
Rex met Kimo’s gaze. “I’ll be here, too.”
Leilani took over the helm and drove the tour boat north toward Lahaina.
Angel held up his cell phone. “I’ll update Hawk on how it went.”
Rex nodded and helped Kimo out of her wetsuit, peeling it down her body and exposing her bright red bikini. His lips twitched at the cheerful color and style that seemed so incongruous with the danger they’d just faced.
Then again, she was an underwater photographer, not a military-trained operator. She shouldn’t have to be worried about attacks from humans. Nor should she have found a container full of dead people.
Kimo slipped her cover-up over her shoulders, twisted her damp braid around the crown of her head and fit the floppy hat over it.
Rex was amazed at the transformation from a serious diver who had just been attacked underwater to vacationing Mrs. Lovejoy.
She seemed so calm and collected. Her Hawaiian heritage gave her an exotic beauty unlike any he’d ever encountered.
He found it harder and harder to pull back and remind himself she was the client. He was the protector.
Rex moved away in an attempt to put distance between himself and Kimo. He stripped off his wetsuit, pulled on the loud Hawaiian shirt and grabbed his cell phone from where he’d stowed it near the helm.
As they neared the marina, Leilani reduced their speed to comply with the no-wake zone and maneuvered the tour boat into its slip. Angel leaped out onto the dock and secured the lines.
Rex’s phone pinged with an incoming text from his father. He frowned down at the message.
JJohnson: If you want to talk to Holte, meet me at Maalaea Small Boat Harbor at 9:00 pm tonight. Dress code formal attire. Come alone
Rex: ?
JJohnson: No questions. Just be there
He glanced up, his gaze meeting Kimo’s concerned one.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” He showed the message to Kimo.
Teller and Devlin leaned close to read the message as well.
Leilani cut the engine and came to stand close to Kimo, looking over her shoulder.
“Do you think he’s set up a meeting between you and Holte?” Kimo asked.
“Why formal attire?” Devlin shook his head. “Sounds like he’s taking you to an event.”
Angel joined them. “On a marina?”
“Some luxury yacht owners have parties on board their big yachts docked at the marinas,” Leilani said. “He could be taking you to a party your father and Holte have been invited to.”
Rex nodded. That sounded right. “Does Holte have a yacht large enough to accommodate a black-tie event?”
“Ask Swede,” Angel said.
Rex texted Swede, giving him a screenshot of the message his father had sent.
Rex: Does Holte have a yacht moored at Maalaea Small Boat Harbor?
Swede: I’ll get back to you
While they waited for Swede’s response, they gathered tanks and BCDs and carried them to Leilani’s dive and snorkeling shop.
They spent the next thirty minutes preparing for the next day’s dive since they would be leaving before dawn to get to Maalaea Bay at first light.
By the time they had filled tanks and replaced the damaged regulator, seven o’clock was approaching.
If he was to meet his father at nine, Rex needed to get to his apartment, shower and change.
“Do you have formal wear?” Kimo asked.
He nodded. “I have the black suit I wore to my buddy’s funeral. Though I haven’t decided if I’ll go.”
“Why not?” Kimo asked. “It might be our only chance to talk to Holte.”
He grasped her hands in his. “I can’t take you with me.”
“Of course, you can’t.” Kimo shook her head. “Your father said you had to come alone.”
“If you’re not with me, I can’t protect you.”
Leilani walked by at that moment. “That’s not an issue. Angel and I will stay with Kimo until you return.”
Rex didn’t like leaving Kimo for even a minute. It was more than just protecting her. He stared down into her eyes. He wasn’t sure what more it was, but it definitely made him leery about leaving her. “You’re my responsibility,” he said.
Kimo laid a hand on his chest. “You have to do it. Any information about that container has to lead to finding Alana. If Holte has any information, you have to get it out of him. You have to meet with him.” She nodded toward Angel. “Do you trust your teammates?”
“With my life,” Rex said.
“Then you can trust them with mine.” Kimo squared her shoulders. “It’s settled. You’re going.”
His lips curled up on the corners. “Yes, ma’am.”
Rex’s cell phone chirped with an incoming call. Swede’s name flashed on the screen. Rex answered the call and put it on speaker. “Swede, you’re on speaker.”
“Good. I added Hawk to the conversation,” Swede said.
“Hey, guys. I gave Swede the rundown on what happened with your dive.”
“Sorry to hear you met with resistance and didn’t find the camera,” Swede said.
“We’ll try again in the morning,” Rex said.
“I’ve been watching the reports on the storm headed your way,” Swede said. “It doesn’t look good.”
“It shouldn’t hit until later tomorrow night,” Rex said. “What did you find out about Holte? Does he have a yacht?”
“Yes, Holte owns a yacht, but it’s moored in California.
There are several other yachts moored at the Maalaea Small Boat Harbor, but only one, the Dancing Lolita, is large enough to handle a formal party of billionaires, and it only docked there this morning to restock.
I had to dig through several layers of corporations and LLCs to find the owner—a Lucien Vaughan. ”
“Hey, Swede, Angel here,” Angel said. “They must be hustling to put on a party for the rich and famous.”
“Money moves things along,” Swede said. “I did a search on Lucien Vaughan and found him all over the world with billionaires, foreign dignitaries and US politicians. He moves in high circles and seems to attract people with money. He’s known for attending as well as throwing lavish parties at his homes in California, New York City, Paris and on his yacht. ”
Rex sighed. “Sounds like Vaughan’s yacht will be my destination tonight.” He thought he’d left the world of high rollers behind with his father. He hadn’t missed the ostentatious gatherings.
As a child, he hadn’t had to attend many.
At those events, his parents had dressed him in a suit, his father threatening severe punishment if he embarrassed him in any way.
Yeah, he’d happily left that world behind for a real life with men he could respect for their actions, not for the size of their bank accounts.
His gaze went to Kimo.
She reached for his hand. “For Alana,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
He held onto her hand as he faced Angel and Leilani. “I’d prefer you stay with Kimo at my place. I have to go there to change and get ready, and I’ll come back there after the meeting with Holte.”
Angel nodded. “We’ll stay with Kimo there.”
“Do you need us there as well?” Devlin asked.
Rex shook his head. “I have a security system. As long as Angel and Leilani are there with Kimo, I think she’ll be all right.”
“Then we’ll be on our way.” Devlin tipped his head toward Teller. “Ready?”
Teller nodded. “If you need us, we’ll be on alert for the call.”
“Thank you,” Kimo said then turned to Rex. “We’d better get going, or you’ll be late.”
Rex slipped an arm around Kimo’s waist and walked her to his truck. Once they were settled inside, he drove out of the parking lot, heading for his apartment on the other side of the island.
Angel and Leilani followed in Angel’s vehicle.
Rex was glad to have Kimo to himself for the drive. “Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “I am. But I’m worried.”
“About?’
“You,” she said softly.
He glanced her way. “I’ll be fine. Only, I don’t like leaving you.”
She laughed. “I’ll have protection. What will you have?”
“My father is meeting me. Though we haven’t been on speaking terms since my mother’s death, I can’t believe he’d lead me into a death trap.”
Kimo’s eyebrows rose. “Has he tried to contact you in all that time?”
Rex frowned. “No. He clearly disowned me when I joined the Army.”
“Then why do you any favors now?” she asked.
The same thoughts had crossed Rex’s mind. “Guilt?” Even as he said it, he doubted the idea.
Kimo snorted. “Based on all you’ve told me, the man has no compassion or possibly no moral compass—much like the people who sank the shipping container with people inside it.”
“My father is giving me the chance to speak with Holte. I’m taking the chance.” He reached for her hand. “If we don’t find that camera, we have no leverage. We have to do whatever we can to help our friend.”
Kimo’s fingers tightened around his. “In the short amount of time we’ve been together, I feel like we’ve known each other for a lifetime. I’d hate for anything to happen to you. I kind of like having you around.”
Rex’s heart squeezed hard in his chest. “I kind of like being around.” He lifted his chin. “I’ll be careful. As much as I trust Angel to protect you, I’d rather be the one.”
Kimo nodded and brought his hands to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to the backs of his knuckles.
Rex held onto her words and the feeling of her lips against his skin as he drove the rest of the way to his apartment.
He didn’t like that murderers had drowned people in a shipping container. He was furious that the same murderers held Kimo’s friend hostage. He didn’t like that Kimo was in danger. If he had to walk into a lion’s den, he would for them.
For her.