Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
Despite making love until midnight, Maliea woke with the sun the following morning, feeling refreshed and happy. She opened her eyes to find Reid propped up on an elbow, staring down at her.
She smiled up at him. “Wow. I can’t remember when I’ve ever slept better,” she said, stretching an arm over her head. When she brought it down, she hooked it around the back of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
“Good morning to you, too,” he said and pulled her naked body close to his. “Though I’d like to pick up where we left off last night, I hear movement downstairs. We might want to put on some clothes and see who’s here beside us.”
Maliea’s eyes widened. “Yikes. They get up early around here.” She pressed her body against his one last time, bumping up against his erection. “Mmm. Can I get a raincheck on this?”
“Absolutely.” He kissed her again and then smacked her bare ass. “We’d better hustle before they come knocking on that door.” He rolled out of the bed and onto his feet.
Maliea rolled out the other side of the bed, quickly dressed in her jeans and T-shirt and pulled on her shoes. Their hosts had brought their backpacks from the canoe and set them inside the door of the bedroom the day before. She rummaged in hers for her brush and quickly smoothed the tangles from her long hair.
All Reid had to do was run his hand through his hair, and it lay perfectly in place.
“Show-off,” she said with a crooked grin as she eased the last tangle out.
“Ready?” he asked with his hand on the doorknob.
Maliea stowed her brush in her backpack and straightened. “Ready.”
Reid held the door open for her and followed her out onto the landing.
They found the source of the noise in the house’s kitchen. The appliances were antiques, dating back to a time when people still used wood-burning stoves to cook their food.
A native Hawaiian woman with a long dark braid hanging down the middle of her back scooped fish from a skillet onto two plates and set them on the table next to cups of coconut milk.
She waved at the offering on the table.
“I guess this is breakfast,” Maliea said and thanked the woman in her language.
Their cook smiled shyly and left them to eat, disappearing out the back door.
Reid held Maliea’s chair as she took a seat at the table, looking around at the contents of the kitchen and the pictures on the wall. “This place could be straight out of the early nineteen hundreds.”
“And still functional.” Reid took a bite of the fish. “Not bad, although I don’t remember the last time I had fish for breakfast.”
Maliea smiled. “It is very good.” She ate all the fish and washed it down with the coconut milk.
About the time they’d finished the meal, footsteps sounded on the front porch, hinges creaked and their host and guide from the night before appeared in the kitchen doorway. He wore what looked like shorts and nothing else, his dark-skinned chest bare, no shoes on his feet.
In Hawaiian, the man addressed Maliea. “You and your man will meet me at the dock.” His gaze swept over her. “Wear what you can swim in.”
She frowned. “Where are we going?”
“Meet me at the dock,” he repeated, spun and left the kitchen.
Maliea’s gaze followed the man until he disappeared down the hallway. The front door creaked and slammed shut.
She shifted her glance to Reid who looked to her for the translation. “I hope you brought swimwear. We’re to meet him at the dock wearing something we can swim in.”
Reid frowned. “That’s it? No idea what he has in mind?”
Maliea’s eyes narrowed and then widened. “Do you think he’s going to take us to the treasure?”
“We’d better change and get down there before he has second thoughts,” Reid said and headed for the stairs.
Maliea quickly stripped and slipped into her one-piece swimsuit, all the while trying not to be too obvious about staring at Reid’s naked, tight ass.
The man had a sexy butt she’d love to spend more time running her hands over.
He pulled on his swim trunks and winked at her. “Caught you staring.”
Her cheeks heated. “Can’t help it. You have a really fine ass.”
Reid pulled her into his arms. “Nothing compared to yours. Think they’d come looking for us if we didn’t show up for another hour?”
Maliea wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed. “Sadly, yes.” She looked up at him. “Let’s get there and find out what this is all about.”
Maliea slipped her shoes on, shoved the rest of her clothes into her backpack and slung it over her shoulder.
Reid did the same.
They left the house and headed for the dock, arriving to find their host and another man standing at the shore beside a canoe. The tide was further out than when they’d arrived the day before, forcing them to walk out to reach the water and the man with the canoe.
The elder motioned for Reid and Maliea to climb aboard.
Once they were in the canoe and seated, he pushed the canoe out into the water and stepped over the side, settling onto the front seat.
He and the man at the other end of the canoe lifted their paddles and dug into the water, sending the canoe skimming through the water.
For an older man, he was in good shape and didn’t seem to struggle at all with the effort to propel the boat.
They followed the coastline for several minutes until they came to a point where waves crashed against the rocks just below the surface.
“The storm forced the pirate ship into the rocks here,” the elder said, pointing to the jagged rocks.
Maliea relayed the information to Reid.
The men paddling the canoe swung wide of the dangerous rocks and found a gap between giant slabs. Timing with the waves, they waited a moment and then sent the canoe through to a calmer pool on the other side and in front of what appeared to be a sheer rock cliff.
They ran the canoe up against a flat table rock a foot above the water’s edge.
The elder stepped out of the canoe and held out a hand to Maliea.
She took the hand and scrambled out of the canoe onto the rock ledge.
Reid stepped out of the canoe beside her.
Between the two Hawaiian men, they dragged the canoe up onto the rock ledge and secured it with a knotted line wedged into a crevice.
The elder pointed to the rock cliff. “We swim,” he said in his language and motioned with his hand, indicating they would go beneath the surface and come back up.
Maliea stared at the rock cliff, her pulse kicking into high gear. “Is the cave entrance underwater?” she asked.
The elder nodded.
“What’s he saying,” Reid asked.
Maliea told him.
“I’m not sure I like this,” Reid said. “How good are you at swimming and holding your breath?”
She stared at the dark water. “I learned to swim as a baby. Because we live on an island, my mother and father insisted I be a competent swimmer. I also learned to surf. But I’ve been so busy trying to make a living, I haven’t been in the water for a while.”
“Then stay here,” Reid said. “I’ll go with them and check it out.”
Maliea shook her head. “No. It’s okay. If our guide can do this, I should be fine.” She nodded toward the elder and told him she was ready.
His partner slipped into the water, took a deep breath and dove beneath the surface.
Maliea watched his body move through the water until it disappeared.
The elder pointed to Maliea and then back at himself, indicating she should go with him.
Maliea nodded, shared a glance with Reid and slipped into the water beside the elder.
As he drew in a breath, so did Maliea.
Then he ducked beneath the surface.
Maliea did the same, swimming hard, determined to remain abreast of him and hoping Reid was right behind them.
The elder came to a place where the water was bluer, almost iridescent, lighting their way through an opening in the rock wall. Here, the seafloor was sandy, reflecting sunlight from somewhere.
Just when Maliea’s lungs started to burn with the need to take another breath, the elder pushed up from the sandy sea floor.
Maliea followed him and broke through the surface into a cave with sunlight streaming in from a hole directly overhead. She sucked in a full lungful of air and tread water.
Reid popped up beside her. No sooner had he taken a breath when he asked her, “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “It wasn’t bad. Not knowing how far you have to go was the worst part. Now that I know, I won’t be as freaked out on the way back through.”
“Same,” Reid said and looked around the interior of the cave.
The elder and his partner had climbed up on a rocky ledge several feet above the water.
The elder waited until he had Maliea’s attention and then pointed to a ledge above the highest waterline.
Maliea swam over to the ledge where the elder stood and pulled herself up to sit on the rock.
Reid climbed up beside her and stood. He helped her to her feet and fell in behind her as she followed the elder and his buddy to the upper ledge.
The upper level went further back into the cave than Maliea had expected, giving them plenty of room to move about without having to bend over.
As her eyes adjusted to the darker recesses, Maliea could make out several wooden barrels lined up against the wall.
The elder stood beside one with a fishing knife in his hand. He dug the tip of the knife into the barrel’s wooden top and worked it free .
When he lifted the lid, Maliea peered into the shadowy interior.
She didn’t need a flashlight to see the shiny gold coins filling the barrel’s interior.
Maliea backed away and let Reid see what was inside.
When he turned to meet her gaze, he said. “We need to get Hawk and the entire team out here ASAP. There’s enough gold in there to kill for.”
“Only if they know where to find it,” Maliea said. “The people of Niihua have hidden this secret for over a century.”
“We need to get this stuff moved.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Maliea assured him. “They wanted us to assess our needs, to know what has to be moved.”
“I have my satellite phone in my backpack,” Reid turned toward the ledge. “Come on. Let’s get out of here so I can call in backup.”
Maliea followed him. “Are you that worried?”
He dropped over the side to the level below and held out his arms to assist her in her descent. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?” she said. “Someone comes in and steals it?”
He helped her down to the ledge where he stood and stared down in her eyes. “The worst thing that could happen?” He shook his head. “Someone kills these gentle people to take all this gold.” His voice lowered, his gaze intense. “Someone hurts you to get to this.” He turned and descended from the ledge into the water below. “I wish they hadn’t brought us here until we had a full contingent of protectors as backup.”
Maliea had never seen Reid so wound up and actually scared. She slipped into the water beside him. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”
“Don’t you see?” He waved a hand toward the upper level. “You’ve seen the treasure. You know where it is. The people who’ve been following you already think you’re on the right track. If they think you can lead them to it, they might not hesitate to hurt you or Nani to get you to bring them here.” He cupped her cheeks in his hands. “You’re not safe as long as this treasure is here. We have to get to that satellite phone and get Hawk and the rest of the team out here as soon as possible.”
Maliea’s heartbeat raced, pounding against her chest. Would the people who’d been following her, destroying her home and her father’s, use a child as leverage to get her to bring them to the treasure?
“Let’s get to that satellite phone,” she said. “I need to hear my daughter’s voice. I need to know she’s safe.” Maliea dove into the water and swam for the cave entrance, desperate to get out and call Hawk and Kalea. She hoped Reid was wrong and had spooked her for nothing. Until she heard Nani’s sweet voice, she couldn’t think straight .
Reid swam beside her. When they reached the cave entrance, he went through first. For a moment, she couldn’t see him, which made her even more unnerved.
The sooner she got out of the cave, the sooner she could breathe.
As Reid emerged from the cave entrance, something long and thin shot through the water, narrowly missing his head.
It wasn’t until he spotted a man in scuba gear swimming toward him with a spear gun that he realized the long, narrow projectile had been a deadly spear.
His immediate thought went to Maliea, who would be coming out of the cave behind him. If he swam back to her, the man who’d just fired a spear gun at him would follow him to Maliea.
Reid swam straight for the guy, determined to disarm and neutralize him before he could hurt Maliea.
The diver dropped the spear gun, pulled a wicked dive knife from a sheath attached to his wrist and came at Reid.
Without breathing apparatus or a weapon to defend himself, Reid was at a distinct disadvantage. He didn’t let that slow him down. His training as a Navy SEAL kicked in, giving him laser focus on his opponent. As he neared, he waited until the last possible second to reach for the attacker’s outstretched hand, wielding the knife.
The water slowed his movement, but it also slowed the other guy’s.
Reid missed grabbing the man’s wrist as he swung the knife at Reid’s chest.
The tip of the blade narrowly missed its mark. On the man’s return swipe, Reid caught his wrist and deflected the second jab from grazing his arm.
The diver jerked his hand free and came at Reid again. By that time, Reid’s lungs burned. He had to surface for air soon, or it would all be over. Ready to end the nonsense, he kicked hard, swimming straight into the man’s blade. He grabbed the diver’s hand in a death grip, yanked it upward and back behind the man’s head. In a quick, decisive move, Reid hooked the blade around the regulator hose, slicing into the thick rubber.
Bubbles erupted from the damaged hose.
The diver spit the regulator from his mouth and immediately headed for the surface.
Reid followed, catching up with him as the man neared the surface. He grabbed his fin and pulled him back before his head cleared the water.
He kicked, trying to shake Reid loose, but Reid snagged the other fin and pulled him deeper.
With the knife still clutched in his hand, the diver swiped at Reid, his movements growing more desperate with each passing second. When he couldn’t shake Reid loose, he released his hold on the knife and used his arms in an attempt to swim to the surface, dragging Reid with him.
Reid held on, not making it any easier for the man, yet needing to surface just as badly.
At the last minute, he pulled the man down, stepped onto his tank and pushed himself to the surface.
He’d barely sucked in a breath when a hand grabbed his ankle and dragged him back under.
With no weapon to end it quickly and no way to get his arm around the man’s neck with the scuba tank in the way, Reid’s only recourse was to get in front of the man and use his fists to subdue him.
In the back of Reid’s mind, he knew that with each passing second it took him to neutralize the diver, Maliea remained unprotected. What worried him even more was that she had yet to reach the surface.
Channeling every ounce of strength and determination, he attacked his opponent, slamming his fist into the man’s face.
At first, he blocked some of the punches. As the diver weakened, Reid landed more hits, finally knocking the man out.
Without wasting another moment, he took a deep breath and went back for Maliea, praying he wasn’t too late.