by Meryl Sawyer
Squish! Something spongy gave beneath her boot. Oh, Lordy, had she stepped on a koi fish? Some of them were more than one hundred years old and were the most expensive fish on the planet.
She glanced down and saw the cold water rushing over the tops of the boots she couldn't afford, but had bought anyway. She pulled up her skirt, its hem soaked, and lifted her foot. "How stupid," she said reflexively, then cursed herself. What if one of the security men heard her?
Luckily, she hadn't killed a fish. She'd merely stepped on a clump of moss. Warn Rob, she thought as she reached for the walkie-talkie that was still hidden in her bra.
"What are you doing?"
She jumped, floundering in the stream, almost falling again and splashing more water—if possible —into her boots. The voice had to belong to one of the security men. She turned, beaming a megawatt smile at him and crossing her eyes. Please, let him think I'm dead drunk.
"I'm watching the koi sleep." She did her best to slur her words.
He eyed her suspiciously. Maybe he wasn't buying this. But why else would she be up to her knees in water at this ungodly hour?
"Look," she said, bending over, desperate to convince him. Time was running out. She had to alert Rob. "See that two-hundred-year-old koi napping?"
She leaned closer, her back to him, and the walkie-talkie popped out of her bra. Without so much as a splash, it slid into the water. "You blew it. You jerk."
Straightening, she let out a curse. If Rob hadn't already been caught, he'd be discovered now, and it was all her fault.
The security man's hand latched over her arm, and he pulled her out of the creek. "I think I'd better get you to your room, miss. I'll take you there."
"I'm fine," she said, choking back her panic.
Before he could argue, she sprinted down the path and ducked into the bushes. Knowing the terrain well was one advantage of visiting so often. Now, if she could skirt the lagoon, she had a fighting chance of beating Big Daddy back to his suite. What she'd do when she got there, she wasn't certain. Still running, the water sloshing over the tops of her boots, she rounded the corner, crossed the main terrace, and dashed toward the west end of the house. Too late. Ahead was Coltrane, and he was almost to the entrance.
"Big Daddy," she screamed, certain she could be heard in Honolulu and praying she'd alerted Rob. "I need to talk to you."
He was halfway up the stairs to his suite. "Now?"
"It's about Vanessa," she said loudly.
His black eyes tracked her like a shark stalking a dolphin. Oh, God, could she pull this off? He motioned for her to follow him, and she flew up the stairs, water slogging in her boots, mustering her courage. He unlocked the door with a security-card key. How had Rob gotten in? she wondered.
More important, how was he going to get out? He had to have heard her scream at Big Daddy, but he certainly hadn't come out the front door. He could jump out a window, she supposed. From the second story? That wasn't an encouraging thought.
"Come in," he said.
"I can't." She pointed to the water oozing from her boots. "I'll ruin everything."
"What happened?"
"I was watching the koi sleep."
That got him. Now he was looking at her as if she'd lost every marble she ever possessed. And then some. She crossed her eyes again, thankful for her ruined boots and wet skirt. Surely he believed she was drunk.
"When I was watching the koi sleeping, I heard the frogs. Ribbit! Ribbit! Ribbit!" She was shouting their signal just in case Rob hadn't heard her before. "Did you know frogs go ribbit, ribbit, ribbit?"
"What does this have to do with Vanessa?" Even with crossed eyes she could see he was angry. His stare could freeze lava.
"Ooooh. You got something on your jeans," she replied, stalling.
He brushed off a piece of moss that he'd picked up in the grotto. "We'll discuss this in the morning."
"It'll just take a sec. That ribbit, ribbit, ribbit gave me an idea." She was shooting from the hip, making it up as she went. "Vanessa loves kids, right? Right. She should open a children's boutique and call it Toad in the Hole."
"I thought my bullfrogs gave you the idea."
"They did." She uncrossed her eyes; the world was beginning to swim and her tummy along with it. "But Toad in the Hole is so much cuter. So what do you think?"
"You had too much okolehao. We'll talk tomorrow." Before she could fire another lame idea at him, he closed the door.
She stood there a moment, eyes squeezed shut, and expelled a long breath to quell the flutter of nerves in her chest. Had Rob escaped? She raced down the steps, water squeaking in her boots, and around to the back of the west wing. It was darker back here—no need to waste money on nightscaping—but Rob wasn't there.
At least Rob hadn't broken his leg jumping out the window from the second story, or he'd be on the ground. He must have gone back to the bungalow. She just hadn't heard the signal because she'd lost the radio.
She returned to Makai House and saw it was dark. Where was Rob? She stopped on the terrace and yanked off her boots. Water gushed out, a symbol of all that had gone wrong.
She quickly changed clothes, putting on shorts and a T-shirt. Reaching for her sandals, she changed her mind. She was much more surefooted in her Nikes. Rob was out there somewhere, and she had to find him.
It was almost two now, and the timer had turned off the nightscaping. It was eerily quiet; the nude bathers cavorting in the pool had left. No one was around, not even the security men.
She stood in the moonlight, fighting the tight knot of fear that had been in her chest all night and had now become a block of lead. Stay calm. Think. Where could Rob be? The security men must have nabbed him. That's why none of them were patrolling the grounds. Where would their command center be? Somewhere near the stables, she decided, where they wouldn't be obvious to the guests.
She blessed her tennis shoes and the lovers' moon as she wended her way through the glade of trees. There was only one light visible, in one of the buildings at the far side of the paddocks. Edging her way along, she stayed in the shadows.
A pool of light spilled from the window, and she could hear raucous voices as she drew near. She ventured a little closer, determined to peek in and see if they had Rob. A rivulet of cold sweat coursed down between her shoulder blades.
"Hold 'em," came a masculine voice from inside the building.
She eased closer, one step at a time, and peered into the room. Cards? Yes. They were playing poker.
Where was Rob? She ducked back before someone spotted her and mentally calculated what she'd seen. This was a one-room bunkhouse lined with bunks. The security men were gathered at a table in the center.
"Yessiree," gloated one of them so loudly that she could hear, "you've got to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. I win again."
Rob wasn't here. They'd never caught him. She almost sighed with pure relief, but another—more devastating—thought hit her. Could it be that Big Daddy's suite was booby-trapped? Was Rob still up there?
She needed help. She had no alternative but to awaken Vanessa, get her outside beyond the range of the bugs, and tell her everything. Then together they'd go up to Big Daddy's suite and demand to see Rob.
"It's a good thing Eric spends the night in town with his mistress," Dana whispered to herself. "At least we won't have to contend with him."
Approaching the house along the side where she knew Vanessa's room was, Dana heard voices and saw shadowy forms on the terrace outside her sister's room. She hung back, concealed by a trailing bougainvillea, and looked more closely.
The moon revealed her sister—dressed in a nightgown that was nothing more than a whisper of silk—and Rob. They were standing close, Vanessa's hand on his arm, her head inclined slightly toward him in that provocative stance she'd mastered while most girls were in training bras. A treacherous lump formed in Dana's throat and with it came a well-spring of anger, an emotion so all-powerful that it stagger
ed her. And confused her. Who was she angry with? Rob, for making her worry more than she'd ever worried about a man in her entire life, or her own sister?
You can bet I'll never worry like that again about a man, she decided, battling to control her fury. While she'd been searching for him, Rob had been with Vanessa. What they'd shared on the beach slipped away like a half-remembered dream.
To hell with him.
But what about Vanessa? You expected men to betray you, but not your own sister.
17
Rob looked down at Vanessa. "We've got to hurry. There's not much time."
She tugged on his arm, trying to draw him back into the house. Okay, he'd asked for it by knocking on her window so late at night. Now he'd have to set her straight. And then get the hell out of here while they still had a chance to escape.
"Don't you realize I'm crazy about Dana?" He took her hand off his arm.
The moonlight played across Vanessa's face, highlighting her smug expression. "If you're so crazy about her why are you here?"
"I'm your friend and I—"
"Oh, really?" She cut him off before he could explain why he'd come.
Her assumption that she could have any man she wanted irritated him, but he held his temper, reminding himself that this was Dana's sister. And that they needed to get away from Kau Ranch quickly. "Let's be friends for Dana's sake."
"Friends?" she parroted as if it were some foreign word.
"Yes. I think—" The sheer hatred he saw blazing in her eyes cut him off. Then the truth blindsided him, leaving him speechless for a moment, making him forget why he'd come. "You despise men, don't you?"
"Men take advantage of you—if you let them." The bitterness in her voice stunned him. Her beauty concealed a deeply troubled, unhappy person. "I love my sister. I'm not letting you hurt her."
"Great! So you want to hurt her yourself by coming on to her boyfriend?"
Vanessa shrugged. "She'll get over it."
"Aw, come on. She's old enough to take care of herself."
"With most men, but not with a man like you."
"Like me?" Out of the corner of his eye he picked up a movement in the shadows. He kept his eyes on Vanessa, but remained aware of the shadow.
"I know your reputation. You were driven off the force for raping a woman. They let you get away with it." Vanessa shook her head, her expression one of complete revulsion.
He had never—ever—been quite this furious. Vanessa Coltrane represented all the people who'd judged him—on gossip—and found him guilty. At first it had hurt him, but as the years passed and rumors persisted he'd protected himself with a mask of indifference. Now anger flared inside him, all the more powerful for having been suppressed so long.
"Come join us, Dana," he said, seeing movement in the shadows.
Dana emerged from the darkness and stood by her sister.
"Look. I know what happened that night in the shed," he began and saw Vanessa throw an incredulous look at Dana.
"I told him," Dana admitted. "I had to. Someone's blackmailing me. I received another threat. This time they told me to get out of Hawaii."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I should have, but I didn't want to worry you."
"What happened that night has scarred you both." He put his hand on Dana's shoulder. "Don't you see it? If you can't control a man you're not interested because—deep down—you're afraid of men."
"I don't know," Dana hedged. "I hadn't thought about it that way."
"Well, think about it, and we'll talk later." There was a lot more he wanted to say to Dana. Now was not the time.
"What about me?" asked Vanessa, sarcasm etching every syllable.
"You hate men. You flirt with them, sure, but you're really laughing at them, thinking they're easy marks. You use your looks to manipulate men."
"Wonderful," Vanessa said. "An armchair psychologist."
"Neither of you trust men," Rob went on, directing his comments to Dana.
"You got me out of bed in the middle of the night to listen to a bunch of psychological mumbo jumbo?" Vanessa interrupted.
"Hell, no. I woke you to tell you that we have to get out of here tonight. Right this minute."
"What did you find in Big Daddy's suite?" Dana asked.
"You were in his suite?" Vanessa was clearly shocked.
"Yes. I was trying to find out if he's the one blackmailing Dana." There might have been a touch of respect in Vanessa's eyes now, but he was too angry with her to care. He turned to Dana. "Not only has Coltrane got this whole place bugged, he's put minicameras in the televisions."
"You mean he's watching as well as listening?" Dana cried.
"No wonder he knows so much," Vanessa said.
Rob noticed that she didn't sound particularly surprised. He suspected that she knew what else he'd found, but he didn't ask. They'd wasted enough time talking already. They had to get out of here while they still could.
"Big Daddy has a video of you packing," Rob told Vanessa. "You hid the suitcases in your closet. He knows you're going to leave."
"That's why he brought in the security men," Dana said.
"You're right. He's no fool. He's guessed that we'll try to leave during the luau. The security men are supposed to stop us quietly without disrupting the party."
"He can't hold us here," Dana said.
"No, but he can keep Jason."
"And he will," Vanessa assured them, tears sparkling in her eyes.
Once Rob might have comforted her, but not after the way she'd lashed out at him. "I've arranged for us to get out of here, but we have to leave now."
"The airport closed at eleven," Dana said.
"After I left Big Daddy's suite I went over to the helipad. One of the pilots is waiting to fly us to Honolulu." Rob studied Vanessa for a moment. He wasn't certain how to interpret what he'd discovered in Big Daddy's suite. How much did Vanessa know? "Are you sure you want to leave with Jason? If you are, we have to go now."
"I'm positive," Vanessa insisted, and he believed her. Maybe she didn't know anything. This whole situation was so bizarre that he didn't know what to think. "I've already hired Garth Bradford to handle the divorce."
"Really?" Rob couldn't believe Garth would accept a divorce case; then again, Vanessa might hate men, but she certainly had a way of manipulating them.
Dana looked surprised, but added, "Garth's the best."
"When you get Jason, whisper into his ear so the bug won't pick up what you're saying,' Rob said. "Don't turn on the lights. Movement in the room activates the television camera inside the TV. It can't record anything without light."
"The helipad isn't close," Dana said. "We'll have to carry everything. We don't dare start up a car and attract attention."
"I'll just bring Jason and a few of his things. I'll leave all my clothes. I can share Dana's."
Rob silently gave her credit. He would have expected her to moan about leaving her glamorous wardrobe behind, but she put her son first. Okay, maybe she wasn't as bad as he thought. Time would tell.
"We'll get our stuff and be right back," Rob said.
"How'd you get out of Big Daddy's suite?" Dana cross-examined him as they rushed down the path.
Rob couldn't help chuckling. "I heard you ribbit-ing at the top of your lungs. What happened to your walkie-talkie?"
"It fell into the koi pond," she confessed, then told him how it happened.
"That was quick thinking, Dana. The minute I heard you ribbiting I knew something had gone wrong and got out of there the way I'd come in. I went out the window and up to the roof. I slid down the rain gutter."
"I looked behind the house. I didn't see you."
"I hightailed it for the helipad and found a pilot who was willing to make a little money on the side."
"I was worried," Dana admitted. "I searched everywhere for you. I was coming to get Vanessa to help when I found you."
He stopped, his hand on her arm, bringing her to
a halt too. Running his knuckles up the soft curve of her cheek, he said, "Worried, were you?"
"I thought Big Daddy had you locked up somewhere—or something."
He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. Not really much of a kiss; he couldn't afford to indulge himself right now. It was great to know she cared enough about him to worry.
"Come on," he said, guiding her down the crushed-lava path. "We don't have much time."
He waited outside Makai House, gazing into the distance where the full moon hung low over the water, splashing silvery light on the high-spirited waves. The trade winds were now a fickle breeze, lifting the palm fronds and bringing the fragrant scent of the tropics to the balmy air. There was nothing more he'd rather do than sit out on the terrace with Dana and gaze at the stars, but there wasn't a second to lose.
Dana emerged, her purse slung over one shoulder. "I'm ready." She opened her shoulder bag and brought out a small canister. "This is really what I came back to get."
"Hair spray?" he asked. At a time like this? Women.
She flashed him a sly grin. "The label says it's Stay Put Hair Spray, but it's really pepper spray."
"Jesus! One blast of that will drop a charging rhino."
"With the Panama Jack's rapist running around, you can't be too careful." She jammed the can back into her bag. "If anyone tries to stop us tonight I'll zap them."
Rob didn't want to take the time to discuss what he'd discovered in the suite, but he needed Dana on his side. Vanessa was so hostile toward men that she might not listen to him. She would listen to her sister.
"Big Daddy is going to go ballistic when he finds Vanessa and Jason gone," he said. "He's going to come right to your house looking for them. We need to hide them somewhere."
"Good idea, but where?"
"I'm going to call Garth. He's already agreed to take the case. I'm certain he'll let Vanessa and Jason stay at his place until after I meet with Coltrane."
"Why are you going to meet with him?"
"I helped myself to a few of his tapes. They're hidden out by the helipad. When he sees I can prove he's worse than a Peeping Tom, I think he'll be willing to listen to reason."
