Darby Stansfield Thriller Series (Books 1-3 & Bonus Novella)

by Ty Hutchinson

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, it’s actually right near here. We can swing by.”

  A couple of lefts and rights and the car pulled into the parking lot of Lift. Izzy noticed a couple of hardcore bodybuilders entering the gym. She looked at Momi with a frown. “Tell me this isn’t one of those places that’s packed with juiceheads.”

  “No, it’s not. I mean there are some, but the gorilla population is pretty low. Most people just come here to add a little muscle and stay in shape.” Momi got out of the car. “Come on, let’s check it out. Maybe we can hit the bag a bit.”

  As usual, Momi knew someone at the gym. This time it was the manager on duty. Since Momi was already a member, he gave Izzy a free workout session and lent them both boxing gear and workout clothes.

  Izzy was forty minutes into her workout. She threw two jabs and then followed up with a solid left hook that moved the heavy bag against Momi’s hands. Each hit sent a spray of determination flying off her arms. She continued laying into the bag, mixing up her combos with straight jabs and some hooks. She added a few kicks as well; one only missed Momi’s head by inches.

  Momi let go of the bag. “Wow, those long legs of yours are dangerous. That felt like a knockout kick.”

  Beaded sweat covered most of Izzy’s face and body. Her long hair now stuck to her back. “Sorry. Sometimes I get into this zone and I just go for it.” She wiped her face with her glove and then raised both hands above her, stretching for a bit. Izzy popped her gloves off and then grabbed the bag. “Okay, your turn.”

  Momi struck the bag with the hesitant blows of an inexperienced fighter for twenty minutes before starting to tire. “That’s it. Right, right, left. Right, right, left,” Izzy coached from behind the bag. “You’re doing great, Momi. Okay, two more combinations and then we’ll finish with a kick. Right, right, left. Right, right, left. Kick!”

  Momi swung her leg up with more gusto than she anticipated, sending her other leg up as well and landing her flat on her back.

  “Oh, shit. Are you okay?” Izzy let go of the bag and helped her friend up off of the mat.

  “Yeah I’m fine. I guess I got too into it.”

  “For someone who has only hit a bag a few times, you did well. I was totally impressed.”

  “Thanks.” Momi flashed a proud grin.

  After they showered, they reconvened at the mirror in the locker room. “Ugh, I hate blow-drying my hair,” Izzy complained over the roar of the blow-dryers. “But I also hate when it’s wet because then my shirt gets wet.”

  “But your hair looks amazing.”

  “I’m thinking of cutting it.”

  Momi gasped. “Are you crazy? You have such perfect hair.”

  “I just hate dealing with it.”

  Momi straddled the bench near the lockers. “Come and sit. I’m going to give you a braid.”

  Izzy jumped at the opportunity and quickly joined her on the bench. “Ooh, I like that. What kind of braid?”

  “I’m giving you a French braid headband,” Momi said as she started grouping the long strands. “With your hair, this will look killer.”

  A few minutes later, Izzy was admiring Momi’s handiwork in the mirror. “I love it. This is it. This is how I want my hair on the night Darby proposes. I want to look beautiful. Will you do my hair?”

  Momi gave Izzy a hug. “Of course. I’ll add some flowers. You’ll look like a princess.”

  Chapter 29

  Izzy fell forward letting her bodyweight rest on me. She was still straddling me on the bed while she worked to catch her breath. A few strands of her hair were in my mouth.

  “Pfffttt.”

  “Sorry,” she said as she whipped it out of my face.

  I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a kiss on her head. “That was great, babe.”

  “Sure was.” She pressed her ear against my chest. “I can hear your heart beating. I guess I gave you a workout.”

  “That’s not the only thing you gave me.”

  Izzy scooped her arms underneath me and cuddled. “I am so happy right now.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  “I can’t believe our friends and family are coming tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, two weeks flew by just like that.”

  “It’s going to be so much fun. I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces when you propose to me.”

  “I can’t wait to see Tav’s face.”

  “Wait, you didn’t tell him? I thought for sure you would.”

  “The only person I told was my sister, and that’s because she was wavering on coming. She’s such a workaholic. What about you?”

  “I didn’t tell anyone. Well, Momi knows because I needed her help planning the dinner party, but that’s it. She swore she wouldn’t say anything and promised to act surprised.”

  “We’ll see how great of an actress she is.”

  “My parents booked at the Turtle Bay Hotel. It’s a drive but that’s my parents: comfort first.”

  “Is your sister staying with them?” I asked, yawning.

  Izzy followed with a yawn of her own. “Yeah, she’s not dumb. The rooms there are plush.”

  “So Tav will bunk on the couch with the pull-out bed and my sister said she was game to share the guest room with Linda, since my brother-in-law isn’t coming. Everything is set.”

  “Who’s watching Ralphie while Tav is gone?”

  “I think Lois Burkhardt.”

  We both lay in bed quietly enjoying each other for a few minutes when Izzy said, “I can feel you growing inside of me.”

  “The force is strong in this one.”

  She slowly began to rock and round two went on for a good fifteen minutes before we both collapsed again in exhaustion. This was turning out to be the start of a great day. My stomach did its usual routine after our session and began to growl. “How about I fix us some breakfast?” I suggested.

  “Sounds great,” Izzy said as she rolled off of me.

  • • •

  Later that afternoon I had plans to meet with the NBB. I had placed an order for the ID cards and the system I had described to Akahi, and Souza called to tell me that FedEx had made a delivery. That plan was for me to meet the gang at the house in Kahuku before their card game that night. I would get them trained and set up the system. My only problem was figuring out how to get out of the house.

  We had spent the day straightening up and stocking the house with supplies and food. There was still a fair amount left to do. There was no way Izzy would let me walk out without a good reason. “I want to go for a drive,” wasn’t going to cut it. But I had to try something.

  “Hey, Izzy, I’m gonna run out really quick and check out this other table and chair set-up.”

  “Why? We already have the table and chairs coming tomorrow.”

  We thought it would be great to have our dinner party on the beach, under the stars. Momi had offered to cater, so we were having a luau tomorrow night. We had hired a party company to deliver a large dining table, chairs, buffet tables and tiki torches for ambiance.

  “Yeah, but Braddah Moku said I should check out this other place. It might be better.”

  “It’s so last-minute though.”

  “I know, my fault,” I said as I grabbed the keys. “Do you need anything from the store while I’m out?”

  Izzy stopped sweeping the lanai. “Uh… I don’t think so.”

  “Well, if you think of something, call me on my cell. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  “An hour?”

  “Yeah, it’s in Kahuku,” I said walking out the door.

  I had bought myself an hour but I knew full well that wasn’t going to come close to being enough time.

  Chapter 30

  I met Souza at the Kahuku shopping center. This time I didn’t have to ride over with a bag on my head. He told me to follow him. A few minutes later we parked outside the familiar home.

  The rest of the gang was out back sitting on the lanai. Teleco
boxes were stacked up along side the wall. I saw Akahi sitting in his recliner. A rather muscular man knelt next to him. He wasn’t necessarily bulky-big, but really defined like Bruce Lee. They were deep in conversation.

  I turned toward Souza. “If you can get your guys to open the boxes that would be great.”

  Souza started rallying the troops. That’s when I heard Akahi call my name.

  “Eh, Darby. Thanks for coming by.”

  I turned around and saw that the ripped guy was now standing next to Akahi.

  “Hello, Akahi. Glad to be of help.”

  “Come over here.” Akahi motioned with his hand. “I like you meet someone. This is Roger Kwan. He’s my… how shall I say this? He handles my business.”

  I stuck my hand out. “Hi, Roger. Good to meet you.” He squeezed my hand really hard when he shook it, sending shooting pains up my arm. I didn’t let it show in my face. I could tell by his smile that he knew he was hurting me, even if I didn’t let it show. I wish I didn’t have female sized hands.

  I turned around to check on the progress with the boxes; most of the product was out. Time to start. My hour was quickly disappearing.

  “Okay, listen up, guys. We don’t have much time before your game tonight so I want to get started. Can someone tell me what happens when a customer shows up to play?”

  Souza stepped forward. “When a guest enters the house, the first thing we do is frisk him.”

  “Okay, stop right there. We’re going to change that. After tonight, the first thing you’re going to do is ask for their ID,” I said holding one of them in my hand. “No one gets into the game without first showing one of these cards. Period. You get his ID and then frisk him while you scan it. Souza, keep going.”

  “Okay. Then we escort the guest back here and he’s free to grab one beer and eat some food. When the game starts, he takes a seat wherever and then cashes in with the dealer for chips.”

  “Souza, I’m going to stop you again. The dealer will no longer be the bank. The next stop for your customer is the house bank. Here your customer will exchange money for chips. This will also be where they cash out the rest of the night. Also you’ll be able to keep a database on all your customers. You’ll know how much they won or lost at each attendance. You’ll also know if they owe you money or if they have a house credit. And last but not least,” I picked up a small piece of plastic, “you can now accept credit cards. Stick this square device into your phone’s earphone slot. Slide their card. It’s that simple. Everything works off a wireless network that should have been installed yesterday. Your database is on this laptop. The air charger is mobile. The ID scanner is wireless. Any questions so far?”

  “Yeah.”

  I spun around to where I heard the voice. It was the guy with too many muscles, Roger. I prayed my voice didn’t decide to crack under pressure. “What’s your question?”

  “What if the guy doesn’t want to play this way?”

  I looked around to see all eyes on me. I looked back to Roger. “Well, then, I guess that’s where you go to work.” I got a few chuckles from the gang but nothing but a stare-down from Roger.

  “Akahi, thanks. I have to go. Souza has my cell in case there are any problems.”

  Souza walked me out to my car. When we were far enough from prying ears, he grabbed hold of my arm. “What the hell you stay doing, brah?”

  “Sorry, I have to go. I’m running late.”

  “Better be careful about mouthing off to Roger like that. Don’t mess with that guy. He’ll snap your neck without hesitation.”

  I breathed a heavy sigh and rolled my eyes. “I didn’t realize he could dish it out but not take it.”

  Souza grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me back toward him. The usual smile on his face was gone. “Roger don’t have to take shit from anybody. I stay serious. Even I no trust that guy.”

  “Since when do gang members trust other gang members?”

  “Brah,” Souza moved his head until he locked eyes with me, “I stay telling you this so you don’t say anything stupid.”

  I knew Souza was just looking out for me, but considering I was the one doing the gang a favor by taking them on, I didn’t feel like I needed to take any shit. I had enough problems in my life as it was. “Look, man, I know. I’m sorry. Thanks.” I stuck my hand out. Souza clasped his hand into mine and then snapped my finger as he pulled away.

  I hopped into my Jeep but then looked back at Souza. “Hey.”

  He turned around.

  “Why don’t you trust him?”

  “That guy is rotten.”

  What a way to describe someone.

  Chapter 31

  Aloha.

  Tav and Linda were the first to arrive in Honolulu. Their flight had landed a little past noon and we were there to meet them at luggage claim. Izzy had run off quickly to buy a couple of leis. When she reappeared, she had two large, flowery leis draped around her arm.

  “Mmm, they smell wonderful,” I said.

  Izzy brought them up to my nose so I could enjoy the full effect. “They’re made from the pikake flower, intertwined with a maile leaf strand.”

  “Yo, Darb.”

  I swung around to see Tav and Linda walking our way. I greeted my best friend with a big man hug while the two girls squealed like they were in high school. The drive back to the North Shore was a quick one, what with everyone chatting and catching up.

  Once Linda and Tav got settled in their respective places in the house, we split up. Izzy and Linda went for a walk on the beach while Tav and I held down the fort. We were siting on the back lanai enjoying the ocean view with beers in hand.

  Tav handed me another beer. “It looks like you guys are having a blast over here, messed up situations aside.”

  Tav was referring to Izzy being attacked. I hadn’t told him about my mugging. It was too close to my new gang connection, and somehow I feared that if I mentioned it, he somehow would figure out I was back in the game.

  “Yeah, that was messed up. I was so worried about her.”

  “Have the police made any headway?”

  “No. I don’t know what they are doing. Doesn’t seem like much.” I took a swig of my beer. “I have my suspicions though.” I quickly reminded Tav about Kalani and why I suspected him.

  “Sheesh, what are you going to do?”

  “Braddah Moku.”

  “Braddah what?”

  “Moku. He’s a friend of ours. He’s well connected, practically knows everyone in town. I told him about Kalani. At first he didn’t think he did it but when I told him more of the details of the attack, he started to rethink his position and said he would look into it.”

  “And in the meantime?”

  I motioned with my beer bottle to both sides of the house. “I put up extra security measures. I got motion sensor lights and I installed those metal grills over the windows. New locks, too.” I drained the rest of my beer. “Plus, Izzy can handle herself. She said she got some great shots in on whoever it was.”

  Tav tapped his bottle against mine. “That’s for sure. The kickboxing classes came in handy.”

  I stretched my legs out in front of me, wiggling my toes. “Can’t beat it, Tav. Life here is great. Anything new at the office?”

  “Yeah, man.” Tav turned to me. “Why didn’t you tell me you landed a new client?”

  “Huh?”

  “You’re on the board. You’re number three for monthly sales at the office.”

  Shit! The order for the NBB must have registered that.

  “I’m on the board? That’s cool. It must be a slow month at the office, though. It wasn’t a big order.” I tried to play it off like it was no big deal.

  “Yeah, I’m proud of you.”

  I kept my eyes straight ahead as Tav continued to talk about me making it with a real client. Ever since we were seven, we’ve always told each other everything. We’ve never kept secrets. What the hell was I to do, ruin his vacation? He seemed so
happy, drinking his beer and talking about my legal success. For now, I was content to leave things the way they were. A few seconds of silence passed before Tav spoke up again.

  “So, who’s the gang?” he asked.

  Chapter 32

  Busted.

  “Let’s take a walk,” I said. This conversation had the potential to explode, and I didn’t want to be in the middle of it when Izzy and Linda returned. We started walking on the beach in the opposite direction of the girls. I struggled to find the words or a starting point. I was still trying to figure out how he knew. What gave it away? Did something go down at the office that I don’t know about? Finally I figured the best place to start was, “How?”

  “Darb, I’ve known you for a long time. When you’re having fun, you’re not thinking about work. You’ve just spent a little over a month here in this beautiful place. I know you’re not picking up the phone and calling on clients.”

  I picked up a piece of driftwood and chucked it into the surf. What he said made complete sense. Even if this opportunity hadn’t presented itself, how on earth was I going to get a client when I was chilling and surfing everyday?

  “Look Tav, it didn’t go down the way you think it did. What you said is completely right. I have a new gang as a client. I don’t think I thought this through enough.”

  “Noooo,” Tav said mockingly.

  I kicked some sand at him. “I didn’t go after this client. They came after me. Apparently I’ve got a rep in the criminal underworld.”

  Tav arched an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

  “Totally.” I filled him in on Souza and his connection with the San Jose gang.

  Tav didn’t say anything right away. He usually doesn’t when I drop something heavy on him, and I had just floored him.

  He kept walking with his head down, kicking sand with his bare feet, when he finally looked at me. “So you’re a somebody in the underworld?”

  “Yup. And if he hadn’t approached me, I’d be screwed right now because I wouldn’t have any way to meet my sales. The way I see it, I’m lucky.”