Fierce Justice

by Piper J. Drake

  Arin was practically vibrating with controlled anger and Jason wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her. He wanted to soothe her or unleash her temper to help her let off steam, do something, and either option was equally tempting. He didn’t think she wanted to be distracted, though, so instead, he took a good look around him. He was betting every transparent wall of the place was made of ballistic glass. He’d want the target inside, too. That was some lucky timing.

  “This isn’t an active threat yet.” Arin made the distinction as Raul was leaving the office. “They want Search and Protect to back off. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have given us this warning. They’d have taken her out as a message instead.”

  Jason waited until her teammate and his dog were out of earshot. “I get why you’re upset. I expected him to be a little more objective.”

  She shook her head once. “Nope. Raul and Mali are a couple.”

  Maybe Jason should’ve looked more closely at the relationships between Arin and her teammates. He wouldn’t have done anything different, but he liked to know these kinds of things. It would inform his decisions moving forward concerning Arin and Raul. “I knew you and Raul had worked together multiple times in the past. I gathered you were close friends. I didn’t make the connection between him and your sister. How is he still alive?”

  He posed the question as half joke, half serious. If Jason had been eyeing the little sister of any colleague as skilled as Arin, he’d have approached the situation with extreme caution. Sure, normal people wouldn’t kill a person out of hand for their interest. But people in their line of work weren’t exactly normal.

  He was awarded a slight lift at the corner of Arin’s very lovely mouth. “They were long distance for quite some time and kept it discreet. She’s only recently returned to the islands and they’ve both been dedicated to their jobs. If you were looking into the Search and Protect team over the last six months, there might not have been a lot of activity to tie them together until the last several weeks.”

  “I appreciate you giving me the out when it comes to my ability to gather intelligence.” He was still irritated he hadn’t made the connection.

  “We all have our strengths.” She let the comment drop, with the obvious follow-up going unsaid.

  “Ouch.” He was relieved, though. If she was verbally sparring with him, she wasn’t going to go on a rampage for the moment. “I’ll work on it. In the meantime, anything I’d recommend to protect your sister is likely stuff you’re already thinking, so what’s realistic considering her personality, her job, and her boyfriend?”

  Arin looked at him then, really saw him. “You want to help.”

  “She might not be a target if I hadn’t helped you find those people at the harbor on Big Island.” He was making a habit of feeling responsible. It wasn’t the wisest thing, in his opinion, but it sat better with his conscience. “And she matters to you.”

  He held Arin’s gaze for a long moment. He wanted to ensure her little sister stayed safe, not because he knew much of anything about Mali Siri, but because she was precious to Arin. He was developing more feelings for Arin than he’d had time to process but he’d seize the moment for now and think it through later. He didn’t want regrets if he walked away from all this, and he was damned sure he wasn’t going to meet anyone like Arin ever again.

  “What’s with the sour faces?” A sweet voice called out in advance of Mali Siri entering the office.

  Jason cleared his voice, suddenly faced with the sisters in close quarters. If Mali was beautiful in a still photograph, she was light and energy when she was in motion. Her face was rounder than Arin’s and she was a couple of inches shorter, built more slender than her older sister. Where Mali gave an impression of delicate—almost fragile—sweetness, Arin was all fierce strength and fluid readiness.

  Jason glanced at Raul and gave the other man a nod. Anyone who could survive with these two in his life was to be respected. “I still want to know how Arin let you live.”

  Raul cracked a grin.

  Mali stopped and blinked at Jason, watching with widening eyes as he rose and held out a hand. “Jason Landon, miss. Pleasure to meet you.”

  Mali glanced at Arin. Her older sister lifted her shoulder a fraction and relaxed again. The exchange took a split second, then Mali gave him a brilliant smile. “I’m guessing you know who I am. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  She took his hand and gave him a real handshake, not as firm or aggressive as her sister’s, but not one of those limp noodle handshakes either. Mali was a woman who knew her mind. Apparently, Arin was a sister who respected Mali’s choices. Raul, in consideration of both women, was a lucky man.

  “We’ve got a situation coming up and it’d be good if you could plan to stay in this weekend.” Arin made her suggestion a balance between casual and serious. “Raul and Taz will be with you and it’ll be good quality time.”

  Mali started shaking her head before Arin completed the last sentence. “I’ve got a special brunch this Sunday. It’s been planned for weeks and there are academics coming in from the mainland and overseas. We’ve got representatives from East and Southeast Asia. This is key to my work and I have to be there.”

  Jason expected Arin to tell her to cancel it. Instead, Arin closed her eyes briefly then reopened them and shifted her gaze to Raul. “Would it make sense for the task force to put in an appearance?”

  Mali looked from Arin to Raul as Raul leaned back against the wall just inside the door. “It could. We could amp up security for the event and I could be with her the entire time.”

  “It’s mostly indoors on private property, not in the city,” Mali offered quietly.

  She’d apparently picked up on the gravity of the situation. Jason considered the information he’d pulled up on the incident six months ago that’d triggered the Search and Protect team’s incursion on the plantation. His former employer’s client and the ill-advised decision to have a group of scientists grabbed off the streets just for conducting interviews of prostitutes in the area. Mali Siri had evaded the kidnapping. It was one thing to read about the young woman and another to meet her.

  “You’re still conducting research even after the incident in Chinatown?” He winced once he asked the question. It was one thing to be forthright with Arin, but her little sister was a civilian. She might not appreciate being reminded of a traumatic incident.

  Mali’s expression darkened but she didn’t appear hurt or about to cry. On the contrary, a hint of her older sister’s steel glinted in her dark eyes. “Absolutely.”

  “Oh.” He probably sounded dumbfounded and he didn’t mind. Frankly, he was impressed. Arin had her integrity and moral code. Her sister had her determination and conviction. They were a potent pair of siblings.

  “Once I was safe, I asked the Search and Protect team to help me find my colleagues.” Mali lifted her chin. “I’ve been conducting research on human trafficking in various countries for years. I wasn’t going to leave my colleagues with traffickers.”

  It had to have been a frightening time and she might’ve had to argue hard to get the Search and Protect team to help one person without some sort of sponsor to back the contract. Mali Siri had been through a lot. His respect for her fresh, positive personality moved up a few more notches.

  “Can you work remote the rest of the week and only leave home for this event?” Arin asked.

  “I can make it happen.” Mali didn’t even fight her. “But I want to know what’s going on.”

  “We’re still figuring out the scope of it.” Arin tapped the picture on the desk. “But someone wants to use you as leverage to make us back off.”

  “Does this have to do with the group of people you kept from exploding at Kawaihae Harbor?” Mali asked.

  Jason cleared his throat. When Mali looked at him, he grinned. “I disarmed the bomb.”

  “Uh huh.” Mali was clearly loyal to her older sister and possibly not impressed by technical details. />
  “He did,” Arin confirmed. “Without him, those people would’ve died and there would’ve been serious damage to a section of the container terminal.”

  Apparently, they were not going to mention how Arin and King would’ve been blown to pieces as well.

  “We’re helping the rescued people find shelter for the time being here on Oahu. Kim has her little brother back.” Mali beamed at Arin. “You should stop by the massage therapy place. Kim wants to thank you personally.”

  Arin shifted her hip on the edge of the desk. Her cheeks flushed dusky rose. “I made a promise.”

  Mali nodded, still smiling. “I want you to come to the brunch too, please. There are people who should meet you, understand the work you and Raul have been doing. They’re very against the idea of private contractors—mercenaries—and I want them to meet you, so you’re people in their minds and not names on an invoice. Come and I promise to work remote, stay home, follow every security precaution you and Raul ask me to until whatever threat is out there is done.”

  Well, that neatly guaranteed a cooperative charge.

  “Agreed.” Arin’s demeanor had warmed by several degrees and she almost sounded cheerful.

  “Wear a dress.” Mali held up a finger as she added the requirement.

  “Excuse me?” Arin pinned her little sister with a sharp look.

  Mali airily continued. “Please wear a dress and do something nice with your hair. Give King a bath. You’re not supposed to look like you’re working even if you’re always working. When you show up like you’re on the job, you make some of the rescued women and men nervous. Even the professors and administrators stutter because you have this resting stern look. It’s like a bitch face, only you make someone feel like they did something wrong.”

  Jason knew exactly what Mali was talking about, but there had to be a catchier phrase for the expression. Resting enforcer face? No. He’d have to think on it and come up with something good.

  “I look like what?” Arin didn’t sound surprised, though. If anything, her voice was muted.

  “You’re intimidating.” Mali made the statement matter-of-fact.

  The words stabbed Arin in the chest. Maybe Mali didn’t see the effect but Jason did. Arin withdrew, pulling deep into herself. What was left was a pleasant-faced mask. “I’ll do what I can.”

  “She’ll have a date,” Jason interjected. No way was he going to leave Arin to navigate this social thing without a wingman. Raul was going to have his attention on Mali, so obviously her longtime friend was not available.

  “Oh!” Mali looked at him and studied him in a new light. He could practically see the gears turning in her head. “Yes, a date will make a big difference. I’ll update the guest list. Thank you!”

  Arin sighed. “It’s all set, then. Why don’t you and Raul make arrangements with your offices and head home?”

  Mali took one handle of her tote bag off her shoulder and started searching inside the bag. “One more thing.”

  Her head and at least one arm disappeared into the tote. Jason chuckled silently. It was like the bag defied the laws of physics. How did Mali find anything in there?

  “The whole reason I came up in the first place was to give you this. I saw it at a recent fan convention and knew it was perfect for you. It’s a companion book to a really popular comic strip.” Mali held out a slim hardcover book.

  Arin took it, looking at the cover, her face unreadable. “Thank you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries.”

  Arin cringed as Jason read the title of the book her little sister had given her. Happily, her apartment was only a mile or two away so this was going to be a very short car ride. They’d driven straight from the airport to Search and Protect headquarters; otherwise, she normally walked to the office building.

  “I checked online to figure out what this is. It’s part of a sci-fi webcomic. I might start reading it online. There’s years’ worth of funny there.” Jason chuckled, paging through the book. “You know, I can see why she thought of you.”

  “I am not a mercenary.” Arin bit off each word. “I’ve explained this to my sister—and our parents—over and over about private contract work. But they’ve never been able to get their heads around it.”

  “I think she gets it.” Jason waved the book. “This is definitely a funny read. Probably funnier if you know the comic.”

  The necessity of being vague about exactly what kinds of things she did on contract didn’t help. Years ago, when Mali and Arin hadn’t had as positive a relationship, Mali had landed on the perception that private contractors were mercenaries, working only for the highest bidder and with no morals or ethics to speak of. They’d been in a fight when Mali had said it. Arin had been hurt, maybe because the words had been too accurate at the time.

  “I don’t mind being called a mercenary.” Jason seemed unperturbed and not the least bit ashamed. “Look, being labeled a merc isn’t evil. Hell, I read books and watched movies as a kid and all I wanted to be was a mercenary. Ooh. This third one about ordnance technicians, yeah, that’s me.”

  He was legitimately laughing out loud. She might hate him a little at the moment.

  “You know, she left little sticky flags in here.” Jason tapped the front cover of the book. “I’m guessing those are the ones she thought were particularly applicable to you. Number twenty-seven has a big sticky note, not just one of the flags. I definitely think it applies to you.”

  “I refuse to ask you what it says, and I am not going to read it now. If you keep this up, I might beat you with that book.” She kept her attention on the road. It would’ve been faster, really, to walk the damned distance from the office building to her apartment. Traffic around Honolulu was evil. They had a very short distance to travel and all of it was stop and go, with too many rented cars on the road driven by tourists who didn’t particularly care about their vehicles.

  “Aw, c’mon.” Jason finally set the book down. “These are all in good fun. Whatever issue you two have with the word mercenary, I’m thinking this is a peace offering. Your sister looks like she’s realized a mercenary isn’t a bad thing. You could do the same.”

  “It isn’t the word mercenary in and of itself, it’s the implied lack of scruples.” Finally, she turned into the parking garage entrance for her apartment building. She didn’t speak to Jason as she parked her car and let King out the back. He seemed content to keep reading and chuckling to himself. Which was fine, as long as he wasn’t trying to make her listen to any of those…maxims.

  She was opening her front door when he asked her a legitimate question.

  “Why did you bring me here?” He respectfully waited inside the entryway as she and King cleared her apartment.

  “Pua got on my case about hotel expenses when we got in earlier, before I debriefed with Raul, and the Search and Protect team does not currently maintain any safe houses. I found you, so you’re my responsibility. Your team might not be trying to kill you anymore, but we don’t know exactly what they do plan, either, so it’s not a good idea to send you out wandering on the island. You can sleep on the couch.” She closed the door to her apartment behind him and pulled off her boots, leaving them on the shoe rack in the entryway.

  She slipped her feet into her own house slippers and snagged a pair of disposable slippers from her guest supply. Raul and Zu stopped in once in a while so she kept disposables in their sizes. Jason might need a slightly bigger size than Raul, but his feet were definitely not as big as Zu’s. Arin halted her train of thought right there. She didn’t want to go any further down the path of comparing shoe size between the three men. Just, no. “Shoes off, please. Slippers if you don’t like cold floors. The ceilings and floors are cement under the laminate so the floors are always chilly in the morning, even here on the islands.”

  “Nice little place you’ve got here,” Jason commented once he had his boots off and stepped into the main li
ving area.

  “We only recently moved in. King and I don’t need much space.” She’d have been nervous if she had a bigger place, honestly. Too many rooms was a pain in the ass to clear every time she came home. Plus, she didn’t like to leave rooms empty and unused. Previously, she’d been staying at the Search and Protect house, where their kennel master kept a couple of the dogs not attached to a handler. But that house was more of a gathering place for the entire team. This gave her more quiet time. “The living room has a sofa bed. It pulls out to queen size. If it’s not comfortable, I’ve got Japanese-style tatami mats and a futon I could lay out for you to make up a comfortable crash space on the floor.”

  She had her bedroom and a single bathroom beyond this living area. The kitchen was a part of the open floor plan and was very efficiently designed to take up as little space as possible while still providing all the necessities to cook on a regular basis. This apartment was her hideaway, small and efficient without being claustrophobic.

  “You know,” Jason murmured. She wasn’t sure he was actually speaking to her. “You are allowed to take up space in this world.”

  She decided to answer him anyway. “I do. This is mine.”

  His words were pushing at her, though, and she was defensive in response. Rather than say something cutting, she swallowed hard and looked away. It wasn’t her intent to take a shot at him right now. He was a guest, for real, and she did want him to feel welcome.

  “We’re both short on sleep.” She decided that was a safe truth, one that wouldn’t hurt either of them. “And I’m betting we both want a hot shower. You can go first and I’ll put something together for an early dinner.”

  Jason lifted an eyebrow. “Why not shower together?”

  She wanted to turn him down outright. But when she glared at him, their eyes met and the chemistry between them ignited again. It really hadn’t ever gone. It’d been a smoldering awareness between them whenever they’d been in the same room. She was exhausted trying to keep it shoved to the back of her mind, but her body was very aware of his proximity.