“Mali can have my couch.” He and Taz could make do with the floor.
Arin snorted. “You’re stretching my ability to accept this thing between you two. I’ll let her know you made the offer and let her decide.”
Raul chose wisdom over wit and kept his mouth shut. Instead he smiled and nodded.
* * *
Mali stared into a cup of tea, gaining more comfort from the heat of it in her palms than from the beverage itself. It was a sweet and subtle brew of cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric with green tea, enough caffeine to dispel the hint of a reaction headache she’d had but not enough to keep her up all night.
She laughed to herself. Considering the sheer concentration of caffeine she consumed in the first few waking hours of any day, this tea was nothing. Her own mind was busy enough to keep her from sleeping all on its own. What was she supposed to do next, rest?
Not likely.
A young woman bustled into the kitchen area with an armful of boxes. “Oh!”
Mali stared.
The other woman stared back.
“Pua, what are you doing here?” Arin appeared in the entryway.
“Oh.” Pua turned, facing both Arin and Mali. She was slender with a deep brown tan and thick, dark hair hanging in waves around her shoulders. A single plumeria flower clip held one side of her hair away from her round face. Her eyes were almost onyx, they were so dark, with catch lights reflecting in her shining eyes.
Mali realized she was being rude. “Hi.”
“Aloha.” Pua’s gaze tripped from Mali back to Arin and back to Mali again, and her eyes widened. “Oooh!”
There were a lot of “oh”s happening in this conversation.
“You must be Arin’s family.” Pua carefully placed her armload of boxes down on the counter next to Mali. “Right. I’m catching up. Just need to gather my thoughts. I was monitoring communication to your university. I’ve got an update for you and the team. Where’s Zu?”
Arin had a patient smile and raised her eyebrow at Pua. “He’s in your office space on the one console you let any of us access. He’s not going to admit he tried to log on to the main computers.”
Pua scowled. “He’s the boss, I get it. Being around all you headstrong personality types is a challenge but my office is my territory, and if you want the quality of information I provide, then you have to leave my computers to me.”
Mali sipped her tea to hide her grin. Honestly, being around her older sister and Zu and even Raul had been a strain. Even the dogs had powerful presences, each and every one of them. It’d been too many big personalities in the small RV on the ride back. Mali thought Kenny had been relieved to unload them all here at the corporate office.
This new woman, Pua, didn’t have the oomph the others had but she obviously had her own way of dealing with them all. Mali took mental notes because she had no intention of backing down either. If Pua could work with them, Mali could find her own way, too.
“Stay right here.” Pua had both hands out, fingers splayed, as she tried to include both Mali and Arin in the gesture. “Please.”
Then she was gone.
A few minutes later, Zu and Raul were hustled into the kitchen area. Zu stood across from Mali with his back to another counter. The big man glowered at Pua but glanced at Mali and gave her a wink when Pua’s back was turned.
It wasn’t mocking, Mali decided. There was a warmth in Zu’s expression he didn’t show Pua when she was looking directly at him. Come to think of it, when Mali thought back, Zu had the same look for each of his team members.
Raul dodged Pua as she turned too fast and almost ran into him in the now-crowded space. He scooted around her as she started arranging her pile of boxes and settled safely next to Mali.
Mali glanced at Arin, and when her sister gave her a raised eyebrow in return, Mali narrowed her eyes. Arin only shrugged as if to say, You’re an adult. Your choice if you want him near you.
It was.
Mali reached out and touched the back of Raul’s neck with her fingertips, moving up to lightly bury her nails in the hair at the base of his skull. He tipped his head forward in response and encouragement so she kneaded the tight muscles she found there. He shifted closer until the outside of his arm brushed her knee where she sat on the countertop.
“Okay.” Pua surveyed the boxes arranged on the table, doing a silent count. “You’re all here. These are all here. Kai is on his way back but he said not to wait for him. Update first, then these.”
While everyone in the room waited, Mali wondered what was in the boxes. They were in assorted colors: one white cardboard and another a light teal, another pink. They were bakery boxes, perhaps, or takeout of some kind.
Pua turned and faced Zu. “I’ve been monitoring the university. They received a second ransom demand by phone today at about ten in the morning, our time, for the research team. No specifics were provided on how many of them were captured, just the name of the research team’s principal investigator and a demand for ten million dollars wired to an account number they’ll provide in the next twenty-four hours. The university acknowledged the veracity of the claim based on Mali’s earlier report. And there’s now a direct negotiation going on.”
Zu grunted.
Mali leaned forward. “The university will handle the ransom. We’re insured for these kinds of things.”
“True. Which is why the amount seems odd.” Arin pushed away from the entryway to stand a few steps closer to Mali. “That’s a big university, and they’ve got you each insured for several million dollars apiece.”
Pua piped up, lifted a finger as she did. “I pulled the insurance details. Researchers for their department are insured for up to ten million dollars per individual in the case of instances like this.”
Arin nodded her thanks and continued. “The amount they’re asking for is a statement, not an actual grab for as much money as they could go for.”
“And if they want ransom money, they put some value on each member of the research team.” Raul leaned closer. “So why would they take a shot at Mali?”
Fresh fear burst into Mali’s system and she was suddenly glad of his proximity. Taz appeared in the entryway and sat at the threshold, watchful. Behind him, King and Buck settled in to begin a watch on their humans, too.
She was surrounded by people and dogs exceedingly capable of keeping her safe. In fact, they’d managed to do so for at least the last day and a half. The rest of her team hadn’t been so lucky. So she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth a couple of times, sipped her tea, and focused on the discussion going on around her again. To be of help, she had to be aware.
“It’s possible they wanted to make a different kind of point with Mali.” Arin’s tone had gone flat, controlled, even pleasant. “Once she contacted the university, she did what they wanted. She’s a loose end now, and they could’ve intended to prove they would kill the research team members if the ransom money wasn’t provided.”
Mali glanced at her older sister in alarm. That tone was never a good sign. It was a lure. People listened and relaxed, thinking Arin wasn’t mad, and then her sister exploded.
“They failed.” Raul’s counter to her sister was equally as concise, but matter-of-fact. “Next move is ours.”
Arin regarded Raul and nodded. In a lot of ways, Mali found Raul calming and soothing, and it was almost a boost to her growing trust in him that her sister responded to him, too.
“We’ll need more specifics on the ransom and hostage exchange.” Zu folded his arms. “Pua, you’ll let us know when there’s a new call.”
“You got it, boss.” Pua paused and then tapped one of the boxes. “In the meantime…”
Zu tipped his head to the side. “What’s all this?”
“Well, Kai told me you were all here, and I have a few friends who work at a really good bakery. Perfect for today.” Pua turned to Mali and Raul, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I know we have a serious situation here. But this ki
nd of work means we’ll always be dealing with serious situations so it’s important to make time for the things that make this a team. This is your welcome party, Raul.”
She flipped open the various boxes to reveal a variety of what looked like sugared donuts, golden yellow sweet bread, cream puffs, and cake rolls. The delicate scent of sweet pastries filled the air, and Mali suddenly wondered if the dogs had made their appearance out of true concern or because they’d smelled the pastries before the humans had. It was probably the latter but Mali found it more comforting to believe in the former theory.
Pua flashed them all a broad smile. “The bakeries fire up their ovens as early as two in the morning so these are the freshest anywhere on the island. There’s malasadas, Portuguese donuts filled with chocolate or vanilla custard cream. I even got a few with haupia filling for you to try, if you like coconut. The pao doce are light, fluffy sweet breads. So good! The cream puffs have chocolate or vanilla or green tea custard filling, and the cake roll is green tea rolled around chocolate and whipped cream.”
Raul cleared his throat. “Wow. I don’t know what to say. Um, mahalo.”
His words came out awkwardly, and his expression teetered between embarrassed and genuinely happy, his smile somehow shy. It wasn’t the same smile he gave her. It was hesitant and unsure. Mali realized Raul was new to the group, and maybe more than she, he was finding his place here.
Raul moved toward the table to sample the pastries, but Mali remained where she was sitting on the counter to give him this moment with his team. They hadn’t had much time alone together since her big sister had returned from her mission but he’d been on her mind every minute she’d been awake. Heck, he’d been featured in a lot of her dreams.
He was a different kind of man than she’d thought a mercenary would be. He wasn’t all violence and confrontation. She’d imagined mercenaries would be a lot angrier all the time. But he saw the world in a way that she hadn’t ever considered. And when he touched her, well, his touch was singularly unique and amazing.
Arin approached and handed Mali a full cup of steaming tea in exchange for Mali’s now empty one. “Joining this team means a lot to Raul. I’m glad we’re making time for this. It sets the tone for the future.”
“It’s very nice.” Mali didn’t try this tea yet because it was still too hot. But she enjoyed the heat of it in her palms.
“He didn’t gel well with his previous teams.” Arin paused, but instead of leaving it there, she continued. “In our line of work, that can be nerve-wracking.”
Mali drew her brows together. “How do you mean?”
Arin shrugged, turning to lean against the counter beside Mali as Pua chatted with Raul about logging in to his account on the team network. “You have to be able to trust the people you’re with and understand how they think. If you don’t harmonize well with them, you don’t work well as a unit. None of us have to be best buddies or anything, but building rapport is essential for survival.”
Mali considered that. She’d thought of her sister’s time in the military as just another job. A person didn’t have to have friends as part of their job but no one Mali knew ever stayed with a particular job for long if their work environment wasn’t friendly. But not being able to work with your colleagues as a team had never been a life-or-death issue.
Grim possibilities sprang up in Mali’s fertile imagination at the mention of survival, and she stared hard at Arin. “He says you’re his best friend.”
Raul had a friend in her sister. They’d been there for each other. So it would’ve been okay. Neither of them would’ve been in those life-or-death situations Arin was hinting at, right?
“I am.” Arin’s response was succinct, a fact. “But either of us could be assigned to separate units depending on the mission. Several military branches have canine handlers but we’re often used in conjunction with other units or teams for joint missions involving more than one branch. Sometimes we don’t have a lot of time to build trust with the others on those joint efforts. You may not want to believe it, but yes, they were very dangerous missions, and yes, both of us are lucky to be here.”
But they’d come out of it fine. They were both here, healthy.
“Well, I’m glad both of you are no longer active military.” Mali shook her head and sighed. “I’m not sure I understand why you’re doing this kind of work, though.”
Why go back to dangerous work like that? Mali didn’t get it.
Arin narrowed her eyes. “How so?”
“Well, you work for hire, for the highest bidder.” Mali took a sip of her drink. Arin had brought her a ginger tea. It was what they’d both grown up drinking when they’d needed to settle their stomachs. She was calling her sister a mercenary, but her sister was the person who still remembered things like the home cure for an upset tummy. Mali pressed on anyway. “Mercenaries don’t exactly have the best reputation for being people of integrity or ethics.”
Arin didn’t explode the way Mali half-expected her to. Instead, Arin chuckled. There was a mix of bitter and sweet in the sound of it. “There were a lot of questionable things I had to do in active duty, a lot of hard choices I had to make. No one comes out of combat with a pristine conscience. There is nothing about real life that is black and white, right or wrong, and sometimes survival trumps ethics.”
Arin stepped away from the counter and turned to face Mali. “At least as a private contractor—mercenary, if you want to call it that—I can choose what missions I take and choose to act on what I think is right, without relying on someone’s judgment from the other side of the world. This team—what Raul and I are doing—gives us the opportunity to make a good impact on the world. It’s not so different from what you decided to do.”
Mali wrinkled her nose, skeptical. “Our research studies, the information I gather, will expose real problems to people so they recognize there’s a real need for change. It’s a well-structured, objective method of gathering data and testimonials, presenting them with as little bias as possible. No one person is making emotional judgments in the heat of the moment.”
Arin jerked her chin toward Raul and the rest over at the kitchen table, just a couple of meters away. “We’ve had to decide what to do and take action in the split second between one moment and the next. You want to make people recognize the need for change? We are agents of change. Whatever is going on between the two of you, I think you should keep that in mind. He deserves your respect as much as you think you are entitled to his.”
Anger flared up in Mali’s chest, driving more words out of her mouth before she could filter them. “You know, call me crazy, but I thought you’d be warning him away from me. Me being your baby sister and all.”
Arin smiled. “You’re not a baby, and you are most definitely not going to be celibate all your life. You can make your own choices. I admire how driven you are to go out and find the knowledge you believe is there. You’re a great researcher doing important work here, and I am incredibly proud.”
Mali sat there, her mouth hanging open. It might be the first time she’d heard Arin express any kind of opinion on Mali’s work. It wasn’t that Arin hadn’t been caring as they’d been growing up, but Arin hadn’t been one to use words to communicate her love.
Arin wasn’t finished either. “But take a minute from your intellectual pursuits to remember: once you had the knowledge you sought, who did you go to, to take action?”
Mali had called Arin. She’d asked Raul for help. He’d come right away, having never met her. They’d all mobilized on her word.
Chapter Fifteen
The informal welcome party caught Raul off guard, and he stood listening to Pua while bemused, happy, and barely absorbing the torrent of information she was giving him in a steady stream of engaging chatter. This new teammate was incredibly knowledgeable and refreshingly…untarnished in a lot of ways. Her friendly acceptance of him warmed him from the inside out. Besides, discussion with Pua was easy, requiring little from
him other than the occasional noise or nod to acknowledge her and indicate she could continue. She was a font of knowledgeable tidbits.
He was aware of Arin’s discussion with Mali, though the two women were conversing at a volume low enough for him not to be able to make out the actual exchange. Whatever it was, Arin was relaxed based on her posture, and Mali only appeared to be a little more frazzled than she had been earlier.
He couldn’t blame Mali for being strung tight. It was either very late or too early in the morning for clear thinking, depending on which perspective a person wanted to take. It wasn’t likely she was used to external stressors like the current situation even if she did keep odd hours as a researcher.
“There’s a courtyard downstairs for the dogs to do their business,” Pua was saying. “There’s a disposal station at each corner but we have extra little bags here in the office in case they run out down there. We don’t want to give the building administration any ammunition to complain about us.”
“Good plan.” Raul nodded, his attention shifting as Mali wandered past him and headed out of the kitchen area.
At the entryway, she squeezed past the dogs, and only Taz shifted to let her by. She patted him on the head in a sort of absentminded way as she headed down the hallway. The big GSD watched her for a moment before looking back to Raul.
It was clear that Mali wasn’t a dog person by nature. She seemed to like Taz well enough, but she wasn’t the type of person who lit up when they encountered dogs nor was she the kind of personality the working dogs would look to as a dominant authority. They responded to her more like a civilian, politely but without particular interest—except Taz. He’d been interacting with her a lot in the last day or two so he was demonstrating a greater degree of friendly engagement.
Actually, Taz’s agreeable and friendly nature was another reason Raul had been happy to partner him. Every dog had a personality, same as every human. A standoffish canine partner tended to ward off friendly overtures from other members of a unit who might otherwise have closed the distance to get to know Raul better. His old canine partner had been an excellent working dog with outstanding skills, but he’d been a grumpy and aloof character. Raul loved the old boy, but he was appreciating how Taz’s easygoing doggy grin helped break the ice with people they encountered.
Total Bravery Page 14
