“That’s about it,” Pua finished up with a wave at the office. “If you’re anything like Zu and Arin, you probably stored most of that to process for later, but if you need a reminder, just come find me.”
Raul met Pua’s earnest gaze and smiled in response to her genuine smile. She was a gem of a personality, and he was beginning to get a full appreciation for how carefully Zu had put his team together. “Thank you. Mahalo.”
“Oh, you bet.” A dusky rose colored her cheeks. “It’s what I do.”
She reached out and snagged a malasada, lifting it to her lips and biting into it deeply.
He snagged one, too, gave her a parting nod, and headed out into the hallway to track down Mali. It wasn’t a big place, just a collection of glass-walled offices and the open reception area. He found her in a corner room along the interior wall, the one office that wasn’t basically a fish bowl. Ironically, someone had taken advantage of how protected the space was from natural light and placed a saltwater fish tank in it.
Mali stood there, her face lit by the undulating light from the tank.
“Penny for your thoughts.” He pitched his voice to be low but hopefully not a creepy whisper.
Her gaze shot to him, betraying a moment of disquiet, but it passed and she gave him a tired smile. “I was too wound up to nap when we got here so I had tea. Now I’m full of tea but I’m not sure where to nap. I came in here because it seemed like a good place to be out of the way.”
As an interior office, it also had no windows, and it would feel more secure. She had good instincts for a civilian, even if she might not be consciously acknowledging her delayed reactions to having been shot at a few hours earlier.
“I can leave if you want privacy.” He understood. Sometimes people needed time to themselves to process.
“No.” The word popped out quickly. “Stay, if it’s not keeping you from your welcome party.”
He lifted a shoulder and dropped it in a half-shrug. “We’re all quick about the warm and fuzzy stuff. Welcome, have some sugar and caffeine. I’m fine. I can stay.”
Her responding smile was hesitant, still fragile.
He put a leash on the intensity he’d been building up since they had been on the beach and tried to make his words reassuring instead. “I want to be near you.”
Her smile widened into a happier expression. She glanced around. “There’s a couch in here.”
Raul closed the office door behind him, headed over to it, and settled comfortably on one side with one arm slung across the back. “I’m told all the offices have couches. Crash space, in case we don’t have time to head back to our homes.”
“Oh. Good idea.” Mali joined him, sitting sideways to face him. “But you all have your own homes?”
“I will, once I get a chance to go looking for the right space.” He grinned. “It’s been a hectic couple of days.”
“What kind of place are you looking for?” She leaned her head to the side, within an inch of his fingertips.
He leaned forward a bit and lifted a silky lock of hair away from her forehead, playing with it. “I hear the island is wicked expensive when it comes to the cost of living. I definitely can’t afford to buy a place. Apartments here ‘in town,’ as Miller would say, are also going to be crazy. I’ll probably go through a few military channels to see what’s available near base for veterans.”
“Oh.” Mali’s lids were falling heavily over her eyes but her voice was still somewhat alert. Still, she relaxed into his touch as he lightly ran his fingertips through her hair. “Yeah, I guess cost of living is a major thing. A lot of people in Hawaii have two, even three jobs.”
“Yep.” He quieted his tone a notch. With any luck, she could relax enough to get some much needed sleep. Even a power nap would do her good. “’Course, I saw a tent in a tree on the way back into town tonight. It’d be an interesting solution.”
Her eyes popped open so fast that he almost jumped. “In a tree?”
He chuckled. “I kid you not. Seriously, there was a one-man tent all the way up in a big tree by that ramp coming off the highway. Whoever is sleeping in there is balancing on one of the bigger branches at a decent height.”
Her mouth dropped open briefly, and she shook her head. “Kenny seemed to be fairly nomadic, too.”
Raul nodded. “I could manage the nomad life, if the need arises, but I’d prefer an apartment or condo. It wouldn’t have to be big. I don’t do much entertaining.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Not much of a cook?”
He let his head fall back against the back of the couch. “Oh, you know, I can put the effort into a nice dinner when the situation calls for it, but usually it’s just me and my dog. It used to be Dugan, but he’s retired, so now I’ve got Taz.”
She was studying the office door. “Is that locked?”
He studied her, everything in him coming to attention. “No, but it could be.”
She rose and crossed to the door, turning the lock, and then returned. “People would probably knock, but if someone were to walk right in, I’d jump out of my skin right now.”
Down boy, down. Locking the door didn’t mean what he was really hoping it meant. Damn, he was an inappropriately horny bastard. Here she was, tired and under duress, recently a target of sniper fire…
Mali didn’t return to her seat next to him on the couch. Instead she straddled him, spreading her hands across his pecs. “So how are you at making breakfast?”
Okay, then. He settled his hands on her hips, figuring it was that or spread his palms flat on the couch cushions because he wanted to do a lot more, way too fast. This should go at her pace. “I make fantastic omelets.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Tempting. What about pancakes or waffles?”
She shifted her hips, teasing. He was rock hard already, and he was very sure she could tell. “Pancakes are easy. Waffles need a waffle iron, and I’d need to acquire one of those.”
“Hmm.” She leaned forward, close but not quite close enough for a kiss. Her breath puffed against his lips. “Blueberry pancakes are my favorite.”
“Uh huh.” Words were quickly running away from him. He didn’t bother trying for clever commentary. Instead, he enjoyed the curve of her behind under his hands. He was a patient man, for the moment; he wanted her to come to him.
She did, thank god. Her lips touched his in a slow, easy kiss as her hands continued to coast over his chest. She drew back a fraction of an inch and licked his lower lip, a request. He opened for her, and she came back in for a deeper kiss, her tongue exploring as she pressed herself against him.
He did everything he could to encourage her, running his hands over her hips and up her sides. As he brought his palms down again, he paused and gripped her behind. She rewarded him with a little gasp. Bringing her hands up to either side of his face, she kissed him even harder.
When she let them both up for air, he growled out whatever warning he could manage. “I want you, Mali. Be sure.”
She stared at him for a long moment and then pulled away.
He stayed where he was, drawing in deep breaths through his nose, wrestling with his control. He was going to let her go, even if the case of blue balls he was about to suffer killed him.
But she didn’t leave. She stood there within reach and undid her pants. He watched as she pushed them down and stepped mostly out of them, leaving her pants hooked around one ankle. Probably she wanted to be able to get back into them as quickly as possible. He thought maybe he’d tried that once, back when he was young. The backseat of a car might’ve been involved.
He grinned. Somehow, right now, that was incredibly hot.
She knelt between his legs and attacked his waist. He bit back a curse, jumping at the suddenness, and then moved to help her undo his pants, too.
“I am not waiting for anyone to interrupt us,” she stated with sexy determination.
He laughed quietly and stayed focused on doing exactly what she wanted. Becaus
e he wanted her too, badly.
His pants came down, and she trailed kisses along the inside of his thigh until he buried his hands in her hair, keeping it clear of her face so he could drink in the sight of his cock brushing her cheek. She licked his tip and he groaned.
“We’re going to need a condom.” She pulled one out of her back pocket.
He choked out a laugh. “You came prepared.”
“I’m a responsible kind of woman.” She quickly had the condom out of its wrapper and stretched over the length of him. He almost lost his mind at the sensations she sent coursing through him while she did it. Rising up, she practically climbed him until she was perched over him again. “I don’t want to play.”
He looked up at her, falling into her hot gaze. He reached between them, grasping the base of his cock and pressing the tip of himself into her just a little. She was wet, slick and ready. “Don’t, then.”
She closed her eyes as she lowered herself onto him. His hand released his cock as he entered her, taking hold of her hips with both hands, instead wondering if he was going to lose it right then and there. The heat of her, tight around him, was almost enough.
He wanted more of her.
She settled on him until he was buried to the hilt inside her. Then she leaned forward and kissed him, tangling her fingers in his hair. She tasted so good.
But she’d said she didn’t want to play.
He gripped her hips harder and ground himself into her. She groaned and nipped the corner of his mouth. She moved her hips then, riding him, matching the rhythm he set.
She panted in his ear, losing herself. Good. He picked up the pace, driving harder into her. Her hands settled on his shoulders, and she leaned back, deepening his penetration. Her pert breasts bounced in front of him, tantalizing.
“Raul,” she gasped his name, her voice strained with an effort to keep quiet. “Yes, this. Don’t stop.”
“I won’t.” It was a promise. He drove into her harder and shifted his grip to her behind, helping her ride him.
She let out a sexy little cry, tensing over him. He didn’t stop. He’d promised. Even as she crested, he kept going as her inner muscles milked him. Yes. Definitely this. He pulled her close, muffling his own cry in her breasts as he came, too.
It took a few minutes for him to come back to his senses. She was collapsed over him, breathing softly against the nape of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, his chest tightening with the amount of emotion swirling inside him.
Having her here, in his arms, was this amazing, fragile thing. He didn’t know how to keep the tenuous hold he had on it, but he didn’t want to let her go.
“Mmm.” She murmured something unintelligible, her voice slurred with sleep.
“You can’t sleep like this.” He pressed a kiss against the side of her neck.
“Can.” She snuggled closer, if that was even possible.
“Maybe. But you shouldn’t.” He shifted her off his lap and helped her wiggle back into her pants.
He left her on the couch and took care of the condom, hiding it with tissues in the bottom of a wastebasket for now. He returned to where she was on the couch and sat beside her for a moment. She sighed and turned on her side, curling around him in her sleep.
He didn’t know how long he sat there, listening to her breathe. But for a few minutes, maybe forever, he let her be the center of his world.
Chapter Sixteen
Raul stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him, making sure to turn the doorknob fully and bring the door closed silently before releasing it. He didn’t want the sudden click of the door latch to startle Mali awake from her nap.
Of course, if she slept like Arin, nothing short of an earthquake would wake her unless someone besides her dog physically touched her.
Really, though, he wanted the chance to think about Mali separate from her sister. Arin was his best friend, and he’d been curious about her family for as long as he’d known her. Now that he’d met Mali, he couldn’t help but compare and contrast the sisters to a certain extent. But the more he got to know Mali, in every way, the more he wanted to think of her as her own person. She fascinated him, intrigued him, and blew his mind, all at once.
“Sá.” Zu’s low voice brought Raul’s thoughts to the immediate surroundings.
Raul looked down the hallway to see Zu in front of another office at the far end of the hallway, also against the internal wall. Raul headed toward Zu immediately, and Taz fell in beside him as he passed the kitchen area. Buck and King were nowhere to be seen.
“Mali?” Zu asked.
“Sleeping.” Raul paused. “Do you want me to wake her?”
Zu shook his head. “No need. We can bring her up to speed later. Rest is more important for her now.”
Raul nodded. Zu stepped into the office and motioned for Raul to join.
“Welcome to my realm,” Pua stated as he stepped into darkness dimly lit by a pink salt lamp and the light of many, many computer displays. Arin sat at a small table off to one side with King lying at her feet. Kai had returned, seated at the table with Arin, and he lifted his chin in greeting. Zu stood at the relative back of the room with Buck sitting at his side. “Kenny is on the line, and I have him set to speak to the room.”
“Hey, brah. Howzit?” Kenny’s voice came from small speakers set high on the walls all around the room for surround sound.
“We’re mostly here, Kenny.” Zu spoke to the open air at normal volume. Apparently there were mics somewhere in the room capable of picking up normal conversational tones. Nice. It was awkward to have to speak up for a mic all the time. “You good?”
Considering Kenny’s part in their departure from the beach area, he was at some risk. Based on Zu and Arin’s calm—not Kenny’s commentary—Raul had assumed the man could handle himself. He was hoping there’d be time to ask Zu how well he knew Kenny, both as a source and as a person.
“Yeah, brah. No worries.” Kenny chuckled.
“Mali will be relieved,” Arin offered. “She hated the idea of putting other people in danger because of her.”
“Very kind. I appreciate her consideration.” Raul could almost picture Kenny bowing his head slightly with his hand spread over his chest.
Hell. Guess it didn’t take too long to get a feel for a person, especially one with as many idiosyncrasies as Kenny.
“I’ve got intel for you,” Kenny said. “The area of Chinatown the little sistah was workin’ is definitely run by the haole I told you about earlier. I also identified a few faces from the images you pulled from the memory card. Not many of his people, but enough to be sure we’ve got the right boss.”
Zu grunted and crossed his arms over his chest.
“This man is more extensively established than I realized.” Kenny’s voice was tinged with wry surprise. “There’s too many paper trails to follow off the island so I zeroed in on the area where the research team was conducting interviews. His major chain of businesses in that area of Chinatown are all connected to a massage parlor, if you know how to look at the data.”
“Are we all headed there, then?” Raul asked.
Arin stirred. “Mali will want to go.”
Raul frowned but Kai voiced his opinion first. “Not the best idea, right? The massage places there tend to be the kind that offer happy endings as a regular service. It isn’t a surprise that they’d be the business front for whatever else this guy has going on. Some of his assets could even be employed in those massage parlors. Your sister may know about human trafficking and forced labor but going into one of these places and confronting the people running it is not her area of expertise, right?”
While Raul agreed, he felt moved to point out the value Mali could add. “She can recognize her research team, though.”
Arin flashed him a brief, knowing smile. “You really think she should go?”
Well. There was speaking up for the value of an asset, and there was also strate
gy. He looked around the room searching for a way to pull together the half-formed thoughts in his head.
“It’s where she was almost taken in the first place so I don’t think any of us is thrilled to have her out in the open again, especially after the shots fired tonight.” His gaze landed on one of Pua’s monitors, displaying surveillance feed. He recognized the front entrance of their building and figured she must be tapped into the security surveillance for the complex. “What kind of equipment do we have for surveillance? Could we keep her here and have her on comm with us to advise us remotely based on the camera feed?”
He’d worn cameras in the past during missions. Command staff could observe and provide limited orders as teams infiltrated and carried out strategic actions.
Pua tapped the surface of her workspace. “I have surveillance but it’s limited range. We’d have to be outside the building—not right on top of you, but close.”
“And I suppose we don’t own an unmarked van.” Raul was half-joking, but someone would’ve mentioned a surveillance vehicle by now if they had one.
“Trucks and vans park along those streets all the time,” Kenny added helpfully. “You’d blend in with the shadier elements in the area. Just don’t look like Feds.”
Arin snorted. “As much as I don’t believe a woman should stay away from where her male counterparts can go, there is a practical consideration. We’re looking to gather intel, and it’s likely to be easier to go in casual, as customers, to figure out what we can before we take more aggressive action. The girls in that establishment will react differently to women.”
“True,” Zu acknowledged.
Raul nodded along with Kai and Pua. For his part, he’d jumped to the more aggressive approaches to confronting the proprietors.
“We’re not police, and we want to maintain good relations with them.” Arin held up her hands. “The guys go in and they are more likely to meet with less resistance to harmless chatting. They’ll get more information, faster, than if we went with them. If they can collect enough evidence for the local authorities to go in for a clean bust shortly thereafter, it’s a more significant win than if we just go in there and make a mess.”
Total Bravery Page 15
