by Angel Payne
Thank you.
Chapter Eighteen
Kellan trailed a couple of fingers down the side of his water bottle, watching as the last rays of the sunset filtered through Hale Anelas’s orchard and rose garden, turning the condensation into liquid gold. His motions were as relaxed and lazy as the breeze sifting through the hibiscus blooms along the rails of the back lanai.
They were also a lie.
What a difference twenty-four hours could make.
When he and Tait returned from the monastery with Lani yesterday, he’d changed into a T-shirt he’d never worn before: a gag gift T had given him during the team’s vacation to Los Angeles, before the trip wasn’t a vacation anymore. There was a stick figure on the front of the thing, wearing a dork-ass smile and accompanied by the line Life is good. He’d thrown a shit-ton of sarcasm at the guy, telling him the shirt would be worn when the saying really held true. With that in mind, he’d expected to be using the thing as a car rag in a few years. Yet last night, he’d ripped off the tags and proudly pulled the fucker on.
The lip he’d expected from Tait about it? Nonexistent. The guy, clearly flying on their mutual high of camaraderie and connection, actually grinned and gave him a fist bump. They usually saved shit like that for special occasions like the opening night of a Vin Diesel film, or drilling a kill shot through a terrorist’s skull.
They’d made up an excuse about running to grab some dinner so they could sneak in their update call to Franzen. Trouble was, their CO had no news, except that Colton had passed their information to the proper CIA division, and careful follow-up on their intel was in play.
The news had been a weird relief. In many ways, Kell desperately wanted his revelation to hit a dead-end, so they could continue dealing with Benson as nothing more than the pretty boy lowlife developer they’d originally assumed. Buy-offs to the local permits officials were toddler games compared to what shit Benson could be in with heavy hitters from Pyongyang and Tehran.
Their good fortune continued when they returned to the house with their Chinese takeout feast, though it hadn’t seemed that way at first. Lani was waiting for them in the living room, trays set up for the food, and last night’s episode of Scandal cued on the DVR. She made the torture worse by having changed clothes herself, flopping on the couch between them in a cute little tank top over shorts that hugged her ass and not much else. Great. It had been an hour of lukewarm chow mein, Olivia Pope melodrama, and a hard-on of unrelenting fury—a torment that he at least didn’t have to endure alone, if he read Tait’s pained glances correctly.
Unbelievably, the guy stood up as the show ended to make the noble though half-assed move to leave for Franz’s place again. The moment had awkward spray-painted all over it, especially in light of everything that had happened during the afternoon. But before Kell could give him a proper what-the-fuck smack, Lani stood as well, converting to full minx mode. With a kitten’s grin over her shoulder, the woman told T he could do what he wanted, but she was taking advantage of Leo’s late practice to take a long shower—and damn, it would be nice to have some help washing her back.
A half hour later, balls deep in the woman’s pussy while she “soaped” his buddy’s cock with a hand job from Heaven, Kell knew it’d be a shower he’d never forget.
After they’d all toweled off, he’d let Tait collapse into bed with Lani, sensing they needed the extra time with each other. He supposed the decision should have been weird, but it wasn’t. It had simply felt right.
Perhaps the knowledge that this “arrangement” was temporary, along with the healing she’d brought to T with the afternoon’s revelations, had lent him the bold thought—but his gut started nagging at him with a different impression of things. A number of them, actually. He’d stuffed the thoughts right back down into their origin point, the valley in a soldier’s soul that wasn’t meant for the light of scrutiny. The place called vulnerability.
He’d kept his mind well out of the valley for the rest of the night, even saving Lani from Leo’s scrutiny by falling asleep in front of the TV, before Tait shook him awake just before dawn so they could call Franzen again. Once again, their CO relayed that there was no news from the spooks. Kell’s solace had gotten another hall pass.
Three hours ago, fate called in that chip.
They’d known it as soon as Franz came on the line, during the call that took place during their “afternoon jog” on the beach. The man’s voice was tight, without a single line worthy of a movie marketing slogan. Instead, he went straight to confirming the two of them were alone and could speak freely. Not a good sign.
Kellan had unearthed a bigger information landmine than anyone had dreamed. Intelligence agents in Iran and North Korea had confirmed mysterious “travel plans” for high-ranking generals in their countries, cross-referenced with flight plans from private jets that had landed at Lihue three days ago, having somehow skirted the customs process in Honolulu.
While the FBI had been tasked with discovering who had been paid off and where, the task for the CIA—and now, their two-man Spec Ops team—was far more immediate. After a day and a half of hard searching, the spooks had found their two needles in the five hundred and fifty-two square mile haystack of the island. Surprise, surprise; both generals were shacking up at the same off-the-map luxury retreat, making cell phone calls to the exact same number. There was no information available for the burner phone, which had been purchased with cash by a local kid who’d been paid off for the transaction, but they’d at least secured a GPS lock on the device.
Whoever the generals were talking to was sitting on the beach, a quarter mile south of Hale Anelas.
Franzen had stirred the shit pot even thicker by informing them about the conversations overheard by the spooks. Both agents confirmed that a meeting was happening tonight in something called “the cave.” All he and Tait had to do now was find that bad guy, approach him undetected then learn where this “cave” was located. And by the way, they didn’t know what he looked like. And oh yeah, the spooks needed the information as soon as possible. And another thing: if their cover was blown, the Army’s official line would be that they were AWOL soldiers, acting without the government’s knowledge or permission.
“Piece of fucking cake,” Kell grumbled.
Lani’s laugh, spilling out of the kitchen door like a string of bells, turned his mental disconnect into total hell. Tait was still inside with her, issuing reassurances that he and Kell would be fine while she accompanied Leo to college recruitment night at school. T always was better than he at feigning charming and jovial, though the second they hit the path toward the beach, he was back to being the epitome of don’t-fuck-with-me steel. “You have your knife?” he queried in a terse mutter.
“Affirmative,” Kell answered. The feel of the Bowie he’d “borrowed” from Lani, strapped to his calf, was added security he hoped not to use.
“Let’s do this shit,” T snarled. “If these assholes are behind any of Benson’s monkey-fuckeries, I guarantee I’m gonna knock some douchebag heads.”
Kell didn’t know whether to celebrate or hassle that statement. The good news was? T-Bomb was back in his full, furious, focused soldier glory. That was also the bad news.
They hit the beach but kept as close to the trees as they could. Kell rolled a silent prayer toward the emerging stars that Tait had opted for an easy silence, instead of attempting one of his mind-whack heart-to-hearts. A little therapy, especially right after Luna died, had been a good thing for the guy. A lot of therapy had turned him into a psycho-babble freak show.
“Kell…this is probably a good time to clear the air.”
He flashed a glare at the sky. This is what I get for the shout-out of gratitude?
“Slash-tastic? You listening?”
“Actually, I’m trying not to.”
“Fuck.” Tait halted his pace for a telling moment. “I guess some things don’t change.”
Kellan stopped, too. “What the hell
’s that supposed to mean?”
Tait cocked his head. “I thought you cared about this woman. A lot.”
A flare of ire hit his chest. “You usually come up with better bait than that.”
“And you’re usually better at avoiding the hook.” He straightened his head. “Which means I’m right.”
Just like that, the anger vanished. In its place, a strange curiosity spread. He took a turn at the Dr. Freud head tilt. “Nail on the head, buddy. You absolutely are right. Is that what you’re after? Can we move on now?”
The answer to both questions was no and he knew it. There was a good chance Tait did, too. Kell just hoped his switch-up to honesty would satisfy the guy for a while.
Yeah. And a rainbow would burst out of the night sky and onto the beach, bringing jolly leprechauns that would form a magical ring of protection around Hale Anelas.
“So you’d really be happy with that?” Tait charged. “Just ‘moving on’ from here, like any other recon gig we’ve been on, like any other day we’ve been through?”
Kellan exhaled with deliberate slowness. Then counted to ten for patience. Then sucked the breath back in, again with steady purpose. “And how would you have us proceed, oh head shrinker on high?”
His dig didn’t faze Tait. “We should start at the obvious.”
“Such as?”
“Such as how you’re feeling about the direction of things with Lani.”
And there it was. The only f word he always wished they’d drop from existence—at least before today. Right now, it only made him lift a grin at his friend. He’d always scoffed at Tait for putting things so balls-out in the emotional communication department, though it made perfect psychological sense when realizing the guy never received a sentence of meaningful communication from the bastard who’d sired him. But today, Kell was damn glad for the candidness. Let the scrotum revelations commence. “Maybe the better question here is how you’re feeling, dude.”
T’s brow furrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He pivoted to square his stance at the guy. “You want feelings, T? You want clarity?” Odd satisfaction came at watching his partner’s gaze narrow with more astonishment before he continued. “Here’s what I’m ‘clear’ about, man. I’m clear that the guy standing in front of me isn’t the same shell of humanity who got off the plane with me nine days ago, making me wonder if I’d ever see my best friend again. I’m clear about the fact that my buddy is back, full of the blaze and balls that’ve made him one of my biggest heroes, growling about turning bad guys into fertilizer again. And I’m very clear that Hokulani Kail was a big part of the force that made it happen. So what am I ‘feeling’ about all this?” He rocked back on his heels. “You want to take a stab at doing the math on that answer?”
They played visual chicken for a long second. “You’re talking like all she’s done is made me some cake and let me kick back in front of the TV with you two.”
He was tempted to flip the cake comment into another snarkism, but this was too important for humor. After abandoning his cavalier pose, he stepped over and stabbed a finger into the middle of his buddy’s chest. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up, asswipe. The birth certificates may say I only have one sibling, and you know better than anyone how much I love Kadie, but God chose to give me one hell of an awesome bonus bucket. Bommer, you are my brother in every sense of the word, including the blood we’ve mixed in some of the world’s craziest shit holes. So don’t you dare insinuate that I don’t know what I’m talking about here. Don’t you dare tell me that I’m just discussing cake and TV night when you know that’s not how I roll.”
Tait let out a ragged exhalation. “I’m not trying to second guess you, Kell. And I certainly haven’t forgotten every wild ride we’ve ever had together. But let’s face it, we’ve redefined the term ‘wild ride’ this week.”
“And you think I haven’t thought about that? That I didn’t consider it with a shitload of care the other night? That I just told her to kiss you another time because it turned my rocks hard, and that it ‘happened’ as some brilliant accident?”
“I don’t know what to think, dude. It’s why I’m asking.”
He lifted his jaw and set it. “I told her to do that because I knew she wanted it—because I knew she wanted you—and because, God help me, I want to give that woman everything she wants. But it goes beyond that, too.” He lifted his head higher. “She also needs Sir Tait. Don’t get me wrong; it’s been fucking awesome as it’s been to let Sir Kellan out of his stuffy nut sack. But the way you control her…it’s pretty damn amazing.” He relaxed his stance, breaking into a smile. “Let’s face it. She’s an extraordinary woman, T. Her heart is as big as that ocean, and her soul is just as deep. To be honest, I’m not sure one man will ever be enough for her.”
Tait turned his gaze toward the waves that Kellan just evoked. His face constricted in thought. “Damn. I didn’t think about it that way.”
“But there’s a good chance I’m right.”
“Yeah, you bastard. There’s a good chance you’re right.”
“That’s not even where my awesomeness of ‘right’ stops.”
As the guy looked back, he rolled his eyes. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“She also meets needs in you, dickwad. And it goes far beyond the miracle of her confession at the monastery.” He flashed half a smile. “She’s brought that fire back to your face. Ignited you in ways that I’d given up on witnessing again. You’re laughing again. Driving like a maniac again. Damn it, you’re even hogging all the fortune cookies in the takeout bag again. You may have a few extra pieces of luggage on board your brain train, but you are back—and for that, I’m not sure I can give the woman enough orgasms to express my gratitude.”
“But maybe I can help you try.”
Kell met his friend’s uplifted fist with a countering bump. “Hell yeah, you can.”
That was normally the spot where fate tried to cue up an imaginary soundtrack of sappy bromance music, extinguished by Tait regaling him with the newest Seahawks news. The team’s championship had given the guy permission to convert from fanboy into freakboy, and there was always some new trivia Tait was gleaning about the team. Fate, in its mercy and cruelty, had other plans. They blended back into some fern and ti bushes together as a man approached from a bend in the beach, running a hand through his designer haircut as he spoke rapid Korean into a cell phone.
Kell tossed an expectant glance at Tait. His buddy had always been the better of them with foreign languages. His jaw tensed when T shook his head and grimaced. “Weird dialect,” he whispered. “I’m only getting every third or fourth word. I think he’s referencing a meeting and saying that a ‘final bid’ will be requested tonight. Either that or he’s ordering kimchi for takeout.”
The guy took a turn inland, down a narrow path cutting through some sizable boulders. Kellan stifled a groan upon realizing they’d have to hump over the rocks to keep following him unnoticed. Luckily, their target stopped for a long second, his voice rising in the middle of an argument, giving them time to find footholds on the boulders. Things weren’t easier once they reached their goal, since haircut boy was on the move again. They had to step more carefully than he did. Boulders on the island were notoriously unpredictable due to the eroding effects of the weather, so they hustled as cautiously as possible.
“Where the fuck is he going?” Kellan finally muttered.
“Not sure.” Tait’s answer was grim. “But I’ll bet he’s not on his way to a friendly fuck in the woods, which means my hackles are up.”
Kellan grunted his agreement. He didn’t need to say more. T’s statement addressed what they’d both noticed. The man was on a direct trajectory back toward Hale Anelas. Shit.
Abruptly, the boulder walls flared out as the ground dipped down by at least ten feet. They now overlooked a sizable, sunken clearing carpeted in beach sand and surrounded by the looming boulder wall
s. It was like the island’s own version of Bruce Wayne’s manor—
Complete with a bat cave at one end.
“Ker-ching,” Tait murmured. Kell nodded.
Haircut hunk made his way to a double-sided steel door that was clearly a recent addition to the scene. The portal had been custom-cut to fit the large opening in the rocks. As the guy ended his phone conversation with a couple of terse words and stuffed the thing into the back pocket of his jeans, Kell joined T in dropping belly-down against the nearest boulder. They watched him walk to a smaller rock near the door and stomp on the thing, revealing it as a trigger for the door, The portal retracted on itself, accordion style, to let the man inside the entrance.
“Fuck me,” Tait murmured.
“All they’re missing is the signal in the sky,” Kell added.
“Something tells me they want to stay off Gotham’s grid. And everyone else’s.”
Kell swept another stare through the surrounding boulders and foliage. “I don’t see any suspicious red camera lights,” he stated. “But that doesn’t mean they’re not here.”
“Do we still follow him?”
Kellan could’ve punched the guy for putting that question on him. “Well, I know what Franz would advise.”
Tait twisted his lips. “He’d want us to pull back and wait for the CIA to do their magic spy thing. Probably loop the feds in on it, too.”
“Which could take weeks.”
“At least.”
“Even though there’s a meeting going down tonight.”
“Especially because there’s a meeting going down tonight.”
Tait snorted hard before letting a significant pause go by. “How close do you think we are to the ranch now?”
“Maybe three hundred yards.”
“In other words—”
“Too damn close.”
Tait cocked his head so their stares met. They didn’t exchange thousands of words with the look this time—because they didn’t need it. They already shared the same conclusion about their action plan. The next second, Tait acted on it. With a soundless roll, he slid off the boulder, leading the way down to the cave’s entrance.
