by Angel Payne
“And that deal is happening soon, then?” Tan queried.
Benson straightened his stance and folded his arms, clearly more confident in the conversation’s direction. “Every building-permit official, down to the minimum wage clerks, is in our pocket. Our lovely friend Miss Kail started playing with the notion of going all the way to Honolulu with her case, but everyone in that office is on our payroll now, as well.”
“Your thoroughness is impressive.” The Asian picked up one of the paperweight rocks and turned it over in his hand. “Yet so is Kail’s determination.”
Kellan stared at that rock and envisioned using it to clobber the man. Something in the way Tan referred to Lani, the sensual stress he put on every syllable of “determination,” was a reminder of how a cobra danced before sinking its fangs into prey.
“She’ll be out of the picture within a few weeks.” Benson tapped a thigh with a nervous index finger. “The woman’s not going to have any financial choice but to take our offer.”
“Hmmm.” The man’s mien changed in such a subtle way Kell doubted anyone noticed it but him and Tait—but damn did they notice, especially when Tan shifted his stance to disguise the small jerks of his cock. “What a pity,” he murmured, “that she can’t be part of the package.”
Red. It gained terrible meaning when it became the color of a man’s rage. Kellan had never known such a violent version of the feeling, lashing its way through every drop of his blood, tethering itself to every tendon in his limbs. He didn’t have to look at Tait for the assurance that his friend shared the fury. He felt the energy of it spewing from T’s hiding space.
Mr. Tan, you officially just signed your kill order.
“Fascinating.” Benson had the nerve to sound like the guy had simply asked for fries with his burger. “So you’ve seen her?”
“We have been performing our own surveillance of the ranch for the last few days. Discreetly, of course.” Tan set the rock back down and kept his gaze fixed on the blueprints. “So yes, I’ve seen her. Her beauty is…extraordinary.”
Another sensation joined the anger. It wasn’t so easy for Kell to identify. In many ways, it was similar to the acrimony, burning and unforgiving, but now it gained a strange urgency, relentlessly gripping the center of his chest.
The Koreans had been watching the ranch. For several days. That meant watching all of them. Him and Tait. Lani and Leo. He suddenly wished for the ability to sprout wings, jet plane himself to the school, scoop them both up, and take them far, far away from Tan and his oil slick of a stare—and his disgusting way of drawing out every syllable of “extraordinary.”
Benson shifted toward the man by one careful step. “A word of advice, my friend? That beauty comes with a bite. A lot of bite.”
Tan gave a subtle chuckle. “I like biting. It’s always nice, for a start.” He traced a finger along the edge of the table. “Let’s say I enjoy things on the rougher side.”
Benson shrugged. “Nothing wrong with that. You’re a man who enjoys working hard then playing hard.”
“Yes, well…playing hard tended to land me in spots of trouble, so I’ve been on the wagon for a while now. Used to have a bloke who kept me supplied with plenty of fresh toys for ‘play,’ but King managed to get himself killed. In Seattle, of all places. I actually think it was a sting of some sort, involving those bothersome Special Forces boys.”
Unbelievably, the turn in the conversation finally made Benson squirm. He visibly sweated in his Armani though attempted a wry laugh at Tan’s comment. In the end, the guy appeared constipated more than anything, not lending a speck of charm to his comeback.
“If it’s quality ‘toys’ you’re requesting, Tan, I’m happy to email a catalog of our most circumspect ladies of the island. Hokulani Kail is regarded as a sister by Captain Franzen, making her a tougher add-on for the package.”
Tan shot out another heavy sound that served proxy for a real laugh. “Saying things like that only entices me greater, Gunter.” He added a seamless shrug. “And weren’t you the chap telling me that the woman hasn’t given you a contract signature yet? Your plan might proceed more smoothly by lashing down the woman into a commitment, if you know what I mean.” The man turned, now fully revealing the erection punching at his designer crotch. “It’s astounding what a woman will agree to, once her own blood is flowing from your whip strokes.”
Benson didn’t appear stopped-up anymore. He paled in blatant nausea. “That…that’s—”
“Got to be one of the best ideas I’ve heard all week.”
The statement wasn’t issued by any of the henchmen, including Tan’s hulk. There was another person in the cave who had maintained a shadow-silent presence until now. He remained in darkness, though his voice was eerily familiar to Kellan. The mystery was unsettling. Where had he heard that quarterback baritone before? And why, as he searched his memory banks for the answer, did all the possibilities make his neck hairs do the goddamn hokey-pokey with each other again?
The moment the man came forward, both those answers dropped into place with disgusting certainty.
The last time Kellan had seen that spiky blond hair, that rugged but youthful face, and that casual but graceful lope, he’d been watching Luna Lawrence blow Ephraim Lor to the terrorist hell he deserved. As Lor flew six feet across a Hollywood sound stage, the partner with whom the monster had been working, a demon who’d taken lots of Lor’s money to aid his attempt at turning the West Coast into a nuclear wasteland, had fled the scene, never to be seen again.
Until now.
The reason for the latter half of the Benstock name. A fugitive on the FBI’s Top Ten Wanted list. One of the criminals responsible for Luna’s death and now a man who didn’t flinch at the proposal of using Lani as a pawn in his next sick scheme, again taking money from more people who intended to seriously damage the country.
Cameron Stock.
Chapter Nineteen
Fury? Yeah, Tait knew the shit, all right—more intimately than he’d ever wanted. But nothing—nothing—in his life had prepared him for this raw, roaring craving to tear apart everything in sight with his bare hands, including the cave he’d just allowed a piece of walking dick lice to leave. The shit was so intense that it manifested through his body in ice instead of fire, giving him new understanding of why some people got locked in padded rooms.
Kellan’s quiet footsteps approached the crevice where he still stood, frozen in place. He’d let the guy take care of a sweep through the cave after Tan, Benson, and Stock left, planning Lani’s captivity and extortion as if they were running logistics on a fucking fraternity prank. He’d admitted that if he moved, he’d chase the shits down and bury his knife in Stock’s throat before the henchmen put him down in similar fashion. That would alert the cocksuckers that Kell was likely nearby. He’d be killed too. Then they’d declare it open hunting season on Lani, with Leo as their extra insurance policy.
“Cut the fuse, T-Bomb.” Kell’s voice was a welcome salve on his senses. “You have to keep it together, man.”
“I know.” His emphasizing huffs bounced off the walls, taunting him. “I…know.”
“Tait.” Kellan clamped a hand to his shoulder. “Eyes here, dude.” His buddy’s gaze waited for him, dark as moonless midnight with its steeled determination. “We will drop the bastard this time. I promise. Okay?”
He forced a tight nod. “Yeah. Okay.”
“Our priority right now is getting to Lani and Leo. We only have the rental car to use, since they took Lani’s jeep to the school.”
“Shit. And the rental’s back at Franzen’s place.”
They locked stares again, though it was only for a second. Thank fuck they were still on the same mental page.
We need to move. Now.
Though using the road would’ve gotten them to Franz’s faster, they knew the beach route would be less conspicuous. On the other hand, running without a hundred pounds of gear on one’s back did speed up the pace. And
the thought of Stock getting to Lani first? Tait would have sprinted to the summit of Kawaikini and back to keep that disaster from happening.
Every second was vital.
Despite that fact, Tait commemorated their arrival at the house by tossing the keys at Kell. Though he was certain the guy already read his intention in the action, it was too damn important for the ether of telepathy.
“Grab the Remington. And all the ammo you brought for it.”
* * *
Less than two hours later, it was back to head-banging-against-the-wall mode.
Tait glared over at Kellan, who wore an empathizing look. The cause of their mutual ire was once again the growling baritone from the phone on the lanai table between them. This time, the phone was a burner unit they’d bought during a fast supplies stop in Kekaha, so Franzen was only represented by a string of numbers with the country code for Indonesia. That did little to impersonalize their exasperation at their captain, despite the strings he’d pulled to get them, along with Lani and Leo, into one of the beachside cottages at the Pacific Missile Range Facility base.
Different phone. Different lanai. Different breathtaking beach view.
Same helpless fury.
“Franz.” Kellan leaned forward, planting elbows on his knees in another attempt to reason with the man. “We’re not saying that we don’t understand—”
“Of course you’re not,” their CO countered. “You’re just saying that neither of you want to understand.”
Tait burst to his feet. “Maybe we have a translation problem here. We’re telling you that Benson is all but sucking Cameron Stock’s dick and that, as we speak, they’re drawing up a contract to accept upwards of seventy million dollars from the North Koreans—with Lani tossed in as the signing bonus.”
“Damn it,” the man boomed. “You don’t think I hear you loud and clear, Bommer? And you don’t think that I wish to fuck I was there beside you to deal with this, instead of here with the responsibility of this battalion and these men?” A long pause was filled with his peeved exhalation. “But commit this to that dense gray matter of yours, Sergeant: the logistics of this wouldn’t change even if I was there. This scenario calls for intelligence and deliberation, not impatience and drama. There are only two of you, wanting to stage an operation with little else but that rifle and a couple of knives, on a property twice as big as the Bin Laden compound. There were nearly thirty personnel and a dog on that op.”
Kell shook his head while pitching to his feet. “Psshh. Thirty navy guys, two army guys; same difference.”
Franz cut off Tait’s chuckle before he could get it started. “You two aren’t just being impractical; you’re being stupid. For the time being, both those adjectives are deleted from your vocabulary in favor of a fun new concept I have. It’s called safety.”
Kellan stopped and slammed his hands to his waist. Tait let his head fall back. Franz was smart enough to interpret the huffs they attached to the actions. He sent back a commanding grunt, not budging his position.
Tait swung forward again. “The Kails aren’t going to be any safer than a cottage on a missile testing base.”
Franzen gave way to another growl. “I’m talking about your safety, shit-for-brains. I can’t be there, but I’m sending the next best thing. The Fifth SFGA had a team ready to launch on a mission that was aborted; they’ve already been reassigned and were airborne forty-five minutes ago. They’ll be landing at the base in about sixteen hours, and you will await then assist them.”
Sixteen hours!
Tait stopped himself from punching out one of the lanai supports only because Kellan expressed their outrage by kicking a chair down the porch. “Captain, with a shit ton of respect, we don’t have sixteen hours. When Lani and Leo don’t return to the ranch tonight, Stock and Benson will start a hunt without hesitation.”
“Which means they’ll check my place next. You thought about that and left the lights on when you left, right?”
“Affirmative,” Kell put in. “But eventually they’ll connect the dots and realize we’re on to them.”
Tait coiled his hands into fists. “Then they’ll be desperate for a chance to escape. They’ll rush to finalize things with Tan and the Koreans.”
“Which they can’t facilitate without Lani.”
“It’s easy enough to forge her signature on the property docs.”
“But Tan doesn’t just want her signature.” The comeback came from Kellan. With every step he took back toward the table, the storm on his face gave way to resignation. “And T, that means the captain’s right. Our most important duty right now is hunkering down here, making sure Lani and Leo are secure and safe.”
A satisfied huff came from the phone. “At last, the light of common sense shines upon the shores of my native land.”
The urge to smash something to dust blasted once more through Tait’s limbs. He spun to make his way back inside the cottage but was stopped by a stare of luminous silver light, belonging to the woman who stood in tense silence beneath the doorframe. Without granting him mercy from her gaze, Lani called toward the phone, “Glad you called, Johnny. Somebody had to pound some sense into these guys.”
“Johnny?” Kell actually grinned, ready to move in for the kill shot on the tease.
Franzen let it slide. “Hoku-hulu-baby!” he cried in delight. “How’re you holding up, kaikuahine? And how’s Leo?”
Her features crumpled a little. Then a lot. Tait’s chest imploded. He hated seeing how frightened she was. He hated watching her fingers tremble as she tucked her hair behind an ear. Most of all, he hated how she stiffened against the arm he tried to wrap around her in comfort. “We’ve…errmm…had better days,” she finally stated with forced brightness. “Leo’s okay, considering the circumstances. He’s retreated to his room with his earbuds and music.”
“A saner plan than what my bullet ninjas were planning.”
“No shit,” she agreed. “Wishing I could follow my kaikaina’s example and do the same, but I think I’m still in shock. Gunter Benson’s douche quotient is bigger than I ever imagined.”
“It won’t be for much longer,” Franz assured. “Some of the Big Green Machine’s finest are on their way. I just got an inbox from our friends with the navy, as well. Guess they caught wind of the fun you’re all going to have and are trying to round up a few SEALs to help out with the op.”
Kellan gritted his teeth through a fake smile. “Gee, Franz, want to make our night even better by announcing we get poi with dinner?”
Tait laughed as Lani jabbed the guy in honor of their running joke. Personally, he loved the native Hawaiian dish, made of crushed taro root. Kell’s opinion of the stuff ran the exact opposite.
“Enough,” Franz protested. “You’re making me homesick!”
Kellan groaned, which made Lani giggle again. Tait tried to stir some matching humor once more, but the feelings waned as Kell signed off with Franz, confirming he’d drop a text as soon as the battalion from the Fifth arrived at the base.
This wasn’t right. Every minute they waited was another minute wasted. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Tait turned and headed down the lanai steps. In another dozen strides, he was on the shore itself, pacing hard in an effort to work off his urgent ire.
“T-Bomb.”
He kept walking. Kell would get the point in another second or two and back off. Though only a half circle in the sky, the moon was brilliant tonight. It turned the beach into something from a goddamn romance movie, pissing him off more. Where was a depressing storm when he needed one? The fuckers happened every five minutes on this island, didn’t they?
“Tait.”
He didn’t stop.
“Bommer, for fuck’s sake!”
He gave the guy a pity stop. Nobody liked watching a man playing needy puppy with another, no matter what the circumstances were. “Not in the mood, Slash-rific. Don’t you have to go look for your misplaced balls any
way?”
The man jutted his jaw. “You know I don’t like this waiting game any more than you. You know I’d be jumping in the car right next to you if I thought it made sense. But if you dig deep, you also know that once those assholes get it that we’re on to them, which will be any second now, they won’t leave a pebble of this island unturned to try to find her.”
He pointed to the runway a few thousand feet away. “Hate to repeat the obvious, but this place is a bit fortified. And staffed by people who know a thing or two about defense systems and weapons.”
“And any one of them could also be in Stock’s back pocket. You heard the conversation in the cave as clearly as I did. The guy has bought off most of the local governments on this island and Oahu. Who’s to say he hasn’t found a few folks on the take on the base? That’s before we consider Tan’s influence, as well. The man was in cahoots with that bastard King, who damn near snatched Sage away from Hawk again and had paid minions all over Lewis-McChord. Fruit on the same tree. Just as rotten, just as poisonous, just as important a factor to consider here.”
Tait stabbed his hands into his pockets. His logic heard the words, even agreed with them, but his heart screamed louder. The memories returned, taunting and bitter, of the weeks after Luna’s death. The revenge he’d craved, the fury of knowing Stock still roamed the earth, living like a king off Lor’s payoff money…and the helplessness of accepting he’d likely never be found. It all slapped Tait anew, stinging a hundred times worse now that he’d peeled back the shields on his soul and allowed so many of his scars to be seen—scars that were ripped open all over again. He knew exactly where to find Stock now yet was leashed from doing a single thing about it. Un-fucking-acceptable.
He stabbed a foot at the sand, sending the shit flying into the water, where it plunked in the foamy shallows. “You promised me we were going to take him down this time.” He didn’t bother to hide the accusation beneath it.
