by Tara Lain
“You think they’d miss us if we disappear into the bathroom for about two hours.”
Kai chuckled. “You think you can hold off coming for that long with me in your ass?”
“Nah. I plan to come about three times.”
“Shit, Rand.” He grabbed his cock and squeezed to keep it subdued.
“I owe you later.”
“You bet your sweet ass you do.”
“Let’s get back down there before they eat all the cookies.”
Laughing, they clomped down the stairs.
Chapter Fourteen
As they entered the living room, Mrs. Orwell held out two dishes of ice cream, and they dug in, complete with cookie chaser.
Rand grinned and licked his lips. “Thanks, Mrs. O. I thought I’d never eat again, but these cookies are a masterpiece.”
She sipped tea. “So how did you two boys meet?”
Rand gave Kai a smile. “We both love to dance, and I ended up at a cowboy club where Kai was two-stepping.”
Kai laughed. “We’re not competitive or anything. Ha. We tried to dance each other off the floor, and when that didn’t work, we decided to be friends.”
“Kai leads trail rides for the Hana Maui, and somehow he persuaded me to give some riding lessons.” Rand shrugged. “The rest is history.”
“Isn’t that nice.” Mrs. Orwell smiled. “I’m so glad this vacation turned out to be a good one, Rand. Remember, I told you it would be.”
Rand looked up, started to smile, then stopped. Heat crept up his neck, and he glanced at Kai, who frowned. “Uh no, Mrs. O., it’s not like that. I mean—”
A huge crash came from the kitchen, like glass breaking and wood splintering. Mrs. Orwell and Genevieve both screamed, and Rand leaped to his feet. Kai followed a second later. Before Rand made it out of the living room, a large red-haired man, fit-looking except for a beginning beer gut and the crazed expression in his eyes, stumbled into the room. “Where is she? I want my fucking kid. You’ve got no right to hand her over to some other man.”
Rand planted himself between the angry intruder and the others—including Kai.
Mrs. Orwell stepped forward. “Stop it, Mitchell. No one has given your daughter away. If you act like a decent father, you can spend all the time you want with Katie.”
“Fucking meddling bitch.” He raised a hand, and Rand simply stepped closer and grabbed it.
“Think again.”
“Who the fuck are you?” He pulled at his hand, but Rand didn’t let go.
“Someone who cares about the people in this house and is big enough to be sure you don’t hurt them. Why don’t you leave, sober up, and then you can talk to Genevieve about when you can see Katie?”
“Oh yeah, great idea.” The dude literally sneered. He yanked his arm away. “I just want to see my kid.” Tears filled his eyes.
This guy had to be on drugs. Nobody changed mood that quick otherwise.
Genevieve spoke for the first time since the asshole showed up. “Go away now, Mitch. Call me, and we can arrange for you to see Katie under court supervision.”
He staggered back, hit the wall, threw an arm dramatically over his eyes, and started to cry.
Well, shit. Maybe he really was broken up about Katie. Rand stepped toward him. Mitch pushed off from the wall, shouldered Rand hard, throwing him back a couple of steps, leaped past Kai, and ran for the stairs with Kai on his heels.
Damn! Rand took off after them. “Get him, Kai.”
Rand made it to the top of the steps a couple of seconds after the other two, just in time for his mouth to drop open. In the doorway of Katie’s bedroom stood Lani, holding a baseball bat in an operational position, dark eyes glaring at Mitch. “Come anywhere near her and you’ll be sorry.”
It should have been funny—or maybe cute. Neither of the above. No one with a brain could possibly not take her seriously.
Rand put up a hand. “It’s okay, Lani. We’ll handle this.”
Rand took a step closer just as Kai grabbed Mitch in an arm lock around the throat and pulled him backward. Mitch looked like he would have outweighed Rand by twenty pounds, which gave him seventy on Kai. The momentum of the grab hauled Mitch’s big body back against Kai, who staggered and fell hard against the wall, dragging Mitch with him and effectively squashing Kai against the drywall and releasing his choke hold.
Lani stepped toward Mitch, waving the bat. “Leave my brother alone!”
Rand threw himself between Lani and Mitch just as Mitch reversed, grabbed Kai by the throat, and started hauling him down the hall toward the balcony doors.
“Kai!” Rand ran a couple of steps until Mitch’s right hand, the one not attempting to break Kai’s neck, reached in his pocket and pulled out a knife—small, but more than big enough to cut a jugular. Shit! Rand stopped and held up his hands. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Lani screamed, “Kai!” Then a shriek made Rand turn to see Aliki staring, eyes huge and mouth open, at his brother being hauled onto the balcony.
Rand yelled, “Lani, take care of Aliki.” Step by step, he stalked Mitch. The guy about dragged Kai, who shuffled and staggered, trying to take some of the weight off his throat. Jesus, it must hurt like hell. “Mitch, this is dumb. There’s no place for you to go out there. Just let Kai go, and you can walk down the stairs and leave.”
“I’m not leaving without my daughter.”
“You’ve got to know that can’t happen. You’d be arrested for kidnapping.”
“They’d have to catch me first.”
From behind Rand, Lani hissed, “You just want her so you can beat her up some more.”
What the hell? Rand looked back. Lani’s eyes narrowed, and her hands still clutched the baseball bat. She stood only about two paces behind him.
Rand glanced at Mitch, who stared at Lani like she was a viper from hell. “Get that bitch away from me.”
In one move Rand grabbed the baseball bat from Lani’s hands, dropped to the floor of the balcony, and swept Mitch’s knees, slamming into him with powerful force.
“Ow! Goddammit!” He yelled and dropped like a penitent in prayer, releasing Kai, who staggered back, back, and in horrible slow motion, disappeared over the edge of the balcony.
“Kai. No! No!” Rand leaped forward, slammed the bat into Mitch’s head until he crumbled like an old sock, threw the bat to the ground, and raced to the edge of the balcony, an image of Kai’s battered body flashing in his head. Trembling, he stared down—into Kai’s upturned face. He clung by one hand to a flag holder about half a story below. “Shit.”
Kai swung an arm up and tried to grab the holder with his other hand, but it was too small. He attempted to put one hand over the other, but it slid.
Lani arrived beside him. “Help him. Please.”
Rand nodded as his head swam and his body turned ice cold. “Go tell Mrs. O. to call the cops.”
“She already did.”
“Okay.” He ran to the other side of the big deck, where some wrought iron chairs stood around a large iron table. “Help me.” He started struggling to pull the table to the edge of the deck. “Hold on, Kai.” He spun around. Mrs. Orwell and Genevieve ran onto the deck and helped push. “Rope. Get me rope.”
Genevieve ran away, and Rand crawled onto the table and stared down.
Kai stared up and shook his head slightly.
“Kai, don’t let go, okay. I’ll be there in a second.” Oh crap. Can I do this?
“Hurry.”
Oh Jesus. Nothing can happen to Kai. Nothing.
Genevieve ran to him with the yellow plastic cord used to tie things down to car tops. A siren sounded, but too far away. Rand wrapped the cord around his waist and fastened it to the base of the table. “Everyone sit on here.”
The kids and Genevieve piled on. Even Mrs. Orwell managed to get a hip on the edge.
Now if I don’t fuck it up.
He slid over the balcony rail on his hips and reached as far as his long
arms would go. Not far enough. Kai couldn’t budge or flail. He had to make his one grab for Rand count or—dead.
Rand slid a little farther, just to the tipping point of balance. The feeling washed over him, the voice in his ears. You didn’t think I wanted to fuck you, did you, fag? I wouldn’t touch a slimy thing like you. You’re only good for one thing. Die. Die, asshole, die. The big kitchen knife prodded at his back, and the loose dirt and rocks of the cliff crumbled beneath his feet. Everything in him withered. The boy he thought he loved. The boy he thought loved him. Dying sounded easy.
He shook his head. No, asshole. Kai isn’t worthless. He needs to live. With one big shove, he slid forward and surrendered his weight to the rope.
It’s not the dying. It’s the falling.
Fuck the falling. Kai lives.
The sound of the table scraping against the concrete balcony floor prickled through every nerve. What happens when we add Kai’s weight to mine?
“Rand. Can’t hold. Sorry. So sorry.”
Kai’s eyes closed.
“Fuck that.” With a heave, Rand grabbed Kai’s hand from the flag holder, threw his other hand down, and grabbed his wrist. The shriek of the table and the screams of the children echoed through the neighborhood. Rand inched forward farther and farther, his guts dropping faster than his body, holding Kai but unable to stop the forward momentum.
“Got you!”
Strong hands gripped Rand’s legs—at least four hands—and inch by inch he began to move back.
The voice from above said, “Keep holding. We’re setting up a net down below.”
Rand pried his eyes from Kai’s face and looked out to the street, where two fire engines and a police cruiser parked. The grip on his legs strengthened, and he tightened his hands on Kai. He gasped, “I’ve got you and they’ve got me.”
Kai looked strained, but he showed some teeth. Man, Rand understood strain. His arms burned like someone had lit them on fire, his legs could be ripping apart at the sockets, and his brain was fried. Just don’t think. Hold on.
Below on the ground, a bunch of guys stretched a big net beneath Kai. Rand pointed with his chin. “There’s a net. Even if you fall, you’ll be okay.”
Kai blinked.
Rand’s legs stretched, and he slid up another inch. A voice yelled, “Let him go. They’ll catch him.”
Rand stared at Kai. Shit, no. “No way. He could get hurt. Pull us up.”
Somebody grumbled something, but the pressure on his legs increased. Damn, the family jewels might not make it out of this alive. Sliding over them on the porch rail hurt like hell. Still, it brought his legs close to the deck. He tried to haul Kai higher, but the screaming pain in his shoulder wouldn’t let him move his arm. Just hold on.
At one time, one perfect moment, his feet hit the deck, two bodies reached around him and grabbed Kai’s arm from him, and blood rushed back into Rand’s extremities. Holy shit. He dropped to the floor, trying like hell not to scream. He rubbed his arms as Kai appeared over the edge of the deck rail.
Rand stared. His heart pounded against his chest, hot liquid squeezed from the edges of his eyes, and swallowing—forget it. He stumbled to his feet. Kai almost died. Because of me. Because I put him in danger. He could be gone. I might have lost—
He stumbled forward toward Kai, who stood like a drowned dog, wrapped in a blanket from the paramedics. He looked up as Rand reached for him. For an instant his eyes widened, but—All I care about is making sure he’s okay.
Rand slammed Kai against his chest and wrapped his arms tight. “I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
“It’s okay, cowboy. I’m okay. You saved my life.”
“Oh God, I thought—I don’t know what I would have done—” The sight of Kai hanging above the ground seared Rand’s brain. His stomach heaved. He pushed back, slapped a hand over his mouth, and ran to the potted plant on the corner of the deck. Bye-bye cookies.
Mrs. Orwell’s warm hand rubbing his back managed to sink through his fear-shocked brain. “There, there, cutie. I know how scary it is to almost lose someone you love. But you did an amazing job. You fought through your fear like a hero. Bravo, Rand.”
He stood, gasping, and she passed him some tissues to wipe his mouth. She smiled up at him. “On top of that, they’re carting Mitchell off to the pokie, so he won’t be threatening the people I love anymore. Thank you, dear. You and Kai and those amazing children risked so much—more, I know, than you ever intended. More than we ever imagined we’d be asking you to do. We’re forever in your debt.” She wrapped him in a hug. He hugged back, but it was like his nervous system moved into slo-mo. He couldn’t catch up.
A blond female paramedic came up beside him. “We should look you over before we go. You got a lot of stress on your shoulders and joints. Let me check you out.”
He nodded and sat in the chair she pointed to. She opened his shirt and checked abrasions from the concrete wall and felt around his shoulder sockets. He looked over at Kai, who was being similarly treated. He was frowning, those straight black brows pulled tight over his eyes. Rand’s sick stomach heaved a little, but he swallowed and breathed. What had Mrs. Orwell said? Almost losing someone—fuck! Forget it. He looked up at the paramedic and said softly, “The young girls may be having some stress reactions. The man threatened his daughter and the other girl, with the black hair, defended her.” God, that fierce face, waving the bat like an avenging angel.
She nodded. “Thanks.” She stepped back and raised her voice. “You’ll be sore as hell, but otherwise, you should be fine.”
The paramedic checking over Kai nodded. “Same with this one. Get lots of sleep and stay away from sharp drops. I think you’ll be okay.”
The female paramedic looked at Rand. “Seriously, if you start feeling light-headed or your shoulders really hurt, get a doc to check you out.”
He shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I go home in a few days. Maybe I’ll have a doctor look at me then.” Yeah, right.
“Home?”
“California.”
“Damn. Here I thought the cowboy quotient on Maui had gone up.”
“Only for the holidays.” He tried to smile. Man, if he had a bucket of water, he’d dunk his head and try to think straight. Inside his brain felt like mush. Confusing mush. Being called a hero when he felt like a fuck-up-faggot kind of mush.
As she walked away, he stood, regretted it, and sat back hard on the unforgiving deck chair. Lani hurried over and knelt in front of him. “You okay, Uncle Rand?”
Uncle Rand. That finally pierced the fog in his mind, and he smiled for real. “I’m fine. Just got up too fast.” He reached out and smoothed her inky hair. “How about you, darlin’?”
“I’m okay.”
“Pretty scary, huh?”
“Yes. Katie was terrified. I guess the last time she saw her dad, he hit her.” Her frown clouded her pretty face.
“He met his match this time, didn’t he?”
Her eyes deepened, then a little dimple appeared in her cheek. “Yes.”
“Did someone hit you, Lani?”
The crease between her eyebrows popped in again. “Tried to.”
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“Who stopped him?”
“Kai.”
He rested a hand on the side of her neck.
She sighed, long and low. “He was only fourteen. He grabbed his baseball bat and swung it at my father until he ran.”
“Fourteen? But weren’t you just a baby? Like, two or three?”
“No. More like six. I remember it really well.”
“Huh.” He glanced toward Kai, then back to Lani. “So is that where you got the idea to use the baseball bat?”
“Yep.” This time she did grin.
“Guts run in the family.”
“We never saw my dad again. Later, my mom heard he died.” She stared into space like death was just regular for a twelve-year-old, then she looked at him. “Didn’t you
say you don’t like heights?”
He put a hand on his stomach. “Don’t remind me.” That was only half a joke.
Mrs. Orwell called, “Why don’t we all go inside? I think the police need to ask us some questions, and lemonade is in order.”
He glanced over at Kai, who stared back with a deadpan face.
Chapter Fifteen
Three glasses of lemonade later, Aliki was crashed on the couch with his head in Kai’s lap, and Lani’s eyes were drooping. Rand looked at his watch, then at the Hawaiian detective sitting opposite him. “Are we about done? The kids are very tired, and we have a long drive.”
The guy glanced at his totally clichéd notebook. “Yes, we have most of what we need. Will you be returning to California soon, Mr. McIntyre?”
“I plan to go right after New Year’s.”
A little “oh” came from across the room, and he looked up. Lani smiled at him sadly.
The detective closed the notebook. “I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a call before you go, just in case we have any last-minute questions.” He handed Rand a card. “Oh, one more thing. I understand you met Mrs. Orwell on the plane coming here.”
“Yes.”
“And you met Mr. Kealoha and the children this past week?”
Rand nodded. “I gave the kids riding lessons.”
“Risking your life is a bit above and beyond for such new acquaintances, isn’t it?” He laughed, but the question had a bite.
Rand controlled his frown and forced his eyes away from Kai. “Mrs. Orwell needed help. We happened to be nearby. No one expected that there was any real danger.”
Kai stood abruptly. “I’m putting the kids in the car.”
Rand fished his keys from his pocket and threw them to Kai, who caught them one-handed. Aliki dragged himself off the couch and, with prodding from Kai, hauled heavy feet to the door and out. Lani glanced back at him with worried eyes. Mrs. O. hurried over to them and gave them hugs. She looked into Lani’s big eyes. “You’re amazingly brave. I’m so proud of you.” She handed her a slip of paper. “If you ever need anything, please call me or Genevieve. Both numbers are here.”