It’s Hotter in Hawaii

by HelenKay Dimon

  Another situation where Dan stepped into the middle of a mess and couldn’t get out. Cal failed to rescue his friend not once, but twice. “You should have gotten him out. That was your job.”

  “Oh no. Don’t lay that on me.” Josh’s anger now matched Cal’s. “I tried to protect him, even warned him not to take the risk, but he wouldn’t listen. Seemed to me Dan missed the excitement of his old career and was looking for the rush in all the wrong places.”

  There it was. Cal felt the last of his defenses crash in around him. It all circled back to him. He took away Dan’s career. Dan found another one and it killed him. The line started with Cal’s choices.

  “Dan tried to gather intel and figure out where all of this originated because Polk doesn’t seem smart enough to put this type of scam together.”

  “Once Dan died, why not come forward? At least tell Cassie the truth?” Cal asked.

  Ted filled in that blank. “Because the operation is still running. Josh hasn’t figured out if Polk is in charge or what Louisa’s part is.”

  “And I needed evidence to tie Polk to Dan’s crash.”

  Ted nodded. “That much I knew.”

  “The part you didn’t know deals with Nohea. He’s covered Dan’s involvement in the Polk case. Rather than answer questions from the NTSB, he is pretending the crash is unrelated to Dan’s undercover work with the DEA. He’s buried the files and paperwork.”

  Cal thought he knew the answer but asked the question anyway. “Why the secrecy?”

  “Something about how using private citizens would result in Nohea’s termination and an investigation into the office.”

  All of this trouble just to cover someone’s ass. Hell, Cal wanted to turn this Nohea guy inside out. “Tough shit.”

  “I agree.” Josh took his pad out of his shirt pocket. “That’s why I’m nosing around. I need to turn in Nohea. I’d prefer to do that in a way where everything is resolved so Nohea can’t wiggle out of the charges.”

  “That’s why you kept showing up wherever we were.”

  Josh flipped through a few pages and read some notes. “And why I shot into Dan’s house to scare you out of it. Polk was on his way.”

  Cal spun around to face Ted. “Arrest him before I fucking kill him.”

  Ted exhaled. “Too much paperwork.”

  Cal edged closer, giving Josh no avenue to escape. “The other earlier shooting at Cassie?”

  “Not me.”

  Cal loomed over the other man now. If Josh tried to stand up or wheel the chair anywhere, Cal would stop him. “You forced us off the road, you bastard. I almost lost control of the car.”

  Josh started shaking his head in denial before Cal finished his accusation. “Wrong. That wasn’t me either. Not that and not Ed.”

  Ted shifted to stand next to Josh. “He’s not lying about those.”

  “If I wanted to kill either one of you, I would have done it.” Josh coughed. “I had a different job to do.”

  A red haze of madness clouded Cal’s vision again. “A job that included endangering Cassie’s life and costing Dan his.”

  Ted put a hand on Cal’s arm. “For what it’s worth, Josh is a good agent. He’s trying to cut his way through the corruption and incompetency. And he’s taken more drugs off the streets than I can tell you.”

  Josh stood up a little straighter. “You might not like my methods, but they work.”

  “Don’t talk,” Cal warned.

  “Do you have any idea what I could do to you for threatening a federal officer?”

  Ted glanced back at Ed then lowered his voice. “Interesting argument from the guy who’s broken every rule and regulation, including shooting into a residence and endangering civilians.”

  “You’re supposed to be on my side,” Josh said.

  Cal admired the guy even as he wanted to kill him. “I still want to kick your ass.”

  Josh smiled. “I get that a lot.”

  Cal wanted to hate Josh, but there was something about him. The fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants attitude reminded him of Dan. Cassie saw it, too, had even commented on it.

  Her face moved back into Cal’s mind. And her ten minutes were up. “We need to find Cassie and explain this to her.”

  “Right.” Ted whipped open the door and came face to face with a very nervous policeman. Sweat ran down the side of the guy’s face.

  Cal knew without a word that Cassie had slipped his grasp. “Where is she?”

  The officer shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Cassie dragged her weary body onto Dan’s front porch and unlocked the door. Tearing through the yellow police tape, she walked inside the small cottage. Light streamed through the windows, highlighting the broken and damaged furniture scattered around the room.

  Her gaze lingered on the photograph on the other side of the room, showing off Dan’s sweet smile on a warm holiday morning. Somehow it had survived the rampage of burglars and police. When she closed her eyes she could smell the spicy scent of Dan’s aftershave. Feel the loving squeeze of the bear hugs he liked to treat her to in greeting.

  But he wasn’t there. Never would be again.

  The oppressive silence crowded in on her. Whenever she had come to Dan’s house in the past, the residence had been brimming with people and pulsating with life. Dan loved his fun. Craved the feel of the open skies.

  He was not a criminal. Thinking about the possibility made the energy flow out of her body and puddle on the floor. The last few weeks had taken a toll. Falling for Mr. Wrong certainly had not helped matters.

  She had mourned Dan.

  Loving Cal was killing her.

  She walked to the small bedroom. This area had not been spared. The tangled bedspread was in a ball in the corner of the room. Lamps lay where they had crashed to the floor. Clothing spilled out of the closet.

  She sat on the floor and tried to block out Cal’s memory. The image of his face, so strong and handsome, kept filling her mind. Eyes open or closed, it did not matter. He had wormed his way into her heart and his presence was as natural to her as breathing.

  Her heart shredding, she turned her attention to the task at hand. Dan. She dragged the boxes out from the bottom of the closet and started rummaging through forgotten treasures. The job commanded all of her attention; then she heard the house creak.

  Her hands froze. She strained to listen, trying to pick up any sound of movement. Nothing.

  She swiveled around to face the bedroom entrance, rather than the back of the closet. Staring at the doorway, she looked for shadows. There was no evidence of life except for the sound of soft footsteps.

  The intruder could be Cal, but she doubted it. Despite his faults, and those were many, she could not imagine him scaring her for sport. And God knew subtlety was not his style. Knowing Cal, he would just storm in issuing orders.

  Bracing her back against the closet door, she glanced around the room, desperate to find anything that looked like a weapon. Her gaze landed on the broken lamp. The heavy base would give her a weapon of sorts.

  She visually checked the room one more time, then crawled over to the lamp. Just as her hand reached out to grab it, a shadow fell across her path.

  “Ms. Montgomery.”

  Her breathing skidded to a halt. “What are you doing here?”

  A man’s hiking shoe tramped down on the lamp. She was eye level with a kneecap covered in faded blue jeans. Before she could scream out for help, a hand clamped her arm and whisked her to her feet.

  “Remember me?”

  Bobby Polk. He stood there with a cold smile.

  She tried to buy time. “Of course. You were Dan’s partner.”

  “You’ve been messing around in things that don’t concern you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But she did. She absolutely did.

  Tears of pain rushed to her eyes when he squeezed her underarm in a vicelike grip. The tight hold stopped
blood flow.

  “Don’t play dumb, Ms. Montgomery. I’ve been following you. I know you’re not a stupid woman.”

  Her mind rebelled at the idea of him watching her for even ten seconds. “I don’t—”

  “Ever shut up? Yes, I know. I’ve heard you’ve caused quite a bit of trouble.”

  Fear rumbled in her chest. She was crazed with the need to break free. “What do you want from me?”

  “We’re going to have a little chat.”

  “Cal is here.”

  “No, sweetie, he’s not. You see, I followed you from the hospital. I know you’re all alone.”

  Cassie kicked out, aiming for any body part that would bring him down. Arms flailed and she lunged for the door. A firm arm snaked around her waist and drew her back.

  “Keep fighting. That will only make me enjoy this more.”

  She clawed at his forearms, dragging her nails across his skin. He pushed away from her then whacked her across the mouth so hard the room spun.

  She knew then that she was in trouble.

  That was her last thought when he hit her the second time and blissful darkness closed in around her.

  The young officer was all of twenty. His eyes were wide with fear. His terror-filled gaze centered first on Cal, then Ted, then skipped to his feet. “She’s gone.”

  Cal shoved Ted aside and loomed over the shaking officer. “Where the hell is she?”

  Ted stepped in. “Tell me what happened.”

  The guy’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. “I got her a coffee and she vanished. I checked everywhere.”

  “I made it clear she was not to be left alone for a second.”

  “But she—”

  “You’re not a damn waiter. You were to stick to her like glue.” Ted yelled his point.

  Cal’s rage turned to ice-cold fear. Cassie was out there, right in the path of potential killers. If they had murdered Dan to get him out of the way, they wouldn’t think twice of removing Cassie as well.

  “Where did she go?” Cal’s heart hammered in his chest.

  The young man shook his head with such vigor, his body moved to the side. “I don’t know.”

  Ted clubbed the other officer’s shoulder with his fist, shoving him back out of the hospital room. “Get out of my sight.”

  “Let’s think for a second,” Josh suggested with the only calm voice in the room.

  Cal struggled for control and lost. “What if someone took her?”

  The question ate at Cal, burning a hole through his stomach lining.

  “Dan’s office.” Josh’s two-word statement hung in the air. Ted and Cal looked at him.

  “She either went to Dan’s office or his house. She would try to find anything to refute the charges she thinks I made against him. The only other possibility is the hotel.”

  “How the hell would she get to any of those places?” Ted asked. “She’s on foot.”

  “Is she?” Josh hitched his chin toward Cal. “How did you get here?”

  “What?”

  “Where are your car keys?”

  Cal patted his pants. Nothing. A quick search of his memory gave him the answer. “She has them.”

  “Then she has transportation,” Josh said.

  Ted snapped out of his anger long enough to start issuing orders. “Right. We split up. Josh, you take the office. Cal and I will go to the house.”

  “What if she’s not at either one?” Cal lost a bit of his soul to even utter the words.

  “One step at a time.” Ted clapped a hand on Cal’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Cassie slowly regained consciousness. Just opening her eyes hurt. The bright light of the room seared through her, making her gasp.

  Bobby appeared in front of her. “Afternoon, sunshine.”

  She pulled back to put as much distance as possible between their faces. “What are you doing?”

  “Nice room.”

  Despite the pain behind her eyes, she lifted her head and glanced around. The hotel living room. The touch of luxury she had enjoyed for days now had a nightmarish quality. Papers, pillows, and clothes littered the floor. The place had been ransacked.

  She tried to sit up, but a spike of pain shot through her head. She lifted her hands and realized for the first time a braided rope banded her wrists together in front of her. All of the aches flared to life. Even her shoulder throbbed from where her weight rested against it on the couch.

  She tried to swipe her hair off her forehead. Something kept weighing her down, causing even her nerve endings on her scalp to ache.

  “Don’t like the hat?” Bobby knocked something off her head.

  A bloodied baseball cap rolled onto the floor in front of her. Dan’s Air Force cap. The low weight of cotton canvas should not have hurt, but the flood of relief was immediate once he removed it.

  “I had to use it to hide the injury. Someone would have noticed that in the lobby.”

  She inhaled, trying to clear her head. To wipe out the fog and figure out what to do next. “How did we get here?”

  “You tell the hotel staff your wife has had a bit too much celebrating and no one asks a question.” He clapped. “Imagine that.”

  The crack reverberated through her head. “Damn hotel.”

  “Remember to complain when you check out.”

  She knew Bobby did not plan for her to leave the room in anything other than a body bag. “I’ll get right on that.”

  She tried to remember the position of the phone in this room. Her mind would not focus long enough to catch the memory. Hell, even the bathroom had one. It was only logical there would be one in here.

  He smiled. “I really liked the part where I got to dig through your pockets to find the room key. Nice ass.”

  Bile rushed up the back of her throat at the thought of his touching her. She vowed that would be the only feel that guy got from her.

  “Figured out what’s happening yet?” Bobby asked, still crouching in front of her. His mouth lingered close enough for her to smell the peppermint on his breath.

  “No.”

  “See, we have a problem.”

  Yeah, him. “Just leave.”

  “I don’t think so. I have a business to run. You and your boyfriend have been interfering with that.”

  Cal. She fought to keep his face out of her brain. If she let his image in, she’d lose control.

  More than anything she wished she were back at the hospital fighting with him. She let her stubbornness and pain overcome her common sense, and now she was in this mess with this drug-dealing animal.

  “I thought you were in business with my brother.” It killed her to say that.

  “I was.”

  “He didn’t run drugs and stolen merchandise.”

  Bobby’s smug smile fell into a thin line. “You’ve been talking with someone.”

  “It’s a guess.”

  “I don’t think so.” He stood up, keeping close enough that his jeans clouded her vision. “Right now I have another problem.”

  “Like the fact the police are on to you?”

  “You have no idea what the police are doing. I read that interview you gave with the paper. How you called Ted Greene an imbecile. They want you gone as much as I do.”

  Had she really said that? If so, she was grateful for it. Whatever she said then had Bobby thinking he was safe now.

  He wagged a finger in front of her face. “You stole my property.”

  She shook her head and winced as a sheet of black blurred her vision. “I didn’t.”

  “The bag.”

  “What—”

  He grabbed her chin so hard she heard her teeth grind together. “Don’t.”

  When he let go, she sucked in a huge gulp of air. “That belongs to Dan.”

  Bobby pulled her to a seated position. She didn’t know if he was trying to be considerate or just positioning her better for whatever blow was to come. Ei
ther way, the move sent a wave of dizziness spilling through her.

  “You looked inside, didn’t you?”

  Bobby spit when he talked. She tried to move away from him, but he held her in place.

  “Answer me,” he said in a shout.

  “You could just leave the island.” She twisted her wrists, trying to ease her hands out of their binding.

  “You need to learn a lesson first.”

  She turned her head to the side and stared up at hate-filled eyes. “Are you’re going to graduate from burglary to murder?”

  “You think you’ll be the first person I ever killed?”

  The last shred of hope for getting out of this the easy way died. Bobby intended to take her out. In order to survive, she’d have to beat him.

  But if she was going to die, she wanted answers first. “You killed Dan.”

  “Mother Nature did that.”

  She refused to believe the semi-denial. Looking at Bobby, she saw pure evil. The kind of guy who used kids to sell drugs and killed innocent people who happened to be home when he came to rob them. The guy deserved whatever Josh had planned for him. Whatever Cal would do to him once he found what was left of her.

  “I don’t believe you,” she said.

  Bobby leaned down with his face just inches from hers. “I don’t give a rat’s ass.”

  She vowed to go out fighting. Bobby had inadvertently given her the weapon by not tying up her legs. Her head throbbed but her lower body worked just fine.

  Using all of her might, she kicked out and caught him in the stomach. His eyes widened right before he roared and fell backward with his arms folded over his middle.

  “Bitch!” The profanity wheezed out of him as he hit the floor.

  She didn’t stop there. She kicked out, knocking his head against the floor. Then she screamed. She pounded and yelled and did everything she could to draw attention to her room. She only hoped some tourist decided to stay in instead of spending the beautiful day outside.

  He started getting up. “Looks like I can’t be nice.”

  Run. She had to run. She threw her feet on the floor and tried to sit up. The room spun, knocking her back to the couch. She would not die here. No. She would see Cal again. She would testify against Bobby. She would walk out of that room alive. To do all that, she had to get her legs to move.