It’s Hotter in Hawaii

by HelenKay Dimon

  Cassie’s lungs deflated as all air rushed out of her body. She thought she heard Cal yell her name. Noises became muffled, almost indistinguishable as a burning tore through her shoulder. Whatever held her up gave way. The sky swirled as her knees collapsed underneath her and her bones turned to jelly, sending her dropping to the ground. She hit the dirt, then rolled into a ball.

  Voices ricocheted in her mind. Ted’s face swam in front of her. Josh touched her arm, muttering nonsense words of apology before he jumped over her numb body and reached for Cal.

  Then Cal was there. With her.

  “Jesus, Cassie. Honey, talk to me.” Cal’s pale face bounced in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut to make the moving stop.

  “She’s okay, Cal.” Ted’s firm voice pulled her attention away from Cal’s frightened gaze.

  “There was a shot.” She spit the words out, using her last burst of energy to lift her fingers and trace the flat line of Cal’s lips.

  She loved him so much. And he was safe. The knowledge filled her chilled body with warmth.

  “You’re going to be fine.” Comfort words spilled out of him as he cradled her in his strong arms and whispered to her in a deep, trembling voice.

  Soft butterfly kisses soothed her forehead. Familiar hands caressed her face. She was too dizzy to concentrate as the corners of her vision darkened. She had to tell him something. To let him know before it was too late. But the blackness eclipsed her vision first.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Cal’s heart ripped in two, leaving his insides shredded and empty. He ran in before Ted was out of the car or had the plan in place. It was a risk, but hearing Louisa’s voice and seeing her lift that gun got Cal moving. No time to wait for everyone to take positions. He had to go fast or risk losing Cassie forever.

  Then time raced forward only to stop at the point where a bloodstain spread on Cassie’s shoulder. Seeing her body slip soundlessly to the ground pounded him into nothing.

  Even hours later, the horrifying vision played over in his mind. Each time, a bleak despair ate at his gut. Now he sat in the chair at Cassie’s side with elbows balanced on his knees and head bowed.

  The hospital buzzed with activity. All around him people rushed in and out. The speaker squawked, calling for emergency personnel. Electronic equipment hummed and footsteps thundered down the linoleum hallways.

  Hearing Cassie declare her love for him at the same moment her body slipped into a deep sleep had crushed him. Without Ted there to help, Cal doubted he would have had the strength to release her body to the ambulance crew.

  The hours whirled by in a haze. Louisa was in protective custody. Rescue crews were fishing Bobby’s body out of the canyon even though it was far too late to save him.

  Ted talked about hunting down Louisa’s father. Josh wanted to round up the kids selling Bobby’s drugs.

  Josh. Cal had almost killed him. The bastard shot Cassie. He was the reason for the bloodstain. The bullet through Cassie’s arm was shot in an effort to take down Louisa. Josh stood at the crash site and insisted it was the only way to rescue her.

  Cal knocked him out with one punch to the jaw. He would have done more damage, but Ted pulled him off.

  Ted slipped into the room now. “She doing okay?”

  Cal nodded. “The painkillers knocked her out.”

  “That’s probably a good thing.”

  “You don’t have Josh with you, do you?”

  Ted walked to the end of Cassie’s bed. “No, he’s being questioned.”

  “You’re going to arrest him?” The idea appealed to Cal on some level.

  “No.” Ted paged through Cassie’s chart. “He was in an officer-involved shooting. It’s standard procedure.”

  “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

  “What happens when he turns in his boss is a different story.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Josh is convinced he’s going to be the scapegoat for the DEA’s mess.”

  Okay, right now Cal hated the guy. Still, he tried to do the right thing when the DEA failed. Cal appreciated that sort of dedication and integrity.

  “Sleeping beauty awakes,” Ted whispered with a smile.

  “Cal?” Cassie’s groggy voice was the most melodious sound he had ever heard.

  He slipped to the front of his chair and leaned against the bed mattress to be closer to her. “God, baby, how are you feeling?”

  Her eyes fluttered open. “Confused.”

  Desperation gave way to need. He swallowed whatever words she planned to say with a gentle kiss.

  The door eased shut as Ted slipped from the room. They were alone and suddenly, Cal had no idea what to say.

  Her eyes grew wide with concern. “Were you hurt?”

  Tenderness welled inside of him for this stunning woman who loved him. “You were the one who went down. Seeing that…”

  His words choked off. He dropped his forehead against hers. He wanted to drink in her scent so he would never forget it.

  “Louisa?”

  “In custody.” He kissed her eyelids, anything to stay connected to Cassie.

  “Who shot me?”

  The deep-seated anger boiled up again. “Josh.”

  “Why?”

  “Let’s just say he’s lucky to be alive.”

  After a beat of silence, a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Dan was involved in all of this.”

  “No, baby.” He kissed her again just to stop the tears. “Not like you think. He was duped and when he figured it out, he went to the DEA. He was working to bring Polk down.”

  Color rushed back into her cheeks. “Bobby said the crash was an accident.”

  “Ted thinks that’s true, but he’s going back over everything with the NTSB guys in case Bobby was lying to beat a potential murder rap.”

  She smiled. A breathtaking joy pulsed around her. “We should do that with the Air Force, too. You know, get them to reassess and maybe clear his name.”

  The happiness building inside of Cal shattered. “Cassie.”

  “No, Cal, listen to me.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. “Dan didn’t do anything wrong. You can help me prove that.”

  Not now. Not when they were so close to putting all the awful events of the past few weeks behind them. “You need to concentrate on getting better first.”

  She tried to sit up, but he eased her back onto the pillows. “I need to clear his name. On everything. About everything.”

  There they were. The words guaranteed to damn him. “Let that go, Cassie.”

  She frowned. “What?”

  His hand slipped from hers. “Dan wasn’t part of a criminal ring. But he did deserve to be kicked out of the service.”

  “What are you saying?” Her harsh whisper bounced off the beige walls.

  Ending it quickly was the best. No more games. She deserved the truth. “He crashed a multimillion-dollar aircraft and nearly killed us. Dan being Dan, he almost got away with it. He could talk his way out of anything. Charm anyone about anything.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I couldn’t let him do that. To himself. He was spinning out of control. I was the one who made him deal with it. Me, his friend. I forced him to make a choice and leave the service. I was going to turn him in.”

  “You?”

  “I didn’t give him any choice, Cassie.”

  Despite all the cuts and bruises, the wounded devastation had not appeared in her eyes until he started talking. He had done exactly what he promised he wouldn’t—deliver the crushing blow before she even got out of the hospital.

  This was the end. It was time to leave. He couldn’t stand the idea of her kicking him out.

  “I took away the only job he ever cared about and left him with a life that led to his death.” Cal heard his voice falter. “I’m so sorry.”

  “How could you—”

  He cut her off, unable to listen to her disappointment. “I know. I have t
o live with it.”

  “Can you?”

  “I’ll leave.”

  “Cal—”

  “But know this, I never meant to hurt you. I would have done anything to prevent that.”

  Chapter Forty

  Cassie watched Cal’s retreating back as he left her room. Her mood flipped in a matter of seconds from being thrilled to being lost. Dan was not guilty of burglary or worse, but he wasn’t innocent, either.

  In the end he tried to do something good and noble. He wasn’t exactly the man she thought he was, but she had built him up, put him in a position no one could fulfill. Funny, charming, imperfect. Turned out Dan was all those things.

  In holding him up as a hero, she had made Dan less than real. She did him a disservice. She could see that now and view him with a realistic eye. He was a good and decent man, her brother. He mattered and tried to make a difference. That was enough.

  But with the realization about Dan came a very different understanding of her feelings for Cal. The depression seeping into her bones started when Cal walked out. He dropped his bombshell and split.

  Getting weepy was one option. She could mourn the loss of their relationship and chalk the end up to one of the hazards in getting involved with a flyboy. Or she could fight.

  She loved Cal. He was the best kind of man, not a particularly bright one at the moment, but in every other way perfect for her. Crying in a corner over Dan’s youthful mistakes would not change that fact. So, she went with fury instead.

  She lay strapped to a hospital bed, dealing with all of the horrible information that had been thrown at her over the past week, and he had left. He would be in his own hospital bed soon if he kept up this sort of stupidity. And she would be the one to put him there.

  She slid out of bed, feeling every muscle tweak and scream in protest. With her butt hanging out the back of the humiliating hospital gown, she set her sights on Ed’s room. Cal had better be in there or she would have to hit the streets in this ridiculous outfit.

  She stopped at the door to listen to the male voices inside right before bursting in. The one voice she needed to hear boomed through the room. Now she had to decide whether or not to let him live.

  “’Bout time you woke up,” Cal said to Ed.

  “Where’s Cassie darling?”

  “She’s fine.”

  She pushed open the door and limped inside. “No, she’s not.”

  Ted took one look at her and whistled. “Oh boy.”

  Cassie noticed Ted wasn’t so scared that he left the room. No, he settled back against the windowsill and waited. Well, if he wanted a show, he was going to get one.

  “You,” she said, pointing at Cal with one hand and holding her gown closed with the other, “are a moron.”

  “You tell him, Cassie.” Ed’s cheer temporarily distracted her.

  Seeing him sitting up and smiling threw her off balance. “How are you feeling?”

  “Getting better by the second.” The older man’s grin grew bigger, filling his entire face. “We’ll talk later. Go ahead. Give Cal hell.”

  “Why are you out of bed?” Cal’s fury was evident in his voice.

  Well, that made two of them.

  “To kick your ass.” She realized she could barely lift her foot, but she made her point. “That will have to wait until I can walk, but it’s coming as soon as I recuperate.”

  “Jesus, you’re stubborn.” Cal reached out and took her arm. “We should go back to your room.”

  She accepted having somewhere to lean. “The last time we tried to talk alone you walked out on me.”

  “He’s an idiot.”

  Cassie smiled at Ted in appreciation for his support.

  Forget the embarrassment and insecurities. There would never be a better time to corner Cal.

  “I told you I loved you. After I was shot. I said the words in my head, but they came out.” She was sure of that now.

  Cal’s eyes searched hers. “You remember?”

  “Do you think I say that sort of thing every freaking day?”

  “You were in pain.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Delirious.”

  “And now I’m furious, in case you’re wondering.”

  Cal’s cheeks were hollowed out from tension. “I’m not holding you to anything you said.”

  No man could tick her off faster than Cal. “Don’t treat me like a child.”

  His eyes grew soft, sad even. “Cassie, I told you the truth about Dan. About my role in his departure from the Air Force.”

  And that truth still hurt, but she understood why Cal did what he did. That he wouldn’t have done anything to intentionally harm Dan.

  “You have every right to hate me,” Cal said.

  “You’re an idiot.”

  A ruddy circle stained his cheeks. “I admit it’s my fault, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Not even close.”

  The look in Cal’s eyes grew more bleak. “Dan’s exit from the service, his choice to come here, ultimately his death. All me.”

  He was a sweet idiot, but still an idiot. “Did you crash Dan’s helicopter?”

  Cal was stunned enough to answer the rhetorical question. “No.”

  “For heaven’s sake, Dan was a big boy. He made his choices and some of them might not have been great. He tried to redeem himself in the end by helping the DEA. That’s who he was. That’s how I’ll remember him.”

  Cal held her stare. “He’s dead.”

  She stepped forward over the pain and touched a hand to his cheek. “I understand you’re scared.”

  “Uh-oh.” Ted stood up straight.

  “Now, Cassie darling. There’s no need to namecall. The boy is suffering.”

  “The one thing I’m not is scared.” Cal’s voice was deadly soft.

  “You grew up with a skewed view of family. You went on to live your life on the edge, thriving on the challenge and getting a high off the thrill.”

  Cal shrugged, but the tense lines around his mouth eased. “It’s who I am.”

  “I’m offering you something else.” She stepped right off the emotional cliff and into the abyss. In front of a witness and the police, she’d kill him if he didn’t join her.

  She slid her hand into his. “I’m offering you a job.”

  He frowned at her as if she’d lost her mind. “What?”

  “With me.”

  “But I can’t draw.”

  “You don’t need to.” Her other hand pressed against his flat stomach. “Come to Hawaii. Live with me. Run Dan’s business.”

  Her words finally sank in. She was offering him a life. A real one. One he craved but didn’t deserve or dare believe could be his.

  Cal brushed the back of his hand under her chin, careful not to hurt her when she’d suffered so much. “I let Dan down.”

  “You came to Hawaii when he called. Your debt is paid. It’s time to forgive yourself and move on.”

  “What is she talking about?” Ted whispered his question to Ed.

  She answered. “Cal has some misguided belief that he owes Dan something. I’m releasing him of that burden.”

  “Why?” Cal asked because he didn’t understand how she could forgive so easily. So completely.

  “No man is going to stay with me out of pity.”

  Lurking behind those sweet amber eyes, behind the odd mixture of vulnerability and determination, Cal thought he saw a flicker of something else. Something that looked suspiciously like hope.

  That’s all it took for reality to punch him in the gut. She wanted to build a life with him. Despite everything, she forgave him. Loved him.

  Instead of making him weak or uncomfortable, her love filled him with a power unlike any he’d ever known. He couldn’t let her go. No matter how selfish the emotion, he loved her and refused to lose her.

  Determined. Smart. Bossy and loyal. The perfect woman. His woman.

  He tried to hide his smile and stay serious, but it
pulled across his lips anyway. “Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  “I’m sure of you.” She slid her arms around his waist in a perfect fit and hugged him close. “Stay with me.”

  His world re-set. “I’m not an easy man.”

  “I don’t need easy.”

  He held her gown for her. Gave him an excuse to keep her nice and close. “Good thing.”

  “I just need someone to love me.”

  The unspoken question hung in the room. Her eyes narrowed, as if she were willing him to say the right words in response.

  But her fear wasn’t necessary. When the time came, he knew the answer. “Done.”

  A smile lit up her face, bringing a rush of charming color to her cheeks. But in true Cassie form, she was not cutting him any breaks. “Done?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said.”

  “Is that your idea of a romantic line?”

  “Man, Cal, even I could do better than that,” Ted said.

  “Then, try this.” Cradling her head in his hands, with his mouth hovering above hers, Cal gave her the same heartfelt pledge he had never given, or would give, another woman. “You are my life. When you say my debt to Dan is paid, you’re wrong. He brought me to you, the love of my life. I don’t know how a man repays that sort of gift.”

  Tears clouded her eyes. “Now that’s romantic.”

  “If you’ll have me, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve you.”

  “Just try sending me away.”

  Cal dropped a kiss on her mouth, this one deeper and filled with promise. When he finally lifted his head, her smile beamed.

  “That was nice,” she whispered against his lips.

  Cal let his heart and mind walk in step. For the first time, he believed that people who were committed could make it work. “Besides, someone has to stick around and teach you to drive.”

  Her laughter filled the small room. “Done.”

  Don’t miss IMMORTAL DANGER, the latest from Cynthia Eden, out this month from Brava….

  His back teeth clenched as he glanced around the room. Doors led off in every direction. He already knew where all those doors would take him. To hell.