Fierce Justice

by Piper J. Drake

  Chapter Fifteen

  Arin stood tall, holding her head high enough to feel her neck lengthen and keeping her shoulder blades lightly squeezed to pull her shoulders back. She kept her rib cage lifted and her abdominals tight. Childhood memories of years and years of ballet, jazz, lyrical, and even hip-hop dance training ran through her mind. There’d been precious hours studying Thai traditional dance with her mother, too. Posture was an amazing thing. It could help her be ready to move quickly and fluidly as she needed, project confidence, give an impression of grace, or recover from a blunder, leaving any witness wondering if she’d tripped up at all.

  Posture was second nature to her after fifteen years of dance. She barely thought about it in basic or combat training. Over the years, she’d kept up her stretch and barre exercises because they helped her stay fit and also brought her calm. She’d practice the few Thai dances her mother’d taught her when she thought of home. She’d never had to consciously make these corrections before entering mission-related situations. This was different. This was social and maybe it was just in her head, but she felt as if all these people would be judging her. But she’d promised Mali she’d come to this event full of academics, and she was going to make good on that promise.

  Today, as Jason offered her a hand out of the car her sister had sent to pick them up, she ran through the mental checklist to be sure every aspect of her posture was appropriate to the situation. She wasn’t wearing armor, no protective gear of any kind, only a simple swing dress in deep, sapphire blue sateen. The skirt was hemmed a touch shorter than the classic pinup look, swirling just below her knees. She loved the dress because it was wash and wear, for the most part, though it took a bit of steam or an iron when she traveled with it. It didn’t require foundational garments, which was another bonus in the Hawaiian humidity and heat. The bold color let her get away with very little jewelry or none at all. Here, at this brunch, looking at the guests milling around the reception area outside the restaurant, projecting confidence was the best protection she had.

  Well, King was on her left and Jason stood at her right. They were handy, too. Especially Jason, because he’d taken the time to clean up and she kept getting distracted by the temptation to nuzzle his cleanly shaven jaw. The earthy spice she’d come to associate with him was brightened by fresh herbal notes today and she could quickly become addicted to his complex scent. He was saving her from her own overthinking.

  “You’re stunning,” Jason murmured and offered his arm.

  Startled, she slipped her hand in the crook of his elbow. She’d had men offer her courtesies in the past, but most of them did it to put on a show. Jason made her feel as if he was doing it specifically to support her. It was nice. “These functions put me on edge.”

  “Same.” He’d dressed nicely in slacks and a button-up dress shirt. For a daytime event, he was already looking formal. Most of the men in attendance were wearing crisply ironed Hawaiian shirts over khaki shorts.

  He was still standing in place, though, and abruptly, Arin realized he was waiting for her to take the lead. She stepped forward and he moved with her, the perfect escort.

  “Smells good.” He leaned toward her, easily keeping their conversation between them while still giving a casually relaxed image. They were just two guests, heading into a thing. No big deal.

  She was glad to have his company, even if he had inserted himself into her sister’s invitation. Otherwise, Arin would have been tense and standoffish. She’d probably have ended up lurking around the edges of the gathering, herding sheep without meaning to. King would’ve taken his cues from her and walked around stiff legged, maybe even with his ruff on end. Instead, they were entering at an easy pace and she could think about eating, even. Food was good. She could always talk about food. “The restaurant here is famous for their prime rib. If they have kālua pig roast, definitely try some of that, too. It’s worth elbowing people in line to go for the good main dishes.”

  “Noted.” His voice was rich with amusement. “You can face down multiple gunmen, head into a potentially dangerous situation, even hold steady in the presence of an IED without breaking a sweat, but a crowd full of academic types has you stressed out.”

  “I had mission objectives in those other circumstances.” She kept her voice low but she didn’t blunt the edge on her words. He was teasing her but she was too edgy to take it with good humor. “Here, I’m just trying to be ‘not intimidating,’ however the hell I’m supposed to manage that.”

  “Not possible.” He shook his head. “And with due respect to your sister, you shouldn’t have to. There’s people in this room who will be intimidated to find out you exist. Don’t bother with any of their issues. Even if you tried, you couldn’t stuff everything you are far enough out of sight to ease their insecurities. Trust me. If you want, we can go for scandalous instead, and they’ll forget to be intimidated. I can think of a lot of naughty things I’d like to do to you in that dress.”

  She came to a halt in the middle of the room, startled. People were turning and looking at them. Conversation directly surrounding them had hushed to curious murmurs. Normally, it would have made her uncomfortable, but she was hung up on what Jason might do if she told him to go for scandalous. The temptation was almost irresistible.

  “Don’t look at anyone in particular unless they ask for your attention,” Jason advised quietly. “If you look directly at them, they’ll look away, and you’ll look at them more and that’s when they freak out. Let them get used to you surreptitiously. Besides, they’re mostly staring at King.”

  Jason was probably right. King was a big dog and an excellent example of Eastern German lines. His back didn’t slope dramatically down to low hips the way some GSDs did, and he wasn’t built like a black bear the way other mainland breeders might breed their dogs. The black and tan coloring was iconic in its own way, but it was actually rarer to find in GSD puppies. King was classic and striking with the added interest of the vest identifying him as search and rescue. He was also a dog entering a venue where pets weren’t normally allowed.

  “It’s too hot out to leave him in any car.” She had no doubt King would maintain obedience and stay wherever she left him, but part of the trust between him and her was that she’d also look out for his best interest.

  “I wouldn’t suggest it.” Jason slipped his arm from under her hand and snagged two glasses of sparkling wine from a passing attendant. He offered one to her. “We’re not on duty.”

  No, they weren’t. It was also easier to mingle with a drink or plate of food in hand. She’d gone unconventional and clipped her end of King’s leash to the back of the belt matching her dress. If King had to bolt somewhere, her belt would never hold, but he was so good on leash it wasn’t likely to be a problem. For now, she could keep some of his leash loosely looped over her left hand but she could drop it and he’d still stay with her. “I’m surprised there aren’t mimosas somewhere.”

  Jason looked at her with interest. “You like them? I could keep an eye out for you.”

  “I like Bellinis better.” She took a sip. It wasn’t bad for a sparkling wine served at a larger gathering. “I prefer fresh peaches and simple syrup over canned. Mimosas are nice, too, but I like them with a touch of Grand Marnier to seal them and a lot of these venues just do the orange juice and bubbly.”

  “Good to know.” Jason grinned.

  “Why?” She glared up at him, suspicious. This time it wasn’t a serious kind of suspicion, more like he was up to mischief and she had no idea when this was going to come back to tease her later.

  Before she could press him to answer, her sister popped out of the crowd and approached. “You’re here.”

  Arin lightly embraced her sister. “As promised.”

  Mali beamed at her. Dressed in a flowing wrap dress with a delicate floral pattern, she was a refreshing sight. Arin smiled back, glad to be the reason her sister was smiling. Raul came out of the crowd balancing two small plates in one
hand and shook hands with Jason. Taz, his leash clipped to the back of Raul’s belt in a method similar to Arin’s, traded sniffs and tail wags with King. Arin was glad Raul had kept Taz with him, too.

  Raul lifted the plates and wafted them under Arin’s nose. “We’ve been quality-checking the buffet.”

  “Need help?” Jason asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Let’s all go.” Arin didn’t want to risk Raul and Jason wandering off. Mali had responsibilities here and even if she meant to stay, there was a high chance someone would pull her away for some other conversation. Arin had no issues standing alone, but she was more likely to intimidate someone if she did. It was better to use the men as buffers. Besides, they were headed toward the food.

  Jason was bemused by Arin’s nervousness. He was betting she could navigate the same kind of event without a hint of stress if she’d been on a mission with a target, either to extract information or perform some other action. It was because this was for her sister and Arin actually cared about the impression she was making on her sister’s behalf.

  Mali had rescued her plate from Raul and refilled it at the buffet as Arin acquired her own plate of savories. The two of them were a powerful pair and the servers behind the carving stations and other buffet areas were left with stunned grins on their faces as the ladies plundered the offerings on the tables.

  Jason couldn’t help it. He nudged Raul and jerked his head toward their respective ladies, currently chatting in front of and with the man carving kālua pig. He was piling more and more succulent pork on their plates to keep them talking to him. “They don’t even know, do they?”

  Raul knew exactly what Jason was referring to. “Arin can do it on purpose when she’s got to, but she doesn’t realize she does it unintentionally, too. Mali generally doesn’t realize it at all.”

  “The cuteness is strong with those two.” Jason didn’t think it was wise to call Mali sexy. Besides, her attractiveness really did edge more toward an inherent sweetness. Arin was sexy, for damned sure, but she was also cute and didn’t even know it. When the sisters were together, more of the cute side came out. It was like catnip to him and he kept fighting the desire to coax Arin into some secluded corner.

  The ladies in question rejoined them and they all stepped over to a high-top table to set down their drinks and plates and eat standing. Arin wordlessly slipped a plate in front of him. She’d gathered a selection of the prime rib and kālua pig for him, as well as what looked like barbecued chicken and some spicy edamame. There were also scoops of poke and a handful of fresh vegetable slices.

  “This looks great. Thanks.” Jason was surprised, actually. He easily could have headed over to the buffet himself, but it wasn’t likely Raul would go with him. Arin’s gesture allowed him to stay a part of the group and he appreciated it.

  “So would you call this a success?” Arin asked Mali.

  Mali nodded, chewing and swallowing before adding, “Definitely. There’s been good networking and information sharing going on. There’s some interesting discussions and I’m seeing good mixing of our colleagues from the mainland with our local scientists and subject matter experts.”

  “Why did you pick this place? It’s kind of out of the way.” They’d had to drive through what looked like a residential area before turning onto the winding road. Jason had almost thought they were lost until they’d arrived at this location, tucked away in the tropical vegetation.

  “It’s mostly a wedding venue.” Mali shrugged. “I liked it because we could accommodate all of the guests in this reception area with the balcony overlooking the gardens and pond. The view of the mountains is gorgeous, but if it rained, we’d still be fine in here.”

  “Good call.” Arin nibbled on a piece of fruit. “It’s also secluded. Not too many ways to get at you in this kind of area. I’m not sure how I feel about you exposed on the balcony though.”

  Mali sighed. “Raul already let me know how close to the windows and balcony I can go. He also took precautions as we were arriving. I’ve got a route I’m supposed to leave by if anything unexpected happens here and there’s a police car in the parking lot.”

  Jason raised an eyebrow and glanced at Raul, who shrugged. “They’re mostly there to be visible.”

  Ah. Raul wouldn’t talk about it where anyone could overhear, but Jason would guess they were leaving through the service entrance in a different car with an undercover police team as escort. Security was their shared profession, after all. A venue like this only had so many options. Keeping Mali safe would be more about fast reactions and back-up plans than secret escape routes. Anyone watching Arin would’ve seen her shacking up with him and going out doing tourist stuff like snorkeling. Hopefully, his former team wasn’t aware of the fact that he and Arin had specifically been the ones to find the woman’s body at Hanauma Bay. Other than that, they hadn’t given his former team any reason to take a shot at Mali.

  “Someone’s here to see you.” Mali put down her fork and snagged Arin’s hand.

  Arin allowed her sister to tug her around and a few steps away. They were still close enough for Jason to overhear. Standing to one side was Kim and her younger brother, looking much better for having safety, means to get clean, and a few solid meals. There were still hollows under the boy’s eyes, but those had no cure but time.

  “Thank you,” Kim said quietly, clutching her brother’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “I’m glad you’re back together.”

  Seeing Arin standing next to her little sister, talking to another pair of siblings, filled Jason with a surprising buoyancy that left him unbalanced. He hoped Arin was finding some peace by having fulfilled a few of the promises she’d made. She might be trying to make her sister happy, but he intended to focus on making her happy, for as long as he could.

  “Kim is providing us with testimony on how she and her brother ended up here,” Mali said, still holding Arin’s hand. “She’s contributing to our research while she continues to work as a massage therapist. The more factual accounts we have, the more we can learn from them and put preventative measures in place.”

  “Good.” Arin’s smile was a little wider than normal and her tone was pitched a little higher. She seemed like she was trying to sound positive.

  Jason saw a matching effort from Kim. They’d left their home for a reason and there’d been at least some level of urgency, if not desperation, involved. Even if Kim had been tricked into thinking there would be a salaried position waiting for her on the basis of her education, there were others who simply pulled together their life savings and any funding they could scrape together just for the chance to get to the United States. There were still others who were kidnapped, taken against their will. Preventative measures and education would help, but it wouldn’t erase the evil people did to each other. Jason was realistic that way. Human nature was the reason why he would always have new opportunities for his kind of work.

  Kim and her brother excused themselves after another minute and Mali stopped to chat with a fellow researcher. Arin returned to Jason and Raul.

  “Kid looks better,” Jason observed.

  Arin nodded.

  Raul knocked back the last gulp of his sparkling wine. “Even if we shut down this latest group, there’s more popping up. It’s going to be an ongoing thing, working to help people like Huy and his sister.”

  It was like a game of whack-a-mole. Smash one group and another popped out of a hole someplace else. The islands were a gateway to the mainland for many trafficking organizations. Theirs was a long war. Raul seemed to be settling in for the duration and Jason wondered if this was what Arin might dedicate herself to as well, especially considering her sister’s involvement.

  Before, he’d only ever considered his own career path. Now, he had a vested interest in where Arin’s career choices would take her. He wasn’t sure how long they’d be spending time together on the island, but he definitely wanted to be able to find her a
gain wherever they went.

  “The research Mali is doing will help expand current programs,” Arin said with a conviction Jason admired, maybe wished he felt.

  Raul and Jason both nodded in response.

  “Your Search and Protect organization has to stay in the black, though. You can’t do all this work pro bono.” Jason pushed his emptied plate toward one side of the table. “I got the impression your main contracts are for location and extraction of high-value targets, kidnap victims worth more ransom than most of these governments have in funding in a year.”

  Arin nodded. “We have standing contracts with the US government and take on more as the right ones present themselves. If a situation comes up, we’re called in. We’re not looking to get rich. Zu manages us so we can work with local law enforcement for a reasonable fee.”

  Jason raised his eyebrows. “You give the government a discount.”

  “Doesn’t everyone in our line of work? It’s all in the negotiation of the contract.” Arin sounded innocent about it but their commander, Zu, was managing some shrewd diplomacy in what she’d described. Jason wondered if she had more involvement in the contract negotiation than she let on.

  Raul cleared his throat. “With me on the task force, I get insight into the actions taken from a law enforcement perspective.”

  “And I supplement local law enforcement when I’m not assigned on the mainland or overseas on contract.” Arin sipped at her sparkling wine and looked up at him through her long eyelashes. She was elegant and confident, exuding a spicy touch of danger. “Once we find and take out this new boss, I don’t know if you’ll be staying around or if I’ll end up facing off with you in the middle of a mission again someday. But I, at least, will continue to find the lost people normal methods can’t save.”

  God, she was beautiful.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jason figured it was a good thing Arin hadn’t planned to drive back to her place. By the time they got there, the drinks she’d consumed had worked through her system enough to open a floodgate of internal thoughts he might never have gotten to hear otherwise.