“Jesus, Hsu,” Freddie complained. “I don’t gotta watch this if I don’t get any.”
To be an ass, Theo pulled back with an audible sigh. He said, “All right. You’re next. But only if it’s okay with Koa.”
“It’s not.” Koa unzipped himself slowly so when his cock fell out, it dropped hot and hard, right onto Theo’s tongue. He all but groaned the words, “Not okay. This shit’s all mine.”
“Mm-hmm.” Theo decided to send Koa into the stratosphere quickly so they could get on to other things. He sucked and pumped relentlessly, juicy with spit, filthy with need and sounds that drowned out the ocean to his ears, and soon Woodie was lifting his hips, singing to the sky.
“Ahhh…. Jesus, Te—” When Koa burst, Theo drank him down, and even if this thing began as a pissing contest between him and Freddie—who by God would never get near Theo’s mouth, no matter what he’d said—he shivered with his own release, busting a nut like he was fifteen again. He drank his lover down and down and down. A horny kid rubbing off against Koa’s leg like on the edge of a mattress.
“Oh, thank whomever for my many blessings, amen.” He laid his cheek on Koa’s knee for exactly the length of time it took him to know better, and then he sat back to rearrange his clothes.
“You trying to make rent?” Freddie asked. “Unless you got a line, you could take your time when you blow a dude, you know.”
“Learned from your mom.” Theo had cleaned Koa up so carefully he had nothing to dribble, but he thumbed an imaginary drop of Koa’s surprisingly sweet cum off his face and smiled up at him. “Hey, candy man.”
Koa gave him a little push with his foot and he toppled over. Ow, bastard. “Hey, Te.”
“I’m gonna be sick.” Freddie mimed barfing.
“Don’t get cocky,” Koa said without heat.
“Yeah, I’ll shut up. Aren’t you two supposed to be the couple?” Theo asked slyly. “Maybe I should blow Ortiz, just to sell that.”
“I will turn you over my knee.” Koa slapped the knee in question.
“I’m not clear how that would deter me.”
“Are we done out here?” Freddie asked. Theo bet Freddie was. He really shouldn’t have pushed that hard, but Freddie was a bit of a prude, apparently, with a hair-trigger temper. Theo hoped he didn’t get some sexual harassment flag on his file for giving Koa a blow job—but he was very clear on why it had to be done.
Koa was his “why.” The root of his problem and its solution. Plus, he’d lifted Koa’s knife rig and wrapped it around his own slimmer ankle, without—he hoped—Albert being any wiser.
“Are we done?” Freddie asked sourly. No one in their right mind would attempt to answer without deconstructing the question.
Theo asked Koa, “Is there anything else you need right now, boo?”
“No, Te.” Koa glanced away with a sheepish laugh.
“I can’t believe you said I was a dumbass.”
“I never.” Koa’s jaw did that manly sort of clenching thing Theo found particularly endearing. He worked a stray piece of shirttail back into the waistband of Koa’s jeans for him, and then patted his knee.
“There.”
Koa’s expression was bemused. “Why’d you do that?”
“It was untucked.”
“No. Why did you do”—he glanced at his crotch—“that.”
“Oh. The blow job?” Theo wished he could answer the way he wanted—he’d been ready all his life—but now wasn’t really the time or place. He didn’t do it to maintain their cover, that was for sure. “It seemed like the right thing.”
Because I wanted it, and you let me, and I might never get the chance again.
Koa stared into his eyes for too long, saying nothing.
Albert opened the slider and called out, “Zhang has returned.”
“You’d think he’d buy a gong. I swear to God, everything’s gone downhill since Agatha Christie died. No one does these things with any class anymore.”
Koa opened his mouth to speak, but behind them, Freddie stood.
“Zhang’s back and Carlito’s come out of hiding. Come on. We’re up.”
Theo looked to Koa again, but he’d turned away to fall into step with Freddie. Theo walked inside behind them—shamelessly sporting jizz on the fabric of his pants.
Albert flushed bright red and told them to follow him upstairs. He seemed to float, he was so light on his feet. Koa and Freddie were displaying leather and attitude in that order. Theo followed, barefoot. He wondered what came next.
Koa appeared completely relaxed, which probably meant Theo should keep his eyes wide open. Freddie’s reckless swagger was harder to read. Three possibilities existed. One, he was as good an actor as Koa, or two, he had no clue they were in danger. A third was they weren’t in any danger at all and this was some kind of mindfuck BDSM bullshit, island-style. Like a frat club initiation.
Whatever was about to happen, he felt a lot better with Koa’s deadly little knife strapped to his ankle.
Chapter Sixteen
ALBERT LED them into a room Theo hadn’t seen before on the second floor. Was it a room? Or a museum? There was art, each piece lit dramatically against clean white walls. Sculptures sat on drum tables and lighted plinths.
A suite of dreamy white leather living room furniture faced the view. This was the last room on the end. It looked over nothingness into the sea—a rotunda—which explained the unusual spaceship shape of the building. A half circle of wide floor-to-ceiling windows framed a glowing moon. Walking toward them felt like soaring over the sea. Humans invented the word breathtaking for this view.
Zhang stood near the window with Carlito and a woman they hadn’t seen before. “Allow me to present Detectives Palapiti and Ortiz.”
The woman turned and inclined her head. “I am Ms. Gao.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” Koa stepped forward and held out his hand. She didn’t take it, so he dropped his. “Mr. Zhang answers to you?”
She eyed them speculatively, one at a time, as if matching them up to pictures, before nodding. When her eyes lit on him, Theo gave what he hoped was a humble smile.
“Albert tells me you are a policeman as well. Why is he here?”
The others stiffened only slightly at her words.
“You don’t belong here.” She turned to glare at Zhang, whose normally smug expression held anxiety.
“But, Mom.” Koa broke the awkward silence. “He followed me home. Can’t I keep him?”
Ms. Gao didn’t respond. The silence lengthened until a dustup seemed unavoidable, so Theo said, “I’m a nosy fuck. But honestly, I only followed Detective Palapiti to get laid. This is not my circus.”
“It’s true what he says,” Zhang agreed. “Palapiti wasn’t expecting him.”
“How did he get past your men, Zhang?” she asked.
“Cash.” Theo laughed. “Was that your guy? Tell him I’ma want my bike back.”
Zhang flushed. “Shit.”
“Family. What can you do?” Theo winked. “They’re only as loyal as the last guy that bribed them.”
Koa coughed, and Ortiz gave him a very visible thump on the back.
“Now that we all know why we’re here.” Ms. Gao took her phone out of her purse. “I have something to show you.”
A tiny projector came to life on one of the many plinths, and as it hummed, images appeared on the far wall—one after another, like a slideshow. At first Theo couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing, but then he realized they were photographs and photocopies, images of court documents, driver’s licenses, and newspaper clippings, and they were mostly from people he knew.
Koa and Spider. Koa’s family, his auntie Lala. Lots and lots of Koa and Spider, in images replaced by grainy pictures of Spider and other men and women, probably cops, that looked to be taken from homemade porn.
Jesus Christ. Suddenly there was video of Koa seated on a beach chair with Ortiz’s head between his legs. Tastefully filmed, you couldn
’t see a thing except Koa’s face and his hands wrapped around Ortiz’s head. Theo glanced at Koa while the image changed to one of Ortiz fucking a blonde woman from behind.
“Stop it.” Ortiz hurled himself at the projector.
Theo reacted as well. “That’s my partner, you asshole. What the fuck, Ortiz. She’d better know that was taken, or—”
“So what?” Ortiz flung the thing against the wall where Calista’s face had been. He pointed at it. “We made a tape. So what? What is it you want, lady, because this is a crap way to get it.”
“What is?” she asked primly. “What is it you think I’m doing here?”
“Uh, blackmail, I’m guessing, for one,” Koa answered.
“You mistake the entire meaning of what I’ve shown you.” She put her phone away and held out her purse for Zhang, who hurried to retrieve it and place it on a console by the door. Then she sat primly in one of the white leather club chairs and beckoned for them to sit opposite. The three of them did as she asked, shoulder to shoulder on the oversized sofa, which sighed, loud and long, as if to issue warnings until they landed safely.
She said, “I have a problem and you are in a position to help me with it. And now you have a problem in which I am in a position to help you.”
“Talk.” Koa seemed to be the shot caller. Whether he was senior or simply headstrong, Theo hadn’t had time to figure out. “What’s your ask?”
“A certain body is never identified.”
“And that’s it?” With a heavy sigh, Ortiz looked at the ceiling. “Assuming we could do that, which we can’t, by the way, you’d never hit us up for anything else? Right.”
Koa asked, “What’s in it for us?”
“A rational question.” She looked between the two men. “I can provide you with certain valuable information. Anonymously, for a guarantee that in certain situations, under certain circumstances, you will do me a favor?”
Theo recoiled on Koa’s behalf. He debated whether the top-from-the-bottom cover he’d been employing would say anything and decided obviously, he would. “I saw this movie.” He got up and tried to walk away, but Koa caught him by the arm. He twisted in the man’s iron grip. “Nuh-uh. Hashtag spoiler alert, babe. Everyone dies.”
“Hush,” Koa commanded. He gave the back of Theo’s upper leg a warning squeeze. “Sit. Let the grown-ups talk.”
Theo sat. “For the record, I want to go home, my butt hurts, and I didn’t sign up for any of this.” He folded his arms and stared over everyone’s heads while the knife he carried beneath possibly the thinnest trousers he’d ever worn made him cross his ankles guiltily.
“I dislike drama.” She looked at each of the three men in turn. “Mr. Palapiti, you seem like an intelligent individual. What would you want in return for a favor?”
“Information is a good start.” Koa could be a cagey damn bastard. Theo approved. The longer they discussed things, the more options they had. “And I am not averse to money. It’s expensive, living here.”
She nodded. “And you like my club.”
“Of course. I’d like to belong someday.”
Was this the mysterious white key tag club? So that’s what it takes to be a member. More important, what privileges did members get? Bitcoin parties? Access to the evil billionaire frat boy network? A tankful of sharks if things went poorly?
She gave a light laugh. “Membership costs a fortune. It includes the use of our apartments, cars”—she glanced Theo’s way—“and party favors. Do you have what it takes to belong to my little club, Kekoa?”
Koa sighed. “Sounds way too rich for my blood.”
“But if you could afford it?” She leaned toward him. “There are places on the grounds where only my very special guests can go. A sacred grove where the ancestors gather. You’re not a man driven by money or shame. But what if you could be a part of the very real conservation efforts I’m engaged in all over the islands? Whether you believe it or not, Detective Palapiti, I’m doing a lot of good here. What would the ancestors say if you could ask them? What would the gods say?”
Koa’s whole body stilled. “Just to keep one woman’s body unidentified?”
“Aloha ‘Āina transcends everything, doesn’t it? Love of the land.”
Theo spoke. “You can’t be considering this.”
“What’s the law done for us, Te?” Koa’s gaze met Ortiz’s, over Theo’s head. “O? Where you stand, man?”
“One body?” Ortiz spoke to his lap. “One unclaimed, unidentified, likely unidentifiable body?”
Until Carlito pulled away from the wall to speak, Theo had forgotten he was there. “She’s a hooker. A heroin addict. Just a girl who met the wrong tourist. That’s how we want it to stay.”
Koa turned to him. “I do my job for them, same as everyone if they’re murdered. Why shouldn’t she get justice? Why shouldn’t her mother know what happened to her, even if she’s on drugs or engaged in prostitution?”
“This daughter lost her mother long ago.” Gao folded her hands.
Ortiz had to stretch to see Koa over Theo. “Maybe we should walk away while we still can, K. Maybe this ain’t what we thought.”
Theo’s heart had given him an unpleasant jolt back when Koa seemed like he was contemplating going along. Now that Ortiz was starting to back off, Theo wondered if the whole meeting was going south. The hair on his neck rose. “Koa, this is giving me a headache.”
“I have little patience for people who can’t make up their minds.” Gao gave Ortiz a quick, disdainful glance.
Ortiz caught on he was being derided. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She ignored him. “Detective Palapiti. I don’t want more than I’m asking for. I have a special place in my heart for the islands and the people who call them home. I believe we share a certain protective instinct toward those we love.” To Theo’s dismay, she looked between the three of them, and when her eyes finally stopped moving, they landed on him. “In which case, I invite you to consider my proposition carefully.”
“A partnership must be mutually beneficial.” Koa laid his ankle across his knee and sat back. He stretched his arms over the back of the couch.
“What I offer out of genuine respect is limited only by your answer. Say yes and an invitation to the club—to a partnership that will reward us both equally—will be forthcoming. No… is another possible answer.”
She walked to the console, picked up her handbag, shook the quilted leather thing so the chains lay flat and the interlocking brand logo showed just right, and turned. “I invite the three of you to stay in this suite while you make up your mind. Albert will provide you with anything you might need. I must have my answer by morning. Choose wisely.”
When she left, she took Albert and Zhang with her. Carlito watched her go with narrowed eyes and then dropped into the seat she’d occupied moments before.
“Excuse me.” Theo didn’t want to be part of this conversation. He rose and started walking.
Carlito caught his hand, quick as lightning. “Think about my offer?”
“Sorry.” He waited until Carlito dropped his hand to pass. He wasn’t scared of Carlito, precisely, but he had to fight a strong desire to make himself smaller. Whether it was some vestigial instinct triggered by coming face-to-face with a bigger predator or some seriously hinky chemistry, he didn’t know. If he was an anglerfish, whenever Carlito’s eyes fell on him, it would be lights out.
But that was the problem with intuition. He preferred cold hard facts, so he stuck to the ones he knew. He’d wedged his way in somewhere he didn’t belong, done his best toppy sub shit, and now Carlito wanted him. And below the fold, Ms. Gao didn’t seem like she was going to send them home with gifts and prizes if she didn’t get what she wanted.
Ortiz he couldn’t care less about. Fucker deserved what he got. Theo wondered if Calista even knew there was a tape, much less that it had been hacked.
And Koa… holy crap, Koa. With membership in a club like Ms.
Gao’s—with the power she offered… it wasn’t hard to imagine boy-Woodie saying, “I want to be like Ms. Gao. Nobody fucks with her.”
Theo let his gaze travel to the chair where Koa was sitting, thoughtfully staring into space. That was not boy-Woodie. That was Kekoa Palapiti. Was he really considering it?
Theo let himself take a good long look at the back of Koa’s head, his mussed hair, his broad shoulders, the tat that peeked from beneath the sleeve of his shirt. Heart aching with dread, he turned to explore the rest of the suite.
“Trouble, wait.” Carlito’s voice.
Theo didn’t want to answer—part of him didn’t even want to turn around—but a man doesn’t turn his back on a threat. He faced Carlito, and found Koa’s and Ortiz’s eyes on him as well.
“Yeah?” Theo jutted his chin.
“Put on a pair of jeans. I can see that pigsticker you got on your ankle without the lights on.”
Normally, in a room full of hot men and testosterone, he’d wish for a few Jell-O shots and three dozen condoms. Right now, though, Theo really had to piss. He made his way into the shadows to look for a bathroom.
There had to be one somewhere in a “suite” this nice.
Chapter Seventeen
TURNING HIS back to these men, especially Carlito, was a complicated affair. Theo wished Koa would excuse himself and leave with him, but one look told him Koa was trapped there, far more so than he was.
He started exploring the unlit side of the big room and found a light switch. It seemed to illuminate the space under a door, but there was no corresponding knob. A quick feel, a gentle push, and the thing popped open into a large and well-lit coat closet. On the other side, another door led out. He frankly thought that door had to go nowhere—a broom closet, maybe. Instead, he found himself in a gleaming white bathroom with a sunken tub and glassed-in shower. There were two fluffy guest robes on hooks by the door. Two sinks sat side by side with wrapped toothbrushes, soaps, and bundles of towels on each.
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