Constant Craving (Task Force Hawaii #3)

by Melissa Schroeder

  “She’s going to be all right,” she said.

  The rock that had been planted in his chest since the moment he got the call let up. “What happened?”

  “Overdose. Not sure if it was on purpose or accidental. Either way, she almost didn’t make it.” She studied him for a long minute. “You need to get her some help, and you need to let go.”

  Adam nodded. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard from friends and family in the last few months. But they didn’t understand that wrapped in all his feelings for her, the biggest was guilt. Jin—no woman—should have suffered what she did.

  “And you should call her family.”

  “She has no one. Only child, both parents gone.”

  Miyako glanced at the door, then back at him. “Damn.”

  For the two of them, it was a hard thing to fathom. Their family was large and had its tentacles in about every facet on the island. Of course, there was only one point five degrees of separation between people on the islands, especially if you had even a drop of Hawaiian blood in you. To think that Jin had no one in the world was a little astounding.

  “Thanks for the call.”

  “Anytime at all, cuz,” she said as her name was called. She rolled her eyes. “Another day in paradise with the job I love.”

  She hurried off to answer the summons. Adam drew in a deep breath, trying his best to get his mind settled before walking through the door. He stared at his reflection in the glass. For months now, every time he got a midnight call, he had expected this. She had been bent on destruction, especially these last few weeks. But somehow, as horrible as he had thought it would be, it was a hundred times worse.

  When he thought he was prepared, he slid the door and curtain aside. They had left the lights low, except for a small light illuminating the bed. Jin laid there, her face pale, dark circles under her eyes. She was so still, it surprised Adam she was still breathing. She had lost weight...a lot. She had never been a skinny woman, but now her skin hung on her. Her cheeks were hollow. If he could see her eyes, he knew they would be void of the light he had always loved.

  Adam settled in the seat by her bed and took her hand. There were fine lined scars marring her light brown skin. She might have healed physically, but there would always be reminders of that week she had lived in hell—not to mention nightmares.

  “Adam,” she murmured.

  He looked up, but her eyes were still closed. In sleep, she would turn to him, she would accept him. It was enough for right now. When she was cleared, he would make her go get help, or he would have to walk away. There was no way around that. Adam couldn’t keep riding the emotional rollercoaster. It had to end soon.

  With no other answers, Adam held onto her hand and bent his head to pray.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Late Sunday morning, TJ was in the shower, and Charity was getting ready to make pancakes for them when her cell buzzed. The moment she saw the number, she made a face. She loved her family, but she was no good at lying to them. If she wasn’t careful, her mother would figure out there was something wrong. She would then tell Charity’s father, and they would be there within a day. She did not need the family drama at her doorstep. But, if she avoided her mother, she would become even more suspicious. Charity clicked on the phone.

  “Hey, Mama, how’s it going?”

  “Not well. Your father found out about your grandparents.”

  Luke was purring and rubbing up against her legs. She bent down and picked him up to nuzzle him. “How did that happen?”

  “It was kind of hard to miss since your grandfather moved in with your grandmother.”

  Charity blinked as the ability to think dissolved. “What?”

  “You heard me. Your grandfather is living up at the big house.”

  “Who are you talking to?” her father said in the background.

  “Your daughter. Catching her up.”

  “Gimme,” her father said.

  The phone was handed over to her father. “Hey, baby, how are you doing today?”

  “Fine. Just getting ready to make some pancakes.”

  “Sour cream pancakes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your mother won’t let me eat them that often.”

  “Your cholesterol was high last time you went to the doc.”

  “She’s even turned you against me. Even your grandmother questions my food choices.”

  She smiled. “She loves you.”

  “At the moment, that doesn’t count for much. Your mother said you knew.”

  “I thought maybe she had started smoking crack.”

  Her father sighed. “Yeah, well, maybe your grandparents have.”

  She leaned against the counter. Her father sounded confused and not all that angry. At least not any more. She knew he had a temper, but it was burned out quickly.

  “Did you talk to them?”

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “And? What did they say?” she asked, as TJ came walking into the kitchen. His hair was damp, and he was wearing a pair of board shorts. Damn, she should have joined him in the shower.

  Of course, Luke—the traitor—slipped out of her grasp to go see TJ. Jess—the other defector—was trailing after TJ as if she were in love.

  “They said life is too short to waste it alone.”

  “Sounds like they have the right state of mind.”

  “It’s still weird.”

  “Daddy, our family has always been weird.”

  “This takes it up another notch.”

  She laughed, as TJ stepped behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. He started to nibble on her neck.

  “True. Did you yell at them?”

  “Yes. And I left.”

  She rolled her eyes. Knowing her father, he would make up with the grandparents today.

  “So, what are you up to, baby?”

  “A little of this and a little of that.”

  “And you can’t talk to me about it.”

  “Not while the investigation is active.” And one where your baby is being set up. That would be a disaster. He would show up with expensive investigators and start messing things up and pissing off not only the FBI but probably Del.

  “Okay. Well, your mother is on the landline, and I have feeling it’s your grandmother. I guess I have to go talk to her.”

  “Yeah, that would be good.”

  “Love you, buttercup.”

  “Love ya.”

  She clicked off the phone, and TJ spun her around and kissed her. When he pulled back, her head was spinning, and she was out of breath.

  “I was going to make breakfast.”

  He took her hand and tugged her toward the bedroom. “After.”

  She smiled and went willingly. They definitely had time for breakfast later.

  An hour later, they were finally sitting down to breakfast. TJ eyed the massive stack of sour cream pancakes Charity set in front of him and smiled.

  “Now, this I could get used to.”

  Charity chuckled. “Hey, I believe you earned it this morning.

  She placed maple syrup and coconut syrup on the table. “I think I did, although, I think I got more pleasure out of it than you did.”

  She just smiled and grabbed her own plate to join him.

  “How about we go to the beach?” he asked.

  “That actually sounds good. If you think it’s okay.”

  TJ nodded. “We’re supposed to be acting normal. We could ask Drew to go too.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  He looked up at her and smiled. “But I want to. I think getting out is good for him.”

  Charity beamed at him, and he felt as if he had done something spectacular…like cured cancer. And that is all it took. He had found out through that weekend that making her happy was a priority. He had always been taught to think of others, but he had never had so much resting on one individual. It was troublesome. He was getting tangled up in her, but that is wha
t a guy did, right? They got caught up in a woman when they fell in love.

  The whole idea that he was in love with her was still bothering him, but there wasn’t anything he really could do about it. Fighting it was going to be insanely hard, especially since he had to stick to her.

  He dug into his pancakes and sighed. The woman could definitely cook. It wasn’t a prerequisite for him when it came to women, as he could fend for himself, but it was nice to have someone make breakfast for him. Even nicer to have breakfast with someone.

  “What do you think about being tourists and heading to Waikiki?” Charity suggested.

  He swallowed his bite of pancake and nodded. “I’ve really only been there once. On the beach that is.”

  “I don’t go that often. Waimanalo is my favorite.”

  He nodded. “It’s one of the reasons I had looked for a house over there.”

  When he had taken her to his house the day before, part of it was to get his clothes. The other part was to show off a little bit. No one other than contractors had been in his house. He hadn’t really clicked with anyone since moving to the islands—that is until he met the members of TFH. They didn’t seem to think twice about welcoming him into their lives. Well, after they checked him out.

  What he hadn’t expected was that Charity would look so right in his house. He could see her working in the kitchen, or curled up on a chair in the screened-in lanai working on her laptop. Now that he had seen her there, it was hard to get the image out of his head.

  “TJ?”

  “Oh, sorry. My mind was drifting.”

  “Nothing on Foley, I guess? Nothing on why the FBI has messed up video?”

  He shook his head.

  “I hate that this is moving so slowly.” The frustration was easy to hear in her voice. “It’s one of the reasons I left the CIA.”

  “What?”

  “The federal government. I was always going to be working for government. My expertise is for investigation, so it was either teach or work in government. I don’t mind teaching a course every now and then; but long term, I would burn my eyeballs out.”

  “You work for the government here.”

  She shook her head. “It’s different. We move faster because the cases we have are all top priority. We are set up to move at an accelerated pace. I don’t have to wait for this supervisor, or that appointed committee chair approval. I go to Del. Del fixes it. This situation is annoying.”

  He set down his fork and took her hand. “Hey. We’ll get it all worked out.”

  She smiled at him again. “I know.”

  As they finished up breakfast, TJ realized that he was having issues with the pace of the investigation too. It was annoying, and he was not a man who had a problem with long, slow investigations. In fact, it was considered his fortes. He was known for digging beneath the surface and closing every loophole. Most of his cases were settled before court because the evidence was irrefutable. Now though, two weeks into the investigation and he wanted it done. And there was one reason for that.

  He wanted to get on with his life—and Charity. As the investigation hung over their heads, they couldn’t do more than just what had been going on. Dating, not mentioning the future. He had a feeling that Charity didn’t go for deep relationships, but he wanted more. He wanted some kind of direction, and he wanted to know that this was more than just the investigation.

  Until they were done, he wouldn’t know if it was just about the situation or there is something more.

  Charity enjoyed the soft breeze Sunday afternoon. She and TJ, and now their new sidekick Drew, were at the beach. She thought when she had moved to Hawaii she would spend at least every weekend at the beach. She loved the smell of the salt water, sunscreen, and fresh flowers. But, after a few months, she found herself like a lot of other residents. Work took priority and sometimes, just sometimes, she resented the fact that she had to work and not play every weekend. And it made her hate tourists.

  So, when TJ had suggested they go to the beach over breakfast, she had been happy to accommodate. Instead of going all the way down to the main beach area of Waikiki, they opted for the spot in front of the Hale Koa. It could get just as crowded, but there were less kids in this area. Plus, they had walked, and Charity just wanted to sit and relax. This was closer.

  TJ spread his beach towel out, then took hers.

  “Hey, I can handle that.”

  He just smiled. He was wearing a t-shirt that said Nerd? I prefer the term intellectual badass –which Drew had loved. TJ set her towel beside his, then peeled that shirt off. Good lord, the man was built. Not big muscles, but those long, lean muscles swimmers had. Then there was that little trail of golden hair that lead down and disappeared into his trunks.

  “Stop drooling. It’s disgusting,” Drew said.

  She smiled. “I can always appreciate a beautiful male body.”

  He shook his head and took off his shirt. The scars on his chest had faded, but they were still there. Would always be there. One thin line bisected his pecs, an ugly reminder of getting shot and dying—if only for a few seconds. Then she realized he was a little more bulked up.

  “Have you been working out?” she asked.

  “Physical therapy,” Drew said as he slipped on his goggles and grabbed his board.

  “Are you supposed to be surfing?”

  He tossed her a nasty look and trudged out to the water.

  “You sound like his mom,” TJ said.

  “Do I?”

  He nodded.

  “You weren’t around then. It was scary.”

  He nodded. “But he’s not a boy. He might be a dork or a nerd, but he’s a man, and he can handle himself. I think he’d do better if you would quit hovering.”

  She slid her glasses down on her nose. “Is that a fact?”

  He shook his head and leaned down for a quick kiss. “Don’t get that tone. I think being out on his own is good for him. He might have doubted himself after the shooting.”

  “And just why do you know better than I do?”

  “First, because I’ve been shot, and I know the doubts that can creep in. It makes it worse that Cat abandoned him.”

  “She might have her reasons.”

  “You really do have a soft heart. I can also see things because I wasn’t here, and so I wasn’t affected by all of it. He’s going to be fine, Charity. He’s a good man and he has good friends.”

  Then he made his way to the water. She watched him go, knowing he was right. Drew was doing better now, and he did look a lot lighter. The darkness that had been hanging over him seemed to have lifted a little. Drew was taking the initiative to go out. He had told her that he was meeting with some old friends next weekend. Just hearing that had made her happy.

  And, of course, TJ had noticed it. She hated that the man was right, and did it by giving her a compliment. It made him even sweeter. She sat down on her towel and sighed.

  How was she not supposed to fall for a man like that?

  Charity had one motto for Mondays. They sucked. The only good Monday was one spent on vacation, in her opinion. This Monday was no different. Charity hung up her cell and stared out at her lab.

  Thieving, dirty bastard.

  Drew came walking into her lab, then stopped in his tracks.

  “Uh-oh. Who is going to die?”

  Irritation didn’t cover it, but Drew showing up before she could contain herself was problematic for her. She wasn’t someone who held in her emotions, but she knew when she was ready to kill. Just like her father, she could lash out and hurt people just because they were in the vicinity. Today was one of those days.

  “I figured out what the bastard is going to do to me. Is Emma upstairs?”

  Drew nodded, as he followed her out of the lab and up the stairs. They reached the second floor, and she went in search of Emma, Drew keeping up with her.

  They found Emma in the boss’ office.

  “Hey. So, I just had a call from my
bank.”

  “Yeah?” Del asked.

  “Someone tried to book a first class ticket to the UAE in my name. One way.”

  There was a moment of stunned silence. The first one to speak was Del. “What the hell? Did they let them buy the ticket?”

  “No. They stopped it, thank goodness. I have a really good bank, and they pay attention to things like that. Completely out of character for me.”

  “He was trying to set you up,” Emma said. “And the United Arab Emirates has no extradition policy with the US.”

  Charity nodded. “So, it made it look like I was trying to go there. But to what end? Nothing has been stolen. Sure someone tried to hack into the system, but no big job had been pulled. A few identities were stolen, but the hack was so damned clumsy, they had time to contact the operatives. Nothing else has happened,” Charity said. “It feels as if we are on some snipe hunt.”

  “What are snipes?” Emma asked.

  Del smiled. “Imaginary animals.”

  Emma looked at Charity. “Why would you hunt an imaginary animal? Oh, wait. Got it.”

  “I know what you are saying. And now messing with your credit,” Del said. “This makes it feel as if they are painting you as the bad person. You will be left holding the bag and be accused of all the wrongdoing. You wouldn’t get charged, but it would keep everyone busy until he slipped away.”

  “And nothing big. Just something that would divert attention to me. But to what end? The only thing I can think of is that the bastard is trying to get the FBI to chase their tails while they do what they want to do.”

  “Even if they are doing anything at all,” Emma said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe this is just it. This game of messing with you, keeping Remington, Callahan, the rest of the FBI busy.”

  Drew rocked back on his heels. “There is a good chance that is it. While they didn’t catch Foley, they did make it harder for him to make money selling secrets. That had to piss him off.”

  “And it could be payback, but it just doesn’t feel that is the only purpose,” Charity said.

  “Have you told TJ about the credit card stuff?” Drew asked.