If they found the camera, didn’t get killed exchanging it for Alana and survived the storm bearing down on Hawaii.
Chapter 13
Rex jerked awake from a wild dream and opened his eyes to shadows and starlight streaming in through a window. For a moment, he couldn’t remember where he was. All he knew was that this wasn’t his apartment.
Then memories flooded in. The yacht. Holte. Vaughan. His father.
Kimo standing naked in front of him, her long dark hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back.
He reached over to pull her close but found the space beside him empty, the pillow cool.
Kimo was gone.
Rex sat up, flung the sheet aside and rolled out of the bed onto his bare feet. The bedroom door stood open; more inky blue light shone through from the living area beyond.
His heart racing, every bad scenario running through his mind, Rex hurried in search of the woman who’d awakened in him desire and longing he’d never expected to find in any one woman.
His gaze desperately swept the room, praying she hadn’t been taken away in the night.
Then he found her.
Her naked body was silhouetted in the starlight as she sat with her knees curled up on a window seat, staring out at what was left of the night.
He moved up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Couldn’t sleep?”
She shook her head, her long, wavy hair brushing against his belly. “I feel guilty.”
“Guilty?” he asked. “Why?”
She leaned her head back against him and raised a hand to cover the one resting on her shoulder. “Being with you, experiencing all the joy of being young, alive and free… It doesn’t feel right when Alana is being held hostage. She’s alone scared and—God forbid—maybe abused or tortured. I don’t deserve to be happy when it’s my fault she’s not.”
“It’s not your fault,” he assured her. “But I can’t tell you how to feel when I’ve been there. I’ve lost buddies in battle and have spent years second-guessing my moves, knowing that if I had been the one on point that day, my buddy would’ve been alive today. Or if I’d only seen the enemy hiding in the shadows, I could’ve taken him out before he made a kill shot, taking out my friend. I blamed myself. In the back of my mind, I still do.”
She turned, wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her warm cheek against his torso. “I shouldn’t have gone out that day,” she whispered. “I should’ve been the one they took. Not Alana. I would gladly exchange my life for hers.”
Her words hit Rex square in the gut. He drew her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t let that happen.” He laid his cheek against her hair, inhaling the scent of plumeria shampoo in her hair. “This fight isn’t over. Alana is alive, and we have the chance to keep her that way. You have to believe that.”
“What if we don’t find my camera?” Kimo asked.
“We will,” Rex said. “It’s out there. We’ll find it.”
“We need to be there at first light.” Kimo tipped her head back. “The storm comes tonight. The seas will get rougher the closer it gets.”
Rex cupped her cheeks and bent to brush his lips across hers. “Then we’ll have to find the camera early and make the trade before the storm hits.”
Kimo curled her hands around the back of Rex’s neck. “I have a feeling this isn’t going to end easily.”
Rex had that same feeling. It sat like a heavy rock in his gut. Once they had the camera, he’d work with Hawk and their entire team to ensure Kimo’s safety and bring Alana back alive. Then they’d work on exposing and bringing down the network of human traffickers.
He kissed Kimo and held her close, enjoying a few more seconds with her body pressed to his. “I could hold you like this twenty-four seven and still not get enough.”
“Same,” she said with a sigh. “Dawn won’t be for another hour...”
Rex didn’t need any more encouragement than that. He swept Kimo up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom, where he made sweet love to her, bringing her to her own release before slaking his own desire. They showered together, exploring more of each other’s bodies and then dressed for the dive ahead.
Thankfully, Rex had a spare swimsuit in the cottage for the days he worked there and then went out to cool off in the ocean.
Once again, Kimo wore the red bikini Rex had grown to love. Shrugging into the beachy coverup, she slipped her feet into flipflops and hooked her arm through his. “Ready?” she said with a determined tilt of her chin.
