“It only takes one accomplice with a plea bargain to start the dominoes falling. If Holte is accused of murder, he won’t hesitate to point the finger at the guiltiest one of all. And you know the old saying that misery loves company? You might strike the plea bargain yourself to shave some years off your sentence. Either way, there will be no get out of jail free card for you anymore.”
Vaughan snorted. “Big talk for a man on the wrong end of a gun barrel.”
The helicopter circled and began descending toward the helipad.
“I’m getting on the helicopter. If you try to stop me, your pretty girlfriend will never see you again.”
“You aren’t going anywhere, Vaughan,” Rex said, praying he was right.
“Watch me.”
The helicopter lowered until the wheels almost touched the pad.
Vaughan stepped backward until the backs of his legs bumped into the door.
Rex braced himself, preparing to lunge forward and drag the bastard out again. Before he could make his move, a shot rang out.
Vaughan’s legs buckled. He twisted and flung himself toward the open door, his body halfway in, his legs hanging out, unable to push himself further in.
Rex turned to locate the source of the gunfire and found Kimo leaning against a wall, the gun in her hand pointing at the helicopter. She unloaded the magazine into the rotor head.
The helicopter landed hard on the helipad. Vaughan slid out and landed on the ground, blood oozing from his leg.
Rex ducked beneath the rotors as they slowly wound to a stop.
Vaughan leaned over, frantically searching the ground for the gun he’d dropped when he’d fallen to the ground. Rex found it before Vaughan and kicked it out of the man’s reach. Then he walked over to pick it up and tuck it into his waistband.
He returned to Vaughan and stared down at the wound on his leg. His first instinct was to let the man bleed out for all the pain and suffering the man had heaped on so many young girls.
Hank’s words echoed in his mind, reminding him that Vaughan’s testimony would help bring to light the extent of his network and the abusers who’d been getting away with child molestation for years.
He ripped one of Vaughan’s sleeves off his arm, none too gently, and tied it around his leg in a tourniquet to slow the bleeding.
When the pilot finally appeared, Rex secured his wrists behind his back and zip-tied his ankles. Then he made him sit beside Vaughan.
With the deck secure, he hurried over to where Kimo sat with her back to the wall, the gun lying on the deck beside her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Alana?”
“I left her with Angel and Devlin. She’s bruised, but okay. She’ll be happy when she can go home and get a shower.”
Boats arrived in Kanapou Bay, filling the decks with every branch of law enforcement, including members of the Maui Police Department.
Rex and Kimo stayed where they were to make certain Vaughan didn’t find another way to escape justice.
Hawk and Alana joined them. Alana wore an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants. Her cheek was still red and starting to turn purple where Vaughan had backhanded her. Despite the bruising, she was smiling. She came to stand beside Kimo and reached for her hand. “I knew you would come for me.”
“We would have come sooner if we’d known where to look,” Kimo said. “It took a minute to figure it out.”
Rex’s mouth twisted. “Have you been on the yacht since they captured you?”
Alana nodded. “They locked me in a room down below.”
“I was on the yacht last night,” Rex said, shaking his head.
