Chapter Two
Hogan moved quicklyto set things straight while Kai was in the bathroom.The drop-down electric bed had been lifted to the ceiling after the dirty linens had been stripped, and fresh ones tucked in tight.He set the washer dryer unit running, as he’d done multiple times in the past week, keeping the space ready, orderly, giving himself a job when the silence got too loud.Now, with Kai up and moving, they could sit at the dinette like real people instead of patient and caretaker in the bed.
The van was a marvel.Bathroom across from the sliding door, fully equipped galley kitchen pressed against the opposite wall, storage running along the corridor, and at the back beneath the electric drop-down bed, a dinette that could seat four comfortably.Swing the doors open and the whole place flooded with sun, air, and the kind of Hawaiian view that reminded Hogan there were still things worth saving.
He’d made toast, an omelet that hadn’t burned thanks to the ridiculous stovetop, and set a pot of coffee down just as the bathroom door clicked.Hogan looked up—and stalled.
Kai stepped out barefoot, a pair of running shorts slung low on his hips, shirtless.His skin was darker than Hogan remembered, tanned deep from years under island sun, and the planes of his chest and shoulders spoke of the swimmer and surfer he’d been.Black hair, too long, curled damp against his temples.Brown eyes sharp even under the shadows of exhaustion.Even covered in bruises in varying degrees of purple and yellow, the man was beautiful to look at.He’d lost weight, though, and Hogan’s gaze lingered on the dressing taped across his side.The bandage needed changing.
“Sit,” Hogan ordered, already reaching for the med kit.Kai arched a brow but obeyed, dropping onto the bench seat.Hogan crouched, peeled away the old dressing, and swore under his breath at the angry line of staples.“Needs cleaning.”
“You say that like it’s a personal slight against you,” Kai muttered.
“As the doctor and nurse all rolled into one who is caring for you, it is personal,” Hogan shot back.He worked fast, steady, cleaning the wound site, and blowing on the red skin when Kai flinched, replacing the dressing with fresh gauze.When he was done, he grabbed a clean t-shirt from the storage cabinet and dropped it in Kai’s lap.“Wear it before you bleed all over my shiny van.”
Kai smirked, pulling it over his head.“Yourvan?”
“Temporary custody,” Hogan corrected, sliding into the seat opposite.He poured coffee, set a plate in front of Kai, and arched a brow.“But I am so going to get one of my own.This thing is sweet!Now, eat.Then talk.”
Kai stared at the food like it might bite him.Then he picked up a fork, took a careful bite, and sighed like the omelet had been sent down from heaven.Hogan let himself feel smug about that.He waited until Kai had worked his way through the omelet and a slice of toast before he started in.
“So,” Hogan prompted.“Why the colonel?Why risk your neck when Eli got taken for that evil son of a bitch?”
Kai’s gaze lifted, steady, unreadable.Then he leaned back, coffee cradled between his hands.“Because Eli wasn’t the only one that needed saving that day.I couldn’t let that bastard win—not again.Not when the fucker took my sister.”
Hogan’s brows tugged.“Sister?”
Kai nodded slowly.“Not by blood.Byohana.I grew up in an orphanage and became close with a boy and a girl.We made our own bonds.Me, Kael, and Leilani.She’s the one I mean when I say sister.”
Hogan absorbed that in silence, watching the way Kai’s mouth tightened around the name.
“When Eli was taken, I made sure he got clear,” Kai went on.“Put a bolt through the colonel with my crossbow.My brother—Kael—he saved Leilani and got her out.She’s home now, with herohana.She is happily married, pregnant with her third.Happy and healthy, but most importantly—safe.”
Hogan shifted, the word catching.“Ohana?”
Kai’s lips curved faintly.“Means family.The kind that doesn’t let you fall.Not ever.”
