I start the engine.
Fever roars to life beneath us, loud and hungry, and Adelaide’s arms go from polite to tight in about half a second. She locks on to me with a startled laugh against my shoulder.
We roll out of the lot and onto the road. Warm air hits us straight on. Palms blur past. The ocean flashes blue through gaps in the buildings we pass. Behind me, she presses in a little closer, and fire burns off her body. And I like that more than I should. Too much, probably.
I think about her van. The slashed tires. That cracked terracotta pot wrapped carefully in a T-shirt like it matters enough to save regardless of what else gets broken. I think about how she looked when trying not to fall apart in front of me.
Something protective and rough stirs inside me.
Fever opens up on the empty road, roaring, and usually this is enough for me. Wind. Speed. Salt in the air. The clean pull of the bike under my hands.
Today I’ve got an Omega wrapped around my back, trusting me not to let her fall, and already that feels a little too damn good.
I like her too much already.
That’s the problem. Otherwise, today was a very good day to go surfing.
8
ADELAIDE
The bathroom mirror at Duke’s restaurant is not being kind to me right now. I mean, I walked in here voluntarily, so that’s on me, but still.
My hair is messy. Skin is a bit sun-kissed, but I’ve got salt on my collarbone and a smear of van floor dirt on my elbow that I missed somehow, and my hands will not stop shaking.
I run them under the cold tap.Okay, Adelaide. Assess.
Someone who knew which van was mine tracked me to that beach and had enough time unsupervised to slash two tires and go through my belongings. And whoever did it didn’t take a thing, which means they were looking for something specific. Could it be a mistaken identity thing?
I laugh at myself. “Yeah, right,” I murmur under my breath because I keep coming back to Daniel. Some random opportunists wouldn’t slash two tires. They’d grab the cash, then run.
Fuck, please don’t let it be Daniel.
I brace both hands on the sink. I have three options. Go to Clio’s and potentially drag her into this. Get a hotel and sit alone waiting for whoever it is to find me again. Or…
I think about Luca helping me straighten the mess in my van without being asked. About the way he waited while I decided things instead of pushing.
Or I stay close to three very large Alphas for a few days until I can work out what’s going on. Yep, the difficulty of staying with three absurdly attractive men in Hawaii—truly my cross to bear.
And one of them is Ace, which is its own entire situation that I’m putting in a box and closing the lid on right now.
I straighten up. Fix my hair as much as possible. Wipe the dirt off my elbow. Gloss my lips with the few toiletries I brought in my backpack, because some things are nonnegotiable regardless of personal crisis.
“Okay,” I tell my reflection. “Go win them over with your charm.”
Out of the bathroom, Duke’s is exactly what it should be, and I wasn’t prepared for it.
The whole back wall of the place is just open, the entire thing—wooden beams and a patio that sits literally over the sand—and beyond it the ocean is right there, all tranquil blue in the midday sun. The salty breeze comes straight off the water and through my hair, and I stop for a second because it’s hard to feel completely terrible when Hawaii surrounds me.
I spot the guys at the far end of the patio. Round table, dried-grass umbrella overhead, four cold glasses already sweating in the heat, and three large men who are chatting and laughing. North has a faded navy tee that fits like it was made for him specifically, and Ace is in a gray button-down he’s left half open, which I’m going to pretend I don’t notice.
All three of them clock me at exactly the same moment.
I don’t know why I put the extra swing in my walk. Self-preservation instinct, probably. Or, possibly, I just enjoy the way Ace’s jaw clenches when he stares at me.
I pull out the empty chair, drop into it, and spread my arms wide. “Tell me this isn’t the best seat in the whole place.”
“We saved it for you,” North states.
