A Little Harmless Ride (18 page)

He shook his head. “She was, but she laid down after work and then didn’t move. She gets so tuckered out these days. I only stopped by for a few minutes to talk to Micah.”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“
I understand Danny is keeping his nose clean over there,” Evan said to Eli.

“
Yes. Hard worker. I’d love to have him full time but I know he won’t stay.”

“
Those Aionas are all hard workers. He’s got the drive to be a doctor. I was surprised he took the summer off, but he said he needed a break and wanted to save up some money for med school.”

“
He’s definitely earning it.”

“
Good. You call me if you have any issues with him. Or Kai. I think he’s more afraid of Kai than anyone.” He gave her a wink. “You let us know if you need anything and I hope to see you soon again.”

Turning, he walked away.

“
There’s another Aiona?” Crysta asked as they watched Evan walk away. People stopped him and it took him awhile to make his way out of the club.

“
Yeah, Kai Aiona but he’s married and, on top of that, he’s never played.”

She sighed. “I know you apparently think I’m on the hunt for a Dom, but I’m not.”

When he didn’t say anything, she glanced at him. He was studying her as if trying to figure out some great puzzle. He opened his mouth but Micah tapped him on the shoulder.

She was surprised when she saw the frown marring the club owner’s face. Fear slipped through her, chilling her blood. She knew something bad had happened.

“
Eli, there was a call from Dillon. You’ve got problems at the ranch.”

Chapter Seventeen

Eli swallowed and tried to ignore the bile that rose up in his throat. From the frenzied packing to their hop back over the island, he had been in constant contact with Jerry.

Now, though, they were on their way to the ranch and he was worried about what had happened. All Jerry could tell him was that cows had been mutilated.

“
I hope everyone’s okay.”

She hadn’t said much since the call. He had told her what he knew and she had taken care of her own things, then calmly went into his room and took care of his. It was odd because he’d never had a woman pack his clothes for him. Because she had been so steady, he hadn’t realized until now that she was worried. He glanced at her. The pickup was dark and she was definitely not crying, but she wasn’t as calm as he thought she had been.

“
No one was hurt except a few cows, from what Jerry said.”

She nodded. He didn’t know what to say. They just weren’t used to this kind of crime. They had issues with rustlers from time to time, but it was hard to rustle cattle on an island and people not find out about it. So often the culprits were caught. This was different. This was another level of attack he hadn’t expected.

They turned onto the path that led the way to the ranch. Before he could punch in the code, the gate opened for him. As they drove closer to the house, it was easy to see it. Lights blazed and there were men running around. He saw Mitch Smith’s SUV when he drove up. Jerry said he had the cops out on the scene.

He parked the truck but before he could open the door, Jerry was coming out the front door.

Mitch was right behind him.

“
That didn’t take very long,” Mitch said as he looked over at Crysta.

“
Mitch, this is Crysta Miller who owns the ranch with me now.”

He nodded in her direction. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Miller. Your uncle really had nice things to say about you.”

She nodded but said nothing else. Her anxiety was easy to feel. He didn’t blame her. It was horrendous to him, but for someone like her, in an unfamiliar place, it had to be terrifying.

“
Why don’t we go inside,” Jerry said, his grim expression, along with his bleak pallor told Eli it was probably worse than he could imagine. “We’ve got coffee going. It’s going to be a long fucking night.”

Jerry glanced in Crysta’s direction. “Sorry.”

She gave the foreman a tired smile. “Don’t worry. You’re right. It’s going to be a long fucking night.”

* * * *

The recitation of the events left Crysta sick. The fact that someone would mutilate a living animal for enjoyment was beyond anything she had dealt with before.

“
So, there’s no footage?” Crysta asked. She had to keep her mind on the investigation rather than the horrible details.

Eli shook his head. “We don’t have cameras around the ranch. There’s no way to do that. It would be a logistical nightmare.”

“
And they made sure they picked an area that wasn’t well travelled,” Jerry said.

“
That doesn’t matter. If you know anything about ranch life, you can figure out when and where we are working. The Kaheakus know that well enough,” Eli said.

“
I have my doubts that Sam could do this. Or Junior,” Mitch said.

She shook her head. “I saw the hate in that man’s eyes. He could do this.”

“
What I meant is that this isn’t their kind of thing. Plus, they would hire someone to do it, if they had the money. They don’t.”

“
Sean does,” Eli said quietly.

“
But he was on Oahu. We saw him,” Crysta said.

“
But he has money. From somewhere,” Eli said.

“
Oh, good lord, he didn’t do this. I think it’s still connected with Sam.”

“
Your uncle is an amazing prick, but I don’t think he would do something like this. This takes planning,” Eli said. “He isn’t that smart.”

Mitch shook his head. “We’ll know more as soon as we start looking around. It’s too late for anything now. But I do want to go over some other things with you.”

He glanced toward her and she could see Eli was going to protest. The truth was, she needed time alone.

“
I need to take a shower.” She needed to wash the filth of the conversation off her. She excused herself and walked upstairs. For a long time she sat on her bed, thinking. She knew this had something to do with the ranch, but did the Kaheakus actually think she would run away because of this? If they did it, what kind of sickness was in her family that they would do this to punish someone of the same blood?

She glanced toward her phone and noticed a message was blinking. It was past one there, which meant her father was probably up. She looked at the screen.

Good morning, sweetie.

She sighed. All through her problems with Ashton, she had stayed stoic. She hadn’t called her father when she first found out. She had dealt with it on her own then told her father later.

Now, though, with everything that had happened, she needed him. She needed to hear his voice.

She clicked on his number.

“
Hey, baby, what are you doing up so late?”

“
Oh, Daddy, it’s so good to hear your voice.”

* * * *

Hours later, Eli was alone in the study sipping on three fingers of whisky. He didn’t think anything would ever help him forget the sight of those cows. The person who had done that had been a sadistic fuck. He didn’t think much of Sam or his son, but Eli was pretty sure neither of them could have done that.

“
Do you have a glass for me?” Crysta asked softly from behind him. The room was dark, but when he turned, the light from the hallway gave him a view of her face. She was worried—beyond worried. He didn’t blame her. He was worried.

“
Yeah.” He went to the desk and grabbed a glass and splashed some whisky in it. She accepted it with a nervous smile. Without hesitation, she downed the drink.

“
Damn, I needed that.” She held it out again. “Hit me again, St. John.”

He did as ordered, once again amazed by her composure. “You didn’t freak out tonight.”

She sipped this glass. “Yeah. Well, comes with the territory.”

“
How’s that?”

She settled in the chair in front of the desk. “Dad always said life in the military was better if you hoped for the best, but planned for the worst. This is definitely the worst. Or, I hope to God it is.”

He nodded. “So, you’re not leaving?”

For a second she didn’t answer. He had been worried that she would freak the hell out and head back to the mainland. He didn’t blame her. There was a moment there, as he stood staring down at the mutilated cows, that he had been ready to bolt.

“
Of course not.” She took another sip. “It makes me sad that those cows suffered and you have to be a sick person to do that.”

“
They were dead before they were mutilated.”

He didn’t know that for sure, but for some reason he didn’t want her worrying about it. There was something in him that wanted to shield her from this. He didn’t want her to know about things like this.

She nodded but she didn’t look like she believed him. Of course, he was assuming they were. The autopsies would tell them later.

“
What I can’t understand is why? I mean, rustling, I kind of understand.” She took another sip of her drink. “This is sick.”

He sighed. “I know and neither of us is thinking straight. No sleep, worrying…that can’t make for good critical thinking skills. Why don’t you go to bed?”

She nodded and drank down the rest of her whisky. “I think you’re right. Are you going to bed?”

“
In a bit.”

She nodded again and left him alone. Again, in the dark, with his thoughts. Now, though, he was thinking about the woman he was desperately trying not to fall in love with…and how he was going to handle being with her almost night and day for the next few months. Now that he knew how she tasted, Eli wasn’t sure he would be able to resist getting another. And that spelled all kinds of problems for him and for her.

Joe had probably known Eli would be attracted to Crysta. She was just his type, and…Joe just wanted Eli to settle down. He’d been all about hearth and home and he worried that Eli would die alone without family. So, he’d brought Crysta here on a dual purpose. It was true Joe had felt Crysta needed to know her roots, but Eli didn’t doubt he was trying to entice Eli. If Eli hadn’t loved the man so much, he would want to kick Joe’s ass.

And now he wanted her. He wanted her in his bed, under his Domination, and he just wanted her in his life. And that was dangerous for a man like Eli. He just didn’t know how to handle it.

“
Damn, Joe, you really know how to leave me in a mess.”

Chapter Eighteen

A few days later, they weren’t any closer to the truth than they had been the night they arrived on the island. Eli was frustrated in mind and spirit. Dillon had talked about coming over there to head up the investigation, but Eli knew that would be a mistake. It was best to allow the locals to keep control. He’d lived long enough in Hawaii to know that bringing in private people, especially a haole, was a big mistake.

“
So, still nothing,” Crysta said. She had been distant from him since they’d arrived back on the island. He finished washing his hands and turned to face her. She’d made dinner, soup and sandwiches and he hated to admit it, but the thought of sitting down to a meal was something he looked forward to every day.

“
Nope. Dillon’s got a couple more background checks to finish, but he’s found nothing. He couldn’t even find anything on Sean Kaheaku.”

“
Hmm,” she said, as she slipped the grilled cheese sandwiches from the pan to the plates. “Can you get the soup?”

He nodded and did as she bid, as she grabbed a glass of water for herself. They sat at the kitchen bar. There was a light tapping of rain on the roof and the sun was setting. This was a little too comfy, but he couldn’t pull himself away from it…from her.