a Touch of the Past (An Everly Gray Adventure) (12 page)

We trooped upstairs, Annie’s steps light, rushed, and a direct counterpoint to Pierce’s impatient tread.
 

At the top, Annie stopped suddenly, rocking on the balls of her feet. "Ohhhhh. My."

I peeked around her shoulder. The pews were white and draped with bouquets of plumeria and orchids. The altar was backed by floor-to-ceiling windows that framed a spectacular view of the ocean, and welcomed the majesty and power of the sea into the room. Streaming garlands of tropical flowers flanked the sides of the altar, the floral scents mingling into a mystical presence that bathed the room in tranquility.

"Wow," Annie said, turning a few circles and snapping pictures with her cell phone. She had to be imagining the moment when she and Sean exchanged vows. The more I thought about it, the more agitated I got. "Annie—" I started.
 

She stopped and faced me. "You’re going to say this is too fast."
 

"Well…" I truly didn’t know how to finish my sentence. As much as I loved Annie, this decision was
so
none of my business.
 

Pierce came up behind me, and dropped an arm over my shoulder. "A.J.’s ready." There wasn’t so much as a whisper of doubt clouding his announcement.
 

I nodded. Once. And with abrupt clarity understood how he’d picked up the habit. It happened when anything you said would cause a heap of trouble. It was akin to something I taught my clients—don’t speak unless you can improve the silence. I’d been working on applying that truism to my life for years, and so far had been totally unsuccessful.
 

Wandering to the nearest wall, I skimmed my fingers over the surface. Hazy images of strangers clouded my mind. Nothing noteworthy, so I sent a mental "talk to me" message into the ethers. Sometimes it worked.

"Peace," came back to me. It was short and to the point, but I got the message, and with it some of the tension eased from my shoulders.

"I need a few minutes here," Annie said, waving her cell phone.
 

It was clear she wanted privacy to share the pictures she’d been taking with Sean, and I could use the time to chat up the Hilton concierge. Earlier, I’d checked with the staff at the Ma Kai about studying Huna, not that I planned to become a Hawaiian shaman, but the metaphysics were fascinating. And more importantly, it would put me in touch with people who probably knew my grandparents. Plus, it would help me decide what my next step should be.
 

I left the chapel and headed toward the main entrance of the hotel, Pierce glued to my side. "I’m just going to ask them if they can recommend a Kahuna." I waved my hand in the direction of the lobby. "I’ll be right back."
 

He didn’t bother with a comment, just kept pace with me. I changed the subject. "You really think she’s ready?"
 

"Yeah. I’ve watched A.J. for a long time. She’s ready." Pierce knew a different Annie from the woman who had been my friend for the past six years. He’d worked with her, seen her under fire. Literally. They had been partners in situations where the slightest miscalculation could mean instant death to either or both of them, so I believed his assessment.

"I agree. I think. She’s different around Sean. More fluid and relaxed, like she is with Adam, you, and me. I’ve never seen her truly relax with anyone else." As I explained it to Pierce, the rest of my protective instincts evaporated. Annie really was ready to get married.
 

When we got to the information desk, I approached a white-haired gentleman. "I’m interested in studying with a Kahuna. Do you have any recommendations?"

He stepped back, crossed his arms, and studied me with a measured smile.
 

Shivers hit the bottom of my stomach.
 

He slid a business card out of his pocket, flipped it over, and placed it in front of me. "If you write out your name and contact number, I’ll see that my Kahuna gets in touch with you." He handed me a pen, and his gaze didn’t waver from my face.
 

I wrote down my Hawaiian name and cell number, then handed him the card, letting my fingers rest against the back of his hand. An image of my grandmother standing with a man, his arm around her shoulders, flashed on my internal screen.
 

"Oh…" Too shrill, the single syllable had Pierce moving up behind me. The floor slipped away, and I grabbed the counter. I was going to have to buy a parachute if this kept up.
 

Pierce was too close. I sidestepped, not wanting anyone near me. My heart pounded against my ribs, a staccato rhythm that took my breath. Coincidence be dammed, he couldn’t look at me and know Makani Maliu and I were related. "How do you know my grandmother?" My voice was surprisingly steady.

Pierce morphed into a hunter—gaze scanning the area, arms loose, weight evenly distributed—scary as all hell. I tore my gaze from his transformation and focused on the clerk.

"You have her voice, my child. And you read me with your touch, so you have her gifts as well." His words were soothing, soft with the lilt of the islands.

"Who are you?" My voice cracked. Grandma had ESP fingers?
 

The clerk dipped his chin, his eyes brimming with tears. "I am Kaulele. Makani and I studied with the same Kahuna for many years. I thank I’o for bringing you to me."
 

A man wearing a nondescript suit, with a tie knotted firmly under his Adam’s apple, came up behind Kaulele. "Is there a problem?"

Pierce stepped up. "No problem. An unexpected meeting of old friends."

The suit’s nostrils flared. "There are other guests waiting, Kaulele. See to them."
 

I opened my mouth, the need to express my inner bitch pressing against my throat, but Pierce dropped his arm across my shoulders. "Sorry to have caused an inconvenience. We’ll meet with you later, Kaulele."
 

Pierce never talked like that, all wishy-washy and deferential.
 

"Aloha pumehana," Kaulele said softly when we turned to leave.
 

"Wonder what that means. And what’s with this I’o god?" I made an about-face to hit the gift shop for a Hawaiian dictionary. It was well beyond time for me to have one available at a moment’s notice. And I wasn’t letting Kaulele out of my sight until I had some answers.

"Go with peace, and I’o is the chief Hawaiian god," Pierce said.
 

I stopped dead. "Really? He told me to go with peace?" The words made me unaccountably happy, and I couldn’t stop smiling as I paid for the dictionary and slid it in my pocket. I’d read up on Hawaiian deities later.

"You touched him, and got an image of Makani. Did I get that right?" Pierce—irritation riding his words.

"In one. It was a heck of a shock to pick up her image from his hand. Too…strange. Even if Hawaii is a mystical place, and I come from a family of crazy psychic people, it borders on creepy, Pierce. I’m scared."

He ran his palm down my arm. "Kaulele surprised you, so you missed his reaction. And you were too focused on hiding your next move from me."

"What? I—"
 

"Ah, ah. Do not lie to me. Your nose’ll grow, Niele."

I blew out a frustrated sigh. Damn his leprechaun genes. "I have a million questions for Kaulele, and that manager was beyond rude. Why did you—?"

"Too memorable. People would notice if you strangled him."

Laughter bubbled in my chest. "A perfect use for his tie though."

"No argument there."
 

We’d both continued to keep watch on Kaulele, until the manager sent a young woman to replace him at the front desk and my only living clue disappeared into the back room. Adrenaline pushed hard through my body, and I started across the lobby at a run. Pierce clamped his hand on my shoulder. "Not now. He has your number. He’ll call."

I fought for calm. "How do you know that? Maybe he’ll run. Maybe he knows about whatever secrets Grandma was hiding. We can’t take a chance…"
 

What I didn’t say: Kaulele was the only link I had to my grandfather. I closed my eyes and frantically scanned the mental image I’d picked up from touching him. At least now I knew what Grandfather looked like. Maybe. Or maybe the guy with his arm around grandma was someone else.

It made me cranky, having so many loose ends with no way to immediately follow any of them.

My cell rang and Annie's name flashed on the screen. "Where are you guys?"

"In the hotel lobby. Did you get your wedding planned?"

"Yeah. Heading your way. Don’t move." She rang off.

Pierce tapped my arm. "Stop it. Your brain will explode if you don’t chill."

He was right. I’d lost touch with my intuition and needed to sit down with what I knew and…"I need answers, Pierce."
 

He growled. "Bait’ll get you answers every time."
 

A sliver of hope wound its way into my heart. "You have a plan? Ideas for a trap?"

"Don’t need one. Hard to miss you, Belisama, and since you set yourself up as bait—"

"Bait? No one knew I’d be at the Hilton this morning. Not even me. How could I have set myself up?"
 

"Hawaiian underground. It’d be a mistake to underestimate it, and you’ve been asking questions." Pierce threaded our hands together, avoiding my fingertips. "No running away from me, Everly. I
will
find you."

His words jolted me. Had he somehow found out about the note from my grandfather? He couldn’t have read that letter, but his intuition was about as accurate as my ESP fingers. Still, he had to be making the bait connection with finding Grandma’s killer, not with a grandfather no one had ever mentioned.
 

Best to keep him busy. "We need to know details about Sean’s arrival, flowers, a cake, oh, holy Mamma Mia—dresses."
 

"Huh," he grunted. We need to get back on task."
 

I elbowed him. "Stop with the attitude. We’re so on task, it’s scary. Annie’s wedding will make a great cover for why I’m really here."
 

Annie met up with us, and led us back to the chapel. "It’s fate. This place is usually booked years in advance, but there was a cancellation and we can be married next Wednesday afternoon. Talk about being in the right place at the perfect moment."
 

I hugged her, our feet doing a tappy dance on the concrete walkway. Annie was truly getting married. I pulled out my cell to send Mitch a text, and as I typed in the date—Wednesday was five days away—reality slammed into me.
 

How was I going to find my grandmother’s killer, grill Kaulele for information, meet and protect my grandfather, and take care of The Bride? All equally important. All requiring my full attention. All huge time sucks.

Pierce cut through my building panic, bringing it to a juddering halt.
 

"Dude following us has a weapon."
 

Eleven

Pierce gave Annie a hand
signal. She stepped behind me, shoved me around the corner, and pushed me under a huge banana plant. Adrenaline rumbled in my veins but didn’t spike. The dude, as Pierce called him, wasn’t going to shoot us. Not when an entire wedding party, guests included, had started pouring into the area around the gazebo, crowding the space between his weapon and us.

Pierce caught up with us, he and Annie moving to flank me in a dance they’d obviously done many times in the past. They wanted to protect me, but damn if it wasn’t making me claustrophobic.

"How’d they find us here? So fast?" Anger simmered through my veins, and irrational words blurted from my mouth. "Was it someone working with you, Pierce? Some government type?"

"Nope. Looked Middle Eastern. Let’s head out to Makani Maliu’s house. Let A. J. take a look at it."

Not what I wanted to do. At all. My nerves crackled with restrained energy, smothering my common sense. "You’re trying to tell me the government doesn’t have anyone working for them who looks Middle Eastern? That’s ridiculous."
 

"Chill, Belisama. I know everyone on my team."
 

I sucked in a breath, held it until my lungs ached with the effort. Dark shadows of grief demanded that I run, push through the crowd, and not stop until I was far away from reality. I couldn’t go to the North Shore. Couldn’t face Grandma’s home again. What if they were exhuming her body? My stomach churned.
 

"Okay," I said. Maybe I'm stressed, and was out of line. But I still don’t think it’s a good time for a trip to the North Shore. We could go shopping instead. Hiding in a crowd seems to be working, and Annie needs a wedding dress."
 

They ignored me, wasting no time pushing me into the back seat with orders to keep my head down. Pierce maneuvered through city traffic, changing lanes and making unexpected turns with smooth efficiency.

Dryness spread from my throat to my mouth, stealing words before I could say them.