Leather and Sand (Riding the Line Series) (10 page)

Wince sat there for a second in disbelief. There was shit to do, people to direct. Deals to coordinate. What the hell was he supposed to do now? As Dax’s silhouette receded into the distance, Wince realized that the only thing to do was to take matters into his own inexperienced hands. Well, he wasn’t totally green, but he was unsure of himself. The vibrating in his pants pocket caught his attention, distracting him from his retreating vice president.

Fuck!

Wince looked down at the cell phone in his hand. It was flashing with a text from their new associates. It was do or die time and Wince recognized the nature of the situation for what it was. He wouldn’t let Dax down.
No fucking way.
It was obvious that seeing the stowaway had royally fucked with Dax, and Wince wasn’t about to let the club lose the deal over it. Squaring his shoulders, Wince sent a reply and then headed up to the suite.

He had some planning to do.

***

A three-hour nap did nothing to assuage Rhee’s exhaustion. Sirena roused first, rustling quietly next to her for several moments before gently touching Rhee’s face. It wasn’t the worst way to wake up. In fact, it made Rhee’s heart sing as she stared into those innocent, yet mischievous blue eyes. Sirena’s hands sifted through Rhee’s long hair, gently tugging. For a moment, Rhee lost herself in the tender moment. Then, memories of the previous night came rushing back, propelling her up with a start.

Dax.
He’s here.
Oh, God.

For a brief moment, Rhee wondered about Dax’s childhood. Had his mother ever awakened and peered into such deep blue innocence? For the first time, she realized that she knew so very little about the man—a man who had sired her child. They were inextricably entangled, she knew. Dax’s blood ran in Sirena’s veins. She knew they would have to address his paternity, but Rhee had no idea how to approach that. Dax looked like he had seen a ghost when Sirena appeared from the bedroom. Then, he had taken off without a word. Did he know? Did he suspect? He must! Sirena looked so much like him. He would have to be blind not to see that she was his flesh and blood.

Rhee resisted the urge to run far away, to avoid the maelstrom of insanity that was surely heading her way. Dax wouldn’t just let this go. She had spent so much time refusing to entertain even the briefest of memories of Dax that she had never pondered what would happen if perchance their paths crossed again. The probability of such an occurrence had seemed so impossible. Unless you considered, well fate? Destiny? Was that what this was? What were the chances that Dax would show up here—and at just the right moment to save her from yet another fucked up situation? It was entirely improbable.

Now, all she could do was wait for him to make his next move. And she had no idea if he would even make one. Rhee felt like a tiny mouse being toyed with by a very large, and very dangerous cat. What would Dax do? Would he run? No, Rhee had already dismissed that notion. Dax wasn’t the kind of man to take off with his tail between his legs. He’d have questions. He might even be…angry.

Rhee shuddered, knowing that she had hit the nail on the head. Dax would definitely be furious. And he would want to confront her. Rhee hated confrontation. And the idea of this particular confrontation was enough to send her straight back to the world of nightmares that she had been able to avoid since Sirena’s birth.

If Dax wanted to discuss the situation, it had to be on her terms, Rhee decided. It would be safest to approach things in a public place, without Sirena present. She refused to compromise her daughter’s life in any way. Rhee had no way to get in touch with Dax, not that she wanted to right now. In a way, not being able to access the tall, blond ghost of her past relieved some of the mental burden Rhee was currently experiencing. Her head positively ached from the heavy thoughts and worry.

“Mama!” Sirena protested, clinging to her arm.

“It’s okay, monkey.”

“Monkey wants nanas!”

Rhee smiled despite the chaotic thoughts that churned in her head. “I’ll get you some bananas and milk.”

Mechanically, she fixed Sirena’s snack while trying to hide her inner turmoil. Her sea sprite was too savvy for that game, though. As Rhee set a plastic plate of banana wheels and a Sippy cup of milk on the table, Sirena climbed into her lap and took Rhee’s chin in her delicate little girl hands. How could those eyes look so innocent and wise at the same time?

“Mama, you sad?”

Rhee let out a soft sigh. Sometimes she wondered if it was better to reveal emotional truths to children rather than trying to protect them from pain and confusion by hiding one’s feelings. Kids were just so…perceptive. She could no more hide her feelings from Sirena than she could pretend the ocean was red. Sirena sensed her emotions. Rhee didn’t have to say a word.

Maybe just being real with them allowed children to learn how to cope with things in their own way. Maybe it was actually better for children to observe adults dealing with and overcoming the issues that befell them? Rhee just wasn’t sure.
Kids are resilient,
she reminded herself. Still, there was no way she would allow Sirena to bear her emotional burdens. It was easier to explain sad than it was to explain deeply fucking conflicted and emotionally destroyed to a toddler.

“Everybody gets sad sometimes, baby.”

Sirena paused, her little wheels turning as she stuffed some banana into her mouth. Then, her face brightened. “Beach!”

Despite her emotional angst, Rhee felt a giggle brewing in her soul. At a little over two years old, Sirena was already a great problem solver. She knew her mother well. Rhee had taken so many walks on the sand when Sirena was still safely ensconced inside her belly that the calming serenity of the ocean breeze was, quite possibly, ingrained in the child. Rhee smiled, recalling how she had lazed on the shore watching the dolphins, day dreaming about swimming with manta rays, and listening to Turtle’s stories about mermaids and fishermen…

Yes, the beach would definitely improve Rhee’s mood. Snapping back into the present, she glanced at her tow-headed child; immense gratitude mingling with the fear and anxiety she sought to push out of her mind. Her name might be reminiscent of the sea, but Sirena was heaven-sent. With her cherubic features, the little girl certainly looked like an angel, and the truth was, her arrival had changed Rhee’s life for the better. She had never felt so grounded. Prior to Sirena, Rhee’s life revolved around her mother, her personal safety, and then the search for her sister. Rather than living in the past or the future, Sirena forced Rhee to be present, her little girl joy encouraging Rhee to remember to turn her face to the sun, and let the stormy times just slip past. For that, she would be eternally grateful.

Packing up their stuff took approximately two seconds since Rhee’s beach bag was perpetually ready to go. She tossed a few snacks and drinks into it and grabbed her favorite blue sarong. There was a little path behind the
hale
that trailed right down to the beach. It was a nice, wide stretch of fine sand bordered by rocks. The little known break was considered “locals-only.” Thanks to Turtle, Rhee was pretty much considered a local before Sirena was born. Her island birth gave Sirena automatic
kama’aina
status. Her daughter had been dipping her sweet little toes into the warm water here since she was an infant.

They walked the sandy path in their bare feet. Sirena rarely wore shoes, preferring the feeling of earth and sand beneath her toes. Getting her to keep any sort of footwear on was a battle that Rhee chose not to fight. In fact, Rhee mused, she was starting to like the feeling too.
Ah, the things we learn from kids.
Connecting with the ground made her feel anchored in a way she couldn’t explain.

Lost in thought, Rhee followed Sirena, noting absently how her sun-streaked, white-blond hair caught the light, radiating around her like a halo. The little girl was an angel. Rhee’s savior in a swim diaper. And she would be damned if Dax Jamison would interfere with her Sirena’s life. Or her own.

Rhee breathed a sigh of relief; tension she didn’t realize she had been holding in her gut dissipated somewhat. The boys were here. She had come to think of them as
her
boys. Their presence always made Rhee feel more secure. When the local boys were around, there was always an extra set of eyes to keep track of Sirena. She trusted Turtle’s crew implicitly. Plus, it always made Rhee smile to observe the macho, tattooed local surfers that ruled this break as they hunkered down to fill her daughter’s pink, sparkly pail with water or sand.

A large shepherd mix bounded over with a cheerful bark to greet them. “Hi, Axl.” Rhee smiled, scratching the dog behind the ears. Axl was large, but he was friendly. He even let Sirena tug on his tail. Axl rolled over in the sand, offering her his belly and she gave him a pat. Sirena squealed as his tongue found her bare toes.

“
Aloha
, Rina.”

Axl leapt to his master’s side as Turtle approached, almost as if he was ushering the man to her. Then, he plopped down on the sand, his head bobbing back and forth between the two adults as though he was trying to be part of their conversation.
Funny dog.
He acts almost like a person.

“Any news?” It was a question she routinely asked him, but usually the answer was “not yet.”

“There’s been news, yes.”

Adrenaline swept through her veins. Turtle was looking at her intensely, the usual humor absent from his eyes. His gaze swept up and down her body as though he was searching for something. It wasn’t a creepy look, just a shrewd, searching one that made her decidedly uncomfortable.
I do not need more uncomfortable!
Rhee leveled her gaze and stared right back at the imposing local.

“What? Is it about my sister? Tell me!”

Turtle didn’t reply right away. First, he nodded at the only man in the group who surpassed him in size—a man who ironically went by the name of Tiny. Although his enormous, tribal tattoo-covered body made Rhee’s heart jump the first time she met him, Tiny was a gentle giant. Sirena had taken to the man right away. From the time she was a colicky infant, she calmed instantly in Tiny’s giant arms. The big man was always delighted to play with the little girl, offering his enormous pinky to her. Sirena grasped it without hesitation, chattering happily in her toddler-speak to a man who weighed at least three hundred pounds more than she did. The odd-looking pair made their way to the water’s edge, out of earshot.

Rhee turned back to Turtle, feeling the anxiety she had been trying to hide begin to overtake her fried nerves. Even Axl stood at attention, as if to signal the importance of what he was about to say. If her friend was acting odd and sending away her daughter before he disclosed whatever information he had, it couldn’t be good.

“What happened?”

“Perhaps you should tell me.” Turtle’s hooded gaze swept out to the shimmering waves beyond.

Rhee looked at him quizzically.
Huh?

“Your boss, Rina. My cousin told me that Darren Shepard was dropped off in front of the clinic early this morning. Broken rib, broken nose. At first, he said he was jumped, but now, apparently he isn’t talking. Refused to file a police report. My boys know nothing about it. I know he was with you last night at the benefit. Rina?”

Rhee was shivering even though it was a balmy eighty-five degrees on the beach. Trying to avoid thinking about Dax meant that she had altogether ignored the Darren issue. She was supposed to report to work the next morning and Rhee had no idea what she was supposed to do.

“Rina?”

He touched her arm gently. “What happened last night?”

Rhee felt her eyes well up. She focused on her daughter, the light bouncing off of her gilt-colored hair as she giggled and splashed Tiny at the water’s edge. This place was so beautiful, so perfect. It was her Garden of Eden. A place where no evil could touch her. Until now. Rhee had a sinking feeling that no matter what she did, the safe walls of her haven were about to crumble.

Finally, she looked up. Turtle was patient. It seemed to be a characteristic of the people here. “Last night.” She took a deep breath. “Last night, Darren came on to me.”

Turtle stiffened. She could see the anger in his eyes even though he kept his voice calm and level. “What did he do? Are you okay
, tita
?”

“I’m okay. Um, I think I’m jobless.” Her chin quavered briefly, and then Rhee managed a smile.

“What happened exactly?” His voice had taken on a hard edge.

Turtle wasn’t one to let things go.
He’s a lot like Dax in that regard,
Rhee thought. No, Turtle didn’t let things slide. Especially if someone got jumped on his turf. It was one of the reasons he had so much influence. Turtle’s boys knew everything and anything that was going on—everywhere.

Rhee’s sense of intuition prickled then, but she wasn’t sure why. She shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Rina. This is important. Your boss claims someone shook him down but he won’t say who. We didn’t do it. Do you know who did?”

She sighed, not knowing how to answer him. What should she say?
My daughter’s father showed up out of nowhere and kicked my boss’s creepy ass into next week?
And then suddenly, the answer came along on its own. A tall silhouette appeared, foreshadowing the arrival of a newcomer from the beach trail that started in her backyard. Axl barked, but remained at Turtle’s side with a low command from his master.

Thanks,
Manali!

Rhee knew immediately that her seriously misguided landlady-parent had most certainly been the one to point Dax in her direction. That made no sense either! It was almost as if Manali was facilitating their reunion, a behavior that contradicted her former penchant for shielding Rhee from unwanted male attention. Rhee could do nothing but watch with a mixture of dread and anticipation brewing in her gut as Dax Jamison ambled onto the sand with an air of ownership that implied he was meant to be there.