Leather and Sand (Riding the Line Series) (25 page)

But, she would try.

Rhee closed her eyes and listened to her own breath as it rushed in through her nose, filled her lungs, and flowed back out. Her toes curled into the warm sand, the sun heating her bare shoulders. After a moment, she almost gave up. Manali was old and wise, but sometimes her island magic didn’t do the trick. Then, unexpectedly, a feeling of connection began to hum in Rhee’s veins. It felt right to be here. Right here. On this beach. An image of Dax came to her mind. Dax, in those sexy board shorts, carrying surfboard. Sirena, her pink plastic pail. Building sand castles. Dax’s lop-sided grin. And suddenly, Rhee realized that her perfect ending wasn’t so far off, after all. All of the pieces were here, scattered about.

She just had to find a way to fit them together.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Manali felt it coming. That happened sometimes. As she grew older, it seemed that the very breeze spoke to her. The large, onyx pendant hummed with warning against Manali’s neck, signaling that a massive shift was going to occur. A deep sense of foreboding saturated the air. Manali’s eyes fell on Sirena, who was hard at work dumping and refilling colorful glass beads into her mother’s tote bag.

“Come, mermaid. I have a new game for us to play.”

The little girl leapt from her activity. “New game!”

Something was telling her to go. Now. Manali stuffed some items into Rina’s tote bag and headed for the door. It wasn’t safe here at the moment. As she shuffled Sirena down the beach path, she glanced back at the
hale
. Her phone was in the main house, but there was no time to spare. Manali touched the stone around her neck and sent a silent message to Rina.

Keiki, be safe.

Manali took Sirena by the hand and opened the door. Whatever was coming would have to catch them first. They stepped out onto the porch, and Manali discovered that her intuition had been correct. It had just come a little too late.

***

Wince wasn’t leaving anything to chance. He made sure he was strapped. He texted Hawk and let Smalls know to wait for a return call. Slade was in the back, with Alanna. He was carrying too. Hell, when
weren’t
they carrying heat?

“What the hell’s going on?”

“Something’s wrong, man. Dax isn’t returning calls.”

“Who’s she?” Slade indicated the skimpily clad woman sitting beside him with interest.

“She claims she has some Intel for Dax. She’s coming along so we can keep an eye on her.”

“I’m not involved in this!” Alanna spat.

“You are now, sweetheart. Maybe you’re a decoy, is that it?” Wince glared at the girl from the rearview mirror.

“No way. I support Dax and the club. That’s why I’m here.”

Wince made eye contact with Slade, who shrugged. “Whatever, man. Is Turtle meeting us?”

“Yeah. He’s bringing some back up.”

“Great.” There was a click as Slade adjusted his clip. “I’m ready.”

***

Rhee had walked a long way down the beach. It made sense to head back up to the road rather than walk on the sand. No doubt, Sirena was fed and ready to play by now. The thought of Manali’s grilled spam and cheese made her stomach growl. Rhee smiled, recalling how gross spam had seemed at first. It grew on you. Rhee was so intent upon returning to her
hale
that she failed to notice the brown sedan that idled up behind her until the man driving it called to her.

“Miss Blake?”

Rhee’s adrenaline spiked immediately. To everyone out here, she was “Sabrina Jeffries.”

She regarded the man in the car suspiciously. “Sorry, no.”

“Miss Blake, I really need to speak with you.”

Poised to run, Rhee’s eyes darted from one side of the tree-lined street to the other. The closest house was a hundred yards away. There was no way she could outrun a car. Her fingers slipped into her pocket, fumbling for her phone. Fuck. Where was her phone…

“I know who you are, Miss Blake. I’m not going to hurt you. Please, we don’t have much time.”

“Who the hell are you?” Rhee demanded. From the periphery of her vision, she spied a large branch and began to inch towards it. If he got out of the car, she would grab it and make her best attempt at a grand slam, using the man’s head. In response, he reached into his jacket. Rhee ducked, her fingers wrapping around the branch. “Back off!” she screeched.

The low chuckle was infuriating. “Come now, Miss Blake. Is that any way to treat someone who’s trying to save your life?”

She didn’t realize her eyes were closed until she had to force one of them open. The sunlight glinted off something shiny and pointed. Rhee caught her breath. A badge? This was either really good news…or really bad news.

“Are you with Darling P.D.?” she asked. Maybe they had found Mickey. Oh, God, her sister was dead. Rhee felt icy shivers trickle down her spine.

“Darling? No, sweetheart. I’m
ATF
. Would you get in the car, please?”

Rhee looked up and down the deserted street. “My daughter…I can’t just go with you…”

“Miss, with all due respect, if you don’t get in this car right now, I can’t guarantee your daughter will be there when you get back.”

Shaking with fear, Rhee complied. “What do you mean? I just left my daughter and Manali.”

Rhee wasn’t sure what was going on but the last thing she wanted to do was implicate Dax or the club. The presence of an
ATF
agent was bad news. Wasn’t it? The car sped up, eating the distance between Rhee and her
hale
. But not fast enough.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Where’s the girl, grandma?”

Manali narrowed her eyes as she regarded the two men who had materialized from the trees next to the porch. The first one was not only lost, but he was also pure evil. She could feel the malice emanating from the man. Cold fear gripped her heart but she stood her ground.

“Not in front of the baby.”

“You’re in no position to be making demands, old woman.” The man flashed the revolver in his waistband. Sirena, thankfully, seemed oblivious to Manali’s anxiety.

“What would your mother say?” she admonished.

Manali’s words had the intended effect. The man hesitated, an angry flush appearing on his face. He opened his mouth, only to be interrupted.

“Doggie!” Sirena laughed, pointing behind the man.

Axl.
Thank the Gods.

His bark was rather distinct. And where Axl was, Turtle could never be too far away. The shepherd mix came into view, barking loudly as he raced toward the steps. Both gunmen swung around to face the unexpected threat. In an uncharacteristic display of aggression, Axl tore into the second man’s calf. He let out a loud scream.

“Shoot it, Boyle!”

Manali backed away as the man called Boyle aimed his revolver at Axl. She scooped up Sirena, to shield her from what was to come. Without warning, men exploded from both sides of the main house. There was a flash of metal and then a series of pops staccato through the air. Manali was moving faster than her age would suggest was possible. There was only one way off of the property now—through the back gate that led to the beach.

These old legs can still move when they need to.

There was confusion all around them, but Manali’s sights were set on the sandy trail. If she could get down to the beach, they could take shelter in the small cave that sat nestled in the cliff. She put her hand out to open the gate, but it flew open unexpectedly. An unfamiliar girl stood there, staring at the child who struggled in Manali’s arms.

“Want down! Down, Mali!”

“God, she looks so much like him…”

“I told you to stay in the car!” A man’s harsh whisper issued from the garden shed.

“But…” the woman trailed off, a horrified expression appearing on her face as she peered over Manali’s shoulder.

“Oh—oh my God! Run!”

The girl pushed Manali so hard she nearly stumbled. “Go!”

She needed no further urging. More gunfire erupted behind her. Dimly aware that the female stranger followed close behind, Manali rushed down the trail, moving with a grace she was certain she no longer possessed. She heard nothing, saw nothing, but the dim archway of her destination. Sirena clung to her neck, the tears coming now, soaking Manali’s neck. Her blood pounded through her veins. She slowed, knowing that her energy was waning. An odd, numbing sensation began to spread down her left shoulder. Her grip on Sirena wavered as Manali’s breathing became labored. A pain in her chest began to bloom and she struggled to maintain her grip on the child.

Ah, Gods, what is happening to me?

The woman was right on her heels. “Let me take her. I’m faster.”

The sight of the two men arriving at the bottom of the trail convinced Manali that she was not going to outrun their pursuers. “Please….”

“I’ll protect her. She’s Dax’s. I swear I won’t let them hurt her.”

Manali had no choice. Her vision was growing dim. She relinquished Sirena and slumped against the rocks. “There is a shelter…down the beach,” she managed to gasp. Why was her breath so short?

Sirena was limp, a dazed look in her eyes, as the woman took her and began to run.
Shock.
The child will remember none of it,
Manali prayed. A few minutes passed and a shadow fell across her face as she slumped in the sand.

“Where are they, old woman?” he punctuated his demand with a sharp kick to Manali’s side. She turned her face away, even as he aimed his weapon.

Manali heard the shot as he fired from close range. There was an odd sound. She expected to feel more pain, but other than a burning sensation at her neck, there was none.

Instead there was peace. Her grandmother’s kind face appeared. She touched her neck, and nodded as though the simple gesture held intense meaning.

All will be well, keiki.

There was a smile on her lips, even as Manali’s consciousness waned. The last thing she heard was Axl, barking and a man’s urgent shout.

“She’s here! Oh, shit…”

***

Agent Marino screeched to a halt in front of Rhee’s
hale
. She knew immediately that something was wrong. The van Dax had been driving the night he took her out sat haphazardly on the front lawn. Turtle’s vehicle was skewed in the driveway. Rhee felt her blood turn to ice.

Sirena.
Manali.
Oh, God.
Please, no.

A hand stopped her as she reached for the door handle.

“Stay here, Miss Blake.” She was already shaking her head. “No. No fucking way.”

“I’ll cuff you if I have to.”

“But—”

“Here’s my radio. If I don’t come out in two minutes, press this button and tell them you have an agent down. Understand?”

Rhee nodded vigorously. “Please, just hurry.”

He took off. Visions of Manali and Sirena lying dead on a slab invaded her mind. The bile rose in her throat
.
Rhee dug her nails into her palms to force the sickening images from her mind. Agent Marino disappeared around the side of the house. A series of loud pops filled the air, followed by shouting. It had been less than a minute and Rhee was out of the car and halfway to the main house before she considered the fact that she was unarmed.

Fuck it.
My baby’s in there.

Rhee dropped to her hands and knees and crawled to the corner of the main house. Voices. Men’s voices. She craned her neck to peer into the yard. Where were Manali and Sirena? A slight movement to her left revealed Marino’s position. He saw Rhee too, and from the look on his face he was regretting his decision about handcuffing her. Marino motioned her to stay back. He had his weapon drawn and trained on something out of sight, near the main gate. He moved, and Rhee slipped into the spot he had just vacated.

Wince stood by the back gate, deep in conversation with Turtle. Her local protector friend was here. That was good, wasn’t it?

“Federal Agent!” Marino called. The two men froze. “Drop your weapons. Now!”

“Rina! Stay back!” Turtle hissed, catching sight of her.

“Miss Blake,” Marino warned. “Do you ever do what you’re told?”

She ignored them, and stalked right in front of Marino’s line of fire, drawing a bunch of expletives from all three men. Rhee surveyed the scene. Her friends looked upset and…guilty?

Rhee managed to choke out, “Sirena? Manali?”

Turtle looked grim. “Rina. I need you to go inside and sit down.”

Oh, God. Bile rose in her throat as she surveyed the carnage before her. It seemed like her yard had been painted with blood. “Tell me, Turtle. Tell me right now. Or so, help me, God….”

If Sirena were hurt, or dead…then a part of her would die too, right here. Pain lanced through Rhee’s heart. Even though she was kneeling on the ground, her vision swam as her world tilted. Then, she was in Wince’s arms.

“Manali is on her way to the hospital.”

“Hospital?”

A man materialized at the gate, and Rhee shrieked at the sight of him.

“Slade’s with us,” Wince offered, glancing at Marino and at Rhee.

“She was shot,” Slade supplied. “Turtle’s cousin and I found her.”

Shot? But Manali had been watching Sirena. If her landlady-parent had been shot…

“What about my daughter?!” Rhee screamed, near hysterics, and shoved out of Wince’s grasp to push at Turtle, trying to get some kind of reaction from the man.

Turtle gripped her tightly, and for the first time, she felt how the big man shook with his own emotions. “They took her.”

“Who?! Who the fuck took my baby?” she shrieked, all manner of horrible thoughts ripping through her.
Please, God, no.
Please not her.
Please…

“Vidal. His men took your daughter and shot your landlady.” Marino responded. “He’s got a nasty little plan, Miss Blake. One that involves you, Daxter Jamison, and the arms deal that’s going down.” He paused, shaking his head. “This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid.”

“Arms deal? Who the fuck is Vidal? Where is he?” Rhee demanded, her voice shaking with the effort it took to maintain a semblance of sanity.