To Touch Poison (14 page)

Unease prickled under Loyria’s skin. “We have to leave. I cut the times really close, but whoever that lackey was is probably on the phone to Fred right now. It’ll take my ever-efficient handler a few minutes to regroup, longer I hope, but our flight leaves in ninety minutes.”

James lifted the backpack from her shoulder. “Lead the way.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Manoa Valley, Oahu

November, 1980

JAMES AND LOYRIA BREATHED A
joint sigh of relief when their taxi cleared airport property and merged onto H1. Loyria had purchased first class tickets for the convenience and safety of boarding and deplaning quickly. “It seems our life has narrowed down to running from one place to another, handsome.” She touched her abdomen. “I’m worried about how that’s going to affect our baby girl’s life.”

His hand closed over hers, strong and sure. “Isn’t that why we’re here? To bring me up to speed on the psychic gifts you share with your parents, and to establish a home, a place where our daughter will be able to grow up in peace? And because you can continue your work here?”

Doubt had wormed its way into Loyria’s logical mind, but her Huna training stayed steady. “Yes. But maybe this isn’t perfect, either. My parents are isolated. They made the conscious choice not to live by anyone’s rules, and the Hawaiian underground is their only connection to mainstream civilization. If they hadn’t sent me away to school, and established complete false identities for themselves, there’s no way I would have passed the CIA background check.”

James’s hand tightened around hers. “You’ve never mentioned that. Are you saying that before you were in high school there was no record of your existence?”

“Exactly. My parents know people who get things done. Actually, our alphabet soup of intelligence could take lessons on subterfuge from the Hawaiian underground. My parents used their underground connections to go through a series of complex, clandestine steps to create an identity for me, similar to how they established a bank account, purchased a rather large amount of property on Oahu, paid taxes, and got a platinum credit card. I suppose they’re quite wealthy, but it’s never been mentioned, and…well, wait until you meet them.”

James glanced at the driver. “Should we be…?”

His eyes had clouded with worry. Loyria freed her hand from his grasp, and patted his knee. “Makani and Aukele wouldn’t have left our transportation to chance. They certainly handpicked our driver. I think it’s one of the reasons my parents have never owned a car. It’s safer and more efficient to have trained bodyguards as cab drivers. Like double duty. And they’ve always said owning a vehicle would be even more trouble than a having a telephone.”

James snorted. “They got that right. You do know your family history is completely unbelievable, right?”

“Yes, and that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to explain. I want our daughter to have the best of both worlds: the Huna magic interlaced with how everyone else lives. I’m not sure that’s possible, but I’d like to create a place in the world where she can grow into the woman she wants to be.”

“We best keep her away from Scotland, then.” James ran his hands through his hair, leaving it mussed and sexy.

Loyria’s heart took a dip, then galloped into a potent mix of lust and love. “I love you,” she continued, sitting back to stop herself from jumping him on the spot. “Eventually, I think she should learn about her Scots heritage. There’s magic there, too.”

She squirmed against the worn, uncomfortable seat. “You’d think Makani and Aukele would have chosen a newer taxi to meet us. There are springs poking my backside.”

“Yeah. Got one of those poking me, too. Why do you call your parents by their names instead of Mom and Dad?”

Memories flooded Loyria, and she smiled. “When I was small I called my mother
makuahine
, and my father
makuakane
. They had me when they were young, only eighteen, and it worked until I started school and began studying Huna. By then I realized that my father was one of the most revered Kahuna in the islands and it would have been disrespectful to address him as anything but Kahuna Aukele. Now that I’m an adult I drop the title unless we’re in public or having a serious discussion. Or if I’m worried or scared. The same is true for my mom, although sometimes I still just say Mom, especially when she’s baking. There’s something about her kitchen filled with the scent of sweet round bread that just takes me back.”

“Now that sounds more…you’re not gonna like this…normal.” He grinned.

She grinned, elbowing him.

“You keep doing that, woman, and I’m going to have to retaliate. Ribs for ribs. And I happen to know yours are on the ticklish side.”

Joy flooded Loyria. She grabbed the back of the driver’s seat in front of her, and pulled her backside out of the lumpy hollow that had captured her hips. “Look.” She pointed out the front window of the cab. “It’s our first view of the North Shore. One of my favorite moments of coming home.”

JAMES RAN HIS HAND ALONG
the silky fall of her hair. “Gorgeous.” The view was breathtaking, but nothing could compare to the innate beauty of his Loyria. Not for the first time, anger welled in his gut over not being able to protect her as well as her family could. He’d find his place here. Make a statement he could be proud of. It offered a hell of a lot more opportunity than being a fricking attorney, although he loved the cipher work that was his real job at the CIA, just hated hiding behind the attorney façade.

He tugged on a lock of her hair. “How long will it take for me to be accepted here?”

She twisted to face him. “Accepted? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I love you, honey, and protecting you and our daughter is a top priority, but—”

“I get it. One of the most important things you’ll be doing is studying Huna. And my father is an accomplished martial artist. I’m sure he’ll be training you, and when you’re ready, he’ll introduce you to the…people who are Hawaiian intelligence.”

The red heat of anger flashed through him. “I’m damn well trained in hand-to-hand, an expert marksman, and can beat the shit out of anyone in a court case.” Why hadn’t he ever told her about his real work? Was now the time?

Loyria clamped the plump fullness of her lower lip between her teeth. “All among the reasons why I love you, but the modern training provided by the CIA—and I know this, because I went through a lot of classes—is limited to logic. Aukele will teach you how to fight from a different place.” She grinned. “And so will Makani.”

This wasn’t going at all like he’d planned. He would be the one protecting Loyria and his daughter, and the sooner everyone understood that...

Loyria tapped his knee. “You’re handsome as sin and buff enough to be featured in a fireman’s pinup calendar. I know you’ve kicked the collective butts of many CIA covert operatives, and I’ve seen you in the courtroom. The alpha part of your manhood is intact, trust me. It’s the magic you haven’t nourished.”

Damn it. She had a point. “It’s there, the magic, and was almost the ruin of my father. He was part of the Circle of Nine all his life and truly believed in magic. It dominated his life, took over his mind until…I wonder if it’s why his dementia hit so hard and fast. He was only in his late forties.”

Loyria tapped her finger against her lips. “Hmmm, sounds like he wasn’t using the gifts with respect. You’re not like that, James.” She flattened her hand over his heart. “I’ve seen the magic you hold in here. Our daughter is going to be special. Gifted. Maybe a psychic like Makani, or a time traveler like Aukele, or more ordinary like me.”

“You’re not—”

She hushed him. “I’m gifted, but nothing like my parents. Our daughter will carry their genes. And yours.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “But we also have to consider that I consumed some of my healing formula less than forty-eight hours before we conceived her. There’s no way to know what kind of an effect that will have on her.”

The responsibility of parenthood landed on James’s shoulders with solid thud. “Fatherhood is—”

“Going to be the best experience of your life.” There was a definite grin in Loyria’s voice.

The taxi pulled to a stop and Loyria flung the car door open, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Come meet your new in-laws”

James’s heart bottomed out. He’d rather face an army of Sumo wrestlers with his hands tied behind his back.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

MAKANI MALIU RAN OUT OF THE
house and enveloped Loyria in a smothering hug. Her chestnut hair hung long and, if it was anything like Loyria’s, it would be a silky weight swirling down her back. He loved everything about Loyria, but her hair was his favorite feature. And now he knew where she got it…and what she would look like when she was middle-aged.

From the back James could barely tell mother and daughter apart. The only giveaway was that Loyria wore a woven tunic thing, and Makani’s shirt had some kind of fancy flowers all over it, and she was more, ah, pear-shaped. And damn, he must be jet-lagged. Why else would be detailing what the hell kind of clothes these women were wearing? Or maybe he was distracting himself from the single glimpse he’d allowed himself of the house. Little more than a shack really, which didn’t fit at all with Loyria’s theory that her parents were wealthy. And then there was the man standing on the porch. With his arms crossed and a snarl on his face. Had to be his future father-in-law, unless the guy decided James wasn’t good enough for his daughter and refused to marry them. Well, shit.

He breathed in a cloud of dust when the taxi took off. “Hey.” James ran after it, pulling his wallet from his back pocket.

Makani spun to face him. “No, no. It’s taken care of. All is well. You must be Kaimi’s Jayme. She speaks of you well and often. I’m her mother, Makani Mailu.” She gestured toward the man on the porch “And this is Kahuna Aukele, Kaimi’s father. Aloha, and welcome to my home.”

Her home? He shrugged the incongruity off for later consideration. “Thank you. Yes, I’m Jayme, actually James Evan Gray as of yesterday. Kaimi…uh, Loyria…told you about our plans?” He held out his hand.

Makani brushed it aside and hugged him. “She did. We’re still working on some of the details.” A heady scent of some kind of spice, or maybe flowers, clung to the air around her. With her arms wrapped around him, Makani seemed shorter than Loyria, and it surprised him. When he’d watched them hug, she appeared to be the same height as her daughter, possibly a bit taller. Definitely rounder.

She backed out of his arms and patted him on the cheek. “Appearances are often deceiving.”

His breath caught. He hadn’t said a word about the apparent discrepancy in height and weight. Not one damn word. “Do you read minds?” he blurted, a slight tremor spreading through his body. That’s all he needed. In-laws that could hear what was going on in his head.

“My gifts are a bit of an enigma, James. I never know quite what to expect, but in this instance your gaze was wandering between Kaimi…Loyria, and me, and you appeared perplexed. Let’s call it an educated guess rather than mind reading.” Her smile was warm. Understanding.

He would have relaxed then, but Aukele still hadn’t moved off the porch. And that very neatly shifted the onus of responsibility for the tenor of their relationship to James’s shoulders.

Gut clenched in a knot, James made his way to the house. Kahuna or not, he’d met his match. James would allow nothing to stand between him and Loyria. It was his job, his right, to protect her from every source of emotional or physical harm, whether it came in the form of parents or not. “Kahuna Aukele, I’m James Evan Gray, formerly known as Jayme Grady.” James didn’t offer his hand. “I love your daughter, respect her, admire her, and have asked her to be my wife. It would make her happy if you would do us the honor of marrying us. Will you do that, and share in our happiness?”

Loyria jogged up the steps and slid her arm around Aukele’s waist. “Technically I did the proposing.”

Of course his Loyria had to choose that moment to be precise. James didn’t bother to check his grin. “Technically, I responded with a proposal of my own, so I believe we’re on equal ground here, honey.”

Aukele turned to his daughter, tipped her face up, and looked into her eyes. “Does this man understand your soul, my daughter?”

“Yes,
makuakane
. And we have created a child. Your granddaughter will be born in August.”

He bent to kiss her forehead. “Your mother told me.”

The hell with an army of Sumo wrestlers, James would rather be staked on an anthill. Or spend the rest of his life locked in a room with a polygraph tester putting him through a CIA security reinvestigation. Or maybe going through eternal orientation at The Farm. At least there he’d stay in peak physical and mental condition. Fighting condition.

Aukele nodded at him. “Let’s take a walk.”

Loyria poked her father in the arm. “Don’t you lose him in the maze, Aukele.”

Maze? James grinned. This’d be good. Puzzles, cryptography, all that stuff was what he did for fun. And he still hadn’t found the right time to tell Loyria that his primary work for the CIA was cipher creation and decoding. He’d been living under his lawyer cover for so long he’d forgotten how to share. No, worse than that, he’d forgotten how to be honest.
Might be good to mention that to her
before
the wedding, Jayme. James.