Wet For Her Warriors (Book 5 of the WILD -- Warriors Intense in Love & Domination -- Boys of Special Forces) (17 page)

Kellan’s relief
blared across his face. “Dan Colton, right? He still with the CIA in South
America?” At Tait’s nod, he continued, “Good man. That’s a sound plan.”

Tait consciously
schooled his features as he managed a nod of agreement. Truth was, he’d never
forget Dan. The guy had been a key support during the six months of Luna’s coma
and, more importantly, the six months since she’d gone to sleep forever. At
least once a week, Dan had called from wherever he was in the world for regular
check-ins. While Tait was sure the guy was motivated by misplaced guilt—Dan
wasn’t even with the same agency that had “borrowed” Luna for the mission—he
was still grateful that somebody remembered Luna’s sacrifice. Her actions had prevented
a domino effect of bombs that would have put everything west of the Rockies
beneath a radioactive cloud for decades to follow.

He gave himself
a mental wrench. Right now, there was no room for sticking even a toe into grief’s
swimming pool. Much bigger issues were at hand.

“Let’s get the
hell out of here,” he asserted while tossing down his napkin. “I’d rather call
Franz from the house, where we can’t be overheard. And I think your protective
fleas have jumped to my hide, too. I don’t like the idea of Lani and Leo being
alone back at the estate, so the sooner you get back to them, the better.” When
Kellan didn’t match his haste, a thread of discomfort snaked back through his
stomach. “Come on,” he prodded to cover for it. “Let’s bug, bro.”

“Tait.” His
friend’s voice sounded like a bucket of dry lava rocks. “About Lani…”

He thrust to his
feet. “Not going there, man.”

“I think we need
to.”

“Well,
I
think you’re wrong.” He grimaced. “Since when are
you
such a fan of the
emotional slice-and-dice, anyway?”

“Did I say I was
a fan?” He thrust up his jaw. “Some people are just worth getting uncomfortable
for. Like it or not, dickhead, both of you fall into that category for me.”

Hell
. Ignoring the
shitball now really would make him a dickhead. “Okay, fine. We’ll talk about it,
just not here. First things first. Let’s get back to Franz’s place, grab the
guy on the horn, and make sure your discovery is disseminated to the right
people. After that, I promise we can sit down, brew up some herbal tea, and
have a long, cozy chitty-chat, if that’s what you want.”

“Chitty-chat?”
Kellan glowered as he pushed to his feet. “You’re pushing it, T-Bomb.”

“But I’m worth
it.” He batted his eyelashes in an open taunt. “Remember?”

*
* * * *

Thanks to a huge
accident on the 50, their drive time back to Franzen’s was prolonged by an
hour. A stroke of luck helped Tait in veering Kell away from approaching the
subject of Lani again. He gave himself a mental high-five for thinking to load
the full Timbaland music library on his phone. After plugging it into the
rental car’s USB, he was able to keep Kell more occupied than a two year-old
with his mama’s key ring.

When they got
back to Franzen’s house, the sun had disappeared, leaving the sky a brilliant blend
of purple, crimson, and gold. Lani’s jeep was still in the driveway, as they’d
expected, but it was joined by a black pickup. Since the wheel wells were
splattered in fresh mud and dust, Tait drew the conclusion that the second
vehicle had come from Hale Anelas, as well. He peered at the house in
curiosity. The living room and lanai lights were aglow.

“Somebody’s here,”
he stated. “I didn’t think we’d be gone that long, so I didn’t leave the lights
on.”

“Shit,” Kell
spat. “You think we need to be worried?”

“That’s not what
my gut’s saying,” he replied. “But who the hell is—”

He was plunged
into silence by a figure bursting from the house and racing across the packed
earth. His breath was kept captive by the sight of luscious hips encased in snug
jeans, incredible cleavage in a flowered camisole, and a flowing mane of thick
black hair—

Flying around a
goddess’s face, flooded with terror.

“Starshine?”
Kellan followed it with a rough grunt as Lani launched herself at him. She
sobbed hard into his shoulder, revealing she’d been waiting a while to do so. “Hey,
hey,” Kellan crooned. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

Now
Tait’s gut began
its alarms. “Is it Benson?” he charged. “Has he fucked with you again? Where is
the bastard?”

As he fired the
demands, someone else emerged from the house. Ike, one of Hale Anelas’s ranch
hands, appeared in the twilight. The man’s face, normally ruddy and smiling,
was redrawn by lines of worry. “It’s not Benson,” he explained. “It’s Leo.”

“Leo?” Screw the
alarms. His stomach clenched into a full fist of dread. “What’s wrong with Leo?
What’s happened?”

Kellan held out
a surprisingly steady hand. “Whoa. Wait. This isn’t undue drama, is it? Ike, we
already know about the shiner.”

“The
shiner
?”
Tait growled. “When the hell did that happen?”

Ike shook his
head. “No. This is more, I’m afraid.”

Kellan scowled.
“More…how?”

“He’s gone.”
Lani’s confession spilled from trembling lips. Tears were so thick in her eyes,
they resembled iridescent glass.

“Gone?” Tait
echoed. “What the fuck does
that
mean?”

Ike shifted
forward again. “We didn’t notice anything screwy until it was time for dinner.
Most of us were down at the barn all afternoon, and Hokulani was working in the
rose garden. Everyone thought Leo had gotten home and was in his room, doing
homework. We didn’t realize the room was empty until we called him down for
dinner with no response.”

Lani sucked in a
shaky breath. “Th—that’s when I checked my texts and emails.”

She held out her
phone for both of them to view.

Lani,

I love you, but
I can’t do all this anymore. I was so proud of myself for standing up to Parker
yesterday, but I should have seen what the prick was up to. He only backed down
because he had a better plan in mind than bashing my face in. Kalea is with him
now, and my
heart
is ruined, instead.

What’s the good
of continuing to try, when shit like this keeps happening? Mom and Dad are
gone. Soon our home will be, too. And having to see my greatest love with my
worst enemy… It all sucks bigger bones that what I can handle.

I want to be
alone. Forever.

Tait read the
note over one more time, then returned the phone to Lani. Yeah, the message
dripped in teenage melodrama, which should’ve had him snickering a little by
now. But that was the guy he was a year ago. A guy who’d been through a year of
pain a lot like Leo’s closing line.

A guy who also had
a CO and a best friend who hadn’t given up on him.

The thought gripped
him so deeply, he didn’t notice Lani pull away from Kellan and approach him.
When she twisted both her hands into his, he started a little—then went
completely still. Within seconds, the woman wrapped his soul and senses again.
Seized by the desperation in her clasp. Eviscerated by the sorrow on her face.

“You’ve spent
the most time with him in the last week, Tait. If you have an idea where he
might’ve gone…what he might be thinking…God, anything…” Another cry burst from
her, filled with distraught need. “He’s the only thing I have left. Help
me…please!”

Lani had been
through a lot of fear in her life. Hiding in a cave from Hurricane Iniki when
she was four. The night they’d come to tell her about Mom and Dad’s plane
crash. Anytime Gunter and his gang came calling.

None of it came
close to this new terror.

Her throat was
clamped shut. Her veins ran with ice water. “He—he doesn’t pull stunts like
this,” she explained, trying to breathe but getting ragged results at best. She
peered frantically between Tait and Kellan. “He
knows
better than this.
We are Kails. We don’t just run away from our issues. What the hell is he
thinking?”

As if her
thoughts had a conduit to the elements, the sky over the ocean snarled. They
all looked to see massive thunderheads, rolling in fast.

“Well, isn’t
that special.” In true
Kamaˋaina
style, Ike gave the situation a
softly sardonic commentary.

“Shit!” Lani
spat.

Tait and
Kellan’s reaction, nearly the same wide stance with hands to their hips, gave
her an odd, immediate surge of confidence. Without turning his assessment from
the horizon, Tait asked Ike, “How long do you reckon before that shit hits?”

“Depends,” Ike
supplied. “If the wind stays low, four to five hours. If it starts to blow
hard, we could be under showers in an hour.”

Kellan turned to
them. “Apologies for sounding like a guy who grew up just outside Spokane, but
it’s still eighty degrees. A little rain won’t give the kid frostbite, right?”

Lani paced away
from them then, unable to listen as Ike explained what a downpour did to some
of the rocky cliffs along their side of the island. Hearing the phrases “slick
as Vaseline” and “lovesick teenager with three seconds of patience” wasn’t
doing a thing for her agitation level.

After the men
deliberated for what felt like days, they moved into action at the same time.
She jogged back over in time to watch Ike transfer the first aid kit and a
blanket out of his truck and into her jeep. At Tait’s order to do so, he also
peeled back the jeep’s convertible roof.

“That’s good,”
Tait remarked as he emerged from the house with a coil of rope and some bottles
of water. He’d changed into heavy khaki pants and a windbreaker. “We’ll have
better sight lines without the lid.”

“What’s going
on?” she asked.

Tait stopped to
give her a tight hug. “I’ve got a pretty good idea of where he is,” he stated.
“We’re taking the jeep because we can get it onto the sand. Ike’s driving,
since he grew up on this shore.”

“Then I’m going
with you.”

His features
tightened. “Lani—”

“I grew up on
this shore, too,
hupo
.”

He curled a hand
around her nape to keep her gaze bolted with his, lowering his head to help the
effort, too. “You’ll be calling
yourself
an idiot if he comes back here,
finds no one around, and decides to fly again.”

A unique yet
familiar scent came from behind her. Kellan’s bergamot and musk essence
instilled her with much-needed resilience. She was tempted to kiss him for it
as he injected, “I’ll stay here, T. She needs to go.”

Tait looked up.
The two men held each other’s stare for another thirty seconds, in which Lani
could’ve sworn she was witness to a conversation that didn’t have its volume
knob turned up. Tait actually nodded at the end of it, like Kellan had made a
final point with which to concur. “Got a jacket with you, dreamgirl?” he
issued. “It’s likely going to get a little breezy.”

She shrugged,
not about to let her wardrobe be his next excuse for deterring her. “I’ll be
fine. Come on; let’s go.”

Tait turned from
her without a word and disappeared into the house. A few seconds later, he
strode back out with a sweatshirt in hand, passing it to her on his way to the
jeep. “
Now
you’re fine. Put it on and hop in. We’re racing the sky.”

She tugged the
sweatshirt over her head, feeling tiny in the large garment. As she started
rolling up the sleeves, it was impossible to avoid the intensity of Kellan’s
stare—on her chest.

“I’ve always
loved being in the Army, but starshine, you give the word new meaning.” He
playfully traced the “R” that was pushed out by her right breast as he pulled
her in for a kiss. Lani didn’t resist the fervent press of his lips. She
wrapped both arms around his broad shoulders, gripping him just as eagerly in
return. When they pulled apart, she moved one hand up to his stubbled, sexy
jaw.

“I’m so glad
you’re here,” she confessed, meaning the words a thousand times more than she
had in the kitchen last night. She hoped he saw the thankfulness in her eyes.
His answering smile conveyed that he did.

All too soon,
she had to step back. Kellan squeezed her hand one last time before he let her
go. She pressed it into the center of her chest, hoping his strength seeped
into the one place where she needed it most right now. Her heart.

*
* * * *

“Pull in here.”

Tait’s shout prompted
Ike to jerk the jeep’s steering wheel, directing it across the sand and toward
the deep alcove in the cliffs to which he’d pointed. Lani fought to stay
upright in the back seat as they bounced over the rockier ground of the shore.
The moment Ike cut the engine, she glanced frantically to the clouds over the
water before jumping out and joining the men, who tested flashlights and coiled
rope for inclusion in the backpacks at their feet.

“Are you sure
about this?” she questioned Tait.

He checked the attachments
on a supersized utility knife. “Of course I’m not sure. But he’s a sixteen
year-old on a pretty small island who doesn’t have many options for a stunt
like this. Besides that, he was gung-ho about showing off this ‘discovery’ to
me just two days ago. If this was
Final Jeopardy
, I’d write it in and
bet everything but a buck.”

“But we’re over
three miles from home. How could he have gotten this far, over the rocks, since
school got out?”

Tait flashed her
a rugged soldier’s version of his crooked grin. “Because he didn’t come from
home.” He tapped the phone that had become a permanent fixture in her hand, a
symbol of the hope that Leo would simply call and say he was just kidding and
was back at Hale Anelas. “Time stamp on the email. Twelve-thirty. I’m going to
go out on a limb and bet he tossed in the towel on school after that.”

“And just phoned
the bus driver for personal car service?” she countered.

“I wouldn’t put
it past the kid, but not likely in this case.”

“So how did he
get out here?”

His stare widened
with speculation as he slipped on his backpack. “You really itching to know my
theory on that one, too?”

Lani gulped.
“Would the wise answer to that be no?”

“Probably.”

As the weight in
her chest tripled, she gestured toward the cliff, giving him clearance to lead
the way. As Tait stepped past her, he slipped a hand around hers and held on
firmly. She accepted the support with greedy gratitude. Like his best friend,
the man had figured out that she talked a good game when it came to I-Am-Woman-Hear-Me-Roar,
but having them confirm her strength by borrowing a bit of their own, through
their simple physical reassurances, was what kept her putting one foot in front
of the other right now.

The cave was
wider than she originally thought, since a big portion was hidden by a
secondary rock outcropping. The natural disguise also cloaked a path: a narrow
dirt ingress that was wedged between the steep bluffs like a secret note
between two books. Tait led them straight toward it. “Here’s where we’ll need
the flashlights,” he instructed.

Unbelievably,
the path tightened. Lani felt like the mountain was swallowing them, though she
could still hear the surf on the shore—and the thunder in the sky, crawling
closer. She coupled those observations with the packed dirt beneath her feet,
and summed up the courage to voice her conclusion. “The tide’s rising with the
storm. We’re screwed if we’re not out of here in an hour.”

Tait didn’t
break stride. “I like to save the word ‘screwed’ for a different connotations,
dreamgirl. I’ve cross-trained with enough SEALs to keep us alive and afloat in
here if needed.”

The hoo-rah bravado
didn’t fool her. The undercurrent in his tone was gooier than the moans of the
wind through the tunnel. “But if we don’t reach Leo—”

“We’re going to
reach Leo.”

No darkness this
time. Only determination that wasn’t accepting any hints at failure. Lani
gladly supported that initiative.  

They climbed
deeper, then higher, then back down, until natural light once more poured in
from above. The passageway widened into a cavern about the size of the front
living room at home. Replacing the picture window was an opening in the rocks
that gave a breath-stealing ocean view—and a direct drop of a hundred feet. Where
the rug usually rested, there was a big puddle of water. Sitting next to that
puddle, looking like the water was deep enough to drown in, sat her little
brother.

“Oh.” She rasped
past tears. “Oh, thank God! Leo!”

She only took
only one step before Tait yanked her back. Leaning close, he murmured, “The
thorn’s still in his paw, mama bear. Let’s do this carefully.”

She gave him a
concurring nod and backed off, letting him approach Leo, instead. Though the
man lowered quietly, Leo jumped as if Tait had turned into a giant scorpion. The
tear streaks on his face ripped at her heart. She knew all this was only
typical teen boy dramatics, but at that moment, if she wouldn’t have thought
twice about selling her soul for the chance to teleport Parker Smythe here and
bash his face in.

“Dude,” Tait
chastised, grabbing Leo’s arm, “Chill. It’s only me.”

Leo slanted a
glare back at Ike and her. “You’ve got serious problems with bending the truth,
T-Boner.”

Despite her
stress, maybe because of it, Lani had to stifle a little laugh. Leo had a
nickname for Tait as well as Kellan. Her heart warmed. Judging by Tait’s smirk,
it did the same for him.

“Your sister cares
about you, man. She’s been a wreck. I think she said something about how you
were all she has left.”

Leo snorted.
“That’s bullshit. She has Slash-gasm now.”

Tait’s chuckle
echoed off the walls. “Slash-gasm. Damn, why didn’t I think of that?” He
sobered as he shook his head. “Despite the cool hashtag, you’re missing
something key there. Kellan, like me, will be out of here in another week. And
like it or not, the man’s hard drive doesn’t recognize the phrase ‘long-term
relationship.’”

“Yeah? I call
bullshit again.”

The hearth in
her heart was swept by a gust of shock. She hadn’t missed the growing length in
Kellan’s stares or the lingering tenderness in his touch, but until now, had
written all of it off to the enchantment of the island, not her. Hawaii turned
a lot of people into swooning idiots, even gritty Special Ops soldiers. But the
surety of her brother’s statement couldn’t be denied. And the resulting
confusion in her heart couldn’t be ignored.

“You wanna tell
me your head’s in the same sand, man?” Leo pressed closer to Tait to murmur it,
but the cave’s acoustics made his effort useless. “You see how he looks at her,
right?”

For a long
pause, Tait didn’t say anything. Lani told herself she was relieved, though the
man’s profile, looking out to the sea as if he yearned to fly into the thick of
the storm, yanked the feeling from her. The next moment, the expression was
gone. He turned back toward her brother and uttered, “Look…Leo…”

“Fuck!”

Lani hissed. She
got ready with a finger-snapping follow-up to condemn Leo’s language, a
reaction as instinctual as teeth brushing and room cleaning reminders, but Tait
stopped her with a firm glare. It felt odd and insane, but also natural and
perfect, to step back in deference. This situation was beyond harrowing, and Tait’s
lead on it was amazing—for which she’d be forever grateful. If he wasn’t here,
it’d be her sitting next to Leo. Talk about the blind leading the blind—a holy-shit
scenario to consider even when there wasn’t a sheer cliff drop just a few feet
away.

“Going to let
you have that one, kid,” Tait finally said. “The situation sucks, period.”

Leo’s shoulders
fell even more. “Parker’s probably mooning over Kalea right now, and vice versa.
That piss-sucking fuckwad!”

Lani prepared to
snap her fingers again. Tait reined her back with another glower. This command was
as daunting as the first, but his face contained a new element now—a tension that
showed her every drop of freaked-out in his mental frying pan after Leo’s
comments about Kellan’s not-so-hidden feelings.

Damn
. 

She’d fix it all
soon enough. After all this was through, she’d sit Tait down and clarify
things. She’d explain that no matter what the flight plan of Kellan’s heart,
she had no intention of rerouting hers to match. More than anyone, she was
aware of the depths in her soul and the passion in her spirit, and what they’d
require from a man long-term. Too much. Kellan Rush was too good a guy to be
drained by her outrageous needs. Once she explained that to Tait, maybe she’d
even have an ally to help out with her good-bye to Kellan next week.