Rolling in the Deep: Hawaiian Heroes, Book 2 (26 page)

He strode back out into the morning with a feeling of having escaped clinging seaweed. Wahines, whoa, a moke never knew when they were going to erupt, with tears or whatever.

He turned resolutely toward his house. He needed to let his breakfast settle for at least twenty minutes or so, just enough time to check in with Tony, see that he was headed back here.

Then he’d swim south, to Na’alele.

The newlyweds returned late that morning, dropped off by the tender from their borrowed yacht. Everyone came down to the dock to see the graceful white yacht bobbing at anchor a little way offshore, too deep-hulled to come into Nawea’s shallow bay. The little raft slipped into the bay on the waves and nosed up to the dock.

Melia looked blissfully relaxed and tanned, and David smug as only a man returning from his honeymoon could be. They both wore a minimum of clothing, Melia a big hat and light sundress over her maillot, and David a pair of swim trunks.

Claire hugged her friend exuberantly. Bella waited impatiently for her own hug. “Have fun?” she asked teasingly.

Melia blushed as David set down the bags nearby, grinning indulgently.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “Nothing to do but sunbathe and eat and swim.”

“That’s all you remember?” David asked with mock horror. “I must have been doing something wrong.”

Melia blushed even brighter pink while Claire and Bella laughed.

“Give him another year or so. He’ll figure it out.”

Claire turned, her heart beating faster. Daniel stood there, his dark eyes narrowed against the sun. It was amazing, she thought hazily. David might be smoother of face and form, but when his older brother was present, he was all she could see.

“Hey, brah,” David said easily. “You got your boat here, yeah?”

“Brought her in yesterday. Welcome back, Mrs. Ho’omalu,” Daniel said to Melia, one of his rare smiles creasing his face.

“Mahalo, Daniel,” Melia replied. “Have you been taking care of my girls?”

An odd silence hummed. Claire’s mind was a beautiful blank. Daniel’s heavy brows drew together.

“Everyone has,” Bella said cheerfully. “Nawea is so gorgeous, I could stay for weeks.”

“Well, tell me what you’ve been doing,” Melia urged. The three women walked up the dock and across the lawn, leaving the two brothers on the dock.

Claire looked back before she walked into the house, and paused. Daniel and David still stood on the dock. Daniel was speaking, gesturing toward the sea. Both he and David looked grim. That was weird, considering David had just come back from his honeymoon and Daniel seemed to be engaged in working on his latest sculpture.

She’d walked over to his house earlier with a plate of macadamia-nut cookies from Leilani, who informed her with a twinkle in her eyes that they were Daniel’s favorite. To be honest, Claire had hoped the delivery might turn out like her first. But when she’d arrived, although his door was open and she could hear music from somewhere in the house, he hadn’t answered her call. Slowly, looking around curiously at the spare rooms with their big, comfortable furniture and a few of his sculptures, she’d followed the sound of Hawaiian ukulele and drums back through the big foyer to an open door.

There she’d stopped in her tracks, staring. Daniel was there, but this was Daniel the sculptor, the artist. He was stalking around a huge block of wood, his gaze intent on something only he could see. As she watched, he leaned over, the powerful muscles of his back bunching and sliding under his smooth golden skin, and swept his hand along the side of the block, leaving a long, curving black streak behind.

Goose bumps sprang up on her skin, and in spite of the warmth of the morning, Claire shivered. He was so gorgeous, as sexy as he’d been when he hulaed with his family. This was a dance of a different kind—he danced with the wood and whatever creature was captured inside.

She’d stood watching him for several moments, the music lilting and pounding as the soft light poured down. At last she’d turned and slipped away. She held the moment to her like a secret piece of the puzzle of Daniel Ho’omalu. No matter what happened, she would always remember him like this.

The girls spent the rest of the day hanging out. Melia wanted to know all about Bella’s meeting with her father. She wept with Bella, and hugged her, and then Claire, for good measure. “I can’t believe all of this was going on, and none of you told me,” she said, pouting a little.

Claire looked at Bella, who grimaced apologetically. “We didn’t want you to have any shadow on your wedding. You had enough to think about. David promised he would tell you later.”

“Well, okay, but no more secrets,” Melia told them severely.

Bella smirked at Claire, who blushed hotly. Melia’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Yes, Claire, tell us all about what you’ve been up to,” Bella said sweetly.

Claire poked her, and Bella giggled as Melia immediately poked Claire. “Tell. Me. Now.”

Claire looked around her bedroom, wishing she could hide under the bed on which the three of them curled up together, Melia against the pillows, herself cross-legged and Bella lying across the foot, head propped on her hand.

Melia’s eyes narrowed. “All right. This has to be about a guy, or you wouldn’t be so embarrassed. And it’s not Zane, ’cause he’s too young. Jack…hmm, saw you dancing with him at the wedding, but…” She sat bolt upright, her green eyes wide, her mouth an
O
of shock. “Omigod, Claire!
Daniel
?”

Claire squirmed as Bella hooted with laughter.

“Well,” she mumbled. “He’s…totally hot.”

Melia blinked. “Really? I mean, he’s a great guy, the best, but…most women think he’s a little scary.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Yeah, he thinks so too.” She smiled to herself, remembering the way he’d warned her to leave or take the consequences.

She looked up to find both her friends regarding her with fascination. “What?”

Melia shrugged. “The Ho’omalu men…yeah.” They shared a look of secret understanding.

“I’m starving,” Bella said. “Let’s go see if it’s time for lunch.”

“Oh, goody,” Melia agreed. “I wonder if Leilani has pulled-pork sandwiches.”

She did, along with fruit salad and her special coleslaw. They helped carry the food down to the beach lanai, in the shade of the palms.

Uncle Hilo had arrived while the three friends were inside. He stood with David and Daniel on the dock.

Claire watched them, puzzled and a little uneasy. Daniel stood with his legs planted solidly apart, his back to her. His stance telegraphed dangerous tension. So did David’s. She looked at Melia and found her friend watching her husband.

“What’s up with them?” Claire asked her quietly.

Melia shook her head. “I don’t know, but it looks like business. Let’s go bring the drinks down, and maybe they’ll be ready to eat by then.”

David stood with his brother and uncle on the end of the dock. The warm wind ruffled their hair as the line of rain clouds moved in across the sea, whitecaps ruffling the water. Hilo had just arrived, dropped off by Tony, who had headed back out to continue his sonar patrol of the area.

Daniel told Hilo and David about his conversation with Dennis Ho and his search of the shoreline, both to the north and south.

“There is something out there,” he said stubbornly. “I can feel it. But this morning I even searched Na’alele Caves. Nothing.”

“I’ll help you look again,” David said. “I’ll suit up with dive gear and come with you.”

Daniel shook his head. “I appreciate it, brah, but you’d be a liability, just like I would’ve on the mountain with you a few weeks ago.”

David scowled, but he nodded. It was true, his skills lay with his ability to call upon the power of Pele’s volcanoes, and even the earth built with her lava. If anything happened to him underwater he could not tap the power of the seas like Daniel. He might drown, just as Daniel could die in a fall on the mountain or be burned to death in the volcanoes.

“
E akahele, Daniele!
E Man
ō maiā Kanaloa
,
akā
…
”
Hilo said gravely.
“
Be careful, Daniel. Your power is from the sea, but still…those Na’alele Caves are dangerous. Unstable.”

“I’ll be careful,
kapuna
. I saw a fresh cave-in this morning, in fact. The biggest chamber is blocked off.”

David nodded. “Pele is stirring. As soon as I stepped back onto the island, I felt movement under the mountain.”

“Perhaps she’ll wake enough to walk,” Daniel growled. “And her skirts of a’a will cover that damned sub, wherever it is.”

“We must find it for her, for Kanaloa. I will come with you, Daniel.”

Daniel looked at Hilo in surprise and dismay. He struggled for words. “Uncle, I…”

“Betta leave this fo Daniel,” David said. “We all know how bravely you’ve done your part, kapuna. We will never forget how you fought those pirates at Kala Bay. But now it’s time to pass the war club.”

Hilo’s broad face tightened, his scowl startling on a face that was so habitually merry. “I may be your uncle,” he snapped. “But I am not an old man.”

“Of course not,” the brothers said at once. Daniel put his hand on his uncle’s shoulder, stiff under his soft cotton shirt. “
E kala mai
, I’m sorry, kapuna. I meant no disrespect. I would be honored to have you join me in the hunt.”

Hilo nodded shortly. “Maybe I can still teach you a thing or two.”

“No doubts here,” Daniel said dryly. The three of them chuckled, and relief swept Daniel. He felt as gauche as a boy to have bruised his uncle’s pride.

“And there’s one thing you haven’t thought of,” Hilo added with a touch of smugness. “The
Hypnautique.
She’s no longer in Kailua Harbor. Noticed when Tony and I came by earlier.”

His nephews stared at him. “Gone? We need to find out where.”

Just then Daniel’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. “It’s Zane.”

He lifted the phone to his ear. “Zane, what’s up? Where are you?”

His cousin’s voice crackled with static as if the wind were blowing around him. “I’m out with Tony, on the boat.”

“Okay. You mokes find anything?”

“Not on the sonar. But we’re south off Na’alele, about half a mile out. And you’ll never guess what boat just showed up.”

“The
Hypnautique
.”

“How the…?”

“Never mind that,” Daniel said, a grin twitching at his lips. “Listen, you two rig up some lines, pretend you’re fishing, got it? I don’t want them to have any reason to wonder why you’re out there.”

“Hey, we’re not stupid.” Zane sounded annoyed. “Already had some lines out. Figured we might as well catch dinner.”

“Yeah? Well, good thinking. Listen, just keep an eye on them. You have binoculars?”

“Sure do. Tony’s watching them from the cabin.”

“Good. Tell him not to let them see him looking. And call me back every twenty minutes or so.”

“Yes,
kuhuna
kāne
, grandfather,” the younger man retorted. “Later.”

“Mahalo.” Daniel thrust his phone into his pocket and grimaced at David and Hilo, both watching him like sharks. “Zane’s out with Tony. And the yacht is out there, within sight. They’re watching her with binoculars.”

David opened his mouth and then closed it, looking past Daniel. Daniel turned, hearing light footsteps on the dock. It was Melia. He stifled his irritation at the interruption.

“What is it,
pua
?” David asked.

Melia frowned, not at her husband but at Daniel. “What?” he asked warily.

She clasped her hands before her, her expression wary but determined. “Daniel…I know that what’s between you and Claire is none of my business, but I think…I think you should tell her about the ho’omalu.”

He recoiled. “What? No.” Tell Claire about his powers, after knowing her such a short time? “Why would I do that?”

Her cheeks reddened, but she persisted. “Daniel, I think you know why.”

David moved to stand beside his wife, his arm around her. He frowned, but said nothing.

“No,” Daniel said flatly. “You’re wrong. This is just…a thing, that’s all. She’ll be going back to the mainland soon. She doesn’t need to know anything.” And he did not need this on top of everything else on his plate.

Then he saw movement behind David, and his gut clenched. It was Claire.

“Hey,” she said uncertainly. “What’s up, people?”

Melia stared at Daniel for a moment, waiting, her brows lowering like her husband’s. Then she turned to Claire. “Not a darn thing, apparently. Let’s go eat lunch. Coming, gentlemen?”

Claire allowed herself to be swept along with Melia’s arm through hers, but she cast him a last look over her shoulder. She looked…hurt, as if he’d left her out. Which he had, but damned if he was going to budge.

David shifted, his eyes following the women, but not his feet. “Hey, brah. Melia could be right, you know. Not that you should tell her everything, but that, uh…”

“What?” Daniel couldn’t believe his brother was meddling too. “This is not—she’s not—” He couldn’t force himself to say the words. “We’re just—” he broke off abruptly, his cheeks hot, as his uncle gave him a chiding look.

David shook his head stubbornly. “Melia knows her. They’re like sisters. And I know you, brah. You don’t whore around the way I did when I was single and stupid. You might as well admit Claire means something to you.”

Daniel shifted again, wishing he could just dive off the dock and swim away from this damn discussion. What the hell had happened to their real problems, like drug smugglers? This was what happened when a man was entangled in a wahine’s pretty tentacles—like an octopus, she kept drawing him in.

“Oh, ‘Melia says’,” he mimicked. “Brah, you’re already pussy-whipped.”

David stared at him. Then he gave a crack of laughter. “Oh, yeah? Well, you’re next.”

“Me?” Daniel snorted. “That ain’t never gonna happen. Not to this kanaka.”

“I think I’ll just stroll up to lunch,” said their uncle. “You boys can thrash this out on your own.” He walked away.