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“Hawaii sounds like a nice place to be just about now.” I stared at the dark woods, hoping Dash would return soon. “Why aren’t you there?”
“I come and go,” he offered casually. “Omega’s team is myohana.”
“Ohana?”
“It means ‘family.’” He paused to adjust his scope. “Haven’t you seenLilo and Stitch?”
“Now that you mention it, no, I never saw that movie.”
“You should.” He eyed me briefly. “I’m sorry about your brother. He was one of the good ones. You should also know this. He’s alive in all of our hearts.”
In the middle of the damp, cold night, as I lay in wait forthe assassins who wanted to kill me, my eyes filled with tears. They weren’t tears of fear. They were an unexpected present from this man’s sweet spirit. I wasn’t gifted like my mother had been, but I was pretty sure that, had my mom met Kai, she would’ve seen a resplendent white aura around him.
“You look way too young to be so wise, Kai.”
“I’m thirty-four and much older in battle years.”
“I thought you were in your mid-twenties.” I paused and considered the hardened warrior hidden behind his youthful appearance. Somehow, he felt accessible to me. “I want you to know. I feel Nix alive in my heart, too,” I confessed, to a total stranger no less. “Thanks for reminding me of that.”
“Mahalo.” He lifted his finger to the trigger. “And now, Goddess, it’s a Monday morning at work. I need you to be really quiet. The bad guys? They’re coming.”
Chapter Eighteen
Dash
Weapons in hand, Bozeman and I advanced fast and stealthily. A thick accumulation of pine needles and leaves helped to keep our shoes quiet. A slight limp shortened my stride on one side, but the adrenaline kept the pain at bay. Much to my satisfaction, my movements were reasonably fluid.
It was weird, but I couldn’t remember feeling an iota of pain since the moment Thena sat on my lap in the limo. She was better than all the painkillers in the world put together. Shame we’d been interrupted.
The situation sucked and I wished Thena wasn’t involved, but I had to admit that it felt good to be on the battlefield and on the prowl again. Maybe fighting was the only kind of physical therapy a stubborn ape like me needed.
I set the thought aside.Focus, Dagger. Your only goal at this moment is to get Thena out of danger and deliver her safely to Astor house.
After a quick look at the topography, Bozeman and I planted the bait at the edge of a gap between two low hills, where a tiny creek flowed through the terrain. We then stole through the woods and down to the river. I’d guessed the tangos’ plan right. We found footprints indicating that a sizeable group had been waiting to finish us up there.
Taking advantage of the darkness and the cover of the trees, we doubled back up the hill, following the tracks, hyper-aware of the lurking enemy. We found the lot of them examining the ruts the limo had left on the ground by the road.
Hidden in the shadows, I paused to study them. In all, I counted sixteen. More than double our numbers. Decent weapons. Forest cammies that made them hard to see in thesewoods. These shitheads did murder jobs like this one on a regular basis.
To my nine o’clock, the road had caved over the culvert. To my three o’clock, the quaint little bridge over the river was all but gone. No sign of our escorts, no torched Suburbans, no indications of a gunfight.Oorah.Good news at last.
Studying the group, I located the stocky tango carrying the jammer, a box with three sturdy, short antennas hanging from his vest.
He’s mine, I signaled to Bozeman with my fingers, using our secret sign language.You know what to do.
He pointed to his earpiece then to my ear.You’ve got no comms.
Find me and be in position in ten, I signaled, displaying as many fingers in the air before we started our chronometers. With that done, I nudged my head to one side. He turned and disappeared into the woods, silent as a panther hunting in the night.
When one of the tangos gave the command, the others moved. Okay then, Bearded Dude was the leader of this group. His men spread on a line at either side of their leader. He followed the tracks of the limo on the moist earth through the woods, leading the advance at the center of the formation. The fire burned ahead, clearly visible above the canopy in the night sky, but Bearded Dude was the cautious type. The group moved slowly.
Better for me.
I trailed their slow advance, keeping my eyes on my target, creeping after the guy carrying the jammer, anticipating his route through the woods. Silently, I sidled between pine trees and dead bushes and weaved my way ahead of Stocky. Once in position, I holstered my Glock and unsheathed my dagger. Cold and sharp as the devil’s teeth, she felt good in my hand, familiar,reliable, and deadly as always.
Somewhere midway between the road and the burning wreck, the vegetation conspired with me to visually isolate my target. The moment Stocky stepped out of his friends’ line of sight, I struck.
I took him from behind. Wrapping my arm around his face, I wrenched his head to one side, and pressing my forearm over his mouth, wedged the knife into the base of his skull. I sank my blade into the only spot in his body that would instantly disconnect him from life and twisted my wrist.
