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Chapter Thirty
Shaking from supressed desire, her dress gaping, her hair in total disarray, and her jumbled mind trying to kick into gear, Alia spun around to leave the room. Only to have Sloan’s voice stop her in the doorway.
“What’s up, Al? What can I do?” He’d fetched his shirt and was working at doing up the buttons, his fingers having a hell of a time.
Fighting to overcome her unleashed emotions, to slip back into her usual uncaring role, her voice came out harder than she meant it to.
“There’s nothing you can do. I need you to stay with Kean. Oh, yeah, and I need to borrow your car.”
“Well, that ain’t gonna happen. That car was my dad’s. No one but he ever drove it, and after his crash I put it back together myself. Now it’s mine. And I’m the only driver.” He clicked a link on his cell and within seconds spoke into the devise. “Don, can you come over and babysit Kean right now? Something’s come up for Alia. We need to go out for a little while. Great, the door’s open.”
Still fighting with her clothes, she demanded. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I just called Don. He’ll be here in a few minutes. His place is only two blocks over.”
Not sure if she was okay leaving her son with a man who was barely known to him, she hesitated and he picked up on her reluctance. “Seriously? You know Don; the FBI agent… loves kids. The same man you’ve worked with, who played badminton with Kean and Roy earlier and had them both laughing. Don would never hurt a child.”
Alia thought back to the friendly interaction Don had instigated with Kean and knew instinctively that Sloan spoke the truth. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”
She tiptoed into the room she was sharing with Kean for the next little while and stopped by the bed to replace his covers. Her son looked small and defenseless—a priceless gift.
Mine!
The usual swell of pure adoration hit her and she leaned over to place a soft kiss on his cheek, something she’d have trouble doing if he was awake.
Then she grabbed her luggage to take into the bathroom. Opening her makeup case, she used removal pads and wiped her face clean, only adding a slight touch of lip gloss. Next she whipped her hair back and swirled it into a clip, then stripped to pull on stretch yoga pants and an overly large black Hawaiian T-shirt, the uniform she usually wore to these calls. Her gun was the last item she claimed.
Fitting it into the special pocket she’d sewn to her waistband, where she also slipped her slim wallet holding her badge and driver’s license, and another slot for her phone, she headed downstairs to where Don now stood with Sloan.
“I’m sorry Sloan interrupted your evening. He wouldn’t let me borrow his car, and I need to go out for a while.”
Don’s eyes grew large. “His car? You wanted to borrow his car? He’s never let anyone else drive that baby. But it’s no problem for me to hang out while you’re gone. I’ll check on what’s happening next door and if I get bored, I’ll just watch TV.”
Considering the remote was already clutched in his hands, Alia had no doubt he meant it.
Once in the muscle car from the 70’s, a dark wine GTO Judge with the requisite strips, she buckled in and inspected the interior that gleamed with loving care, the man’s attention to detail apparent. “I need to go to the ABC store off of Kalakaua and Koa.”
“Right.” With the ease of someone comfortable behind the wheel, he pulled a U-turn and headed in the direction that would get them there quickest.
“I wish you would have just let me take the car. Or even your truck. I’m a good driver. I hate this, sitting here and fretting, with nothing to do.”
“No doubt. Why didn’t you bring your own vehicle again?”
“Don worried someone would recognize it as an official FBI SUV. He thought it best for me to rent a car while we’re with you. I’ll do that tomorrow.”
“Didn’t your Ruby have a car you could use while she’s away?”
Alia hoped her voice didn’t change when she admitted that her nanny had promised another friend—Cassie—the use of her wheels. And when Alia had found out, she hadn’t had the heart to argue… nor the right. After all, the pink and black Smart Car belonged to Ruby, bought and paid for with her wages, and she could lend it to whomever she wanted.
“Yeah, well, she made other arrangements before we knew I might need it. No biggie. Like I said, I’ll get my own tomorrow. Look, could you step on it. The kid we’re going to pick up is most likely in danger, and the quicker I get there, the better I’m gonna feel.”
Already exceeding the speed limit, he sped up and passed two more cars in front. “I noticed Kean took some time to settle in tonight? Was everything okay?”
She looked at him, saw the grin he flashed her way and knew he was trying to settle her nerves with blah-blah and kindness.
“Truthfully, he had to tell me verbatim what Roy had said at the barbeque, and then how him and Les goofed around. How much they made him laugh. And… best of all, they invited him to visit the garage. Promised they’d show him around the joint. His words, not mine.”
“That’s Les. He’s a colorful character, but his heart’s bigger than his attitude and Kean’s already gotten his number.”
