AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Fifty-five
“What was that all about?” Libby seemed shaken. Les figured she’d heard his end of the conversation.
He slid out of the bed they’d just shared and started pulling on his jeans. “Shit’s happening. Kean’s gone missing, and Alia’s losing her cool. When I told her you were here, she started bawling and Don took the phone. Don, not Sloan. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I’m heading over there right now to find out.”
Libby rolled out from under the covers, her naked skin glowing in the light from the candles he’d lit to romance her. He stopped for a second and felt his body reengage. He couldn’t get over how perfect she was. The old doll had kept her figure and she looked good for her fifty-something years.
Breaking out from her spell, he began hauling on his Booker’s shirt and grabbed the brush to get his hair tied back. By the time he’d finished, she’d gotten into her clothes and was looking for her cell phone. “I think I know where he might be.”
“Who?”
“Kean. The kid.”
“How in hell would you know?”
“I used to work for his dad, the asshole.”
Still not getting the connection, Les stopped and grabbed her arms. “Tell me.”
Libby fiddled with her phone and it took a few seconds before she met his gaze. Her eyes were full of regret, and from the amount of tears that had gathered he knew it wouldn’t be long before they spilled over onto her cheeks.
“He’s a real number, that one. I’m talking about Paul Landon, Alia’s husband. He hired me to find his son, told me this long bullshit story about how Kean’s mother was a workaholic, a drug addict, and that he needed to save the kid from her, bring him back to Chicago where he had a judge willing to grant him full custody.”
“Alia? Seriously? One look at the broad and anyone with a brain could see she loves her kid.”
“I know that now, but I didn’t when I took the job. I’d been overworking. Looking for runaway kids, finding evidence on cheating wives, mostly bitches who didn’t deserve the lives their hard-working men were providing. When Landon came along, I’d just finished with a horrible case where a mother had been abusing her kid, locking him in the basement for punishment. I needed a break from all the sadness. So when Landon called, I jumped at the chance to come to Hawaii and keep tabs on his Kean.”
Les had started to pull away. “Yougave him Sloan’s address.”
“Yeah, after I tailed the taxi to the house, I gave him that address. It was listed in the details from the investigation but I hadn’t known they’d moved in. You saw me then, didn’t you?”
“Uh, huh.”
“You knew who I was when I came into the garage earlier. I thought you recognized me.”
“Yep.”
“Les you’ve got to know this. I also reported that Kean was happy. That Alia was a great mom and to leave them the hell alone. He got so mad, the prick fired me. The bastard didn’t deserve a kid like Kean.”
“Okay. I believe you. But that still doesn’t get the kid back. I’ve gotta go.”
“Wait. I think I might know where he might be. If Paul actually took him that is. When he first hired me, we were shooting the shit and he said once I had located the boy, he would come and pick him up himself because the kid knew him and would listen to what he said. Then he mentioned a boat he often rented for deep-sea fishing when he was here on the island. He could have rented the boat today and taken Kean to one of the other islands where he could get the kid away without anyone knowing.”
“Shit, woman, with his money, he could do anything. Do you know the name of the boat?” Les held his breath.Could they be this lucky?
Libby swiped at her eyes, sniffed and grinned. “Actually, I don’t. But I know where the marina’s located.” She passed on the information.
“I know the place, been there myself with Roy and Sloan.”
“Paul had bragged about a restaurant that served fresh fish close by, and I went there to try it. I’m thinking if we checked the place out, we could find if my hunch is right. If I remember correctly, when I strolled by, there was a guard at the gate. He might have seen something.”
Les hugged her and then swung away to grab for his phone. “I’m calling Sloan. Either back your car out of the drive so I can get mine out, or we’ll take my bike. Your choice.”
Within minutes, Les could tell Libby loved riding passenger on his Harley. It made his heart kinda sing. Most women her age wouldn’t have anything to do with motorcycles or the men who rode them. Her arms encircling his chest made his heart swell. And her laughter ringing in his ears had him grinning like a youngster on his first ride.
Pre-dawn in the city was normally gray and bleak, even on the magical island of Oahu, but this early in the new day they were fortunate with a full moon guiding them.
A Banyan tree – majestic with its foliage spreading wide, its aerial roots drooping to the ground like clusters of pale legs holding the weight – never failed to catch his attention when he traveled this street. Today, it seemed extra magnificent having the sky’s golden sphere as a backdrop.
