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I take a breath and tug on his hair until his eyes come to me. “I love you, Kai. When you make me mad enough that I swear I could spit fire or happy enough that I feel like I’m walking on air, I’m always yours and no one else’s.” I whisper the last part.
His eyes search my face for a moment before he ducks his head, kisses my stomach, and then lifts up, taking my mouth in a kiss I feel throughout my body, one that causes the warmth to seep back in.
“I don’t know how I will be able to handle your friendship with Pika, but for you, I’ll try,” he tells me, pushing my hair away from my face.
“If you would have explained to me what was going on without freaking out, I would have respected your feelings,” I assure him, lifting my hands up to run along the underside of his jaw. “You have to learn to talk to me without talking at me.”
“I’m working on it,” he says, leaning down and pressing another kiss to my lips before rolling to his side and placing his hand on my belly. Then he looks up at me. “Did you really feel him move?” he questions as a look of fascination fills his eyes.
“I did. It was more of a flutter than anything, but I felt it.”
“I missed it,” he says, and I can see the disappointment in his eyes.
I shake my head. “No, you didn’t. I don’t think anyone can feel him moving yet but me,” I tell him, running my hand over his hair.
“Next time, tell me when it happens so I can try,” he says before he kisses my stomach again.
Then he rolls to his back and pulls me to lie at his side, being careful of my belly as he adjusts me until my body is draped over his. His hand runs lazily over my back, and before I know it, I fall asleep only to wake hours later to an empty bed.
I get up, find a shirt and a pair of sweats, and then make my way out of the bedroom. I pad across the house to Kai’s office. His door is slightly ajar, so I walk in, finding him sitting at his desk, looking at the phone.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him.
His head lifts and his eyes sweep over me before he takes my hand and gently pulls me into his lap.
“Kai,” I whisper as his face goes into my neck and he inhales. “Talk to me.”
“I need to make a phone call.”
“Okay,” I say, confused.
“A man I know told me a woman was hurt last night and she’s in bad shape,” he says quietly.
“What happened?” I ask, wrapping my arms around him.
He’s quiet for a long time, and I think he’s not going to talk to me. “She was shot at close range,” he says.
Every muscle in my body goes tight. That is not what I thought he was going to say.
“Thankfully, she was right outside of the hospital when it happened, and they were able to get to her fast enough. She almost died.” He whispers the last part as his arms go tighter around me. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. The men involved agreed that she was off-limits.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“This is why I will fucking work myself to death until we don’t have to worry about this kind of shit. She was innocent, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
I can tell he’s having a hard time keeping it together, so I get as close to him as I can. “What are you going to do?” I ask him softly while watching every emotion cross his face.
“When Kenton called a while back, he asked if I’d be willing to put in a call for him. I did, and it was agreed upon at that time that she would be off-limits. I set that meeting up.”
I nod and hold his cheek.
“My guess is he wants to set up another meeting so that he can figure out what happened and why the order to leave her alone was ignored.”
“Do you know why?” I ask.
“She witnessed a hit. She was the only living witness. The man who went after her is known for not always doing what he’s told and going his own way. This time wasn’t any different.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper as my heart breaks for her. “I know that you’re torn about getting involved, but you should call him.”
“I know, love.”
He lays his forehead against mine and his hand over my stomach before lifting his head and kissing me. Then he adjusts me in his lap and picks up the phone, dialing a number then putting the phone to his ear.
“I was told you need to speak with me,” he says, and I’m surprised by the coldness in his voice after the moment we just had. “I’m sorry about your situation, but—” he replies after a moment then is quiet again for a few seconds.
“You’re putting me in a very bad position,” he growls. Then his hand around me tightens even further before he snarls, “Kill every single motherfucker who even thought about hurting her.”
I know he’s talking about me when he says those words.
“I’ll make the call, but you owe me,” he replies, and I look at him, wondering why he would say that. His voice softens when he says, “I’m very sorry about what happened,” before hanging up. “I have to go to Vegas,” he tells me.
“I know.”
His nostrils flare, and he pulls me tighter against his body. “I know this is the place you feel the safest, but I need you to come with me.”
“Of course,” I assure him, sounding much braver than I feel.
“Nothing will happen to you. You have my word.”
“I know,” I whisper, wrapping myself tighter around him.
“This will not always be our life. I promise you,” he vows.
“How did this become your life?” I ask softly, pulling away so I can see his face.
He exhales, lifts me off him to stand, and then takes my hand and begins leading me out of his office. I think he’s taking me to bed, but instead, he leads me outside, down to one of the loungers that is set up near the water, and sits before pulling me to sit down between his legs.
“My family was involved with the mob since my great-grandfather first moved to America from Fiji. He started a business in Hawaii
and knew that, if he wanted it to expand, then he would need people with money to back him. This was not easy. No one wanted to take a chance on him, and no one believed that his business would take off, but then one day, a man came to him with an offer. He would help him if my great-grandfather would, in return, do him a favor. Every month, he would receive a shipment, and that shipment would contain drugs or other items that would be distributed in the black market in Hawaii. My great-grandfather agreed, thinking his hands were clean and that, if anything ever came to light, he could say he was in no way involved.
“After a year, he got greedy and decided to begin moving some of his own items. Five years in, he was one of the wealthiest men in Hawaii. It was around that time that he met a young socialite, fell instantly in love with her, and demanded that she marry him.”
I smile and shake my head.
“She made him realize what was really important, and he started becoming concerned with his business. He could no longer say that his hands were clean, so he began cutting his supplies down and trimming back on orders.
“He and my great-grandmother were married in a private ceremony on the beach, and nine months after they said their vows, my grandfather was born. He believed he had everything he could ever want. The day he went to pick up his wife and son from the hospital, his wife was murdered.”
“No,” I whisper.
“After that, my great-grandfather lost all hope and began doing everything within his power to take over and get rid of the men involved in killing his wife. He vowed that, one day, he would take control of all of them and then crush them. I ulu no ka lala i ke kumu.”
“What does that mean?” I ask as his fingers slide away my tears.
“The branches grow because of the trunk.” He tilts my head so that our gazes connect. “He died before his wish could be realized. My grandfather, father, and now I have become stronger than they are, and we have been slowly cutting their supplies, making them turn against each other. One day, they will fall, and I will be the only one standing.”
I pray that he is right, that, when this is all over, we will all be standing. “I’m scared,” I say, vocalizing my fear.
