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CHAPTER ONE
Watching the finalremnants of a stunning sunset on Waikiki Beach was a dream come true.
The ominous storm clouds building overhead and the lightning zipping across the sky, not so much.
Lucy turned to head back to her Airbnb, surprised to find that the crowd along the beach behind her had dispersed. When had that happened?
Only a few stragglers remained and most were scurrying across the sand toward busy Kalakaua Avenue, where the evening traffic was jammed bumper to bumper. Raindrops pelted her bare arms and she started walking faster.
Something damp, soft, and furry brushed against her ankle. And then it whined.
Startled, she halted and looked down into the face of a bedraggled puppy pawing at her leg. “You poor baby,” she crooned. “Who left you behind?”
The rain grew heavier as she scanned the beach for anyone who might be searching for their dog. But now everyone was gone.
“Will you let me pick you up?” She leaned down to let the pup sniff her hand and it practically launched into her arms, a shivering, sodden mass trying to press itself closer to her chest when she lifted him—or her.
“Why don’t you have a collar, buddy? Are you chipped?”
Her first guess was no.
The poor little thing was thin, with a dirty, badly matted coat. Whether it was gray, white, or a combination, she couldn’t tell in the dim light, but he needed help and she definitely couldn’t leave him alone on the beach.
Lucy picked up her pace on a sidewalk leading toward the bright lights of the vibrant waterfront shopping area just ahead, where she could hear a street musician playing a banjo and see tourists huddled in the store doorways to escape the rain. Would someone notice the pup in her arms and joyously reclaim him?
She jerked to a halt at a sudden commotion to her left. A shadowy figure shouted. Another figure rammed into him.
A flash of silver.
Gunfire.
The man on his feet spun towards her. She couldn’t make out his features, but she sensed his malevolent stare. A frigid blast of fear shot through her.
Oh, Lord, please—please help me!She ran for her life toward the impossibly cheerful, welcoming colors of the upscale shop windows along the avenue.
Toward the people oblivious to what had happened in the dark shadows not fifty feet away.
A hand grabbed her hair and hauled her backward, slamming her against his chest. The puppy launched out of her arms as the man closed his hands around her throat before she could scream.
She tried to pull away from his grasp. Clawed at his hands as her vision blurred.
The puppy barked and barked and barked.
Her attacker cried out in pain. He wobbled—then shrieked even louder, his body jerking away from her.
For a split second he lost his grip on her throat.
Twisting away from him, she spun back and used the momentum to ram her elbow into his face. She heard a satisfying crunch as it connected with his nose.
The pup was fiercely gnawing at his bloodied ankle even as he tried to kick it away. Her throat raw, she drew in raspy breath and ran for her life—
And collided into a solid wall of muscle.
Terrified, she screamed as he reached out to steady her shoulders.
“Easy, now—are you okay?”
She struggled to escape, her heart pounding.
