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She shook her head. Not a chance. Kiana had learned her lesson the hard way.
Never fall for the cute guy. He’d lie, steal your money and break your heart. Having been burned once, she refused to get that close to another flame.
“Where are we going?” Dev asked as he familiarized himself with the car’s controls and started the engine.
Kiana entered an address on her smartphone and hit Go.
Between the voice on the phone and Kiana, he was able to leave the airport and merge into the traffic heading toward Waikiki.
Kiana leaned forward in her seat, her brow knitted, one hand clenching her cell phone and the other digging into the armrest on the door.
Dev couldn’t ease her worry with words. The only thing that would help would be to find her friend Meredith waiting at the apartment when they arrived. Kiana’s conversation with Tish hadn’t been promising. The sooner they got there, the sooner they could get started on their quest to find the missing roommate.
They left the airport, merged onto Highway 1, and soon left the highway to wind through the streets of Honolulu.
After the sixth turn, Dev slowed. “Where from here?”
Kiana laid a hand on his arm. “Stop.”
Dev pressed a foot to the brake in front of a small apartment building a couple of blocks from a major road.
“Park at the rear of the building,” Kiana said. “The apartment is in the back.”
Dev drove around to the back of the building and found a parking space in the far corner next to a large trash bin. As soon as he shifted into Park, Kiana unclipped her seatbelt and shoved open her door.
He reached out and touched her arm. “I’m here to protect you,” he said. “Let me.”
She met his gaze and nodded. “Okay.”
He quickly released his seatbelt and slid out of the driver’s seat.
Kiana met him at the rear of the vehicle. She nodded toward the three-story building. “The apartment is on the second floor.”
He took her hand, led her up the exterior metal stairs to the second floor and walked along the landing until Kiana stopped in front of the door marked 216. When she raised her hand to knock, Dev caught her arm and shook his head.
She frowned.
He touched a finger to his lips and dipped his chin toward the door, stepping between her and the knob.
The door stood ajar by barely an inch.
Kiana’s eyes widened, and she stepped back behind Dev.
Stay here, he mouthed.
She nodded.
Dev pushed the door open, wishing he had an M4A1 rifle like he’d carried into urban battle in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Either that or a handgun.
As a civilian, having just gotten off an airplane and working a bodyguard-for-hire job on the island of Oahu, he was unarmed and unprepared for a major battle. All he had to rely on was his wits. No gun, no knife. Just his hands and years of experience.
The lights were off inside the apartment, which worked for Dev and for anyone who might be lurking inside.
He eased open the door, inch by inch. Once it was wide enough for a full-grown man to enter, he hunkered low, slipped through the gap and stepped out of the wedge of light shining through behind him. Assuming a ready stance, he let his eyes adjust to the dark interior and strained to hear sounds of movement.
A pitiful feminine moan sounded from deeper inside the apartment, muffled by a wall or door. “Please...don’t...I’m...not...her.”
Every instinct on alert, Dev rushed toward the sound.
