Page 16 of Deadly Aloha
The storage yard was silent as we descended. Pele was slumbering.
Rory, Tangaloa, and I were in the lead. Since neither Aftermath nor Red were familiar with our land, I had them come in behind us. I already sacrificed one truck of Bloody Scorpions and a supply of heroin to lessen our terrible odds. I did not want to risk any of the Bloody Scorpions who remained to escape. Neither Red nor Aftermath were happy about it, but I left them to guard the entry road.
The only thing I made sure of as the truck drove away was the bastard who had his hands all over my Lu was not in that truck. He would not get away so easily. His hands had touched Lu; his breaths were numbered.
A figure in a dry suit emerged from the sea like a merciless leviathan. He carried a jagged spear in each hand as he stealthily made his way around to our hiding place in the tree line. It may have been many years, but he knew my tactics.
The Bloody Scorpions did not.
Three figures emerged from the trees behind us. The twins shed the shirts I practically forced on them while giving the Royal Bastards Ol’ Ladies riding lessons. While they were not in traditional garb, both wore tight leggings and gym shorts. The twins were not Hawai‘ian by birth, but they’d adopted our heritage and had great respect for it. In my book, that made themkama?aina. Given what they’d endured in their young lives, I considered it great restraint on their part that they only hurt bad men.
I was surprised to see the third figure, since Tangaloa had said he hadn’t been able to reach Kanoa. While Kanoa, Virgil, and Rory knew each other, I doubted all three had been in the same location in years. I know I hadn’t seen them since Aaleah’s funeral and paddle-out ceremony. Kanoa was dressed much like Rory was in cargo shorts, though his feet were bare. Rory used to say it hurt his Irish sensitivities to go into battle barefoot. Those were the good days.
I looked at my phone, but the unopened message was not the one I was hoping for.
Hiro: They’re lining the women up. I think they’re going to start moving them to the boats.
Fuck. I handed my phone to Tangaloa. We knew better than to speak this close to the storage facility. Sounds had a way of carrying. Whoever had my phone kept his back turned to thebuilding so the low light from the screen did not give away our position.
Tangaloa quickly handed me back my phone.
Hiro: No, they’re taking pictures of the women. Like mugshots. They’re not making them pose or anything.
Hiro: They separated the three men, but I don’t see them.
Taking pictures? I could only think of one reason to do that. So people could see the product prior to purchase.
The screen of my phone cracked in my hand. Tangaloa put a hand on my arm, but it did nothing to steady me. She must be so terrified, and she had no way of knowing I was coming for her.
I was done waiting.
Hiro wasn’t a fighter, but he could get Lu out if we provided a big enough distraction. I looked at Virgil. The former British SAS soldier nodded once before heading back into the sea.
My gaze turned to the twins. Their lips shifted up into matching menacing smiles. They both pulled on black leather gloves. I didn’t have to feel them to know they were the ones with small barbs dipped in tetrodotoxin. They headed to the docks. When Virgil made his move, the Bloody Scorpions would come investigating—and then the twins would maketheirmove.
Tangaloa, Kanoa, and Rory checked their handguns. I had one too, but guns were not my weapon of choice.
There was a reason that Rory blamed me for Aaleah’s death. Lu had just left me, and I’d been in a drunken stupor when I’d been called upon to go after a waste disposal company that was only fined a few hundred thousand dollars after being found guilty of dumping barrels filled with hazardous chemicals into the Pacific.
I hadn’t been there to protect Aaleah, and I’d be damned if I let Lu share her fate.
We advanced on the storage facility. Seven against twenty-something. We’d faced worse odds, but never before had I had such motivation to win a battle.
Pele was waking up.
The ancient fightingstyle ofKapu Ku?ialua, orLua, was sacred to my people. While more modern martial arts had come to the Islands over the last century, there are those who still live by our traditions.
My father was one of the select few, an?olohe, who was chosen to become such a revered warrior. From the time I could walk, he drilled me in the ways of our ancestors. The most important lesson he taught me was that aLuawarrior never walked alone.
At his core, my father was a peaceful man. He believed in the law of the land and balance in all things. After he disappeared following my mother’s funeral, I twisted his teachings, used them not to defend but to avenge. I killed and maimed, caused harm to those who dared endanger my island. I was cruel, and above all, I was deadly.
I did not honor my father. I was angry, grieving the loss of both my parents, one that left me by fate and the other by choice, and I besmirched the ways of my ancestors.
But I never forgot my roots. I never forgot my heritage.
It had been over four years since I did more than train, yet there was no hesitation. The moment the boats blew up and theBloody Scorpions scattered, it was like I never stopped. I didn’t need weapons, because Iwasthe weapon.
Rory and Tangaloa followed me inside. Kanoa was just behind them, watching our flank. The Bloody Scorpions’ attention was on the burning boats. A good chunk of them had run outside to see what the commotion was, and came face-to-face (to face) with the twins. I heard the first screams of pain as I delivered my first strike.
