Page 22 of Deadly Aloha
They raised both middle fingers over their head as they walked back inside the storage building.
Virgil walked up to me. “I didn’t think anything of it before receiving Tangaloa’s call tonight, but three weeks ago, another boat came here. Same time, same place.”
“Just one?” I clarified.
He nodded. Most days, his British accent wasn’t overly powerful. The fact that it came on strong now betrayed just how pissed he was.
I cursed. Chances were Nishi had been on that boat. There was no point in asking him where the boat had been heading. It wasn’t like they’d been in a car where the route was limited by the road. “Cargo gets loaded and unloaded here all the time,” I told my once friend. “It’s not your fault. None of us had known.”
His expression said he still blamed himself. I could empathize with the feeling.
I caught Tangaloa’s eye and nodded for him to follow me over to a secluded corner. The twins and Rory had gone inside the building to start cleaning up. I wasn’t sure where the other women and men captives were right now, but at least they weren’t on those fucking boats on their way to who knew where.
My ex-brother-in-law gave me a look I couldn’t describe. “What?” I demanded.
“We’re going to need help on this one.”
I scowled. “We can hunt down the Bloody Scorpions and the heroin?—”
“That’s not the help I mean,” Tangaloa argued, cutting me off. “On this island, we have the power and the knowledge. But out there,” he gestured to the open ocean. “Brother, we have none. You just promised Lu that you would find Nishi. Are you going to break another promise to her so soon?”
Only Tangaloa would have the guts to speak to me so boldly. Every instinct in me shouted for me to argue with his logic, but Tangaloa had a way of making me see reason. He was the only one who could have sobered me up after Lu left and made me attend Aaleah’s paddle-out ceremony.
“Don’t delude yourself into thinking you have power off this island,” Tangaloa continued. “That’s how you almost got yourself killed five years ago.”
I wiped a hand down my face. My entire body was still caked with blood, and I realized for the first time just how much I must have gotten on Lu.
His voice lower, barely audible over the crashing waves next to us, Tangaloa said, “Jameson offered you a cut once. Your pride kept you from taking it. Are you going to make the same mistake twice?”
It was nearingfour in the morning by the time I made the phone call. I felt like I was heading to the gallows, arriving closer and closer with each ring.
“’bout fucking time you called me.” It would be around ten in the morning in New Orleans, so I wasn’t at risk of waking him up.
I had to bite back my retort. If I was going to do this, I needed to show him his due respect. “Jameson,” I replied. “My debt is paid. We learned what the Bloody Scorpions were doing on my island.”
“Capone called.” There was a rush of air in the phone like he was blowing smoke after taking a hit, either from a cigarette or a joint. “Sounds like you didn’t get all the Bloody Scorpions, but I will concede that your debt is paid.”
Well, that was something at least. Still didn’t make me feel like there wasn’t a noose around my neck. “We estimate six Bloody Scorpions got away with an unknown amount of heroin,” I confirmed. “And they were peddling flesh. We know at least one boat left last week with an unknown number of victims.” My jaw tightened as I confessed, “My woman’s best friend was on that boat.”
Jameson grunted. “I’m sorry to hear that. The chances of getting her back…” His voice trailed off. “Slim to none, Paniolo.”
“I know, but I promised I’d find her.”
There was a pregnant pause. “You’re going to need more than your little army of renegades to do that.”
Both his wording and the fact that he wasn’t wrong irritated me. I wasn’t used to bending the knee. “You offered me a cut once. Is the offer still available?”
There was another puff of air into the phone. “Answer me this: are you asking because you want it or you know you need it? Because once you put those colors on, Paniolo, there’s no going back.”
That wasn’t an immediate rejection. That was something, though it grated that he was questioning my loyalty. “Both,” I answered honestly. “I said ‘no’ before because I’m not good with authority.”
Jameson actually chuckled at my answer, which made me wonder if he was day drinking. “None of us are,” he replied. “You’ll need people.”
“I have people,” I said. Then thought better of it. “Or I will. I have people in mind, I should say.”
“What do you need from me?”
That was a heavy question. “Not sure yet. It’ll depend on where we trace the boats to and the heroin from.”
