Page 26 of Deadly Aloha
I just stared at them.
They pouted. “Fine, but I want it on record that I’m doing so under protest!”
I shrugged. “Noted and don’t care.”
“You know,” Hiro said with the biggest puppy eyes I’d ever seen. “I needed the money. Mykukuwas sick, and her hospital bills were piling up!”
“Yourkukulives on the Big Island and teaches luau to tourists,” I argued blandly. I’d known his grandma for years.
Hiro cursed. “My dog was sick?”
“You don’t have a dog.”
“My goldfish was sick?”
“The cracker or an actual fish?” I asked, a bit curious how far they’d take this.
“Both?” they answered like they weren’t sure.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Return my fucking money, Hiro.”
Grumbling under their breath, they returned to their phone. A second later, Tangaloa’s phone made acha-ching!sound. Curious, I looked over his shoulder as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. I saw it was a notification from his bank.
I glared at Hiro. “Return my moneyto me!”
“You didn’t specify,” they said, sticking their chin up in the air.
Tangaloa had to bite his lips together to keep from laughing.
The rest of the meeting went well, all things considered. The twins were named Road Captain and Tail Runner. I had no idea which said they’d do which job, and frankly wouldn’t be able to tell if they swapped or lied later on. So the jobsweretheirs.
Lonnie Elwood agreed to be our Chaplain. He told us about the youth center where he helped kids after school and on the weekends. Anything to keep them from turning to the streets. I made it known that we were at his disposal, especially if there was a kid in danger.
I named Virgil as Enforcer. With his military training, he was the best candidate. Plus, I thought that he and Mal would get on well due to their similar personalities.
That left Rafe as the Treasurer, which was also the position Virgil had in mind for him when he brought the man. Rafe was a former accountant turned money launderer. After an incident where he was accused of stealing money from a client, he was nearly killed. Rafe clearly wasn’t a fighter, and I understood his need for protection. Apparently, he’d been living on Virgil’s boat. I asked him flat out if he’d taken the money, and he swore he hadn’t. I had pretty good instincts when it came to someone lying to me, and my gut told me that he was telling me the truth.
I looked to Virgil. “You vouched for him. Do you believe him?”
Virgil nodded without hesitation. “I’ve known Rafe for years. He might manipulate the system, but he’s no thief.”
That was good enough for me. “That’s settled then. I’ll talk to Kanoa about being our Tracker. With his background, it’s the best position for him. Now,” I squared my shoulders. “Onto nastier business. Who here has never heard of the Bloody Scorpions?”
Several men said they hadn’t.
I looked to Red and Aftermath in the back corner of my living room. “You two want to take this one? You have more of a history with the Bloody Scorpions than I do.”
They agreed, stepping forward. They must have had their cuts in their luggage, because they were wearing them now. After last night, there wasn’t a point in hiding that the Royal Bastards knew the Bloody Scorpions were on my island.
Aftermath nodded to me once. “I’m Aftermath, this is Red. We’re from the LA Chapter in California. As Kiki was saying?—”
“Aloiki,” I snapped.
“Right. As Annie Oakley was saying?—”
“Al-o-e-ki,” I pronounced slower.
“Gesundheit,” Aftermath said like I’d sneezed. “As your illustrious leader was saying, the Bloody Scorpions have ahistory with the Royal Bastards. When our National President got word that they were in O‘ahu, he called our President, who sent us down here to investigate. That brings us to last night…”
