Last Night (18 page)

Rob gazed thoughtfully across the empty ring. He was wearing a black polo shirt and Nikes because she'd forgotten to tell him that there would be a party with a Western theme. No matter what he stood out from the crowd, but tonight even more so because everyone else was in Western attire, wearing outfits that cost more than any
paniolo
made in a lifetime of riding the range.

"Have you noticed the security men?
"
he asked.

Dana shook her head. She
'
d been too busy brooding about Rob; she hadn
'
t paid much attention to the guests.

"
They
'
re the guys that are standing around— drinks in their hands—but they aren
'
t drinking. They
'
re watching everyone.
"

"I could ask Vanessa about them. She might know.
"

"
I asked her if she knew a couple of the guys, and she didn't. She hasn
'
t a clue that they
'
re security men.
"

Dana had barely spoken to her sister today. Vanessa had returned from Makawao with lots of shopping bags. She
'
d waved, but hadn
'
t stopped to talk. Tonight she'd arrived late to the party and went right to Rob
'
s side.

Don
'
t be jealous, Dana chided herself. After listening to Rob
'
s story this afternoon, her feelings about him had changed. She
…
well, she wasn't sure exactly how she felt, but she didn
'
t want to compete with her sister. A man could never come between them. They
'
d been through too much together. And now they were being threatened again. This was not the time to allow herself to become jealous.

"Here
'
s the plan,
"
Rob said.
"
When the dancing starts well join in, but we'll stare into each other
'
s eyes like teenagers with rampaging hormones. No one will be surprised when we leave together. They
'
ll figure we
'
re going to hop in the sack.
"

A scuffling noise distracted them; it was a
paniolo
coming out of the bunkhouse. Rob waited until the cowboy had passed before speaking.

"
I
'
ll sneak up to Big Daddy
'
s and see what's there. You watch and see when he leaves the party. I
'
m betting he stays to the very end. Isn
'
t that what a good host does?
"

"
I guess,
"
she mumbled. Really, she couldn
'
t
imagine herself doing this.
"
You're going to give me a walkie-talkie so I can warn you when he
'
s coming?
"

"
Right. I
'
ve got the state-of-the-art devices. I just bought them for my security company. They
'
re the size of a pack of cards. That way you can slip it in your pocket if anyone comes along.
"

"
If someone sees me, how'll I explain not being with you?
"

"
Tell them we had a fight.
"

He had an answer for everything, Dana decided, but somehow she knew it wasn
'
t going to be so easy, not with all those security men snooping around.

"
Keep Big Daddy in your sight all the time. I figure he
'
ll leave with Minerva and spend a little time in her bungalow. He certainly can
'
t take her up to his suite if he
'
s got all that electronic equipment up there.
"
Rob looked over his shoulder toward the dance area. "Just be certain you warn me when he
'
s coming.
"

Dana swallowed hard, praying nothing went wrong. Big Daddy
'
s suite occupied the entire second floor of the west wing of the house, but there was only one way in. She would have to warn Rob in plenty of time if he was going to get away without being seen.

R
ob tried his damnedest to two-step, but he kept landing on Dana
'
s toes. The caller was attempting to teach the greenhorns from the mainland Western dancing Hawaiian style. Rob had shuffled his way

through the Boot-Scooting Boogie and Slapping Leather with about as much grace as a hog on ice.

"
Okay, partners," yelled the caller.
"
Ready to try the Tush Push?
"

Rob pulled Dana closer, his nose brushing her fragrant hair. He
'
d had his hands on her all evening. He hadn
'
t been crude, but he
'
d certainly given everyone the message. They were lovers.

"
That
'
s it,
"
he said with a laugh.
"
We
'
re outta here. Forget the Tush Push. I
'
m not bumping butts with a bunch of people I don
'
t know."

Dana barely smiled. What was wrong with her? he wondered. She
'
d been strange since they
'
d left the beach. Just when he thought he
'
d forged something meaningful, she froze up.

Women. Go figure. Obviously, he was a big zilch in the relationship department. His experience with Ellen proved that. Dana, though, liked him—no matter how she acted. He'd tried not to come on too strong, reminding himself that she needed a sensitive man, but it was damn hard. He was the kind of guy that went after what he wanted. And he wanted Dana.

Good thing he hadn't told her everything. He
'
d told her just enough about the events following that fateful night to begin a relationship. She didn
'
t need to know all his secrets—until he could really trust her. Trust? It was as foreign to him as life on Mars. Yet he knew at some point he was going to have to take a chance. And pray that history didn
'
t repeat itself.

He kept his arm draped around Dana
'
s shoulders as they made their
way off the dance floor. The en
tire party had been held outside under a canopy of black sky dominated by a silvery lovers
'
moon. The trades had finally kicked in, making it cooler than when the party had begun and blowing the haunting scent of tropical flowers into the night air.

"Everyone seems to be having fun,
"
Dana observed.
"
Hardly anyone
'
s left.
"

Except Vanessa. She'd left—alone—a half hour ago. Rob didn't mention this to Dana. He wasn
'
t certain what was going on between the sisters, but he was going t
o have to do something about Va
nessa. He didn
'
t appreciate her smile. He'd seen it on too many women
'
s faces. It said "yes
"
before he
'
d even asked the question.

They walked silently toward the grove of kiawe trees that screened the family compound from the working part of the ranch. He took her hand, lacing their fingers together and giving her a reassuring squeeze. She didn
'
t squeeze back, but she didn
'
t pull away either.

"
This is where I hid the walkie-talkies.
"
Rob brushed aside the fronds of the fiddlehead fern and pulled out the plastic bag. He handed Dana hers.
"
You
'
re clear on how to use it?"

She nodded, her beautiful face solemn in the bright moonlight. "Press the button to talk. Release to listen.
"

"
You
'
re not worried, are you?
"
Stupid question.

He could see that she was.
"
This is a no-brainer. If anything unexpected happens, just use your head.
"

"I
'
m worried that Big Daddy will catch you.
"

"What can he do? Kill me?
"
He chuckled, but he could see that she
'
d lost her sense of humor. "If you stay in the shadow of that banyan tree over by the corral, you
'
ll see Big Daddy when he leaves. Follow him—at a distance—and warn me. Give me enough time to get out of there.
"

"I will,
"
she promised, and he turned to go. She caught his arm, then brushed a quick kiss across his cheek.
"
Good luck.
"

Rob grinned as he sprinted up the gentle slope to the main house. Damn all, she was coming 'round. Slowly, to be sure, but Dana did care about him. He couldn
'
t remember when he last felt this good about life. About himself.

Having just one entrance to the upper-level suite that Big Daddy occupied made him nervous. He wanted another way out—in case. What he
'
d do if he were cornered was a crapshoot at best. The tree ferns that brushed the second floor weren
'
t sturdy enough to climb down. A smart guy always had a backup plan.

Ten minutes later he was winded but he was in Big Daddy
'
s suite. The plantation shutters were closed. After the brilliant moonlight the room seemed unusually dark, except for the strange pinpricks of light. Rob pulled the walkie-talkie from his hip pocket.

"
Ribbit,
"
he croaked, hoping he sounded like one
of the multitude of
up-country bullfrogs that inhab
ited the koi ponds. The code word was supposed to let Dana know he was inside, without alerting Big Daddy through one of his bugs.

"
Ribbit,
"
came her soft reply.

Okay, she was in place and Big Daddy hadn
'
t moved. Time to go
to work. He jammed the walkie-
talkie into his pocket and yanked out his high beam flashlight. He flicked it on.

"
Holy shit. You
'
ve got to be kidding.
"

16

D
ana answered Rob's
"
ribbit
"
with a sigh of relief. He was inside the suite and Big Daddy was still at the party, dancing with Minerva. Glancing down at the luminous dial of her watch, Dana prayed their luck would hold. It shouldn
'
t take Rob more than a few minutes, should it?

A skein of clouds swept across the moon, and she took advantage of the dimmer light to move away from the tree trunk. Rob had been clever in selecting the banyan tree as a lookout point. The tree was hundreds of years old, with a trunk as big as a giant redwood and exposed roots that spread out like tentacles. An octopus on tiptoes, she
'
d once told Jason when describing the tree. Some of the roots came up to her knees, while garlands of moss hung from the branches. Anyone looking this way probably wouldn't notice her. Still, she was jumpy, on edge in a way that she
'
d never been until now.

The music stopped and the caller announced a short break. Couples began to drift away from the
dance area, heading
for the guest cottages. A rain-
scented wind whistled through the tree, fluttering the trailers of moss, heralding a shower.

"
Please don
'
t let it rain,
"
she prayed in a whisper. It would be nothing more than a tropical shower— over in minutes—but it would end the party. In answer to her prayer, a strobe of moonlight hit the ground and seconds later the moon broke free.

She checked her watch and saw that Rob had been in Big Daddy
'
s suite for less than five minutes. It seemed like two lif
etimes. She waited, the walkie-
talkie pressed to her ear, so she wouldn
'
t miss the double
ribbit
that would signal Rob was out. What, was keeping him?

"
Oh, my God,
"
she said out loud. Big Daddy was walking away fr
om the party, his arm around Mi
nerva.

Dana stifled a gasp of alarm. Be calm. At the very least Big Daddy
would walk Minerva to her bunga
low at the far end of the complex. That should give Rob plenty of time to complete the search and escape.

Dana edged out of the sheltering shadows of the banyan and followed them. When she reached the kiawe trees that screened the bunkhouse and corrals from the house, she paused, again thankful for the concealing shadows and the moon playing tag with the clouds.

Looking over her shoulder, she checked to see if any of the security men that Rob had pointed out were following her. The only people behind her
were a couple who'd imbibed too much
okolehao.
They were weaving and singing an off-key rendition of "Home on the Range.
"

Why did she have to wear an outfit without a pocket? She wedged the small walkie-talkie into her bra as best she could, deciding she didn't want to meet anyone and have them ask what she had in her hand. The cowboy boots she
'
d thought looked so cute wit
h her denim skirt magnified ever
y footstep as she walked along the crushed-lava path. Ahead, Big Daddy and Minerva turned right instead of left.

"Where are they going?
"
Dana muttered to herself. "That isn
'
t the way to Minerva
'
s bungalow." Should she
ribbit
three times, the signal to Rob that he had to get out immediately?

"Not yet,
"
answered the logical side of her brain, the one that remained calm even when she was on the verge of trembling. It didn
'
t appear that they were going to Big Daddy
'
s, and they weren
'
t going to Minerva's either.

She hung back, conscious of how much better lit this area was. Now the moon was beaming, working against her, as was the "nightscaping,
"
installed to showcase the fabulous yard. The low-voltage lighting illuminated craggy red lava rocks surrounded by lacy ferns and clusters of vibrant orchids.

Spotlights washed the branches of the trees, creating artful pools of light and shadow. Small tulip lights that were hardly noticeable during the day craned their necks downward, lighting the serpentine path through the gardens to the guest cottages. The lagoon and stream were well lit too.

Rob had planned so carefully, anticipated so much, but he hadn
'
t thought about the light. Or he simply hadn
'
t warned her. There wasn
'
t anyplace for her to hide. How was she supposed to keep an eye on Big Daddy if he went in somewhere? He and Minerva were out of sight now. She had no choice but to follow or lose track of him and jeopardize Rob.

"
What
'
s taking you so long?
"
she whispered downward as if Rob could hear her through the transmitter barely stuffed into her bra. Of course, he couldn
'
t. She
'
d have to depress the button to send a message, but somehow talking to herself made her feel better.

She rounded the corner and spotted Big Daddy
'
s white hair. It suddenly dawned on her where they were going. She didn
'
t know whether to laugh or cry. He was taking Minerva into the grotto. He
had
been monitoring their conversations and thought the grotto was the perfect spot for kinky sex.

"
Rob will howl, simply howl, when he hears this,
"
she told herself.

Coltrane disappeared into the jungle of ferns with the wealthy widow. Dana quickly scanned the area and decided she should sit on a chaise by the pool where she could still see the entrance to the grotto. If anyone approached she could pretend to have passed out from too much
okolehao.

"That won
'
t work.
"
Now she was talking out
loud. Get a grip! Just because there were three nude women with one buck-naked man in the spa, didn
'
t mean they knew what she was doing. Quite the opposite. They were swilling
Okolehao,
too inebriated to even notice her.

Dana changed directions and ambled along the lava rock path. Keep moving, but keep the grotto in sight. She wandered along—deliberately unsteady on her feet as if she, too, had imbibed too much— and checked her watch. Now Rob had been in there almost eight minutes. Had someone caught him and he hadn
'
t been able to signal her?

She meandered down by the cabanas and slowly turned, hearing a volley of laughter and a series of cannonball splashes. It didn
'
t take much imagination to know the spa had become too hot and the nude group had jumped in the pool.

Without warning, the ferns at the entrance to the grotto parted and Minerva Mallory
'
s red head emerged. Dana halted, hoping the shadows concealed her. Big Daddy followed Minerva. They never looked in her direction. Instead, they walked down the path toward Minerva
'
s bungalow.

"
That was a quickie," Dana wanted to yell and insult Big Daddy. What kind of a lover was he? Well, maybe the noise from the pool discouraged them. With luck they
'
d try again and give Rob a little more time. Surely, he had to be finishing up by now.

Naturally her luck had run out. Big Daddy walked Minerva to her door, but didn
'
t go in. He turned quickly and headed back up the trail toward Dana.

She ducked into the shadows off the path and took the shortcut to the koi lagoon, where she
'
d be far enough away from Bi
g Daddy to pull out the walkie-
talkie.

"
Don
'
t panic,
"
she
warned herself in a tight-
lipped whisper.
"
You have plenty of time.
"
Before the thought could calm her, she tripped on a piece of lava rock that was hidden by creeping vines. She pitched forward, arms flailing, and stumbled into the stream that fed the koi lagoon.

Squish!
Something spongy gave beneath her boot. Oh, Lordy, had she stepped on a koi fish? Some of them were more than one hundred years old and were the most expensive fish on the planet.

She glanced down and saw the cold water rushing over the tops of the boots she couldn
'
t afford, but had bought anyway. She pulled up her skirt, its hem soaked, and lifted her foot. "How stupid,
"
she said reflexively, then cursed herself. What if one of the security men heard her?

Luckily, she hadn
'
t killed a fish. She
'
d merely stepped on a clump of moss. Warn Rob, she thought as she reached for the walkie-talkie that was still hidden in her bra.

"
What are you doing?
"

She jumped, floundering in the stream, almost falling again and splashing more water—if possible —into her boots. The voice had to belong to one of the security men. She turned, beaming a megawatt smile at him and crossing her eyes.
Please, let him think I'm dead drunk.

"
I
'
m watching the koi sleep.
"
She did her best to slur her words.

He eyed her suspiciously. Maybe he wasn't buying this. But why else would she be up to her knees in water at this ungodly hour?

"Look,
"
she said, bending over, desperate to convince him. Time was running out. She had to alert Rob.
"
See that two-hundred-year-old koi napping?
"

She leaned closer, her back to him, and the walkie-talkie popped out of her bra. Without so much as a splash, it slid into the water.
"
You blew it. You jerk.
"

Straightening, she let out a curse. If Rob hadn
'
t already been caught, he
'
d be discovered now, and it was all her fault.

The security man
'
s hand latched over her arm, and he pulled her out of the creek.
"
I think I
'
d better get you to your room, miss. I
'
ll take you there.
"

"
I
'
m fine,
"
she said, choking back her panic.

Before he could argue, she sprinted down the path and ducked into the bushes. Knowing the terrain well was one advantage of visiting so often. Now, if she could skirt the lagoon, she had a fighting chance of beating Big Daddy back to his suite. What she
'
d do when she got there, she wasn
'
t certain. Still running, the water sloshing over the tops of her boots, she rounded the corner, crossed the main terrace, and dashed toward the west end of the house. Too late. Ahead was Coltrane, and he was almost to the entrance.

"Big Daddy,
"
she screamed, certain she could be
heard in Honolulu and praying she
'
d alerted Rob.
"
I need to talk to you.
"

He was halfway up the stairs to his suite.
"
Now?
"

"It
'
s about Vanessa,
"
she said loudly.

His black eyes tracked her like a shark stalking a dolphin. Oh, God,
could she pull this off? He mo
tioned for her to follow him, and she flew up the stairs, water slogging in her boots, mustering her courage. He unlocked the door with a security-card key. How had Rob gotten in? she wondered.

More important, how was he going to get out? He had to have heard her scream at Big Daddy, but he certainly hadn
'
t come out the front door. He could jump out a window, she supposed. From the second story? That wasn
'
t an encouraging thought.

"
Come in,
"
he said.

"
I can
'
t.
"
She pointed to the water oozing from her boots. "I
'
ll ruin everything.
"

"
What happened?
"

"
I was watching the koi sleep.
"