Leather and Sand (Riding the Line Series) (21 page)

“
Aloha
!” A dark-haired beauty greeted him, offering a glass of something frothy and sweet.

“Thanks, darlin’.” Dax noticed the flush that highlighted her cheekbones beneath a deep, tropical tan. He grinned at her as she checked him out, catching her stifled gasp as her bright eyes traveled across his chest. Dax winked, and she giggled before turning away.

Turtle materialized from behind. “My sister, Lani. Sometimes she thinks she’s older than she is.” The comment was directed at Dax but aimed for the girl, who shot Turtle a dirty look, before sticking out her tongue and retreating into the kitchen with an indignant flounce.

“Pretty thing,” Dax commented honestly.
In fact, she reminds me of that poor farmer’s daughter.
I should check in on her.
But first I need to check up on…

“Rina is also pretty.”

Turtle’s matter-of-fact voice cut into Dax’s thoughts. “That she is.”

“And also Sirena.”

Now Dax stiffened. “Do we need to discuss them before we work out our arrangement?”

“Perhaps.”

“Not sure I’m willing to do that,
brah.”

Turtle nodded seriously. “I understand your hesitation. But, there is something that weighs on you, Dax. I can almost feel it. When you’re in the water, it lightens.”

Dax gazed at Turtle sharply, wondering what kind of island magic was at work here. “No offense man, but we just met. And I never mix business with personal shit.”

“Then let me talk. You listen.”

Dax nodded tersely. He glanced back the way they had come, feeling a sudden, nonsensical urge to flee.

“I’m going to assume that Rina didn’t tell you. And that you had no idea she was here when you arrived.”

Tell me?
He means about the baby.
Dax inclined his head sharply, peering at the tribal tattoos that decorated Turtle’s arms and chest. He found himself wondering how they had been made. A traditional pen wouldn’t accomplish the intricate patterns that seemed to cover the man’s large girth. Maybe they imparted some kind of ancient wisdom, because Turtle knew more than he had a right to know.

“When I met Rina, she was a lost girl.” Turtle continued.

“A what?”

“A lost girl. Her mind and body were here, but her spirit was absent. We see this a lot when mainlanders come here. Perhaps the spirit of the island calls to them. Something about being here brings peace. It has been the same for Rina.”

Dax didn’t want to offend Turtle, but this new age shit really wasn’t his style. Still, something about his explanation seemed vaguely familiar.

“Since you have arrived on the island, Rina has been…unsettled.”

Dax snorted. “I know the feeling.”

“We are affiliates, and I would never act to dishonor what Hawk did for my father, but I must be honest with you,
brah
. I feel conflicted when it comes to Rina. She is as much my sister as Lani is.”

Turtle took a long pull of his joint and stared into the distance. For a long time, neither man spoke. It was quite a different culture here, Dax thought to himself. Back home, long silences were uncomfortable. But here, for some reason, he appreciated the stretch of time that passed before he spoke. And when he did offer his voice, it was when he was ready, not because he felt some weird social pressure.

“I’ll admit seeing her—them—threw me off. But that doesn’t change why I’m here.” He said honestly.

“What will happen when our business is finished?”

“I’ll be out here a few times a year to supervise.”

Turtle looked grim. “And how will that impact Rina? And your daughter?”

Daughter.
The word made him break out in chills. Dax looked away, his jaw tight.

“Here, family means a great deal, Dax. It’s everything. Sometimes, it’s the only thing.”

Dax had had enough of the cryptic comments. “Look man, that may be true but Rhee
lied
to me.
She
left
me.”
Dax pushed his hand through his hair. “Us. She left us. For all I know, she doesn’t want me…involved.” Dax shot up from the table and stalked several paces away. His heart was pounding and his thoughts were racing. He didn’t like it. Not one fucking bit.

Turtle waited for Dax to regain his composure. Finally, he ambled slowly back to the table, making an effort to walk with a slow, purposeful pace. “I met with Rhee, er, Rina, last night. We have a lot to discuss but we’ll work out our issues. I’ll do what’s best for her. For them.”

Turtle nodded, seeming satisfied. “You have walked a long road, my friend. We’ll honor your deal. We will accept the guns from the supplier and hold them at our storage facility. We will deliver the guns to the shipping yard and load the containers. Seal them up good. Customs won’t be a problem. Your guys will have to ensure they get to the L.A. Port.”

“Once the container arrives in L.A., we’ll handle it,” Dax confirmed, letting out an audible sigh. “We have an arrangement with the longshore union down there. One of the ship gangs will unload our cargo and load it onto our trucks.”

“I’ll expect our traditional cut of the profit.”

Dax shook Turtle’s hand. “Looking forward to doing business with you, Turtle.”

Chapter Twenty-One

It was a bold move, but Rhee didn’t know what else to do. She was so damn nervous that she was quaking inside, but a strength she didn’t quite know she possessed allowed her to prevent her hands from trembling.

“What we doin,’ mama?”

Rhee realized that while she was successfully controlling the wave of nervous energy that made her feel like she was going to lose her lunch, she was involuntarily gripping Sirena’s hand a little too tightly. Forcing her to relax her grip, she managed to respond in a calm voice, “Visiting a friend, monkey.”

“A friend-monkey?”

Rhee giggled. Sirena had a way of turning any negative feelings around. “Well, he does kind of act like a gorilla.”

“What his name?”

Rhee hesitated as they approached the elevator. Just a few floors up and a couple of strides down a short corridor, and she would be facing her future. Their future. Rhee wasn’t sure what kind of reception she was going to get, showing up unannounced. Dax might not even be there, and she would be trying to explain herself to Wince without giving too much away to her perceptive toddler.

“His name is Dax. My other friend, Wince, might be here too.”

“Dack an’ Wink?”

Nerves plus Sirena’s take on things caused another uncontrollable bout of giggling as the elevator opened to admit them. Thankfully, they were the only ones inside. “Sure, baby. Dack and Wink.”

She looked at Sirena who shrugged in response and then immediately became distracted by jumping up and down in the elevator. Rhee prevented her from pressing the red emergency stop button just in time.
Dack and Wink.
Sirena’s versions of their names made the tattooed bikers sound like characters from a cartoon variety show. A hilarious image of the two men doing bizarre antics like juggling knives or shooting apples off of one another’s heads came to mind and Rhee could hardly control her nervous giggles.

The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival on Dax’s floor. Rhee sobered as the door opened. Squaring her shoulders, she marched to his suite. Rhee wouldn’t wait for destiny to knock on her door any longer. She and Dax had some major unfinished business to deal with. And this time, she wasn’t going to sit around and wait for him to come to his own dense conclusions. Rhee wasn’t sure if bringing Sirena was a good idea, but Manali was visiting Max, and she just couldn’t wait any longer. Rhee was totally spooked by the incident at the house earlier and she had a case of nervous jitters that she couldn’t seem to shake. The only thing that seemed to help was the thought of being around Dax. He, of all people, could keep them safe.

Rhee smiled to herself grimly, recalling the text message she received about Darren. He had shown up at the clinic, where he was refused treatment for hours. Dax had broken the man’s nose, and bruised a couple of his ribs. Rhee shuddered, unwilling to justify violence towards any person, but at the same time she harbored gratitude for Dax’s intervention. Following a strong suggestion from Turtle’s crew, Darren was last seen hobbling onto a plane bound for the mainland. The insecurity didn’t leave Rhee but she tried to avoid arousing any more male bravado. Turtle was protective of her and Rhee was glad for it, but just like Dax, he tended to, well, overreact when something threatened her safety. At least she knew that the man in the mask wasn’t Darren.

The only other person who might be able to shed some light on the situation was Dax. He had connections. God, even thinking about him set her insides to clenching. Rhee refused to go another minute living in the awkward, sleepless limbo she had been in since seeing the man again. She was going to double down. Rhee took a deep breath as she approached the hotel lobby.

It was now or never.

***

“Dax?”

A female voice carried into Alanna’s room, rousing her from sleep. After a few cocktails and some time at the pool working on a perfect, golden tan, the nap had been inevitable. Alanna sat up and rubbed her eyes, irritated at the intrusion. When it registered that a female was in the corridor, pounding on
her
man’s door, calling out his name, Alanna’s irritation blew up into rage.

Who the fuck is that bitch?!
She peered into the hall from the peephole on her door.

At first, Alanna only saw the woman. Assessing her critically, she noted the long, dark hair, the petite body, and the perfectly rounded ass. Alanna’s jealous hackles went up at the sight of her.
Slut!
The girl’s voice was rather husky, but it carried. She clearly knew both Dax and Wince because she called for each man by name while pounding loudly on the door.

Goddamn her for making all of that racket! Alanna had heard enough. The last thing she needed was some slut showing up to steal Dax right from under her nose. She had the perfect plan and no skinny little bitch was going to interfere.

Alanna flung open the door so hard it slammed into the frame, making the other girl jump.

“Just what the hell are you doing? Dax isn’t here. Obviously.” Alanna informed her imperiously.

“You know Dax?” The other girl’s voice wavered, as she looked Alanna up and down.

Alanna smiled slowly, seeing how the woman’s skin paled beneath her tan. “I know Dax Jamison
quite
well, honey.” She licked her lips slowly, making sure the other girl understood what she was trying to imply. “Who do you think invited me here?”

“Mama, who that lady?”

Alanna felt the blood drain from her own face as she followed the source of the sweet, little voice. With horror, her eyes slid slowly down the other woman’s arm, to her hand. Which was connected to a little girl. One look at that face, at those big blue eyes, and Alanna just…
knew
.
Holy fuck, Dax has a kid!
A freaking kid!
Her mind whirled. Did Dax know? Or didn’t he? Is that why this groupie showed up unannounced, to spring his kid on him? Oh, Dax was going to be super pissed alright. Alanna had to get rid of them. Now.

“I’m Dax’s, er, friend, honey,” she said, her voice dripping with sweetness. “He’s out for a couple of hours.” Alanna made eye contact with the woman. “He’s got plans tonight too, sweetie.”

“Oh.”

Dax’s baby mama looked positively crestfallen. Alanna wanted to clap her hands together with glee but she restrained herself. She turned her back on the unwelcome visitors to head back into her room.

God, I need another drink or three.
Fuck, I need to call my cousin!
She’ll let me know how to handle this bitch!

“Excuse me?”

Alanna froze, before practically spitting over her shoulder, “What?”

“Could you let Dax know that Rhee and Sirena dropped by, please?”

Seriously?!
Alanna shrugged. “Sure, honey. But, you know how he is. Dax Jamison can’t possibly remember all the girlies.”

She shut the door, noting with supreme satisfaction the shocked, hurt look on that other girl’s face. Well, fuck her. Hopefully she was upset enough to stay away for a few days. Or at least until Alanna could get Dax alone.

***

“What did you find out about Jamison?” Vidal was itching, literally. He felt like he was about to jump from his own skin.

“Not much to find out.”

“What about the supplier?” Vidal was getting desperate. He needed two things, urgently: Jamison out of the way and a direct line to the arms supplier. If Vidal didn’t increase his profit by a large margin, soon, he was going to lose more than his company.

Marino was his usual stoic self. Vidal cursed his father for the umpteenth time for having such a rock solid contract with the man. He longed to give Marino the ax, but to do so required a hefty payout. The kind Vidal didn’t have. He had long since exhausted his father’s accounts. The drugs and the women were nothing compared to the gambling debts Vidal had incurred over the last few years. Taking out his father and gaining access to his bank accounts had been the only way. It was that, or end up chum for the sharks.

Sorry, Dad.
But it’s not like you ever believed in me.
Fuckhead.

“Russian. Long-standing agreement with the
Phantoms.
I’d suggest we steer clear of them.” Marino raised his eyebrows as Vidal cut a thick line on the glass table.

“What? Got a problem?” Fuck Marino! Vidal was getting pretty fucking sick of the useless motherfucker.

Marino shrugged in that irritating way of his. Although he said nothing further, his eyes passed judgment. A boiling fury roiled in Vidal’s gut. For a moment, he saw his father’s face superimposed over Marino’s. So what if they were tight. He had no further loyalty to the man. Not with his father out of the way…for good.

“Then get the fuck out! You know what, Marino—I’m starting to wonder why my old man kept you on all these years. You ain’t good for shit!”