Page 8 of Maliea's Hero

“I can take you out to him tomorrow, but not until after I get back from my early morning shoot. It’ll be noon before I can take you.” Tish frowned.

Solange held up a hand. “I’d take her, but I’m flying out early tomorrow for that job on Maui. It’s my first commercial. I hate to bail on them when they only have two days to shoot it.”

“No.” Tish tapped a finger to her chin. “You have to go. It’s too big an opportunity to pass up. No, I’ll call and tell the photographer I can’t do tomorrow.”

“But you’ve been waiting for good weather to get those morning shots. Tomorrow is supposed to be perfect,” Solange said.

“We can’t leave Maliea and Nani alone.”

Maliea held up a hand. “Neither one of you is going to cancel anything. I know how hard it is for you to get paying modeling or acting work. I won’t be the one to sabotage your careers. I can drive out to meet with this Reid guy with Nani.”

“That guy found your car here,” Tish said. “He might have tagged it with a tracking device. He could follow you out to Kualoa Ranch.”

“She can take my Jeep,” Solange offered. “I can Uber to the airport.”

Tish’s frown deepened. “Your bright red Jeep?” She shook her head. “It’s like waving a flag in front of every bull in the arena. She needs something more subdued, like every other car in the parking lot.” Her lips twisted. “She needs my hunk of junk gray sedan.”

“I can take an Uber out there,” Maliea offered, wondering where she’d get the money to pay for a ride like that out to the Kualoa Ranch.

“No,” Tish said. “What if this guy showed up as your Uber driver? I wouldn’t trust anyone you don’t know.”

“But you want me to trust your Reid Bennet?” Maliea asked. “I don’t know him.”

“But I do.”

“And so do I,” Solange said. “He’s the real deal.”

“You can trust him with your life,” Tish said. “And more importantly, with Nani’s life.”

“You and Nani can’t stay here alone,” Solange said. “That guy knows you’re here.”

“She’s right,” Tish said. “I can take your car. You can take mine, and he won’t know where you went.”

“That puts you at risk,” Maliea said. “He could come after you thinking it’s me.”

Tish’s eyes narrowed. “Let the bastard try. I’ll kick his ass.”

“Oh, Tish,” Maliea shook her head. “I don’t want you hurt.”

“Look,” Tish said. “My shoot is on the beach. Very few people will be parked out there that early. If it makes you feel better, I’ll make sure someone walks me to the car to be safe. We can leave at the same time to confuse the guy. By the time he figures out you’re not driving your car, he will have missed his opportunity to follow you, and you’ll be on the other side of Oahu by then.” A grin spread across her face. “Clever, huh?”

“All three of us will leave early,” Solange said. “That’s one more car to add to the mix. We can leave the apartment wearing sunglasses and hats. He’ll never guess who’s who.”

“But I’ll have Nani,” Maliea said.

Both Solange and Tish’s shoulders sagged.

“Right.” Tish tapped a finger to her chin. “Nani’s small enough...” Her eyes narrowed even further as she looked across at Solange. “Do you still have those big beach bags you, Kiana and I bought on sale last year?”

Solange nodded. “Yes. It’s in the hall closet with yours.”

Tish’s mouth curved. “I’ll bet Kiana’s is in there as well. I don’t think she took it when she moved to Maui.” Tish hurried to the hall closet, returned a moment later carrying three large canvas beach totes and dumped their contents on the floor.

Snorkels, fins and masks spilled out of each.

“We liked them because they were big enough to carry all our snorkeling equipment, including fins.” Tish held the bag open. “Do you think Nani will fit in one of these?”

Maliea stared down into the bag, imagining little Nani curled into the bottom. “I suppose.”

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