Page 61 of Emi's Hero

“Good. The gang’s all here,” Hawk said. “Kalea, Mr. Parkman and I will be hanging out by the entrance until Hollingswortharrives. Mr. Parkman is going to formally introduce Kalea and me to the man. We’ll do what we can to get the information we need without exposing Emi or the mission. For now, let’s get this show on the road and find our target.”

“Roger,” everyone replied as one.

Emi walked alongside George with her shoulders slumped, her hands in her pockets and the baseball cap hiding her hair and pulled low over her forehead. She wore jeans and an oversized Kansas City Chiefs football jersey that hid all her curves. She’d practiced her teenaged-boy shuffle in front of the mirror that morning, making George laugh at her attempts until she’d finally settled on a believable gate, which she used now that it mattered.

Kalea had secured tickets for them to sit at a table not too far from those set aside for the high-dollar donors who attended every year.

George and Emi would have a good position to view most of the guests from their location as well as the performers on the temporary stage constructed for the night’s entertainment.

People were arriving in droves. As George and Emi entered the roped-off area for the event, someone was there to take their tickets, fit them with colored wristbands and drape leis around their necks.

George scanned the crowd, searching for the face of the man in the photo as well as locating his teammates who would be lurking on the periphery of the masses, ready to move quickly when they spotted Fallon.

“This is my first ever luau,” Emi said, her voice lower than usual, in keeping with her teenaged-boy persona.

“I attended my first last week at a wedding,” George said.

“My friends and I had scheduled a luau for the day after arriving on the island.” She tilted her head. “I wonder if they went without me?”

“Will you contact them to let them know you survived?” George asked, still scanning the crowd.

“I will. I’d rather they learned the truth from me than the media,” Emi said.

“If you have trouble finding them, I can ask Swede to help,” George said.

“Thanks,” Emi said. “Have you spotted your teammates? I’d like to know where they are in case we need help.”

George tipped his head to the right. “Teller Osgood is standing at the edge of the crowd with a cell phone pressed to his ear. You can’t miss his bright blue Hawaiian shirt.”

Emi grinned. “No, you can’t miss him.”

“If you look to our far left, there’s a man in a white polo shirt and blue jeans, standing close to the tiki bar.”

“That’s Reid Bennet, right?” Emi asked.

“That’s him,” George said. “I don’t think I’ve seen him more relaxed and happier, now that he’s married into a ready-made family.”

Emi studied Reid. “What do you mean, ready-made?”

“He fell in love with the woman he was protecting. She was a package deal with her three-year-old daughter, Nani.”

“A three-year-old daughter…” Emi echoed, her gaze on Reid.

“Yeah. Your Sara would love Nani,” George said. “She’s a little sweetheart. I’ll introduce you to Maliea. We could set up a playdate for the girls.”

“That would be great,” Emi said with a shaky smile. “Sara’s never had friends.”

“Another first,” George said softly, fighting the urge to pull Emi into his arms. Her daughter had missed so much of a normal childhood in her first three years. Emi would want to make up for lost time. Getting to know Maliea and Nani would be good for Emi and Sara.

“How was the transition into instant fatherhood for Reid?” Emi asked.

George grinned. “For a man who swore he’d never marry and have children, he took to it like a pro and fit right in. He loves his wife and little girl.”

Emi sighed. “That’s great.”

George glanced around. “I haven’t spotted Devlin or Rex yet. Oh, wait, there’s Dev getting a soft drink from one of the vendors. He was our most notorious ladies’ man.”

Emi’s eyes narrowed as she studied the tall, broad-shouldered man. “Was?”

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