Page 29 of Fast Fury

He went rigid in his seat. He was well aware that Kai was in town. Histutuhad called to tell him yesterday. “And?”

“You watch your tone,cabrón,” Juan snapped. “I told you what would happen if your cousin showed up here. Now he has. So this is a test. Are you loyal to us, or the fucking DEA?”

Hani knew the answer to that. But he didn’t dare say it. “I’ll handle it.”

“You’d better. I’ve got eyes on you at all times,muchacho. You take him out, you get the bounty. If not…” He let the pause build, making the threat plain. “Bullets are cheap. Would cost me less to put a couple in you and get a new distributor, plus it minimizes the risk. Know what I’m saying?”

Yeah, Hani did. “I said I’d handle it.”

“We’ll meet after it’s done. You’ve got seventy-two hours, starting now.” The line went dead.

Hani curled his fingers tighter around the phone and took a deep breath even though it felt like a concrete slab was lying on his chest. Three days to have someone kill Kai?

There was no way. Absolutely no way he could do it, or be involved. Which left only two options.

Hani could warn him. Except doing that would alert Kai to what he’s been up to, and then his cousin would have no choice but to alert the authorities, including the DEA. Hani knew him. That boy scout part of Kai’s personality couldn’t be overridden, not even for family.

So really, Hani only had one choice. He had to get Kai to leave. Scaring him away wasn’t an option. Nothing scared Kai. Hani had to figure out a way to shove him off the island. Push him away for good, for both their sakes.

His chest felt full of lead as he raised his phone and dialed Kai’s cell number. Histutuhad given it to him the other day.

“Maka,” his cousin answered.

The sound of that familiar, deep voice hit Hani like a punch to the gut. He swallowed hard, fought the rush of emotions and memories away. “Hey, cuz. It’s me.”

A pause. “Hani?” Wariness was clear in his voice.

“Yeah.Tutusaid you’re home for a visit.”

“Got in yesterday.”

“How you been?”

“I’m good,” he answered cautiously. “You?”

My life is a jacked-up, steaming pile of shit. Thanks for asking. And I’m about as close to rock bottom as a person can get. But I don’t want either of us to die, so I have to do what I can to stop this.“Doin’ good. You busy tonight? I was thinkin’ we could meet up somewhere.”

The silence that followed weighed heavy on Hani, pressing the anvil of guilt harder into his chest. It was the first time either of them had offered an olive branch to the other since their falling out years ago. When Kai told him they wouldn’t have any kind of relationship until Hani cleaned up his life and turned legit.

God, how he wished he’d listened to his cousin.

“I’d like that,” Kai said after a long pause, taking Hani by surprise. “But I’ve already got plans.”

Stupid, to feel a rush of disappointment. Yet he did. “No worries. We can—”

“I’ve got a friend staying at the Grand Wailea. I’m going there for dinner at eight-thirty.”

Hani hesitated, then forced himself to keep going. “I can meet you there. Just to say hey, catch up a little.” He’d have to be careful on his way over there, make sure no one was following him.

“I don’t know.”

Desperation quickened his heart rate. “It’s been a long time, Kai. Too long.”

His cousin sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, it has.” Another pause. “All right, meet me in the lobby then.”

Hani released the breath he’d been holding. Kai probably thought having a third person there would act as a kind of icebreaker, but whoever it was represented the equivalent of a human monkey wrench in Hani’s plan. And yet…

Goddamn it, he missed Kai. Missed him like hell, and had all this time. Hani had to do the hard thing soon and shove Kai away hard enough to make him leave the island. But before that happened, he was selfish enough to want some time with him. Not a lot, or it would make his plan impossible. So he’d take what he could get.

---