Page 53 of Fast Fury

Kai slid a hand to the back of her head and tucked it into his chest. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, feeling helpless for the second time that night. “So sorry.”

“Hani,” she wailed, the shrillness of it sending a cold shiver corkscrewing up his spine. “My poor Hani, oh, God, why!”

“It was fast,” he added quickly, not giving a shit that it was a lie. He was willing to say anything that might lessen the pain for her. “He didn’t suffer. And I was with him right until the end. He said to tell you he loved you.” He choked on the last words, overcome by a tidal wave of grief. Burying his face in her soft, white hair, he held on tight and fought to breathe.

Histutuclung to him and sobbed out her unimaginable loss, her hot tears soaking the front of his shirt.

****

Not knowing what the hell to do with herself, Abby paced around her room. It had already been a long day before Kai’s awful phone call. Up to that point she’d so been looking forward to hearing from him once he finished up with Hani, hoping everything went well and they’d smoothed things over. Never had she imagined something like this would happen.

It was understandable that Kai didn’t want her there right now. They were still new. Neither one of them was sure what the boundaries or rules were yet. He was still in shock and had so much to deal with. Talking with the police. Giving a statement at the local station. Handling everything that came with Hani being placed in the morgue. Then telling his poor grandma what had happened.

For now, much as it upset her, there was nothing she could do to help.

So she called Cindy. Her friend didn’t pick up, so Abby left a message. She kept her phone with her as she paced around the room.

Sitting out on the lanai now held no appeal whatsoever. She tried reading, but her eyes kept skipping over the same lines again and again, her focus shot. Finally, she turned on the TV and lay there channel surfing for a while, but nothing held her interest for long.

She forced herself to watch a movie. When it finished she checked her phone. More than two hours had passed since Kai’s call. Was he still talking to the police? At the hospital? At his grandmother’s?

Wanting to be supportive but not invasive, she sent him a quick text.Thinking of you. Wrapping you up in a big hug in my mind.

His reply came back a few minutes later.Thanks. At my grandma’s. Just told her. She took it hard. Call you later. Miss you.

She blew out a breath and typed backMiss you too, then added an XO. His grandmother had raised both him and Hani. This would be like losing one of her own children. Abby hated to think about the level of grief they were both experiencing. It distressed her not to be there for him or helping in some way.

If this had happened back when Kai lived across the hall from her, Abby would have made him a bunch of dishes to freeze and taken them over. He and his grandma shouldn’t have to worry about trivial things like cooking, cleaning and laundry right now. She could do all of that for them, show them she cared and try to help in her own way.

Kai said he missed her. And he was hurting. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing,” she muttered in frustration, and decided to call her boss.

Normally she wouldn’t simply show up on Kai’s doorstep without being invited at a time like this, but these were extenuating circumstances. If it turned out to be awkward, she would just drop off the food and leave, wait until he was ready to see her. But her gut said he wanted to see her and was either trying to be the alpha male who didn’t need anyone during a crisis, or was afraid to lean on her too much early on in their relationship.

“Abby. What’s up?” her boss asked.

“The session starts at ten tomorrow, yes?”

“Right.”

“If I miss the opening meet and greet, would that be okay with you?”

“I guess so, but I’d sure like you there. Why, something wrong?”

She sighed. “Something’s come up. The guy I’m—” Dating? Involved with? “seeing called a while ago. His cousin was just gunned down in front of him. I’d like to go to his place tonight, see if I can help with anything.”

“Oh, damn, I’m sorry. Yeah, for sure you can miss the meet and greet.”

“Thanks. I might still make it. I’ll be back in lots of time for the panel presentation, though.”

“All right, sounds good. You’ll call me if anything changes?”

“Yes. But don’t worry, I’ll be there for the panel no matter what.” After she got off the phone she went straight to the closet and packed an overnight bag, then went down to the lobby and hailed a taxi. She stopped at a grocery store to pick up some ingredients, and gave the driver half-assed directions to Kai’s grandmother’s place upcountry.

She worried she’d gotten them lost, relying on landmarks she’d only seen once in the dark, then she spotted the red Mustang parked at the other end of the driveway. “Here, this one,” she told the driver, who pulled in. A few dim lights glowed from inside the house.

Jitters started up in her belly when she unloaded her bags from the trunk and started for the front door. The driver waited where he was, engine running. Abby wasn’t sure what kind of reception she was going to get, so she might need a return trip back to the resort.

Shifting the bags into a more comfortable position, she drew a deep breath and knocked on the front door. Heavy footsteps approached. The door swung open. Kai’s face showed his surprise at seeing her there. With a hesitant smile she opened her mouth to say hi, but then he pulled the bags from her, dumped them on the front porch, and dragged her into his arms.

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