Page 65 of Fast Fury

“Cops haven’t tracked down the female shooter yet?”

“No. Still no name, no known motive.” Other than it had something to do with her daughter. How everything else fit with Hani and theVenenos, Kai wasn’t sure. “I’m about to talk to the security guys in the hotel. Cops have briefed them about the female. I’ll let them know about Montoya and their possible connection.”

Stood to reason that the woman was working with or connected to Montoya somehow. There was a target on Kai’s back. The female had seen him the other night. Had fired at him too. She might have seen him with Abby at some point.

Kai would make damn sure he did everything possible to protect his lady.

“Yeah, wouldn’t hurt to tell them, be on the safe side. How’s your grandma doing?”

He smothered a yawn and shifted his phone to his other ear. “I guess okay, all things considered. Some of her friends from the old town are with her right now.”

That was the only reason he’d been willing to leave her. It hurt him to see her so devastated. For all his faults, she’d loved Hani with everything in her. Now her heart was

broken. And Kai hadn’t told her about the threat against him, or how Hani had been trying to protect him. She was in enough pain, and damned if he would add more to her burden. At least she had cops stationed at her house to guard her.

“Any idea when the service is gonna be?” Hamilton asked.

“Wednesday afternoon at four.”

“Taggart and I are thinking of coming out. Things are quiet here for the moment. If you wanted some backup, we could even fly out this afternoon.”

This was why he loved his teammates. They cared. No matter how they bitched at each other occasionally or got on each other’s nerves during deployments, they always worked it out. In times of crisis, they were there for one another. They weren’t just a team—they were a family. “I appreciate the offer, man, but I’m good for now.”

“Figured you’d say that. Just wanted you to know we’re here for you.”

“I know it.”

“Okay, brother. Later.”

“Later.” Kai ended the call, took two ibuprofen tablets with a swig of water, and strode toward the Grand Wailea entrance.

The change of scenery was good for him, because he couldn’t bear the thought of going back to histutu’splace right now. He needed to be with Abby. The mere knowledge that he would see her soon eased him inside, even if it was here, in the same place where Hani had met him only a few days ago. Kai was looking forward to unwinding with her, spending the entire night together before they had to face reality again in the morning.

I’m here, he texted her as he hit the lobby.

He went straight to the concierge desk and asked to see the head of security, while keeping an eye out for anyone watching him. Given his size, it was impossible for him not to stand out. Manny Nieto was a powerful man in his own right, might even have people from this very hotel on his payroll. The DEA was still compiling information about him, both from his daughter and other sources.

Not surprisingly, his daughter painted entirely different pictures of him from everyone else. Sources within the cartel characterized Nieto as an efficient and ruthless man, willing to consolidate power at any cost. Anyone who crossed him died in short order, and often, so did their families.

According to what Hamilton had told him this morning, those murders were mostly carried out on orders from Juan Montoya by his circle of trusted, elite enforcers. Word was they were all former Mexican special ops members.

His phone chimed with Abby’s response.Meet me by the pool in half an hour. I’ve rented us a private beachside cabana for dinner.

Kai’s mouth quirked up. Nice. His lady was going all out to make the evening special for them, no doubt in an effort to take his mind off everything else. She was such a sweetheart.

Okay, he replied, already looking forward to it. He wanted to shut out the rest of the world and focus only on her.

The head of security arrived. Kai showed him his agency ID and the man escorted him down to the security room. Five guards sat at various stations monitoring video feeds, from cameras mounted around the resort.

As efficiently as possible though without giving away anything classified, Kai brought them up to speed with what was going on, and showed them pictures of both the female suspect and Montoya. He sent the shots to the head of security’s phone. “If you see either of them, alert me and the MPD right away. I’ll report any new intel to my superiors.”

The head guy nodded, held out Kai’s phone to show the others the photos. “You staying here at the resort?” he asked Kai.

“Just for tonight. I’m having dinner with a friend in a little bit. If anything comes up, you can text or call me. I’ll have my cell on me.” He checked his watch on his way out the door. Abby should be wrapping up her final session of the conference right about now. He couldn’t wait to see her.

He was halfway down the hall when a door opened behind him and the head of security called out. “Agent Maka?”

Kai stopped and turned around. “What’s up?”

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