Page 2 of Tropical Inferno

She made a face. “I was supposed to be over at the Blue Dolphin in Waikiki but my friend cancelled on me and I couldn’t afford it on my own. The flight was non-refundable, though, so I found alternative accommodations and came anyway, figuring I could drive over to Waikiki every day and at least enjoy the beach. Unfortunately, day one has been spectacularly underwhelming!”

“This is a terrible neighborhood. You shouldn’t be at a place like this.”

“I was trying to salvage my vacation and when I booked this hotel online, it didn’t seem that bad.”

“You get what you pay for, darlin’.” He shook his head. “We should go back inside.”

She shook her head. “I’m going to the airport to see if I can change my flight and go home.”

“That’s not a bad idea if this place is your only option.” He paused. “If you give me a minute to put on a shirt and shoes, I’ll walk out with you to see if they did any damage to your car.”

She seemed ready to protest but then nodded. “Okay, yes. Thank you.”

“Walk with me,” he said gently, noting that her hands were still shaking. “What’s your name?”

“M-Mad-Madison.” She took a deep breath. “I guess I’m more shaken up than I thought.”

“I’m H—er, Garrett. Walk with me, Madison. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Following him back to his room, Maddie had a moment of trepidation. Yes, he’d just saved her life but now that she got a good look at him, he was kind of scary too. He needed a shave and his torn-up, faded jeans made him look like a combination of homeless and a criminal. He had a strange, modified mohawk-style haircut that was growing out and sticking up. It gave him the look of someone who should be auditioning for a 1980’s punk rock music video. Except bigger. He was huge, probably a foot taller than she was, and built like the side of a mountain. Muscles for days, she thought, watching his broad shoulders and very nice backside as she walked behind him. She could sink her teeth into a butt like that and—. She mentally rolled her eyes, chiding herself for looking at his body when he could probably turn around and snap her neck without a second thought.

He just saved your life, she reminded herself. Looks were deceiving and she shouldn’t judge him simply because he had weird hair, too many tattoos, and big muscles.

He unlocked the door and let her walk in before him. Instead of shutting and locking the door, he simply let it close on its own and grabbed a T-shirt out of a backpack strangely similar to hers. He pulled on socks and slid his feet into a pair of Converse sneakers, before motioning to the bathroom. “I’m going to grab my stuff and we’ll get out of here, okay? I just need a minute.”

He disappeared through the small doorway and Maddie suddenly felt chilled despite the heat. It was October, but the summer heat was still raging here in Hawaii. Back home in Toronto it was fall, with crisp, cool days and nights that required a coat or jacket. She unexpectedly missed it, the urge to go home almost overwhelming. She rubbed her hands over her arms, willing away the need to burst into tears.

“You ready?” He came out of the bathroom with a small toiletry bag and paused, looking her up and down. “You okay, Madison?”

“M-Maddie…” she whispered, fighting the wave of nausea that washed over her.

“You need to sit down!” he said abruptly, gently nudging her towards the bed.

“No, I shouldn’t…” Her eyes rolled back in her head and then there was nothing.

Hawk laid the beautiful young woman on the bed and went back into the bathroom to find a washcloth. He wet it with cold water and then sat on the edge of the bed, pressing it to her forehead and cheeks. She stirred slightly and he took a moment to take in her delicate features and those impossibly long eyelashes. Even with no makeup, they rested on her well-defined cheekbones like soft shadows that made him want to run his fingers over them. Damn, a woman who’d just been shot at was unconscious on his bed and his thoughts were about as chivalrous as a pimp’s at a hooker convention. That was low even for him, and he’d stooped pretty low over the years.

Not today, though. Madison, Maddie—whoever she was—needed to recover from their little ordeal and go back to whatever sweet small town she undoubtedly came from. Hawaii was great, but this was a bad neighborhood just outside Honolulu and definitely no place for a girl like her. Didn’t she have a boyfriend or father to tell her going on vacation by herself wasn’t particularly safe? He didn't consider himself sexist, but the fact that this girl had wound up at a motel like this told him she shouldn’t be traveling alone, especially not on a tight budget.

She moaned and he brushed a lock of silky dark hair out of her face. “You’re okay,” he said quietly. “Adrenaline crash made you pass out. Don’t try to get up too quickly—chances are you’ll get dizzy again.”

“Ugh.” She dropped an arm over her eyes. “That’s twice I’ve made an idiot of myself in front of you.”

“Lucky for you, I’ve made a much bigger idiot of myself, on a much bigger scale, on more than one occasion, so I’m the last one to judge.”

She smiled faintly. “Thanks.”

They sat in silence for a while until she finally sat up, rubbing her eyes. “I’m thinking I need to get to the airport sooner rather than later. This vacation wasn’t meant to be.”

“You might be right.” He smiled and held out a hand to help her up for the second time in less than half an hour. She took it hesitantly but matched his smile with one that nearly took his breath away.

“You’ve been very kind—thank you. You wouldn’t happen to be Canadian?”

He chuckled. “Nope. Born and raised in southern California.”

“If you wouldn’t mind walking me to my car, I’m going to try to get home.”

“Where’s home?”

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