Page 33 of Casey's Hero

“After everything that happened on the Big Island, wild horses couldn’t have kept me away.” He hugged her tightly and then set her at arm’s length. “Sadie sends her love. She’s in LA with her agent and Emma. She plans on being here tomorrow by noon.”

Kalea smiled. “That’s sweet of her. She’s a busy lady with her career. I didn’t expect her to come.”

“She insisted. After you and your father had us out to the ranch, she feels like you and Hawk are family.”

“We feel the same.” Kalea smiled. “And Emma is such a little doll. If you need a babysitter while you two go on vacation, you can count on me.”

Hank chuckled. “You and a dozen other people we know. Emma has a fan base that rivals her mother’s.”

Kalea’s brows rose. “You better watch her. If she’s half as beautiful as Sadie, she’ll be as famous as your wife.”

Casey still couldn’t believe Hawk’s boss, Hank “Montana” Patterson, was married to the megastar Sadie McClain. As itwas, Hank was every bit as gorgeous as Sadie in a masculine, sexy way.

Hank’s brow descended. “I know. I’ll be waiting at the door with my shotgun loaded when the boys start coming around.” He nodded toward his laptop. “In the meantime, we have a groom to locate.”

Kalea drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Casey told me what’s happened so far. Do you have any more news?”

Hank glanced toward Casey and Jacob. “Swede has been going through the data he can find online. We learned two things that might help.”

Jacob moved in closer. “Swede’s amazing,” he said. “What’s he got?”

By clicking the mouse, Hank woke the monitor. “Swede tapped into the cameras located at the piers around Honolulu, searching for movement, specifically, looking for two big men rolling a laundry cart or carrying a body. Swede spent some time going through the online video images between the time the delivery van left the hotel and sunrise, to start with. He found the van matching the description and the license plate parked at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor at four o’clock this morning. Jimenez owns a boat, and he keeps it moored there.” He brought up a blurry image of the van parked outside the marina.

Kalea pressed a hand to her chest, tears welling in her eyes. “If he was in that van, the drug cartel could have taken him anywhere.”

Hank nodded. “As soon as Jacob gave us the address on the envelope he purloined from Jimenez’s home on Oahu, Swede discovered that Jimenez owns that home on Kauai. His wife lives there full-time. It’s too small to hide a kidnapped man and his kidnappers. Swede’s been in touch with the DEA and ATF folks who specialize in following cartels and drug traffickers. They have some leads, but the cartel has been targeted not only bydrug enforcement agencies but also by rival cartels. They move their compounds on a regular basis to avoid being ambushed.”

“In other words, you’re telling me we have no idea where they would’ve taken Hawk.” Kalea sank into the chair beside Hank. “Won’t that make it impossible to find him?”

“Don’t give up on Hawk,” Casey said.

“That’s right,” Hank said. “We’re still working on it. That brings me to the next bit of information we dug up. Actually, I found this because of my lovely wife. Since Emma was born, Sadie’s been all into our heritage and wanting to know where we came from so that we can pass that information down to our children. She joined one of those ancestor sites that lets you enter your information and find relatives you never knew existed.” Hank gave Kalea a twisted grin. “I entered Camila’s name, hoping I’d find something.” His grin broadened. “I hit pay dirt.”

“Yeah?” Casey frowned. “What did you learn?”

Hank clicked the keyboard and brought up the ancestor website. “I entered Camila Torres and her address.” He demonstrated what he was saying, and the monitor blinked and brought up a huge tree of names and how they were related. “Apparently, one of Camila’s relatives is an active member of this application and has documented aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters and grandparents. Besides her Uncle and Aunt, Camila has several cousins in Hawaii. The cousin who entered the data is here on Oahu. Her name is Mina Perez. I was able to get her home phone number. Her grandmother answered and said Mina was at work. She’s a licensed cosmetologist. She has a beauty salon a couple of miles away from here.”

Jacob frowned. “And you think she might know where the compound is?”

Hank’s brow twisted. “I don’t know about that, but she might know who does.”

Jacob pulled out his cell phone and brought up his map app. “Address,” he demanded.

Hank gave him the address.

Jacob keyed it into his phone. “I’m going.”

“I’m going with you,” Kalea said.

“It might be better if you stayed with me,” Hank said. “I’m waiting for Swede to get back to me with whatever information he’s able to get from the DEA and ATF. They have a better chance of giving us the information we’re looking for.”

“Hank’s right,” Jacob said to Kalea. “It would be better if you stayed here. The shop is close. I won’t be gone long. And if I learn something, I’m not going to go off half-cocked. I’ll need a team to extract him. I’ll be back shortly.” He headed toward the apartment entrance.

Casey followed, her heart in her throat. She didn’t want him going without her. “I’m going with you.”

“Last time you went with me to question someone, you were almost accosted. I don’t need that kind of excitement again. I can defend myself against four men, but having you in the mix makes me lose focus. Which, in turn, could put you in danger.” Jacob tipped his head toward Kalea. “You should stay with your friend.”

Anger bubbled up inside Casey. “I can take care of myself. And if you can’t focus because I’m there…well, that’s your problem, not mine. Besides, Kalea has Hank to look after her.” Casey tipped up her chin. “And you’re headed into a salon. That’s my territory. I deal with salons on a daily basis, getting my brides ready for their big day. If Mina is working in her salon, she’s more likely to talk to a female than a male.”

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