Page 19 of Brutal Obsession

Great. Beating on these guys helped take the edge off, which I desperately needed.

What I absolutely don’t need to do is go fucking viral.

Time to grab Harper and haul her ass out of here.

My heart rate kicks up. Things got out of hand, and Harper will no doubt be pissed. I give her full permission to chew me out.Aftershe’s taken my cock a few times as punishment for worrying me.

That’s right.

Somewhere between NYC and here, I lost the battle with lust and resigned myself to the fact that my desire for this woman must be satiated at least once on this assignment.

I exhale and turn, only to find Harper gone.

Again.

For fuck’s sake…

I burst off that patio like a shot, diving into the slow-moving crowds of Waikiki foot traffic. Sirens wail nearby. Those damn restaurant patrons got me on camera, which means the police won’t have any trouble picking me out of these crowds.

If I don’t find Harper and get us the hell out of here, we’re screwed.

Irritation grates against my skin like sharpened nails.

Finding her the first time was hard enough.

As soon as I stepped off the plane, I realized hunting her down, even on an island as small as this, would prove a challenge. She left her old phone in New York the night she disappeared, so I couldn’t track her that way.

The photo that popped up on De Luca’s computer showed her relaxing on the beach, but this island has over a hundred beaches, none of them outfitted with CCTV cameras.

At Shane’s behest, I brought enough cash to hire a private investigator.Just in case,he said. But who has the time for that? Harper was smart enough to give the Irish Kings the slip. I doubt a private investigator would be able to sniff her out quickly, especially if she changed her name.

Finding her came down to using what I know about her. The most obvious of her interests is fashion. Harper Brennan dresses like she stepped off a Milan runway. I figured wherever the designer goods were, she wouldn’t be too far off.

Lucky for me, only two places on Oahu host shops that sell those types of designer goods.

Ala Moana Shopping Center and Waikiki.

I cased the mall, an indoor-outdoor ant colony for human beings, with no success. Never seen a mall that sprawling, labyrinthine, or confusing.

Around midday, I headed into Waikiki, the center of the island’s tourist action, and scoped out Kalakaua Avenue, the area’s bustling main street. I walked the avenue twice, checking Coach and Cartier and every other high-end store on the strip. Probably freaked out more than one blond woman until I realized they weren’t Harper.

Before long, my stomach started to protest, and I wandered toward the nearest restaurant, one with a view of the street and the beach so I could continue to case the place. I seated myself on the patio and glanced through the window. Like magic, she appeared, wearing a name tag and a professional black dress that hit just above her knees, with her golden hair down and her skin glowing with her new tan.

Even the damn sun gets to kiss her more than I do.

My head swerves right. The road’s packed with cars and half-naked tourists on rented mopeds driving one direction. Heart chugging in my chest, I scan the opposite curb. Over there, the sidewalk’s straight and wide, but on this side, the snake-like pavement curves back and forth. Torches line the way, the flames lighting the whole street like the entry to a luau. Dusk starts to settle over the area, bathing everything in a sherbet haze.

Picturesque, and also the mostinconvenient fucking setup possible. The congested sidewalk boxes me in. Unless I bulldoze a bunch of people and torches with my body, I’m trapped.

The crowd flows toward an intersection up ahead. People wait for the crosswalk signal to change, and my muscles tense when my gaze lands on an anxious Harper Brennan, bouncing on the balls of her feet and hitting thewalkbutton repeatedly.

Her shoulders stiffen abruptly, as if someone just stabbed her.

Slowly, she moves her head. Once our eyes meet through the throngs of people separating us, her body recoils, revealing a deep and instinctual fear.

Panic glazes her deep blue eyes.

My gut seizes. She’s afraid of me.

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