There was no sound from the boat, no sign of movement. Maybe the passengers had gone ashore. She glanced toward the beach. The moon came out from behind a cloud and illuminated a small dingy pulled up on the sand.
Bingo. Someone was here. She swam closer to shore. Her feet touched bottom, and she moved to the left where coconut palm trees leaned over the water. She came ashore under the thick leafy shelter. Pausing to catch her breath, she stepped against the smooth trunk of the tree and peered around into the open area to her right.
Three men stood talking in a soft hush. The wind blew their words away from her. She was going to have to get closer. She sidled along the edge of the trees as they changed from palms to monkeypod. She was careful to stay in the shadows. The sharp lava rock scraped her bare feet, and she winced when she stubbed her toe on an unseen boulder.
Still hidden in the shelter of the trees, she finally stood about six feet from the men. She recognized one of them as Nahele Aki, the head of Pele Hawai′i. The other two looked familiar, and she assumed she’d seen them at the meeting she’d attended with Mano.
“Are we all set on our jobs?” Nahele asked.
“Yep,” the taller of the two men said.
All three were dressed in black wet suits. Kaia suspected they were about to make an unannounced visit to the base, though why they’d come ashore here, off base property, she had no idea.
Nahele motioned toward where Kaia crouched. “Get the gear.”
She looked around for someplace to hide. The monkeypod tree branches grew low and heavy, so she grabbed one and hoisted herself into the tree. She settled on the branch and strained to hear. A movement along the branch above her head flickered at the edge of her vision. She turned her head to look and found herself eyeball to eyeball with a cane spider. She froze.
The thing was huge, nearly eight inches in diameter. It lifted one leg delicately as if to reach out to touch her. Her heart tried to get to the ground before the rest of her could move. Then her taut muscles loosened and she lunged back along the branch as far as she could go. It wasn’t far. She was wedged into the crook of the tree.
Her horrified gaze stayed fixed on the spider. It moved closer. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think beyond a certainty that she couldn’t let that thing touch her. The spider was going to be on her any minute. She was afraid to look at it and afraid to let it out of her sight for fear it would scurry up her arm. When the spider made a sudden movement and raced toward her, she lost it. Screeching, she flung herself away and fell from the tree. Her ankle twisted under her as she hit the ground.
She lay on the sand as the men surrounded her. Nahele yanked her to her feet, and she moaned as her foot slammed against a boulder.
“Miss Oana, what are you doing here?”
Trying to ignore the throbbing in her ankle, she lifted her chin and met his gaze. “Nothing. I’d been out for a moonlight swim.”
“A little late for a swim, isn’t it? And tree swimming is something I’ve never heard of.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” She wondered how long it would be before the sailors came looking for her.
“What did you hear?”
Though the words were mild, the dislike and suspicion in his eyes made her freeze. She tried to smile. “Hey, I just got here. I didn’t hear anything other than when you told the men to get the gear.” It might be a good thing she hadn’t heard anything.
His gaze probed her face, and she forced herself to tilt her head up and meet his suspicious stare.
“I’m inclined to believe you,” he said.
“Nahele!” The younger man scowled and took a step closer. “We can’t risk it.”
“I know that, Kim. Take her.” He stepped aside.
The younger man grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the grove. A hot burst of pain jolted up her leg, and she sagged to the ground. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to moan or vomit.
Kim jerked her back onto her feet. She swayed on her good leg. She regarded him through a haze of pain. How was she going to get out of this? She glanced toward the dark water and saw the dolphin’s dorsal fin at the top of a wave. If she could just make it to the water, Nani would be there to get her back to the navy boat.
“Carry her, Kim,” Nehele said.
Kaia couldn’t let that happen. He’d have too tight a grip on her. “I can walk,” she said. “I just twisted my ankle.” She eased part of her weight onto her foot and took a tiny step. Kim slackened his grip on her arm, and she wrenched herself free and stumbled toward the waves.
He shouted and grabbed her, missing her arm but snagging her by the hair. She tore loose. Her scalp stung where she’d left strands of hair in his grip. Just a few more feet. She waded into the water, the cool touch of the waves soothing the pain in her ankle.