This stretch of beach was one of the most deserted on the island. Monkeypod trees loomed over sharp lava rock. Kaia shivered at their sinister look in the moonlight. Her last interaction with a tree still gave her nightmares when she remembered the size of the cane spider.
They stumbled over the rocks. Jesse took her hand, his fingers warm and reassuring. It felt almost romantic. Kaia knew she should pull away, but she left her hand clasped tightly in his.
They stopped at the edge of the jungle where they could go no farther. Jesse’s other hand went to her back to guide her in turning around. She stumbled and lurched against his chest. He caught her and held her there. His sharp exhale ruffled the hair at her temple. His breath smelled of cinnamon.
“You smell good,” he said. “Like flowers.”
His voice sounded a little hoarse. Kaia looked up and found his gaze fastened on her. He reached out and touched her cheek.
She was so caught by the look in his eyes, it took a moment for the sound above their heads to register. The whup-whup of a helicopter overhead finally penetrated, and she gasped.
Jesse released her and craned his head to look. “Kind of early for a pleasure copter to be out, isn’t it?” he observed. “It’s not even dawn yet.”
Helicopters flew tourists out to see the fantastic Kaua’i sites. Most wanted to make sure they saw where Jurassic Park had been filmed, and some of the scenery was best viewed from the air. She nodded. “It sounds close.” Kaia took off toward the helicopter noise.
Jesse caught her by the arm. “Wait here.”
“No way.” She pulled her arm free and ran across the damp sand to the edge of the jungle. It was lush and covered with thick vegetation that rimmed the sand.
The helicopter was almost directly overhead. The loud throb of its engines reverberated in her head, and she clapped her hands over her ears. A light shone from the copter onto the sand right over them, and she instinctively crouched behind a boulder though she knew they had to have been seen.
“Is it navy?” she shouted above the noise.
Jesse shook his head. The craft swung around over their heads, then the rapid-fire sound of artillery zinged over them.
They dove to the ground as bullets kicked up sand that stung Kaia’s legs and arms. The breath left her lungs as Jesse’s heavy weight came down on her. His arms circled her. “Lay still,” he shouted as she instinctively struggled to get free.
She stopped her thrashing and lay sheltered in his arms. Please, God, don’t let him take a bullet for me. She wanted to shriek with the whining sound of the bullets as they plowed all around them. Then the attack stopped as quickly as it had started.
She was trembling so hard she could barely lift her head. Jesse got up as the sound of the helicopter’s engine rose. He pulled Kaia to her feet then put his arm around her shoulders, and they watched the “bird” hover then veer off toward Na Pali. The sound faded into the distance. Jesse was talking softly on his phone with the navy base. He clicked it off. “Help’s on the way.”
“Are you hurt?” She wanted to run her hands over his torso to make sure he was unharmed.
“I’m fine. Did they hit you?”
“No, no, not a scratch.” She became aware that he had his hand wrapped in her hair. The look on his face as he stared into her eyes made her cheeks hot. She should step away, but the strength seemed to have left her legs. She saw a muscle work in his jaw, then he released her and stepped back. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed.
“Could the Morse code have been coming from the copter?” Jesse asked her.
So he was going to ignore the emotion that had zipped between them as briefly and brilliantly as Hawai’i’s green flash. She collected herself. “It was in this area, so yeah. I wonder what they were doing out here?”
Jesse flipped on his flashlight. The powerful halogen beam threw the rocks and plants in the area into sharp relief.
“I think we’re going to have to start digging deeper ourselves,” Kaia said. “How about talking to Jonah Kapolei’s family? Has the navy done that yet?”
“The dead diver? Probably. But maybe you could get more out of them. Do you know anything about the family?”
“No, but Mano might.” She told herself if her brother could pump her for information, she could do the same. She squinted in the moonlight and could make out a dark figure moving around on the deck of Jesse’s craft. “Looks like he’s awake.”
Neither said much as Jesse rowed them back to the navy boat.
Mano was scowling when they stepped back onto the deck. “You should have woken me up. What was up with the helicopter?”
“Nothing. We decided to go for a walk along the beach and happened to see it,” Jesse said. “We didn’t know it was there until it lifted off over our heads.”
“Sounded like gunfire.”
“It was.”
Kaia watched her brother. She saw concern and a trace of guilt arc over his face. She was going to have to press him, and she feared it might cost them their relationship.