“Captain Lawton may hear of the attack anyway.”
“He might,” Jesse agreed. “If he does, I’ll explain it to him then. In the meantime, we have to figure out what’s going on with Heidi.”
“Could her father be trying to get her?”
“All he’d have to do is show up at the door and ask to see her. I wouldn’t deny him visitation rights. He wouldn’t drug everyone and try to open my skull. Me and Noah have always gotten along pretty well.”
“Maybe he wants her all to himself. You hear about fathers stealing kids.”
“I don’t think Noah would do that. He loves her too much.”
“So much he left her and hasn’t called.” Kaia couldn’t keep the asperity from her voice. Maybe their similar histories were what made her feel such a connection to the keiki.
Jesse shook his head. “I just don’t think it’s Noah.”
“Then who would want her?” Kaia was almost afraid to ask.
“The fact that I have no idea scares me spitless.”
Twenty
Amisty curtain of rain hung over the ocean, giving it a soft, dreamy look. But the man was in no mood to appreciate the beauty. “You nitwits! I give you a perfectly simple assignment and you blow it. How hard can it be to snatch an eight-year-old?”
“We had her. But that dolphin woman was too quick. She woke up before I had time to drug her. When she saw me with the kid, she came after me with a frying pan.” The younger man rubbed his head where a massive swelling had parted his hair.
“And it didn’t occur to you to both go aboard?”
“We wanted the boat ready to get out of there in a hurry.”
“There would have been no need for hurry if you’d drugged them all!” There was no use in talking to them. They were as dumb as a piece of coral. He took a deep breath. There was still time. The test would be in two days. Even if they snatched the kid hours before the test, it would work out.
Maybe there was some other way. He still hated to involve the kid. He looked down at his hands. No, it had to be this way. And he’d enjoy watching Matthews squirm on a hook he couldn’t get off of. The man gave a grim smile then looked back at his men. “You’d better not screw up again,” he barked. “I’ve got too much riding on this now.”
Faye paced the floor in the living room. She’d made the first step in healing the breach with her family. Her son hadn’t thrown her off the property. She’d expected hostility, but he had been open enough to talk to her. Until he’d run away. But she still had hopes Bane would come around. She knew meeting him had been the first and easiest step in an uphill climb as steep as Na Pali.
Her euphoria faded, and she felt tired. A dull headache began to gather at the base of her skull, and she pressed on it. Curtis was reading the morning paper, and Heidi should be here any minute so Jesse could get a little rest. It was going to be hard to keep her attention on the little girl when she wanted to go back to the cottage by the sea.
Curtis put down his paper. “Why so glum, sweetheart? I would have thought you’d be floating on air this morning.” He patted his lap.
Faye tried to smile as she went to perch on her husband’s knees. “I don’t think it’s going to be so easy with the rest. Especially my father. He’s going to be so angry with me.” She blinked rapidly to keep the tears from rolling.
“I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised how well it goes. The prodigal daughter’s return is probably something that he’s dreamed of and prayed about for years. Remember what Kaia told you about him wanting to find you?”
“You’re more optimistic than me. My father was never that way. I couldn’t do anything right while I was growing up. I don’t expect that to change now.” Faye leaned over and kissed him. “You’d better get going. You’ll be late.”
“I’m not too eager to get in today.” He frowned and picked up his coffee cup.
“What’s wrong?”
“Two more investors bailed on me yesterday. Our funds have dwindled to practically nothing. I never would have gone into this if I’d realized it would be such a drain on our resources.”
“Are we going to be okay?” Her muscles stiffened. Faye had worried about money all her life until she married Curtis a year ago. She wasn’t eager to be living on a shoestring again.
“Don’t worry; we’ll be fine. But I’m not going to continue to let Seaworthy lose money. If I can’t come up with a way to make it a viable business, I’ll sell off the assets.”
“The equipment?”
“And the animals.”
Faye frowned. “The dolphins are wild, aren’t they?”
“Now you sound like Kaia. I bought those animals. All eight of them are listed as assets.” He was sounding more annoyed by the minute.
“You can’t sell Kaia’s dolphins! You’ll alienate her from me for good.” The thought of it made Faye jump to her feet. Her movement spilled coffee down the front of Curtis’s shirt.