Duncan. He was holding a gun. Another man stepped into view behind him. Kaia didn’t recognize the other man, but the impassive expression on his face made her shiver. She stepped closer to Jesse. With two guns trained on them, they were outnumbered. “Drop your gun, Jesse,” Duncan ordered. Jesse hesitated, then complied and the gun clattered to the deck.
Heidi’s head came up at the sound of Duncan’s voice. “Uncle Jesse!” She scrambled down from Faye’s lap and rushed out the door of the salon. She launched herself at her uncle, and he caught her to his chest.
“Are you all right?” He ran his hands over her face and arms.
Heidi nodded. “Did Nani bring you?”
“Yep.” His voice sounded choked. He reached into his wet suit and pulled out Boo. Heidi gave a smothered sob and clutched the dripping stuffed bear to her chest.
Kaia’s gaze connected with her mother’s through the window into the salon. Faye rose and came slowly to the doorway. A myriad of emotions raged through Kaia. At least her mother was all right. Part of her wanted to rush into Faye’s arms and part of her hung back, still too afraid to let herself feel anything. She tore her gaze away from Faye’s face.
“Such a touching reunion scene,” Duncan said. His hand shook.
Kaia thought she detected real regret in the man’s voice. She stared into his face. He seemed pale but set on his course.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jesse took a step toward Duncan but stopped when the gun came up. “What could possibly be worth this?”
Duncan’s smile seemed weak. “The family honor, old friend. Honor and revenge. Two of the strongest motives in the world.”
“Revenge? What have we ever done to you?”
Pain, regret, then rage flashed over Duncan’s face. “Did you deliberately set out to hurt me, Jesse? You took everything from me, one by one.”
“Are you talking about Jillian? You were the one who cheated.”
Duncan’s face reddened. “I lost Jillian because of you. And Christy before that.”
“You only went on two dates with Christy!”
“Because of you. Every time I was close to happiness, you stepped in and took it from me.” He sneered. “Perfect surfer guy, the jock. All the girls looked at you and didn’t know I existed.”
“You lost Jillian because you cheated on a test.”
“I just wanted to take you down a notch or two, beat you at something. That was the only reason I bought the test answers. You made sure it backfired.” His gaze hardened. “Jillian would never even talk to me after that. But don’t kid yourself. This is about more than you.”
“You’d kill thousands of people because you’re jealous? And hurt Jillian in the process by taking Heidi?”
Duncan smiled. “That’s the beauty of my plan. Jillian will need comforting. She’ll be alone again. She’ll be totally alone with Heidi gone. And you.” His smile faded. “I wish she didn’t have to be hurt by it all though.”
“The missile system,” Kaia said. “It was your father’s.”
Duncan’s eyes narrowed. “He never got credit for it. You never see his name on it. It’s always his partner who is said to be the genius, even though ninety percent of the work was Dad’s. When the system is discredited, I’ve got the perfect one to take its place. And this time the name Latchet will be on it. And make a boatload of money in the process.” He blinked rapidly. “I’ll be someone, the person I was meant to be.”
“Nothing that you think you want is worth this,” Faye said softly. “Believe me, young man, hurting others for the sake of your own happiness is never worth it. I tried and it doesn’t work. God will never let you build your life on another’s misery. Better to extend aloha to those who hurt you. Forgive and love them anyway.”
Duncan hesitated, and a flash of fear darkened his face. He stuck his gun in his pocket. “Cover them, Brad,” he said to the other man. The man nodded and leveled his gun at Jesse.
“If any of them move, shoot the keiki,” Duncan said. “I’ve got some details to take care of.” He went to the helm, and Kaia saw him speaking into the ship-to-shore radio. Then he shook it and threw it down and began to tinker with the contents. He didn’t seem in any hurry. Brad finally let them sit down. Kaia kept stealing glances at her watch. The minutes were ticking by. It was already a quarter to eight. An hour and fifteen minutes until the launch. They had to stop it somehow.
Duncan finally joined them. His face was tight as he went to the side of the boat. Reaching into a locker, he withdrew a piece of plastic. He pulled a tab and the plastic inflated to a lifeboat. Tossing it overboard, he got in a small motorboat that was floating beside the bigger boat.
“Let’s have a picnic,” he said. “You get in first, Jesse.”
Jesse looked at Kaia. She could see the plea in his eyes but didn’t know what he wanted her to do. He put Heidi down, and she clung to his hand. “Don’t leave me, Uncle Jesse,” she pleaded.
“You can take her with you,” Duncan called. He was scowling, and Kaia wondered if whatever he planned was going to be more difficult for him to do than he’d imagined.