Page 65 of Riptide

“Well, thank God for PJs with beds. Although I think we’d make a ten-seater work.” The corner of her mouth curled upward.

“You know it.” He winked at her and reached for his laptop that he’d stowed in his bag. Within seconds, he’d booted it and tapped in the coordinates.

Swimming in both confusion and intrigue, he raised a questioning eyebrow. “I don’t think this is a house.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“It’s right on the edge here. In Kauai.”

“Kauai?” Seth spun the laptop around to face Kaimana and pointed to the map. “Here. Nāpali Coast.”

“Yeah, I know it,” she said. “It’s inaccessible by car.”

“You can hike in. Or boat. That’s it.”

“Wait. What is happening?” Confusion twisted through Kaimana. She leaned her elbows onto the table, pressed the heels of her hands to her forehead, and blew out a breath. “No, no, no. There’s nothing there. This doesn’t make sense. Why would they take him there? Why?”

“Because it’s far from Oʻahu.”

“But why? They are operating out of Oʻahu. I don’t understand.” Kaimana’s mind drifted to her darkest thoughts and her stomach tightened. The blood drained from her face as she lifted her gaze to meet Seth’s. “They’re going to kill him.”

“Fuck.” Seth shook his head.

“They’re taking him there because it is remote. Perfect place to murder someone.” Kaimana’s eyes widened.

“Or torture him some more. Oʻahu is smaller than people think. Maybe something happened that Joli doesn’t know about. Maybe a neighbor came snooping.”

“I don’t think they’d hike in. It’s too dangerous. Even experienced hikers struggle with that hike. No. These guys are pussies with money. They’d boat in. I’m sure of it. But they wouldn’t just dump him on the beach or in the woods. No, someone could still find him there. A tourist. A hiker even. No, they’d have to find a remote cave if they were just going to dump him. One that’s not well known.”

“Let me see the map again.” Kaimana scrolled, zooming in on the exact coordinates. “Look. There. That’s not where people go. I don’t know how they’d get in that spot. The rocks and all. It’s not a place the tours go.”

“They may have gone in at night.”

“But they’d know Evan. I mean. They probably tortured him but he’s resourceful.”

“Maybe they cuffed him to something. Tied him down.”

“We have to get to Kauai now.” Her heart raced in panic. “He won’t survive.”

“I’ll text Marcus now.” Seth pulled out his phone and tapped its face. “He says he’s on his way to Oʻahu as soon as he wraps up things at Joli’s apartment.”

“That could be hours.”

“He’s done.” Seth held up his phone so she could read the text. “He’s at the airport. He’s only about an hour behind.” He resumed texting. “I’m telling him to meet us in Kauai. About the coordinates.”

“Where are we going to get a boat on short notice? I may be able to call my brother and see if he knows someone.”

“No worries. I got you. We’ll need Marcus to call in the Coast Guard. I know we’re chancing trusting anyone, but I don’t know what the water conditions are, and we’re going to have to take a small rib boat to get into the cave. It wouldn’t hurt to have a few Coast Guard divers on standby.”

“I agree.” Kaimana blew out a breath. “I wonder why Evan gave us that location. It doesn’t match the location where Joli saw him. It’s so far out.”

“They probably threatened him with it, told him that’s where they were dumping him. He’s been kidnapped for a long time.”

“I can’t think about this.”

“I just hope it’s not a wild goose chase.” Seth shook his head.

“We’re going to find him one way or another. When we get to Hawaiʻi, we’ll shake all the trees until we do. And we’ll get the girls too…now that we know the auction’s set to open tomorrow night. For all we know there is more for sale beside girls.”