LITMIR.BIZ

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up. “Panties?”

      “What?” Annie squealed.

      “Now you’re talking? Interesting.” If Kane had known a comment or two on her underwear would get her talking, he would have shouted “panties” long before now.

      “I am not having a kid buy my underwear.”

      “Hey, I’m twenty-one,” Derek said, obviously insulted.

      “And I’m twenty-nine. You’re still not buying my underwear.” She tried to grab the list back, but Derek slid his chair farther out of her range. The squeak against the tile echoed in the room.

      Giving her a gentle shove, Kane pushed her back into her chair. “Would you prefer to go without?”

      “I am right now,” she shot back.

      The reminder telegraphed a wake-up call straight to Kane’s lower body. He had been trying to block out the memory of her body. The feel of her slim waist and soft skin. Talking about her panties or lack of them, sure as hell wasn’t helping.

      “Should Derek be listening to this conversation?” Josh covered Derek’s ears. “’Cause I can send him outside. Just don’t say anything while I’m gone.”

      Derek and Josh traded shoves.

      “You’re leaving, too.” Kane wanted them both out. Alone he might be able to get Annie to talk. “Your job is to go figure out what’s happening with the yacht. Is the DEA on this?”

      “Not yet. There’s not much to know. Someone at the marina gave a call with some concerns about foul play. That’s it so far.”

      “Any news and information you can find would help,” Kane said.

      Josh gave him a quick nod.

      “Why can’t you find out what’s happening, Mr. Police Chief?” she asked.

      “The leave of absence thing,” Derek rushed to explain.

      Kane knew Derek would defend him to the end, but he felt his temperature rise anyway. “I’m not on—”

      She talked right over him. “Let’s talk about that topic for a second. Why aren’t you working? What’s with the leave of absence?”

      “It’s a vacation.”

      “It’s not a vacation if you’re forced,” Josh mumbled.

      “Sounds to me as if Kane is the one with secrets.” She gave Josh a conspiratorial wink.

      Enough of that, Kane thought. First Derek. Now Josh. Yeah, if she was going to flirt and smile, she needed to do it with him. Not that he was interested, because he wasn’t. He just didn’t need a turf war over Annie on top of everything else that was going on.

      “You won’t find any stores open now,” Kane told Derek.

      “We’ll give it a shot. If we don’t find anything, his stuff’s in my car so he can bunk at my condo tonight,” Josh offered.

      Kane nodded in agreement. “Fine. Just bring the items back in the morning.”

      “She’s staying?” The question came from Josh, but the confused look in Derek’s eyes asked the same thing.

      “Of course.”

      She stared up at him. “I am?”

      “You have somewhere else to go?” Kane didn’t bother to hold his breath waiting for her answer because he knew she didn’t. If she did, she’d be there.

      “Uh, no.”

      “Then you’re stuck with me.” Because he sure as hell wasn’t letting her out of his sight. “Derek, go.”

      Derek saluted, then ripped out the page with the list. “Yes, sir.”

      One down, one to go. “Josh, do some digging. See what you can find out. My research resources are limited at the moment, so I’m depending on you.”

      “Gotcha.” Josh stood up and tucked his notepad back in his jacket. “Children, no fighting while I’m gone.”

      “You’re asking the impossible,” Kane said.

      “True, but the fight wouldn’t be fair,” Josh said.

      Kane snorted. “I won’t hurt her.”

      “I was talking about her fighting skills, not yours. I’d put money on her to take you out,” Josh said in a dead-pan voice.

      Annie did some snorting of her own. “Damn right.”

      Before Annie and Josh could join forces. Kane escorted the men to the front door. When Josh threw Derek the keys to his precious vintage Mustang and told him he could drive this time, Kane knew he was in for a man-to-man chat.

      “The kid’s worried about you. He thinks you’re turning into a freak out here by yourself. When he called me, I put him on one of the hourly flights in from Honolulu and ran him over here.”

      “You should have told him I’m fine and to get back to studying,” Kane said.

      “I’m not convinced you’re fine.” Josh tore a leaf off the tree next to the front porch and crumpled it in his fist. “What’s up with you and Red?”

      Kane appreciated the concern, but his friend had it all wrong. “Nothing.”

      “I’ve got eyes, warrior boy.”

      Kane ignored the nickname. He’d heard it for all seven of the years he’d known Josh. And regretted providing the Hawaiian meaning for his name for every single one of those years. “She’s a guest. Nothing more.”

      Josh frowned. “Tell me another one.”

      “Found her on the beach. Was I supposed to leave her there?”

      “You could have turned her over to your officers or taken her to the hospital. You kept her.”

      Kane felt that familiar knot in his chest. “I’m still the police chief around here no matter what Derek or anyone else might think. I have responsibilities.”

      “Do those responsibilities include showering with strange women and chaining them to the bed?”

      “She’s hiding something. I want to know what.”

      Josh rubbed his beard. “Look, you’ve had a hard run. You’re under a lot of pressure.”

      “That’s nothing new.”

      Kane thrived on pressure. He made a career out of chasing the drug trade. That type of work demanded long hours and a piece of his soul. Since he lost everything else, work became his focus. Work and Derek. With Derek grown and making his own way, work filled the void. The same work Internal Affairs threatened to take away.

      “You deciding to add a woman to the mix is new. Ever since Leilani died—”

      Kane refused to have this conversation. “This is different. She isn’t Leilani. She isn’t my wife. She’s a woman in trouble, and I’m trying to help. It’s my job.”

      “This one’s dangerous.”

      Kane thought so, too, but wanted to hear Josh’s theory. “How?”

      “I don’t trust Red.”

      “She’s under control. I can handle her.”

      Josh nodded. “Right. None of my business. I get it. Just be careful.”

      Kane watched his friend climb into the passenger side of the car and drive off. When he returned to the kitchen, Annie sat in the exact same position. She hadn’t moved an inch except to retrieve her mug and fill it again.

      He sat down across from her. “Well, Annie, looks like it’s just you and me.”

      “This day

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