Hot Contract (16 page)

Kimo leaned in and whispered, “Boo!”

Jen almost jumped out of her skin. “Stop
that!”

He laughed. “Go on then, see if I help
you.”

Jen kept moving to where her aunt waited with
Wendell. A dust devil blew to life and jumped the platform,
spraying them with grit. Low volume noise thumped from the
production wells on the plain below, and all around them lava
stretched into the distance, a blur of amber and sear-black.

Kate waved. “Hurry along, Kimo. This needs to
be done now.”

The sense of something vast and unseen pushed
down on the back of Jen’s neck. The temple platform was really two
platforms, split down the middle by a jagged chasm. Steam billowed
out of the crevice in sulfur-yellow wisps and curled underfoot. It
didn’t take much imagination to see divine intervention in the
hillocks and escarpments that rose around the heiau like cupped
hands. Earlier lava flows had gone around the sprawling complex
instead of over it, like someone had put up a barricade.

“Aunt Kate?” Wendell started for the far end
of the platform where Kate stood surrounded by her own personal
security, checking things off on a clipboard. “What do you want to
do with Andora?”

Kimo inched up behind Jen and brushed her
hair back, laughing softly. “See that wall, Jenny-poo? Want to know
what’s on the other side?”

Jen shook her head and didn’t move, refusing
to be drawn into his game. He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her
after him.

“Happy to be your tour guide,” Kimo said. “I
spend a lot of time here. Fixing stuff, doing things, you
know...making Kate happy. Lots of people don’t get any farther than
the offering pile. Bet you’re one of them, huh?”

A gust of hot air pushed the dress up around
her hips. For the first time since her kidnapping, Jen felt warm. A
shallow retaining wall marked the boundaries of the chasm, and a
big yellow plaque did double duty as both a historical marker and
warning sign. Kimo positioned her against it, bunched her bra and
neckline down under her still aching breasts and took a quick
picture with his phone.

Jen glared at him. “You’re enjoying this way
too much.”

“You have no idea,” said Kimo. He folded the
phone away like it held something precious, pulled out a cigarette,
lit it and took a couple of quick drags before he jerked her dress
back into place. “And they say revenge is cold, man—I’ve got the
warm-fuzzies all over. Kate is my dream boss.”

He reached down to fondle his cock. “Go on,
look over the side. I’ll wait. I’ll even be nice and leave you
alone. Just so you don’t get the idea I’ll try something,
okay?”

The sign read danger in seven languages, and
had a stick figure leaning over the wall circled by the
international sign for no. At first sight, the chasm looked like
little more than a long, roughly shaped pit carved into the bedrock
under the temple. Mineralized ledges circled it like upside down
scaffolding. Nothing scary about it at all. Jen wobbled another
mini-step and froze.

Kimo sent his voice after her like a shove.
“Go ahead, Jen. Look down. You know you want to.” Want to....

Scarlet heaved in the depths, a suggestion of
movement. The floor of the pit was a crust of floating lava. She
stood on the edge of an active pond without any protective gear or
knowledge of the terrain. The heat was incredible. She was a
scientist. She knew exactly how long it would take her to burn to
death if she didn’t die of suffocation first.

How had they missed it? Judging by the
condition of the platform, the pond was a long-standing anomaly.
Jen held on to the wall with both hands, jerking at the tape
swaddling her until it felt like wire. The surface of the pit was
so far down, she felt dizzy. The fumes were thick and choking. She
couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think—she opened her mouth to scream and
Kimo jerked her back, roughly shoving her head down between her
knees.

“Don’t faint, Guinevere, you’ll miss the
show.”

“I-It’s active,” she whispered, huddling in
on herself.

“Well, duh—give the woman a cookie. Yes, Dr.
Stalling. It is active. And guess who gets to be the Human Torch?
Except I don’t think you’ll be channeling Johnny Storm.”

Fear was a stench in her own nostrils,
overlaid with the smell of sulfur. “She can’t think my death will
do anything.”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Kimo
shrugged and dropped down beside her, scratching at his balls. “I
honestly don’t know. Don’t care either.”

Fear ebbed and anger took its place. “Keegan
will kill you.”

Kimo got up and looked around. “Being as I
don’t see your bodyguard here, the idea doesn’t scare me. How about
you, Jen? Are you scared yet?”

“You’ve betrayed me. You’ve betrayed Mac. And
you think I want to talk to you?” Jen rolled over, snapping at Kimo
with her teeth.

Kimo pushed her back one-handed. “Yeah, that
makes me weak. You snapping at me like a turtle.” He took a drag on
his cigarette and flipped it over the wall. “How about we just sit
here until your aunt gets back?”

“How about you die?”

Magma hissed behind her, chattering low and
metallic.

“Yawn,” said Kimo. “How about
you
die?
See how far you get with your aunt’s security all over the place.
Go ahead.” He dropped his arm. “Just give me a second to get my
phone out, ‘cause I want another picture.”

Wendell clattered up beside them and pulled
Jen to her feet. “You okay?” He gave her a worried look. He carried
Andora over one shoulder and put her down carefully. “Man, she’s in
bad shape. Put your feet down, and try not to move, yeah?” He eased
her against the sign and half-turned, squinting into the distance.
“Kimo, check it out. Someone coming.”

Kimo pulled a small pair of binoculars from
his hoodie. “It’s Makena. I thought we’d have more time.”

Aunt Kate left her security to join them,
arms lifted in challenge. “Let him come. We are the Righteous, we
cannot be stopped!”

Everyone had their backs to Jen except for
Andora who was no help to anyone. Jen gnawed at the tape around her
bicep as the sound of Makena’s Land Rover grew louder. She caught
an end with her teeth and worked it into her mouth, jerking hard
enough to lift the thin plastic from the rest of the tape. It
should have come off, but instead it pulled painfully tight, making
her entire arm throb in time to her rapidly escalating
heartbeat.

Andora slid down the sign and sprawled in a
boneless heap, head back.
Dead?
Not yet.

Footsteps crunched through the parking lot,
across the courtyard and up the stairs. The first thing Jen saw was
black hair, then Makena's face. His eyes met hers and he stopped
just short of the platform, halfway up the stairs. He was still
wearing the same EMT shirt she’d last seen him in. The yellow
fabric was stained with sweat and the word volunteer stood out in
six inch letters black letters.

“Jen,” he mouthed, after all her doubts and
fears, still on her side.

She pointed to Andora but he shook his head.
He couldn’t see her from where he stood, and Jen didn’t want to
risk drawing Kate’s attention.

“Mom!” he called. “Jen is blood. Give her to
me, no one has to know.”

“The time for cover-ups is past! Traitor! Do
you need a miracle? I’ll give you blood!” Kate swept a hand out and
pointed to Andora. “Wendell? Throw the woman in!”

Makena went dead white under his heavy tan
and charged to the top of the stairs. “Andora? No!” He shoved
through his mother’s entourage and tackled Wendell. “Let her
go!”

Wendell staggered. “Mac, look man. You gotta
believe me. I wasn’t gonna kill her—”

Makena grabbed him. “Bastard!” he roared.
“You were going to roast her alive.” He spun, throwing Wendell off
the platform.

Wendell landed at the foot of the stairs,
screaming in pain.

“Behind you!” cried Jen.

“Mother?”

Kate fluffed her curls. “She’s too far gone,
dear. You can’t save her, and I’m not pleased. You injured Wendell,
and he’s…useful to me.”

“You corrupted a kid,” said Makena. “I’m not
fucking pleased with you.”

He turned his back on her and dropped to his
knees at Andora’s side. “God! Andora? Mom, call for help."

“No,” said Kate. “Her death may yet serve the
greater good. Throw her in, dear.”

Makena stood and faced his mother, shaking
his head. “It ends here, Mom. Put the gun down.”

“We shall not wait any longer while the
destroyers rape Her body. Vengeance and destruction are Her holy
creed. They shall burn!”

Retribution glowed in Makena’s hell-dark
eyes. “It’s not too late. I can spin damage control, but you have
to stop.”

Jen felt sick. How could Mac even think about
covering up this up?

Kate sniffed delicately and brushed at her
eyes with one sapphire silk sleeve. Dark stains spotted the
delicate fabric. She was crying, not for herself. For—“Aunt Kate,
no!”

“Jeez, give it a rest already.” Kimo swung an
arm out and shoved Jen back.

Jen stumbled over backward and fell,
precariously balanced on the shallow retaining wall. Her hair tore
free, whipping up around her head in the hot, sulfur wind. She
squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on her screams, terrified out
of her skull. Without her arms she didn't stand a chance.

Makena locked both arms around her hips.
“Hold on!”

“I'm too far out! Let me go. I don't want you
to die, too.”

“Stop talking,” he pulled, unable to drag her
back over the wall, “
shit
. Nobody's going to die here.”

Makena shifted and braced one knee against
the wall. “Kimo—help me!”

Jen couldn't see Kimo, but she could hear him
inching closer to Mac, muttering under his breath, self-interest
fighting what Jen abruptly realized was genuine friendship.

“Fuck it,” he said, finally dropping down to
one knee. “I'll hold her ankles. See if—“

“No,” said Kate. “You won't. Get out of the
way, Kimo.”

Kate stepped to where Jen could see the
glitter of her gown over Makena’s shoulder and touched her gun to
him, almost gently. Blood exploded from his chest.

“Makena!” Jen twisted, trying to tear the
duct tape off her arms through sheer force of will.
“
Makena!”

“Makena?” Kate tipped her head to the side,
her eyes very wide. Her mouth opened and closed, and abruptly
stretched wide as she screamed, “You took my son from me! This
whole thing, this mess,” her mouth twisted, “is your fault,
Guinevere!”

A shot rang out and her hand jerked. The gun
spun away and skittered across the platform. Kate went ballistic,
lurching toward Corlis's rapidly approaching figure with both hands
out, fingers crooked in bloody claws. “You dare!”

Corlis kicked Kate's ankles from under her
and held her down with one hand planted in the center of her chest.
The muzzle of her gun rested on Kate's forehead. “Stay down. One
twitch and you're a memory—do you understand?”

Keegan dropped down beside Jen. “Fallon, get
over here!”

“M-Makena?” Jen whispered.

Keegan shook his head. “Don't know.”

Rock crumbled under her hips and fell into
the clattering depths. She couldn't stop shaking, eyes wide and
fixed, even when Keegan pulled her up out of danger. Because of the
way she stood, his grip on her was awkward, but he held her and
crushed her to him. Despite all the clothes between them she could
feel the desperate shudder of his breath.

“Are you hurt? Wounded?”

“Man, I can't believe this guy—” Fallon
started across the platform toward Makena.

Jen knew Makena couldn’t possibly walk away,
but there he was, moving across the platform using Kimo as a
crutch. The shorter man looked shaken, like he couldn't believe
what had just happened. He'd taken off his shirt and wadded it into
a pressure bandage, but despite his best efforts, blood soaked the
thin fabric.

A plume of smoke rose from the pool and
vanished into the sere blue sky as sirens moved up the access road.
Doors slammed. The police and Makena’s own paramedic squad pounded
up the steeply pitched stairs.

“Oh, man! What happened?”

“Yo—it’s Mac!”

Makena snarled, his heavily muscled frame
held protectively over the woman he’d failed to save.

Kimo waved one arm frantically. “Over
here!”

Keegan cut the tape from her arms and legs,
freeing Jen to move. She pushed away from him, stumbling toward
Mac. He'd fallen on her legs, holding her in place until Keegan
arrived, but each step felt like an eternity as she pushed through
the bloody quicksand in her mind. Fear held her throat in a vise
and she couldn't escape the feelings closing in over her head.

She staggered and fell to her knees at
Makena's side, both hands locked around his bicep. “M-mac?”

Makena looked up. Horror darkened his eyes.
“I can’t...let her go,” he said, thickly. “I-I...what if she dies,
Jen? I love her.”

The first paramedic inched in closer, looking
from Jen to her cousin. “Mac? You know the drill.”

“She’ll die if you move her!”

Jen forced the words out. “She’ll die if they
don’t.” Her nails dug into his arm, willing him to see. “Let your
friends help you.”

The whup! whup! from an approaching
helicopter circled the heiau and landed in the parking lot.

Makena stood slowly, away from Kimo.
“Friends? I don’t
have
friends. I’m a fucking Stalling.”

Keegan caught Jen before she could crawl into
the chopper. “You can’t go with him.”

Jen pushed him away, shaking him off her foot
like shit. “Don’t tell me what to do. Your role in this is
over.”

Kualani was a big guy, and he’d all but bled
out on her. God, she’d almost died. What was wrong with her? They’d
arrived in time, just minutes behind her cousin. His stomach
cramped just thinking about a life without Jen in it, giving him
hell. Her daddy would have to get used to him? So what? There were
worse things than Art Stalling as a father-in-law.