Toby Neal - Blood Orchids

“I don’t like him that way,” she said softly. “I told you.”

He captured her hand in his big, rough one, and kissed the pads of her fingers. Warm breath shot tingles up her arm.

“You know who I like,” he whispered, nibbling gently, drawing her forefinger into his mouth. She closed her eyes as he kissed and sucked his way across her palm and up her wrist, drawing her boneless body closer, scooting his chair around. Before she quite knew how he had done it, he had her in his lap, his arms around her.

The kiss was a conversation: a greeting, an acknowledgement, a statement of intent. Lei felt herself vibrating like a plucked string, every nerve ending coming alive. He finally lifted his head, looking down into her half-lidded eyes for a long moment.

“We’ve got to find this guy. I can’t hold out much longer.” Regret pulling his mouth down, he set her back in her chair.

“Wish you weren’t so noble.” She sighed, straightening her shirt. “I respect that about you. Annoying as hell, though.”

“Can I spend the night? Keep an eye on you.”

“No. Not if you’re not in bed with me.”

He groaned, pushed his hair back with both hands so it stood up in pointed tufts of distress.

“I better go then.” He scrubbed his hands briskly on his jeans as if to keep from touching her.

“Thanks for all you’ve done. I know you’re looking out for me, and I promise I won’t go out tonight.”

“You better not.” A last kiss seared her mouth with longing. She let him out, relocking and rearming, and sighed as she did.

“The bitch is back.” He watched the lights go out, and smiled, putting his camera away. He wouldn’t need it again until he had her. “It’s going to be worth the wait.”

He watched Stevens get in the Bronco and pull out, then drive around the block. He turned on the old Pontiac he was driving, and rolled away just in time to see the lights of the Bronco come up behind where he’d been parked and pull over, going dark.

The poor lovesick bastard was going to spend the night in his car watching her house.

Not that that was going to help.

Late the next day Lei went down the hall to Dispatch, checking the time she was back on the schedule.

“Hey, Irene.”

“Hey!” Irene stood and flipped her headset up, immaculate in an ivory pantsuit with coconut shell buttons. She hugged Lei. “Glad to see you smiling.”

“Who’s this?” Lei gestured to the pretty, dark-haired girl with a chic shag who sat at the switchboard.

“My niece, Tanya.” Tanya gave a little wave and smile but she was talking to a caller. “She’s been helping out. Charlotte finally quit and I told the Lieutenant that Tanya would make a good backup.”

“Good to have you, Tanya,” Lei said, and the girl nodded and turned back to take another call.

Lei went into the central work area. Pono was at his computer with a new recruit trainee, Jenkins, seated at her desk. He’d started under Pono after she got reassigned to the Mohuli`i case. He jumped up.

“Officer Texeira!” Jenkins exclaimed. Good-looking, beefy and earnest, his high complexion deepened as he got out of her chair.

“Hi there. How’s Pono treating you?”

“Good, thanks. Sorry I was sitting in your chair…”

“No worries. I’m off until tomorrow.”

“Hey, want to tell me more about your-um, situation?” Pono wiggled his brows, clearly meaning the stalker thing but not wanting to speak in front of Jenkins.

“Call me later,” she said. She greeted a few more people and pushed out through the stiff glass doors. She pulled out into the busy road and headed for her class at University of Hawaii. Driving there reminded her of Mary, and she endured the now-familiar squeeze of her heart. She wondered when it was going to stop hurting, and didn’t want it to-that would mean her friend was really gone.

This was her night to come home late. She’d be tired, her guard down, and everything was ready.

Anticipation hummed in his blood. He took a shower, scrubbing himself thoroughly, using a nail brush to get under his fingernails. He’d never shaved himself, but thought it might not be a bad idea one of these days. He dressed in his special outfit: black nylon turtleneck, loose black running pants. He put the ski mask on the seat beside him, along with his hunting kit, and drove to the house. Only thing left to take care of was the dog.

Lei got into her truck at the UH campus and drove home. Class had been interesting, and it was good to chat with her classmates, to feel like things were getting back to normal. Ray Solomon hadn’t reappeared. It made her wonder if there was some connection between him and Mary. She needed to remember to call Lono Smith and tell him.

She pulled into her driveway. The headlights glared against the garage door as it rumbled up. She rolled her tired shoulders, pulling into the garage and hitting the remote to close the door. She hopped out of the truck, got her book bag out of the back, and went out of the garage into the darkness outside, noticing silence for the first time. She stopped, called:

“Keiki! Hey girl!”

There was no answering scrabble of toenails, no happy greeting bark. Panic surged through her as she dropped the book bag and unlatched the chain-link gate, running forward along the side of the house.

“Keiki, where are you, girl?” she cried. The next thing she saw was a shower of exploding white stars as her body flew forward, convulsing with electricity.

She came to slowly, waves of pain gathering into a pulsing point of agony at the back of her neck. She opened her eyes. Nothing but darkness. She swallowed, felt the rough dryness of cloth in her mouth. She tried to move and pain seared through her arms, as she realized they were cuffed behind her back. She moved her legs-they were tied too. She heard rumbling, felt vibrations beneath her: she was moving, and the metal ridges beneath her told her she was in the back of a pickup truck.

Terror surged through her. She couldn’t stop herself from flailing, thrashing until the searing pain in her arms and shoulders stopped the panicked frenzy of movement. She stilled herself, sucking wheezing breaths through her nostrils. The cloth bag on her head further restricted air supply.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. One-two-three in, one-two-three out, she counted to calm herself. As she got more oxygen into her lungs, she turned her attention to her hearing, noticing the grinding of the truck downshifting. It wasn’t her truck then, with its smooth, new transmission.

She berated herself-in her panic not recognizing the darkness on the side of the house for the danger it was, not realizing that of course he would take out her dog first. At that thought tears threatened. She blinked rapidly, keeping her breath steady as she turned her thoughts to escape.

She slid her hands up and down, testing the range of motion she had. The bed of the truck was the usual ridged metal. She caught her feet into one of the ridges and pushed herself forward until her head touched the side of the bed. She swung herself around again and pushed off to the other side. Her arms screamed with strain as she kept feeling for something, anything that might be useful. Nothing.

Despair washed over her. How likely was it that he’d left a weapon or the key rattling around in here? The best bet was probably to move to the back of the truck bed, try to get the tailgate down, shove out the back into the road.

Even as she began scooting herself toward the tailgate her mind screamed, No, no, no! There has to be some other way! She pictured falling into the road at high speed, the crunching of her bones as she hit the pavement, helpless to break her fall in any way, the possible collision with another car. Still, it was better than waiting for what he had planned. She’d die before she let him…