Page 38 of Maliea's Hero
Rex chuckled. “And you were going to take us out with a bag of Burger Bar food?”
“It could be done,” Reid assured him. He reached out a hand to the man Maliea didn’t recognize. “Jones, good to see you. Did you draw the short straw?”
The man he’d called Jones grinned. “On the contrary, I drew the long straw. I’ve been looking forward to spending some time on Oahu. Just want to know if I’m working Kualoa with these two boneheads or taking over for you…?”
“Let’s get inside,” Reid said.
Rex frowned in the light from the stars beginning to appear overhead. “Worried about something?”
“Maybe,” he said and unlocked the back door.
When Maliea started to go in first, he touched her arm. “Wait.”
She nodded and stood still, holding Nani close.
Reid entered, switched on the light inside and was back out a moment later. “Clear.”
The three men surrounding her waited for her to go in first, then followed her up the steps and into the small cabin.
With all four men inside with her and Nani, Maliea almost felt claustrophobic.
“About time you got home,” Logan said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Reid set the sack of food on the table and turned to face the others. “We had business to take care of at the university and at Maliea’s father’s apartment.”
Reid swept a hand between Maliea and the new guy. “Maliea Kaleiopu, Jackson Jones. He’s another one of the Brotherhood Protectors.”
“Nice to meet you,” Maliea said.
“Pleasure’s mine,” Jones responded and then all focus turned to Reid.
Maliea worked on laying out food for Nani, hoping her daughter wouldn’t be disturbed by Reid’s briefing of his teammates.
Reid told them about sorting through the two university offices and then arriving at her father’s apartment to find it had been treated similarly to Maliea’s.
Maliea was glad he’d left out all the details that might upset Nani. Fortunately, her daughter was hungry and dug into the chicken strips and macaroni and cheese Reid had ordered for her.
Even though Nani appeared focused on the food in front of her, Maliea knew her daughter. She was smart and listened to everything going on around her, taking it all in.
When Reid finished his short briefing, Rex asked, “So, what’s it to be for you, Kualoa or bodyguard duty?”
Maliea breathed a sigh that Reid’s teammates seemed to realize having a child in their midst meant keeping the information they shared to a minimum or shared in an abbreviation or code.
She understood what they were asking, but Nani probably wouldn’t. Still, Maliea held her breath. Reid had a choice of handing Maliea and Nani off to the new guy, Jones, and going back to the security detail at the film production site on the Kualoa Ranch. Or he could continue to provide protection to her and Nani.
Reid stared down at Nani, happily biting into a crispy, fried chicken strip. Then, his gaze went to Maliea. For a long second, he hesitated.
It was the longest second of Maliea’s life.
“Bodyguard,” he finally said.
Maliea released the breath she’d been holding, her chest filling with air and hope.
Logan clapped Jones on the back. “If you love rogue cattle, sneaky teenagers and sweating, you’re gonna love the ranch.”
Jones clapped his hands together. “I’ve done a little research on it. Sounds amazing. Some of my favorite movies were filmed there.”
“Like Jurassic Park and King Kong?” Rex asked.