He knew what Elodie had done, and why Paul wanted her found and silenced. Even Andrew could admit all this trouble was probably for nothing; if she’d planned to go to the cops, she’d have done so by now. But he didn’t give a shit either way. All he cared about was seeing the terror on her face when she realized she’d been found and was going to die. His plan was to surprise her, appear out of the blue, not give her any warning before he killed her.
“I’m gonna find you, Elodie. Your worst nightmare is comin’ for you,” he said as he left the dead man in the corner of the rundown motel room for the father and son to pick up later that night. He knew they would too…because he’d kidnapped the man’s wife. He told them he’d send word on where they could pick her up when they proved they’d disposed of Valentino’s body.
God, he loved his job. He regretted not getting to kill the old woman, but sometimes leaving his victims alive was just as satisfying as killing them. Knowing others would suffer because of his actions was what got him off. And he knew without a doubt the man and his son would do whatever he told them to do, in order to get their loved one back. She was only a little worse for wear; he’d practiced a bit with his knife before he’d taken Valentino. She’d be fine…eventually.
Smirking, Andrew washed his hands in the sink one last time, then left the motel room without looking back. He had a plane to catch and research to compile.
Chapter Eighteen
Mustang was tired, but he wasn’t thinking about sleep. All he could think about was getting to the harbor and seeing Elodie.
Their mission to Africa had been relatively smooth. Surprisingly, while he’d missed her something terrible, it didn’t seem to detract from the mission. If anything, he was even more focused, hyperaware of everything that could possibly go wrong. He knew it was because he wanted to make sure he got home to Elodie.
His internal clock was all messed up, but that wasn’t anything new when they came home from a mission. And despite his exhaustion, he was far too excited to sleep. He had to see Elodie. To make sure she was all right and nothing had happened while they’d been gone. He thought about calling to let her know he was home, but after seeing it was close to the time when she usually returned from a charter, he’d decided to head down to the harbor instead.
He parked his truck and saw that the Fish Tales was already docked. He could see people moving around on deck and couldn’t help but smile as he made his way toward it.
Kai saw him first, and he nudged Elodie.
Mustang saw the moment she realized who was walking toward the boat. She let out a little cry, then was running down the dock toward him.
“Scott!” she cried just before she got to him.
Mustang opened his arms and then she was there. He went back on a foot to keep them both upright and laughed as she latched onto him.
God, this felt good. He’d seen thousands of reunions between soldiers and their girlfriends, boyfriends, spouses, and children, and had been pleased for them each time. But nothing had prepared him for the feeling of…relief, contentment, when he got to hold Elodie once more.
She pulled back a fraction and looked up at him. “You’re back!”
He chuckled. “I am.”
“Are you all right?” She began to pat him on his chest and arms, as if seeing for herself that he was in one piece.
“I’m perfect, now that I’ve seen you.”
She stopped her frantic inspection of his body and looked up at him. One second she was smiling, and the next her lip began to wobble.
“Babe,” he crooned when tears began falling from her eyes. She pressed her face to his chest once again.
Mustang wanted to laugh, but he didn’t. It wasn’t funny that she was upset, but he figured these were tears of gratitude that he was back unhurt more than anything else. If he was being honest, he felt a little teary himself.
He gave her a moment to get control over her emotions, then kissed her temple. “You done here?”
She nodded and looked at him. Her face was blotchy from crying and her eyes were a bit bloodshot, but he’d never seen anything more beautiful. She reached up and wiped her face and said, “Almost. Kai and I were just finishing straightening up the boat while Kahoni did the paperwork.”
Mustang grabbed her hand, brought it up to his mouth and kissed the back, then started down the dock toward the boat. “Come on, let’s see what else needs to be done so I can take you home.”
“Aloha! Good to see you,” Kai called out as they got close.
“Thanks. It’s good to be home,” Mustang said. Both he and Elodie walked up the short gangplank back onto the deck of the Fish Tales.
She was right; the cleanup looked mostly done. Mustang took in the small back deck with seats, where the guests could sit while fishing. Right behind it was a door that led into a covered seating area with two tables and more padded benches. A small kitchen was toward the front of the covered area, with a sink, refrigerator, and serving space. Mustang knew the charter included a lunch service. A tiny bathroom was located down three steps at the back of the covered space.
There were also stairs that led up to the wheelhouse, where all the electronics for operating the boat and for steering were located.
There was a spot for everything. Fishing poles were lined up against one of the walls just inside the covered area. Life jackets went under the bench seats. Several first-aid kits were screwed into the walls for easy access. It was a clean and well-maintained boat, and Mustang couldn’t help but be impressed every time he was on it.
“Thanks for giving…Melody rides to and from work.” It was very hard for Mustang to think of her as anything but Elodie, and he still stumbled over her name now and then when talking to others, but he’d rather die than do anything that would put her in danger or embarrass her. And having to explain why he wasn’t calling her by her name would definitely be awkward.
“No problem at all. Assuming I don’t need to pick her up tomorrow?” Kai asked with a grin.
“Nope. I do appreciate your assistance though,” Mustang said.
“Anytime.”
“We’ve got a regular schedule in the next few days,” Kahoni said to Elodie and Kai after he’d welcomed Mustang back. He was looking down at his phone as he scrolled through his calendar. “Tomorrow we have a packed boat, with six guests—four adults and two kids—then Friday and Saturday, we’ve got four guests each day. And I got a call from a man who sounded desperate to get some pole time in. He’s here on holiday with his wife and two daughters, but they aren’t the fishing kind. I told him we didn’t operate on Sunday, but he said he’d pay double. What d’ya think? Can you two handle it? I know Perry or I always accompany the charters, but with only one guest, I think it’ll be easy enough. I’ll pay you overtime.”
“I’m in,” Kai said immediately.
Mustang smiled. The prospect of earning extra money was never something he’d turned down when he was in his late teens and early twenties either.
Kahoni turned to Elodie. “I know your man just got home, but do you think you could do it?”
Elodie nodded. “Of course. I know it’s your daughter’s birthday on Sunday, and you’ve been looking forward to it for a while now.”