Shit!
Shawn began walking backward without warning, the gun at her temple once more, and Kenna almost tripped as she was yanked along with him.
“I was just gonna take what belonged to me and go,” Shawn informed them. “But that fucking bitch ruined everything, like usual. I know she was here earlier. I’ve been watching and waiting for all three of you to be in the same place.”
“What were you going to do?” Marshall asked, stepping forward, following slowly as Shawn headed for the exit that led out onto the beach. The wind had really picked up, howling outside the flimsy plastic windows Kenna had zipped into place. Rain was falling in heavy sheets. In fact, she couldn’t even see the shoreline, and the ocean wasn’t that far from the restaurant.
“Take what belongs to me after killing you and this meddling whore,” Shawn said without hesitation.
Kenna quaked. God, this was a nightmare.
“And now?” Marshall asked.
“I still want Carly,” Shawn said. “I want what’s mine.” He shook Kenna yet again, making her stumble. “But I’ll make do with this bitch until I can get her back.”
“Not happening,” Marshall said in that deadly tone.
Shawn laughed. “Sorry, SEAL boy. It is. It’s all planned out, and you can’t do a goddamn thing about it. Once we’re gone, you’ll just have to suffer thinking about what I’m doing to your fuck hole. Wonder if she’s scared, if she’s in pain. And I’ll tell you right now—she will be. She’ll regret sticking her goddamn nose into my business—just like you will.”
Then Shawn swung the pistol toward Marshall.
Kenna acted on instinct the second his arm moved. She slammed her free hand against the underside of his arm as hard as she could, shoving it up just as he pulled the trigger.
Marshall was already leaping to the side, crashing into a chair that was in his way.
Shawn punched Kenna in the face with the pistol, making her cry out as pain bloomed in her temple. She felt blood oozing down the side of her face, but she didn’t fall.
Throughout it all, he never let go of her arm. The sirens wailed, much closer now, and Shawn didn’t wait for Marshall to get back up. He walked backward again, much faster this time, obviously trying to get out of there before the police showed up—which Kenna hoped would be any second.
“Time to go,” Shawn growled.
Kenna had no idea if he was talking to her or Marshall, but ultimately it didn’t matter. She didn’t know where they were going. It wasn’t like they could just take a stroll down the beach and blend in with the nonexistent crowd. It felt and sounded like a damn hurricane was going on and everyone had sought shelter. But Shawn obviously had a getaway plan.
Kenna just prayed that somehow, someway, she’d be able to escape before his plan succeeded.
Chapter Twenty
Aleck was pissed—so angry he was having a hard time thinking straight. His options were also severely limited. Shawn was fucking insane, but he wasn’t stupid. He’d made it extremely difficult for anyone to do anything to stop him.
As far as he could tell, the bomb was legit. He wasn’t a bomb expert, and for a second he wished the former SEAL Mustang had mentioned meeting in California—when he’d flown out for their friend Phantom’s Admiral Mast—was there. Dude was his name. He had a reputation for being one of the best explosive experts the SEALs had ever had. He’d know if the bomb was real or not, and how to take this asshole down without turning the beach into one giant crater. But he wasn’t here. And Aleck had to figure out how to end this situation without setting the damn thing off.
He guessed Shawn hadn’t activated the bomb until he’d arrived at the restaurant. Mercury switches could be tricky, and tilt mercury switches even more so. One jerky movement could make it blow, and Aleck wasn’t going to do anything to put Kenna in more danger than she was already in.
But the thought of this asshole torturing her made his adrenaline skyrocket. Aleck would sacrifice himself before letting Shawn get away with Kenna.
He hadn’t missed the way the man’s gaze had constantly flicked toward the ocean, not that he could’ve seen much through the rain and wind. The most obvious escape route was the water. Cops would be converging on Waikiki by now, and there was no way he’d be able to escape by vehicle or on foot. Not after threatening to take down an entire damn building.
As pissed as Aleck was, he was proud of Kenna. She hadn’t panicked. Hadn’t done anything rash. Was staying reasonably calm under the circumstance, probably waiting to see how he would get her out of this.
The bitch of it was—Aleck had no idea. Shawn had the upper hand.
The second Aleck stepped onto the beach after leaving the shelter of the restaurant, he was soaked to the bone. If the situation hadn’t been so precarious, he might’ve been awed by the power of the storm currently raging around them. The normally calm and serene Waikiki Beach was anything but. The ocean surged and frothed angrily. While the waves weren’t quite North Shore worthy, they were as high as anything Aleck had ever seen on this side of the island.
It was the one thing working in his favor. The storm might hinder any quick escape Shawn had planned.
Jag and Pid hadn’t gone far when they’d exited the bar. He knew they were at his back as he stalked his target. But Aleck had no idea what they could do to help mitigate the situation. There was no place for them to hide on the beach; Shawn would see every move they made. His mind raced as he attempted to come up with some sort of plan, but at the moment, all he could do was wait for Shawn to hopefully screw up—and not start shooting again.
Shawn and Kenna were about thirty feet in front of him. Aleck was scared to get any closer. Scared Shawn would hurt Kenna.
“Let her go!” Aleck yelled, making himself heard over the howling wind.
“Fuck you!” Shawn shouted back, dragging Kenna as he shot off another round.
Aleck felt the bullet graze his leg, but he didn’t even stumble. He wasn’t going to die here. No fucking way. Not after all he’d seen and done in his lifetime. He’d faced down some of the worst terrorists the world had ever seen. Men and women who held no respect for human life. He’d been beaten and tortured, hiked for miles and miles through every type of terrain, had gone a week without eating…had even been shot before.
No, this asshole wasn’t taking him down—not when this was the most important mission of his life. Keeping the woman he loved safe. He hadn’t found Kenna, only to lose her now.
He couldn’t. He wouldn’t survive it.
Shawn was backing into the water—and dread swamped Aleck. The crazy asshole knew how little it would take to set off the bomb. Why was he risking going into the rolling waves and possibly losing his balance?
Nothing the man was doing made sense.
“Easy,” he muttered, more to himself than to the insane man in front of him.
“You want me? Come at me, asshole!” Shawn yelled. “You won’t take me alive, and if I’m dead, so is this bitch!”
Aleck heard more people now. The police had finally arrived. When they didn’t immediately begin shouting at Shawn, or threatening to shoot him, he knew they’d been briefed on the situation. Probably by either Jag or Pid, who were still somewhere behind him.