Before I could say anything, though, I saw her eyes dance between Caroline, who I hoped was walking away with Saga, and me. “Is she the reason you were trashed that night? Why you hid in my house for three weeks? Why you rejected me after you kissed me?”
I flinched at that last accusation, because of all of them, that was certainly the worst. I should never have kissed her, never tried to resurrect the past.
“I have to go find Lu,” I told her. “We’ll talk later.”
I looked up with the intent to find someone to escort her to her seat when the sight of KD walking towards us caught my eye. The Prospect wore nothing but a pair of tighty-whities, his cut, and a wooden paddle around his neck. Seeing me stare, he hesitantly approached before kneeling. Taking off the paddle around his neck, he held it up to me, the pink rhinestones catching the overhead sun. In a low, shame-filled voice, he said in a monotoned voice, “I have been a very bad Prospect. Please spank me before I do your bidding.”
Well, clearly I had missed something, but that did not stop me from accepting the offering.
Partway through the ceremony,a very pregnant Lu had to pee. She tried to hold it, but of course, Aloiki caught on. And with no regard to the guests or the time set aside for the ceremony before the scheduled reception, Aloiki stopped the wedding so Beetle, the other Prospect wearing a paddle with pink rhinestones, could escort her to the bathroom.
I had yet to hear the story about why or how KD and Beetle had been bad, but that didn’t seem like something to ask Lu before walking her down the aisle. I was damn curious, though.
Most of the guests took the opportunity for a smoke break while Lu headed into the restaurant to use the bathroom. I was talking to Lucifer when there was a huge commotion up at the restaurant that sent Aloiki flying up the aisle. I did not follow as many of our club brothers did, my priority protecting Kalea, Caroline, and the children.
But the danger never came down to the beach. Two men had tried to kidnap Lu from the bathroom, and ended up walking her out of the restaurant into a crowd of Royal Bastard brothers grabbing a smoke. I was grateful it was nothing major, and that Lu was all right. With Tommy up top to provide medical aid, I took the opportunity to build Samantha a small, very mundane sandcastle at her feet to distract her.
I was heading over to do the same for Pualani when I heard sirens approach. It sounded like an ambulance, but Aloiki wouldn’t have called for aid for either of the attempted kidnappers. Someone else must be hurt, but from what had been said, Lu only had light cuts and scrapes. Was it the baby?
“Is Aloiki okay?” Kalea asked me, her voice filled with worry. “No one will tell me anything.”
I wanted to go see myself too. I didn’t like that an ambulance had been called, and I didn’t know why. I glanced over my shoulder to see that Saga was still shadowing Caroline and Samantha.
“Let’s head up and see.” The danger had passed, and even if it wasn’t, there were enough of us around to protect them.
Still, as we rounded the side of the building, I stayed in front of them. Which was why it took me several steps before I placed the gasping sound as having come from behind me. Turning, my heart leapt into my throat in fear when I saw that Kalea and Pualani were gone.
Racing back around the corner in the direction we’d just come from, I nearly barreled right into them. Kalea had her back to theoutside brick of the restaurant, clutching Pualani to her chest in a protective hold. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated, as she struggled to breathe.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” We’d barely gotten around the corner, but I hadn’t seen anything dark or dangerous. The crowd was too dense to have seen a body if there had been one there. Besides, I had been in front of her. How much could she have seen anyway? “Kalea!” I shouted, trying to get her to focus on me. “Kalea, what’s wrong? What happened?”
But she just shook her head. “I can’t… I can’t be here. I have to go!”
Then she bolted in the opposite direction, not aiming for her brother or the crowd of people, but for the parking lot where all our vehicles were parked. Mako had driven her here. Did she have the keys to her cage or did he have them?
In a speed I hadn’t thought her capable of, Kalea ran to her cage, got Pualani in the back, and then backed out of her parking spot. Apparently, she did have her keys. She nearly clipped a line of bikes in her haste, but braked and reversed again, just in time.
What the fuck just happened?
I wanted to go after her, but I also needed to figure out what had scared her away. And not just backed away slowly, but in sheer terror.
Not wanting to make my presence known, I crouched down low and peeked around the corner of the building. Just as I remembered, there was a very large crowd of Royal Bastards gathered at the side of the building. A blue panel van was also there, which seemed out of place compared to where the parking lot was and the loading area. But as far as I knew, Kalea didn’t have a fear of panel vans.
All she’d said was that she couldn’t be here. Why? What had changed? I didn’t see a body, though I hadn’t heard whether either of the kidnappers had survived.
Over the heads of the Royal Bastards, I could see the ambulance, but not who they were treating. I did see Lu and Holly standing beside Bacon, Aloiki, and Kayl. I didn’t know when Kayl had arrived, but I assumed with the ambulance. He was on duty, after all. Which was why he couldn’t attend the ceremony.
Was he here to help cover up what had happened? I couldn’t even make an accurate guess on that answer because I still didn’t know everything that had occurred. Not knowing what the danger had been, I had not been prepared to leave the children.
I was completely flabbergasted. I had no idea what could possibly have set Kalea off. I wanted to go after her, but the wedding wasn’t over yet. Then again, if it was a choice between watching him get married and taking care of his sister and niece, I knew which one Aloiki would prefer I chose.
I stood, taking one last look around the side of the building in what felt like a futile attempt to figure out what she had seen. The Kalea I had known since she was four years old wasn’t a coward. She didn’t run scared. For the better part of her childhood and young adulthood, she’d been shy and introverted, but not a coward. Yet, this was the second time in recent months when I knew of her doing so.
The first was when she’d been at Aloiki’s house, trying to negotiate a better buyout for her half of the farm sale. I knew now that that was because she wanted to get a chunk of change to help her pay off her blackmailer. But without even collecting Pualani, who had been outside with Lu looking at the horses, Kalea had gotten into her cage and bolted.
It was almost the same now. Only this time she took Pualani with her.
I hadn’t been at the house when she’d bolted, and only knew of her visit later when Aloiki warned me that Pualani was at the house. I’d stayed away, not wanting confirmation of what I already suspected: that I would look at Pua, the little girl I hadthought my daughter for three weeks, and I would feel absolutely nothing.