Free Walking in Fire: Hawaiian Heroes, Book 1 by Cathryn Cade Page A

here.”
    “Do you think she was…raped?” Melia’s stomach lurched again.
    “Oh God, no,” Jacquie moaned.
    “Oh Pele, I hope not,” Leilani answered. They shared a look of feminine understanding. “But maybe. Doctors have to tell that.”
    “Why can’t we go right now?” Jacquie demanded thickly. “What if she dies?”
    “She’s not gonna die,” Leilani said firmly. “She’s breathing, no blood coming from her mouth or nose. She be fine. Frank has to get the boat running.”
    Melia doubted if Leilani was quite as certain as she sounded, but Jacquie calmed down.
    “Well, her things need to be packed,” Leilani said. “Can you do that while I finish up in da kitchen?”
    Glad to be helping somehow, Melia packed Cherie’s two huge bags. She felt odd going through her private items, but Jacquie was no help. After listening to her weeping for several more moments, Melia turned to her.
    “Jacquie, go take a shower and throw your stuff in your bags,” she said firmly, using the tone Leilani had taken with the woman earlier.
    “Okay.” Jacquie trailed off, and Melia breathed a sigh of relief as she returned to her task. Everything Cherie owned seemed to have metallic bling or peek-a-boo accents of some kind and smelled of her perfume.
    Leilani returned to check on the woman. Melia wheeled Cherie’s bags down to the boat. Frank was shaking his head over the catamaran’s engine as it sputtered roughly. She watched for a moment and then went back to make sure Jacquie was ready. As she walked back up the path, she slowed, scanning the shadows at the edge of the lawn. Seeing no one, she returned to the house.
    Finally, Frank sent Jimmer to say the boat was running and to bring Cherie down.
    “All right,” said Frank when Cherie had been laid carefully on a bed of cushions under the awning, a blanket over her. “The rest of you get your things and get back down here.”
    “What about Malu?” Leilani asked, voicing Melia’s thoughts.
    Frank looked off into the darkness, then shook his head doggedly. “Malu knows this land like da back of his hand. And we can’t find him in da dark. We gotta get this woman to the hospital. He’d say the same if he were here.”
    “Where the hell is Dane?” he barked irritably.
    “I’ll get him,” Melia offered quickly, suddenly remembering she hadn’t grabbed her own bag, either.
    She found Dane in the hallway, bag in hand. His face was still taut, even angry.
    “They’re ready,” she told him. “I just have to get my bag.”
    Looking along the shadowed hallway, Melia shivered. Despite the humid heat of the Hawaiian day, her sundress suddenly seemed too little covering. She wanted to dash out of the guest house and down the path to the dock where the others waited. But she wasn’t leaving without her things.
    “Coming?” Standing at the foot of the broad staircase, Dane gave her a derisive look, sun-streaked blond hair falling over his eyes. “C’mon, I’ll hold your hand.”
    Blushing as she realized her hesitation was obvious, Melia shook her head. “Thanks, Dane, I’m fine. Just let me grab my bags.”
    As she walked into her room, she eyed the open window. Logically, she knew whoever had attacked Cherie wouldn’t be hiding right out there in the lush vegetation, but she felt uneasy, as if danger lurked close by. The open, airy house was no longer a lovely haven.
    “I’ll protect you from the wild Hawaiian killer,” Dane drawled behind her.
    Melia flinched, glad her back was turned. Wild Hawaiian maybe, but killer, no, she wouldn’t believe it. She closed her eyes in frustration and sorrow at how this impromptu trip to paradise had gone so wrong. But instead of blackness she saw Malu’s face. Surely a man who smiled like that couldn’t have beaten Cherie? And anyway, why would he attack Cherie when he could’ve had her with a crook of his finger? The vivacious redhead had hung on him like a lamprey. Unless he’d wanted her to do something so