"TAKE MY BREATH AWAY"
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Title: "Take My Breath Away"
Author: Michelle Heath
Rating: MA for adult situations and language
Summary: Continuation of the "Salvation" series by popular demand
Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!
Date Written: March 30, 2011
(A couple of hours later, Kono and Tony get back to Kono's apartment and Kono warms up their dinner. Both of them are very quiet as they each contemplate the events of the evening. Sam and Kono were able to get a last name and physical description out of Lana, but not much else. The stress of the last few days and lack of sleep finally caught up with Lana and, after assuring her that she can call either of them at any time, Sam and Kono got her comfortably settled in Chin's room and she was fast asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Tony is well aware that his wife is extremely upset by what happened to Lana all those years ago and the fact that it is now directly affecting not only Lana, but Chin, as well. He knows Kono well enough to realize that she is experiencing an impotent fury at the man who hurt Lana as well as her inability to do anything concrete to help either Lana or Chin at the moment. Wanting to erase the frown from her beautiful face, he walks up behind her as she is stirring spaghetti sauce at the stove, slips his arms around her waist, and kisses the side of her neck.)
"Hey, you guys have an amazing track record with catching bad guys, and you'll catch this pervert who's bothering Lana in no time."
"How has she lived with what happened to her all these years, Tony? How has she managed to keep from going insane?"
"She's a tough lady, K."
"Fourteen years old, Tony! God, if something like that had happened to me at that age I would have. . . I think I would have lost my mind."
"You know, K, I'm more than a little curious about this cousin of hers. I mean, he had to have some idea that his buddy, Jake, was a total creep. Why in Hell would he not only allow Lana to go out with him but set them up?"
"That's a good question. I'm going to talk to Lana again after she's had a chance to get some rest. Maybe now that she's staying with Chin and has round-the-clock police protection she won't be too scared to fill in some of the blanks."
"You know he's in love with her, right?"
"Yeah, I know. I think she's in love with him, too, but this is a mighty big 'white elephant' that's standing between them."
"They'll work through it if they really love each other."
"Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"How would you feel? I mean, if it were me?"
(That catches him off guard, and he takes his time in formulating his answer. Turning Kono around in his arms so that she is facing him, Tony reaches up and gently touches the side of his wife's face.)
"I'd track the bastard down and kill him, K. No questions asked."
"Yeah, that's what I thought, and that's what worries me the most. If we do manage to find this guy, and Chin gets wind of his location before the rest of us, I'm afraid he's going to do something really bad."
"Do you trust your cousin?"
"Of course, I do."
"Then stop worrying. Do you really believe that Chin would do anything that would jeopardize his chance to spend the rest of his life with the woman he loves?"
"You saw him, Tony, he's furious! He wants this guy badly!"
"Sure he does, Kono, but, again, he's not going to do something stupid. You have to have a little faith in the man."
(Kono is quiet for several minutes as she thinks over everything Tony just said. Tony's eyes reflect the absolute certainty that Chin will do the right thing in this situation, and Kono is reassured by her husband's belief in Chin. Mustering a small smile, she goes up on her toes and gives him a quick kiss before shooing him over to the cabinet to get some plates and glasses. . .
Sam is already in bed, propped up by pillows with a book in front of her, when Steve comes out of the bathroom and slips into bed beside her. Her eyes are not on the book but are focused on a spot on the wall above their chest of drawers and Steve knows she is deep in thought.)
"You okay, Beautiful?"
"What? . . Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."
"About?"
"Why now?"
"Why now what?"
"Why, after all these years, did this Jake character show up again at this particular point in time?"
"That's . . . A really good question."
"Where's he been? What's he been doing? When he called the second time, he said, 'I know where you live, where you work, and who you're seeing.' How long's he been watching her, and why would he mention who she's been seeing?"
"Whoa, Sam, slow down. Those are all good questions, but it's late and we're both tired. . . Lana's safe for now and, hopefully, she'll be able to get some sleep tonight."
"You need to find this guy, Steve, quickly. No woman should have to live in constant fear like Lana's been doing for the past few days!"
"I agree with you, Sam, and we'll find this guy as quickly as we can."
"Damn him! How could anyone in their right mind rape a fourteen year old child?"
"Sam. . . "
"I'm just . . . I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around this, Steve. I'd like nothing better right now that to put my hands around that bastard's throat and squeeze really, really hard!"
"I know, Sweetheart."