Chapter 14

Hey guys, here's another chapter. I hope you enjoy and review.

Lynn felt her bra pulled off and then her panties. She chose to fall into oblivion so she wouldn't feel George rape her again. She couldn't even pretend she was having sex with Steve since she couldn't imagine Steve being a violent, selfish lover. This wasn't part of the bargain she made with the Russian Mob and the Yakuza representative. Actually, Adam Noshimuri was a good worker and a gentleman. All she had to do was run deposits through the hotel's accounts. Her revenue looked good so she planned to apply for a loan and pay them back and continue her life. Then Federchuk 'amended' their arrangement one night and if she didn't comply, well, at the least she'd lose her livelihood and since she couldn't repay their investment money – she'd probably lose her life. So she had to – in his words, submit to him. In her words, 'allow' him to rape her.

It seemed to go on for hours, but in reality, 7-10 minutes actually. Thank goodness the man didn't have any real lasting power. And he was due back down in the bar. Lynn didn't agree with leaving Jen alone in the bar but she wasn't opening her mouth now. George got up off her and washed up in her bathroom, dropped the used towel on the floor, dressed and left.

She sat up and pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She wept; from both pain and despair.

Kimba watched the bartender leave. Good riddance. Kimba heard Lynn crying and ran from her hiding place to her mommy. She jumped on the bed and rubbed against the naked woman's side.

"Mmeeeeeeoooooooooooooowwww." Kimba sounded sad, concerned.

Lynn looked over. ''Oh Kimba. I should have let him kill me. That sailor would still be alive and this would be over. Now I have to endure this in my home."

"Meow, ggrrrrrrrrrrrrlllll." Kimba disagreed.

"I know you'd be an orphan. They would probably throw you out in the street, the pigs."

Kimba got in her lap and put her clawless front paws on Lynn's battered face.

"I love you, pretty girl." Lynn petted her cat until she felt better. Then she went about cleaning up the mess George left in his wake. She found her new lingerie torn on the floor. Picking it up and throwing it away, she looked at Kimba, who was laying on the bed watching her. "There goes $50 and Steve never even got to see it Kimba."

Kimba fluffed here tail and purred in agreement.

Having finished straightening up, Lynn went to take a shower and clean 'The George' off her.

Junior poured two cups of coffee and returned to the front room. He put a cup down in front of Steve who was flipping through channels so fast Junior seriously doubted the commander even processed what he saw.

"Ah, sir."

"Yeah."

"You Ok?"

"Yeah, just thinking."

"Ok." Junior sat down and drank his coffee. He watched silently as Steve rocketed through channels. The commander finally settled on the Weather Channel.

"Ah, sir. The Weather Channel?"

"What's wrong with the Weather Channel? Don't you want to know how to survive 25 below zero soaking wet?" Steve snapped.

"Not a thing sir. Good thing to know sir." Junior settled back to watch the survivalist show; obviously McGarrett had a process and this was part of his process. He sipped his coffee and waited.

At the next commercial break, Steve shut the TV off and looked at Junior. "I'm sorry, were you watching it?"

"Not really. I took survival courses in basic training, sir."

Steve finally picked up his coffee cup and drank. "You make a damn good cup of joe, Reigns."

"Automatic coffee pot sir; just fill it and punch the button. Not a remarkable skill set."

"I disagree. It may be an automatic coffee maker but people can still screw it up, believe me. Gordo almost always screwed it up. Too much, too little but drinkable then one pot – absolutely perfect. Oddly, I think that's what's happening in our hotel."

"Sir?"

"They have done this before Detective Williams said. They acquire distressed businesses, run their scam and usually, it goes ok. Something went wrong here. By the way the manager acts, her life has been threatened. I doubt they usually do that, too messy. So what's so different here, what are these two clowns doing different?"

"I think the bartender is the wild card. He watched Miss Downing the night you two had a drink. When she was leaving, he called her over and said something that made her pale. When you were there, he looked like a jealous man."

McGarrett pursed his lips; Lynn had accepted his invitation quickly, no thought of a boyfriend let alone a steady lover. He didn't remember her giving the bartender a second look; she barely referred to him by name. "Yeah, maybe HE developed a thing for her."

"As scared as she looked, I doubt it's reciprocated. I saw her holding your arm and I dare say if you had your arm around her she would've found a way to burrow into your chest. I'm sure she's attracted to you but I'm thinking when you're around, she feels safe.''

"Yeah, I have that effect on women too." Steve said in a cautionary tone. "But you may be right. The guy was being a dick until Detective Williams called his bluff. What does Lynn have to call his bluff?"

"Lynn sir?" Junior's eyebrows went up.

"Ms. Downing." Steve rolled his eyes then settled his gaze on Junior. "I may be a little bit out of touch with the current date etiquette but after drinks and a date, l think I'm correct in using her first name. And don't ever give ME the eyebrows again."

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Junior was straight face but had laughing eyes. "What's the next step here?"

"I think I'll get on line and order 'Ms. Downing' some flowers. After I talk to my Cat. It's early, why don't you see if Miss Tani would like to have a drink with you?"

"You won't be needing me sir?''

"I don't think so. Calls, internet ordering then bed, I'm tired. We're alone, no sir needed." Steve quickly added, "But be warned: you rib me, I return the favor tenfold."

"Copy that." Now, Junior smiled

Steve smiled back with a wink.

Tani Rey was enjoying a rare night off. She was working days this week after what seemed to be an eternity of swing shifts. She finished one foot and started painting the nail polish on her other foot when her cell rang. She quickly finished the toe she was working on and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi Tani, it's Junior Reigns. How are you?"

Just hearing his voice made her smile. "Joons! How nice to hear from you, unless you're canceling our date tomorrow night."

"No way, unless the commander needs me then it's out of my hands."

"Then I would forgive you, begrudgingly."

"I was calling to see if you would like to meet for coffee or a drink or even catch a late movie."

"I would love to. Where would you like to meet?"

"Well, you pick and I'll put the address in the GPS and l'll find you."

"Hi Steve. What's wrong, baby?" Cat asked in a hushed tone.

"Hey, Cat. Why do you assume something is wrong?" Steve frowned.

"Because I'm still at work. Give me five minutes, then I'll face time you."

"OK. Love you."

Hanging up, Steve noted the time. Dammit, he forgot about the time difference. He had to get home, this was getting ridiculous. He opened his laptop and searched for appropriate flowers for both Lynn and Cat. He got done ordering pink carnations for Lynn and red and white roses for Cat just as his cell beckoned.

"Hi Cat. You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Hi Steve, you too. You're looking tired baby, aren't you sleeping?"

"Not really. These time changes always screw up my internal clock. That and Gordo's case keeps my mind active. I sleep fitfully." Steve sighed. "I swam a lot today so I'm hoping the body will override the mind tonight."

"Anything new in the investigation?"

"Kind of, sort of, not really. Nothing concrete but things are in motion and it feels like we're close to a break. I can feel it, I almost have it."

"And the frustration is screwing up your sleep too. Are you remembering to eat?"

"Yes. My new assistant stays on me."

"Do you like him?"

"Makes better coffee than Gordo; I think he'll do fine at Coronado."

"You recommending him?"

"No, already accepted in. He starts UDT training in under a month I think. He has the smarts, the drive and the determination. Unless he gets a jerk instructor that he butts heads with, he should make it through." Steve knew Catherine was pushed for time. "Cat, I'm doing some UC work, if you will. Question: How do I get out of the third date 'assumption'?"

Catherine was wise to his reference. "How about duty calling you away?"

"I've used that, twice. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Sure. If all is going well, sex is on the table by the third date." Catherine answered him, straight faced.

"So I was out of line on our first date." Steve said it as a fact, but Catherine heard the unasked question.

"We both felt 'it', Steve. We knew. I have no regrets. I have to ask: are you attracted to this woman or are you in 'white knight' mode?"

Steve had no hesitation. "A tiny bit of the former and heavy on the latter. This woman is in some kind of trouble and I want to help her. Concerning the former, if I wasn't so madly in love with you, I could see myself having a fling with her but not a life commitment. But I'm just playing a part here. How do l rebuff the sexual expectations but keep 'the interest' there?" Steve grunted in frustration. "Cat, I want to get Gordo's killer more than anything but I'm not going to betray you to do it. I know Gordo would understand that. You mean the world to me."

Catherine smiled as she considered. She really didn't want her man, her fiancé, sharing his affections with anyone but she understood the position he was in. "Steve, I trust you. That being said, maybe a make out session will fit the bill. Can you do that?"

"Can we skype afterward?"

"Absolutely."

Junior got to the coffee lounge before Tani. He grabbed a booth by a window and sat down to wait. He hoped he entered the right address but he knew he had. After all, what were the odds of him entering the wrong address and ending up in a coffee house? He checked his watch; 20 minutes early.

After a few minutes, Tani drove up on her turquoise Vespa. She was dressed in black jeans, matching black suede ankle boots and a soft red violet tank top. She parked right in front of the window where Junior was sitting.

Junior watched her dismount her scooter and take off her helmet. He kept watching as she took off her helmet and fluffed her hair, he could feel a silly, happy smile spread across his face. Out of her waitress uniform, Junior considered her a true vision of beauty.

Tani looked up from hanging her helmet on the handlebars and broke into a big smile of her own. Junior was wearing a soft grass green pull over that accentuated his muscular build. As she walked up to the door, she made a mental effort to get her heartrate down.

"Hi Joons."

"Hi Tani." He watched her slide on the opposite side of the tsble. "I'll go get us some coffee. What would you like?"

"Mocha frappe please."

Junior got up and went to get their beverages. He returned with 2 large coffees and a white bakery bag. He put the large mocha in front of Tani then sat down. "I got a scone, a Death by Chocolate muffin, a cranberry/orange muffin and lemon streusel muffin. I didn't know what you liked so I got a variety." He produced a plastic knife with exaggerated fanfare. "I figured we'd share."

"Sounds perfectly decadent."

Steve finished the last of the coffee and found that he was restless but very tired. He laid down on his bed and went over the next day's lesson plan in his head. Satisfied with what he planned to cover, he got up and undressed for bed. Suddenly, he was very thirsty so he went to the kitchenette in nothing but his boxer briefs and searched for something to drink. After doing a thorough inventory of beverages in the refrigerator, he settled on the quart of orange juice. Not bothering with a glass, he took the carton back to his room. He shut the door in case Junior came back early. Checking his bedside clock and making sure the alarm was set for 0515, he decided to call Catherine.

Finally, on the third ring she answered. "Rollins."

"McGarrett."

"Steve!" Cat sounded out of breath.

"Cat! Why are you out of breath?"

"I had bags of groceries in my arms so I rushed to set them down. I wasn't expecting you to call but I'm glad you did."

"Why so many groceries? Having a party?" Steve teased.

"Well, we're out of everything. No coffee, no tea, no sugar, no butter, no fruit, no cereal. No laundry soap, paper towels, toothpaste. I could go on but you get the idea."

"Why?"

"You know we always shop together. Doing it without you and buying food for one just depresses me. Besides, I haven't been keeping a lot here, in case we get to meet somewhere. This morning, when l ran out of Kleenex, I decided to go to the Base Exchange and get provisions. That being said, you're no doubt calling to say you are on the way home. Right?"

"I wish."

"This assignment will be over before you know it. Then I'm taking you prisoner. You'll be lucky to get out of bed for 48 hours and then only for hygiene and nourishment."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Your mine mister, no reprieve for you." Cat played at being stern but her smile made her threat go down easy.

Steve joined in the playful banter. "Me? So, you think you are holding me hostage? Oh, you wish. You'll be begging me for a reprieve, I guarantee that."

The lovers enjoyed playful and intimate banter while Catherine put things away. An hour later, they said good night. Steve got into bed and fell into a relaxed, contented slumber