Chapter 34 Ziplining, Waterfalls and Turtles in Nawiliwili, Kauai
I felt as if we had once again become one. I couldn't get enough of her and my arms, like steel bands, wrapped around her thin frame and pulled her close.
"I love you," came her faint slurred words from beneath me.
"Love you too Babe." Forever I thought again, knowing in that second that I would do whatever I had to do, take as many lives as were needed, to protect her; she was my world. I rolled onto my back and she took up her usual sleeping position, with her spread across me as her own personal body pillow, I realized as I fell asleep that we had done it again. No condom.
Thursday May 27 Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI 06:45
As I walked back to our room from the gym I walked along the deck and looked at the new island we were docked at. We had two more days on this ship and I wanted to make the most of it with Stephanie and Julie.
Before I left for the gym I had plugged Oshanna's phone in. It wouldn't give her a full charge but she would be more ready for the day. I was slightly more worried today that there might be a threat out there, lurking. I was going to do the unthinkable. I was going to give Oshanna her electronics back and tell her it is safe to post everything about where we were, just not the name of the ship we are on. Hopefully in the next two to three days it would flush out any more threats and if there was anyone left, they will try for the women again before we go back home.
Before waking her, I hacked into Stephanie's phone to delete the picture of me from last night. As I pulled it up I was surprised at how good I looked in the costume. I debated the fact that she would be mad that I hacked her phone and might even feel violated. Stephanie has always been quiet about her personal life. I would have a talk with her and if she could keep this picture private I would let her keep it.
As Stephanie got ready for the day, I gathered Oshanna's phone and computer up and prepared to take them to her. I texted Bones to monitor her account and notify me immediately if any of the suspicious fake accounts become active. I texted Tank and Skylar that the Alaskan assignment was over. That my man could finish out his cruise and fly home. It was some guy named John from the Boston office that had gotten to go and I hoped he was having a little fun on his trip. When Stephanie came out of the bathroom she saw the electronics sitting there next to me.
"Your guy in Alaska sent me pictures last night. I was going to post them this morning. I think a couple of her real friends are on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. They make comments like they really care and some little things about work and missing her."
"Yeah, I suspected she had some real friends following her too. I am going to give her the electronics back this morning and tell her she can post whatever she wants the rest of the trip. She just can't tell people which ship we are on."
I was laughing to myself as Stephanie hid behind her towel trying to slip her underwear on underneath it. Like I had never seen her naked. Once she got them on she faced the wall as she slipped on her bra. Then she laid out pink shorts for the day and her new seahorse t-shirt. Finally she dropped her towel and finished dressing while we talked.
"Isn't that dangerous? Bad people could find us again." Stephanie said worried.
"I would rather them find us here in Hawaii while my men are around. If anyone is still following her accounts she can lead them right to us."
"You are setting a trap." Stephanie said, light dawning in her eyes.
"I'm giving them three days to find us. Personally I don't think there is anyone left to come after us but I want to lay the bait out there before we leave the islands."
"Good thinking Batman." She said as she walked over to me and kissed me, deeply, with lots of tongue, like she meant it.
I pulled her between my legs. "We could be late for breakfast, we are not on a schedule this morning."
"No we have a lot to do. I want to see the island. How do you say the name for where we are?"
"Nawiliwili, Kauai."
"Nawiliwili. I sound like a whippoorwill." She laughed at herself.
"Come on Babe. The family is eating at the buffet on level 5 again." I took her hand and Oshanna's electronics and we walked out the door.
When we got to breakfast I made a big deal of walking over to Oshanna and presenting her in a half bow, her electronics in front of everyone.
"My dear sister, you are now free to post pictures and tweet to your heart's content." I told her. "But I want to ask you to do two things. One don't post the name of the ship we are on and two don't post when we are leaving. If anyone asks say you don't know when you are coming back home. Can you do that for me?"
She smiled so big I thought her face was going to crack. "Of course big brother. I can do that!" Then she hopped out of her seat and gave me a big hug. "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Now I can work on the wedding too!"
"And you can post your food and that we are on Nawiliwili. That's the first thing you need to do is tell all your friends you are actually in Hawaii not Alaska."
"Alaska?" She questioned.
"Yeah. I've had someone posting a false trail to Alaska. If I remember correctly we are on a cruise going up the Alaskan coast."
"Oh my God! I've got to tell them where we really are!" She gushed and went back to her seat, happily picking up her phone.
I followed Stephanie through the buffet and got fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and oatmeal. I was actually missing the turkey hash. I was going to see if Ella can figure out a low fat, high vegetable option for me. I would even make sure it is on her list of things to do on their trip to Hawaii.
Once again we sat with Julie and the Martine's for breakfast. Julie was talking excitedly about going surfing.
"Babe have you ever surfed?"
"No"
"Want to learn how?"
"Um, not really."
"Would you mind going to the beach with me and watching Julie and Frankie learn to surf?"
"Sure I don't mind going to the beach. I haven't had much time to work on my tan and I would like to look a little more tanned when we get back."
"What beach are you going to learn to surf?" I asked them.
"Kalapaki Beach 11:00 am lessons" Ron answered.
"Do you mind if we come and hang out with you guys?" I asked.
"Not at all. Stephanie and I can lay out while the kids surf and swim." Rachel said.
After breakfast I gathered all my men, day and nightshift.
"I have given Oshanna back her phone and told her to tweet our location. Hopefully if there are any men bent on causing my family harm left they will contact her and we will get a heads up. Bones is monitoring the fake profiles on her account for any action. So we may be alerted before there is any attack. Or they could just attack so be alert. I am keeping one person with each target and three men on at night. Marc you are also on with Stephanie today but get your own car and follow us. Skylar made each family's plans directly with them so I don't know where each family is going. Offer to go to get the rental cars for them but if they want to drive, everyone but Oshana and Julio can drive. Lester you are on Oshanna, Junior - Julie and Rachel, Vince both of my grandmas, Erik - Mama, Woody – Angelia, Hal – Leyla, Cal – Isabella. No gun belts, just be discretely armed. Today is 'at ease' guarding. Blend in, do what the family is doing. Questions?" My men just all nodded.
"Dismissed."
Once we were in our room I started to get ready for the day changing into board shorts instead of cargo's.
"Babe let's dress for the beach, wear tennis shoes but bring flip flops if you need them, would you please bring towels for us both and sunscreen." I told her.
"Why am I bringing your towel?"
I gave her a big smile. "Because you're the one with the big beach bag."
Ten minutes later we were leaving with Marc in tow. I got a red convertible Miata. Damn thing is small but it was the only convertible they had. It was faster than I expected and handled well on the curvy two lane highway. We drove up to the Wuilua Falls with the warm sun beaming down on us. Everything here was lush and green.
When we got to the falls we walked out to the lookout that showcased the double 80 foot waterfalls from across the way. These falls are famous as part of the opening scenes to the television show from the 80's, Fantasy Island. Down below us in the basin that the falls pour into were people swimming and playing in the water. We stood out under the hot sun that was beating down on us with just a few white puffy clouds in the sky.
"Babe come on. Let's go down there." I pointed.
"I don't know Carlos it looks rather steep."
"Come on Babe just a little hike." I took her hand and began to lead her down the fence to the parking area. There was a nice sign on the fence that said do not travel beyond this point, but we saw two people walk right past the sign around the gate and began descending to the bottom. I hadn't thought about it but if the falls were 80 feet we were descending about 80 feet, through winding tree branches and at one point there was a rope tacked to the rocks to hold onto while descending almost straight down for about 20 feet.
It was shady and a little cooler under the trees and out of the direct sunlight. I didn't even have to think about it. I grabbed the rope and started descending. Halfway down I looked up to see Stephanie crossing her arms and a "no way in hell am I going down that rope" look. I climbed back up to the top. There were two brightly colored birds that landed near Stephanie curious but as I got to the top they flew off calling a pretty trilling sound.
"Come on Babe. It's just a little decent. Did you see the two people in front of us just do it?"
"I don't know how to climb down a rope." She insisted.
"You just hold on and walk down facing the side."
"I'll go first and you come right behind me and I will help you." She looked unconvinced but I turned and went down about three feet.
"Come on." I encouraged. She turned around, grabbed hold of the rope and began to descend. I kept about two feet in front of her talking her down to the bottom. Five feet from the bottom she slipped and let go of the rope and hit me full force. I let go of the rope with one arm, wrapping it around her to hold her to me.
"Grab the rope Babe."
She reached out and grabbed it. With one arm around her I walked us the rest of the way down.
"Not so bad." I told her and she gave me a tentative smile. We finished the rest of the hike and came out to the gorgeous sight of the waterfalls, bright sunlight and Julie, Becky, Maggie and Cassie swimming in the water with Freddie, Ricky and Mikie. I was wearing my black swim trunks, my painted kiss and handprint vacation shirt and my black tennis shoes.
I quickly stripped down to my shorts and waded in to be close to Julie and the girls. Stephanie was reapplying her sunscreen then finally got in the water. It was kind of murky and had brown silt on the bottom but the water wasn't actually dirty. I even encouraged Marc to get in the water. I played with the girls for a short time then swam back and forth across the little grotto several times enjoying the sunlight streaming through the water as I went.
Then I swam to the falls with every intention of going under the falls but at 80 feet the turbulence went too deep and I swam around behind the falls where the turbulence pounded me into the smooth rock walls. I swam back, not wanting to be a bad example to the kids, especially the boys who were at the monkey see, monkey "I can do it too" age. After a little while everyone packed up to go to the beach and other outings.
We drove the winding roads. Wind whipping through our hair as the sun beat down on us, along to the beach and found the place where they taught surfing. I asked if they rented boards and they directed me down to a shack where they rented surfboards, body boards, paddleboards, kayaks and wind surfing equipment. I got myself a surfboard, some surf wax and a couple of chairs with umbrellas for the women.
"I didn't know you surf." Steph remarked as I stuck the surfboard in the sand and set up the lounge chairs for her and Rachel. We talked while I was rubbing sunscreen all across her bikini clad body. I loved having my hands all over her again.
"I'm a teenage boy that grew up in Miami." I explained.
"I've never seen you with a surfboard in New Jersey."
"When we go to Miami I have boards there, you will see me surf." I explained.
I have fun surfing, the water keeping me cool, while they taught the kids the basics of paddling, standing up, foot placement and how to control and steer the board. Then they brought them out to the water and started them close with the instructor holding the board till a good wave came then letting them go. Julie got up on her second try and I was proud of her.
I figure this summer I would come out and we could go surfing together. Several more times and she was standing up like a pro. By now the teachers, both Hawaiian guys in their early to mid-twenties, were up on the shore yelling out helpful suggestions. Freddie had gotten up several times by now too. I paddled over and started surfing closer to where they were.
"I didn't know you surfed Dad."
"Spent my teen years in Miami."
I got up on a wave Julie got up on the same wave but I was moving more right and she was angled more towards the shore so I cut back towards the shore and we rode the wave in together. It was a really shitty reason to come on this trip together but I have bonded with Julie in a way I never would have otherwise. I'm going to offer to take everybody on a trip this summer for the families that want to go. I don't know how many of the adults will be able to take time off so soon but I can offer. The surfing lessons lasted for an hour and after that much time in the water everyone was ready to get something to eat.
We went to Duke's Kauai, started by world famous surfer Duke Kahanamoku, who traveled the world teaching people to surf and about the Hawaiian lifestyle. We sat outside in the barefoot bar section where the tables were teak and the chairs were covered in bright Hawaiian patterns. They had a mix of Hawaiian and American dishes. The clouds had started building up in the sky looking like there could be an afternoon shower.
I got the Shrimp and Arugula salad with the fish of the day baked with a Macadamia Nut Crab Crusted Coating. Stephanie wanted the crispy chicken BLT but I talked her into something more Hawaiian (and less fried) and she got the Mac Nut Chicken Katsu. Rachel got the Fish Sandwich with their special mango relish. Ron and Freddie got the Mango BBQ Baby Back Ribs. Julie got the Korean Street Tacos and Cassie got a Cheddar Burger with Maui onion dressing. It seemed even the American dishes had a Hawaiian flare. By the time we were done eating it was time to head to ziplining. Rachel was still really worried about it, but I assured her it was going to be okay.
We got to Koloa Ziplining Tours fifteen minutes early, here the sun was bright but we had left the clouds down by the beach and they got us fitted with harnesses and colorful helmets that all said Koloa Ziplining on the back of them. Rachel wanted to sit the tour out but I asked her if she liked roller coasters and of course she said yes. I told her she would love it and she finally allowed them to hook her up with equipment. I wanted to go last on the first run, to see how everyone looked jumping off.
There were a couple of people in our group who had been ziplining before and they all jumped at the chance to go first. We could hear their screams of joy as they went down the line. Freddy volunteered to go next and jumped off willingly. Julie, not to be outdone, went next and Cassie seeing them having fun followed.
Rachel was petrified but was next in line, determined to follow her children and not leave them unsupervised on the other end. They hooked her up but when she got to the edge she just stood there.
"The first one is the hardest, Rachel. Then you realize how much fun it is and it is no problem after that." I told her.
"Yeah darling. You are going to love it. Didn't you hear the kids screaming, they loved it." Ron encouraged.
"I don't know. It's such a long way. I can't even see the other end."
"You'll do fine Rachel. In fact you'll get to the other end and wish it was longer." And with that I pushed her off. We could hear her screaming "Caaaarrrrlllooooossss!" as she went down. Then I started on Stephanie.
"Come on Babe, let's go." I encouraged her to the front.
"I don't know about this Carlos. It's a long way down."
"Has anyone in front of you fallen?"
"No"
"Would I let Julie do it if it wasn't perfectly safe?"
"No"
"Babe I would go with you if I could but this is a one person at a time situation. Think of it like a roller coaster. You are strapped into that harness. You are safe. There will be someone at the end to catch you."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Okay I'll go next." And she got into the line of people ready to go.
Ron was already gone and there was a couple from England here enjoying their fifth anniversary. They kissed and the woman went, soon followed by her husband. Steph is just standing anxiously bouncing on her toes. Then it is her turn and they hook her up. I give her a little kiss for luck and she inches over to the edge.
"Just jump babe, or step off. The first step is the hardest." She looks anxiously at me.
"Your overthinking it. This is for fun. Remember safe like a roller coaster. I want to hear you screaming on your way down." I tell her.
"I don't know, Carlos. That is a long way down."
"Kiss me Babe." I tell her and give her a light peck on the lips, then I push her off and she is screaming while I smile. I know she will yell at me but I also know she will love this. She just had to get over the hump.
"Sir, you're not allowed to push people off the platform." Our worker reminded me.
"Sorry, won't happen again." I tell him as I let him hook me up so that I will be laying on my stomach, flat like superman. These runs were especially beautiful as you flew through the tops of some incredibly tall and beautiful trees. Marc and Scott went last.
Both women descended on me as soon as the worker on the other end got me unhooked.
"Why did you push me?" Stephanie asked.
"You didn't need to push me I was going to go." Came from Rachel.
"You just needed a little push to get going. I knew once you went you would love it and Rachel your kids were waiting anxiously for you, unsupervised on the other side." This took some steam out of her sails.
"That didn't give you the right to push me off." Stephanie demanded hands on her hips.
"Babe, I knew you would have gone but you were working yourself up into a tizzy and you just needed a little nudge to get you going. Besides I wanted my turn and you were taking all day." I said knowing it would piss her off more but redirect her at the same time.
"You pushed me because you were in a hurry?"
"I wanted to go too, but I didn't want to leave you behind, you might have gone back and sat in the bus." I insisted.
"I wouldn't have gone and sat in the bus. I was going to go when I was ready. You pushed me before I was ready."
"But you loved it once you got going, didn't you?"
"Yeah I had fun."
"Are you ready to do it again?"
"Again?" She questioned.
"Yeah it's a series of eight lines. We climb up to the upper platform and go again." I explained pointing to the stairs above us.
"I can go again?" She half questioned, half excited. Obviously she hadn't listened to the opening briefing and instructions they gave the whole group.
"Yes, seven more times."
"All right let's go." She said taking my hand and leading me to the stairs.
Now that everyone had gone once they were all too willing to go again. The kids were especially excited. The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. In one of the areas the trees echoed the screams back to us and I had to yell on that trip just to hear it vibrate back to me. The best one was the half mile run. I had never been on one so long and it passed over some beautiful tropical landscapes and water. Everyone loved it.
Rachel cornered me after the third zipline.
"Ron and I have discussed it again. Julie is loving this ziplining and I'm sure she will love the skydiving. I looked the company up and they take hundreds of people jumping a month. So, I'm sure it is as safe as this is. But honestly that's not something I want to watch, my baby jumping out of a plane. So she can go with you if you bring her to meet up with us when you are through."
"Sure Rachel. Thanks. I think she will love it." I immediately texted Skylar.
'Skylar beautiful. Can you please add Julie to our skydiving group and reserve any additional spots for my men.'
A few minutes later she texted back. 'Sure, she is added. 12 is the lowest age for jumpers. Tiger and Junior are in your group. Your men have to be able to prove they have had 20 solo jumps to jump alone.'
'Thank you my lovely woman.'
I checked my list and texted Ram that he was with us tomorrow and we were going skydiving at 09:30. There was room for him but he had to get his records showing he has at least 20 jumps.
Ziplining had started around 14:00 and now it was after 17:00, it was time to head back to the ship. Dinner was nice and everyone talked about their plans for tomorrow and plans they were making for Saturday. Everyone was excited about their Saturday activities most of all.
Stephanie wanted to drag me to another show and I suggested we get dressed up like it was a date. We went back to our cabin after dinner and I put on my suit pants and black button down long sleeve shirt. I chose to roll up the sleeves and leave the collar open, forgoing a tie and jacket. She put on a sexy body hugging tan dress with a short flared out skirt, matching four inch shoes that made her legs look a mile long and really accentuated the round firm swell of her ass.
"Babe do we have to go see the show?" I asked, shocked at the almost whiny sound of my voice.
"Yes, what else are we going to do all night?" She responded teasing me.
I pulled her close and rubbed my erection against her.
"I don't know I might be able to come up with a few things." I smiled at her.
"Later Batman," she smirked at me. "Come on handsome, Grease awaits." She took my hand and drug me out of the cabin barely pausing long enough to let me lock the door. The evening air was cooling as the sun began settling in the west.
The show was actually well done but halfway through I took her right hand and placed it on my leg. Every few moments I moved it a little higher and a little higher. I put my left hand over her right one to hold it in place and put my right hand on her leg. I was drawing patterns and slowly moving higher and higher as well. I got her hand to my bulging crotch and she curled her fingers around me smiling without looking at me. She, however, put her left hand over my creeping right one, stopping all forward progress.
I kissed her neck and whispered in her ear. "Babe come back to the room now and I will wear the hula outfit for you again. But only if you come back to the room now." I blackmailed.
"Carlos, I'm trying to watch the show." She insisted a little irritated.
"Babe I will give you my own show."
"I've seen your show and it only lasts 5 minutes. Then you want to get naked." She huffed.
"Yeah but the naked part lasts all night long." I licked her neck and kissed her right below her ear and she moaned.
"Besides we know how this ends: She turns into a bad girl and catches the guy. Babe will you be my bad girl?" I encouraged.
She finally looked at me I gave her my wolfish grin and she tried to lift her hand off my dick, but I pinned it there.
"Carlos, we have all night and the show only has like half an hour left. I want to watch it." I kissed her lightly on the lips and turned back to the show but kept her hand in my crotch as she tightened and lightly stroked me through the expensive material.
When the show was over she tugged her hand away so she could clap. I clapped with her, resigned to let her enjoy the evening. After the show I took her for a walk on the deck where there were very few people, to look at the stars. We walked along the decks hand in hand, like two young lovers.
The moon was less than a quarter full, a thick sliver in the sky.
"Which constellations do you see?" I asked her.
"I don't see some of the ones I'm used to." She turned around in my arms to face North. "There's Ursa Minor, and Ursa Major." She kept looking up and I just watched her and all the myriad of emotions that crossed her face. The deep concentration, the look of searching, the light up when she found some that she recognized.
"There is Leo, that's your sign." She said knowingly. "I don't see Orion. There is Cancer, and Virgo and Libra, that's my sign. That's all the ones I see that I know."
I pointed out Hercules.
"Of course you would know any well-muscled hero that's hanging out in the sky."
"There is Draco the dragon. Did you see Jupiter?" I asked.
"No"
"Right there, over our heads, it is the bright star that is not twinkling."
"Oh yeah I see it now. I was never as good with the planets cause they move so much."
"You know Babe, part of it is that it is much easier to see the stars and planets out without the light pollution we have back in Jersey. This reminds me of being in the Persian Gulf on one of my first missions. Once we got out to sea it was incredible the number of stars you could see and the milky way was so clearly visible."
"Really were you on ships a lot?"
"No we flew towards lots of our targets but many times I was involved in secret beach invasions that launched from ships."
"Wow I can't believe you are telling me this. Isn't it classified?"
"Babe I'm not telling you where we invaded or what our mission was. That's classified. But we often arrived by water, helicopter or parachuted in places we weren't really supposed to be."
We stood for a while looking at the stars, me holding her in my arms and remembering Florida. Dios that was less than two weeks ago. Two weeks ago tonight we had just landed in Miami and she moved out of my room to stay with Oshanna. I snuck in and slept with her anyway, waking up with her wrapped tightly around me. I could laugh now, it seemed her subconscious always knew what she really wanted. It was such a short time but part of us being together felt so right it felt like we had always been together, even though for two years we have just danced around each other. Me holding her away from me, trying to keep her close but not too close.
Finally I led her back to our cabin. Once there I kissed her passionately, igniting her fires and as she once told me destroying her underwear. As I kissed her I let my hands roam all over her breasts and under her skirt but made no move to undress her. Her hands roamed all over my back, and backside pulling me close and rubbing herself against me doubling the size of my erection and making me painfully hard. Then she was unbuttoning my shirt and running her hands over my chest. She pinched my nipples and a surge of passion flowed through me.
I backed up a step breaking our kiss and she reached for my slacks. Fumbling to undo them, when she got the zipper down and pulled me free she sighed audibly. She shocked me by dropping down to her knees and licking the precum off the tip. Then she smiled up at me, leaned forward and enveloped me in her warm hot mouth that sucked as tight as she could.
"Babe, one second." I pulled myself free and bent down, taking the edges of her skirt in my hand and stripping her dress off of her not even paying attention to where it landed. Now she knelt in abeige bra and panty set that made her look nude with her four inch heels and I wanted to cum at the sight of her.
Then I stood proudly before her again.
"Sorry for interrupting, I just wanted to improve the view." I explained.
She grasped my throbbing hardness in her soft hand and gave me a stroke, then she took me back in her mouth and started sucking my long hard length. Lightning flashed through me and my balls grew tight. I was watching her as intently as a tiger waiting patiently for its lunch. I desperately wanted to be inside her but I was going to let her play with me for a moment. She came off of a long stroke and looked up at me, my gaze almost feral and she paused mid suck.
"I need you." I said simply and picked her up and tossed her on the bed. I stripped her with kisses and feather light touches. She moaned and writhed under my heavy ministrations. When I got down to her sweet heat I delved inside licking her clean for a few moments, passion flaring inside her heating her up but I had no patience. I needed to be inside her. I crawled up her body planting a few kisses, up her belly and on both breasts as I went. I reached for a condom and then my need was buried deep in her hot wet core. After just these two weeks she was opening for me and allowing me easier entrance.
As I slowly started moving inside her it only took a few thoughtful thrusts and overwhelmed she cried out as she was cumming. I started kissing and licking at her neck and leaving a few marks that she wasn't complaining about and quickly heated back up she was ready to go again. I had her cumming two more times before I finally took my release, pulling her to me to hold her close.
After round two she fell asleep and I got up and got my computer. I shopped online for sexy men outfits and found lots of sexy outfits. The police outfit came with cuffs but no way in hell was I dressing up like a cop to arrest her. I found a sexy all-black outfit with cuffs that said SWAT, I felt I could get away with. Maybe I would have Ella make me a tight half length tank top with BEA across the chest.
I found a Zorro costume with a black thong, cape and mask, the flimsy sword and whip accessories were extra but I thought they added to the costume so I got both. Then I found it, my coup de grace a Batman outfit, with a black cape, half mask that included pointy ears, gloves with the fringe that stood out and black thong. This was it, the perfect costume for me to wear for her and I even bought the cheesy accessory belt to go with it. To finish I ordered several XL thongs that would fit me better up front, regular ones were too small and I would hang out or if I had an erection stick completely out the top.
Done shopping for myself I got her a skimpy Wonder Woman costume, a soldier outfit including a plastic bandolier of bullets and knee high boots, a skimpy Jane of the Jungle costume and I got the matching Tarzan tiger striped thong, I got her a sexy wench costume that would go well with my Zorro, I got the matching soldier outfit for men, and a female prisoner outfit to go with my SWAT. That was five outfits for each of us and if she took to dressing up we could expand. I shipped them all to Ricardo at my PO Box, lest some overzealous employee at the front desk not look closely at the label and start to open them all up.
After shopping online, I was horny again and I reached for her. We made love for hours but after 02:00 I finally left her alone, knowing we had to get up early for our sailing and snorkeling adventure that was planned.
I was up at 05:00 to use the gym, that was much smaller here than on the bigger cruise ship, fitness for tourists in Hawaii was not as important because you got off the boat and walked around exploring all day, so extra exercise was not as big of an issue. My men filtered in, even the ones that were off duty for the day and I was pleased. Best to keep in top shape in case anything unexpected should happen again. On my way back I called Bones and verified there had been no movement on Oshanna's Twitter from any of the fake accounts. I transferred to Tank and got and gave a status report.
At 6:45 I called all available men into the hall. "Easy day today men. There has been no contact from any of the fake accounts on Oshanna's Twitter or Instagram. However you still need to be prepared for anything. Carry concealed. We don't have formal permission from the Sherriff's department on Kauai to carry so don't get caught. Carry batons and knives as back-up. Same orders go for tomorrow and Sunday on Oahu. Assignments: Tiger – Stephanie, Gavin – both grandmothers, Francis – Maria, Tony – Leyla, Bobby – Angelia, Red – Isabella, Sport – Oshanna; you are her and Julio's chauffeur; Scott – Julie and Rachel. Any questions?" I looked my men over carefully.
"Dismissed"
I was waking Stephanie up at 07:00 and tried to drag her into the small shower with me. It was a tantalizing proposition as I pinned her up against the wall and rubbed against her soft silken skin but the two foot by one and a half foot shower didn't leave enough room for both of us to turn around in. The spray so small and weak you had to stand right in the middle to get any of it. She needed it more for her hair, so I had her turn around and I washed it for her. When she was done and got out I finished washing myself clean.
By the time I got out she was dressed in khaki shorts and a pink t-shirt with her bathing suit underneath. She had white sandals picked out to wear. I got dressed in my black board shorts and a black Rangeman tank top with a gun and knife in the side pocket, my Glock tucked into the back. I was especially glad I had Ella make these wardrobe adjustments. They work much better to blend and are much cooler than the black cargo pants and regular t-shirt would have been.
I texted all my men and my family reminding them that the ship leaves port at 2:00 and that they had to make sure they had time to return their rental cars before returning to the ship.
We were leaving the ship by 08:30, driving with the top down enjoying the Hawaiian sunshine and heading out to the small dock where our party was to meet. I was surprised and pleased to see my parents and abuelas there as well. They said they couldn't wait to swim with the turtles. Once I did a sweep of the ship I left my weapons in the car, only keeping my knife and gave the men the option to come or to meet us when it was over in about two hours.
Once we were out in the ocean, the crew told us to watch for whales. That it was almost past mating and birthing season but that it did extend to the end of May. So most everyone took up posts around the railing looking out into the ocean. I however, having had my close up with whales that couldn't be beat, watched the beautiful island as we rounded it looking at the mountains that made up these islands and all the tropical growth.
Forty minutes later we had sailed around the top of the island to Tunnel's Beach. We stood around in the bright sunlight and I covered Stephanie in sunscreen. Everyone was fitted with snorkels, masks and fins with a short explanation of how to swim with the fins, how to clear your snorkel and keep your mask from fogging up. Then we were all in the water. It was beautiful crystalline blue green where you could see for long distances, the sun's rays flitting through the clear waters shining easily to the reef below.
The turtles were abundant, some swimming in small groupings and others swimming off by themselves. Stephanie immediately started following a turtle as it glided over the colorful reefs. The turtles didn't seem at all bothered by us until she reached out to pet it and it dove down to get away from her. She tried to follow it, but even the smooth relaxed turtle could easily speed up one notch and get away from her.
These were green turtles, one and a half to three feet long, with shells that were more brown than green but most covered with some green algae that peppered their backs. We swam around for more than an hour enjoying the colorful striped and spotted fish and abundant turtles. Stephanie seemed to be fascinated by the turtles as she followed them around, swimming above or behind them getting as close as she could. I pulled out my phone and took pictures and video of her and the turtles.
Before we knew it, time was up and we had to get back on the catamaran. They passed out bottles of water to each of us and most took up positions along the rail again looking for whales. We took off back through the ocean to the docks once again. Suddenly three were spotted and everyone's attention turned to the majestic humpback whales gliding along the top of the ocean. A crew member identified the whales and told us that these were two mothers and a baby whale. Explaining that once the baby was big enough they would head out to deeper waters for the summer and fall.
These were beautiful whales too and I enjoyed seeing them. The rest of the trip was quiet and peaceful and I spent it at the rail with Stephanie wrapped in my protective embrace. I was a different person with her and my family than I was in my daily life building up Rangeman and even more different when I was the cold calculating strategist the government hires to do their special assignments. I was used to being this caring, slightly more demonstrative person for a few moments at a time but never all day like I was being now for this trip. How was I going to manage the balancing act when I got back home?
After the mini sailing trip, we had lunch with my parents and abuelas on the island. We drove up the coast a little way to Naupaka Terrace and were seated outdoors at a large round glass table with a striped blue umbrella over it. They brought two extra chairs so we could all sit and set the table for six instead of four.
We ordered seafood because that was most of the menu. My Abuela Rosa had the grilled chicken flatbread with goat cheese and black olives. My Abuela Sanja and my dad had the Mac Nut Crusted Catch of the day. My mother got the Hawaiian Style Poke. I got Miso Yaki Butterfish, Stephanie got the shrimp scampi but she added sides of shrimp chips and Hawaiian smashed potatoes so she could try them. I called the waitress over and behind my menu added a side of grilled vegetables for Stephanie and me and requested the same farm fresh vegetables available in the other pasta dish to be added to her shrimp scampi.
"So how are you enjoying the cruise?" I asked everyone.
"Es encantador, las islas son todas hermosas" Abuela Rosa said. (It is lovely, the islands are all beautiful.)
"I'm loving it. I don't travel much because I realized I don't like traveling alone, but with the family this has been so much fun. I have spent every day with different nietos and bisnietos. I thought for the last day I would spend it with your parents, because I've barely seen them all week." Abuela Sanja said smiling. (grandsons and granddaughters)
"Carlos, this is the first time we have ever taken a cruise. I thought that cruises meant you were stuck on a ship for a week, how boring. But getting off the ship to see the islands has been amazing. It is so beautiful here." My mother gushed.
"Yes that is the fun things with cruises, stopping at all the ports of call." I added.
"Son this has been a wonderful vacation for the family. You don't have to pay for all of this." My father had a concerned look on his face.
"Papa I'm very rich now. I can easily afford this vacation." I told them.
"How rich are you?" Abuela Sanja asked and I know she was asking out of curiosity and to assuage her guilt for me paying for everything.
"Well you know last weekend when I was really here on the cruise with you, I visited Senior Sergio Valentino. He had to pay me a lot of money to go away. A thousand times more than this cruise is costing." I explained.
"He paid you money?" My mother questioned.
"He fucked with me," I said angrily then remembering the company I was in and quickly said. "Sorry Mama, Abuelas. He messed with me and threatened my family. I gave him options to make me go away and promise to leave my family alone. He is worth billions so I started with billions of dollars. Of course he did not agree to that but we finally settled on a rather high number. Small for him but I walked away with over fifty million dollars." I explained trying not to sound like I was gloating, but since I was going to be sharing the money I took, I wanted everyone to know that I was very rich now.
"¿Cincuenta millones?" Abuela Rosa gasped. (Fifty million?)
"Sí abuela me amenazó. Hay un costo para eso si quiere que lo deje solo a él y a su familia." I explained. (Yes abuela he threatened me. There is a cost for that if he wants me to leave him and his family alone.)
"O lo matarías?" She breathed. (Or you would kill him.) I didn't like discussing such a grim topic at the lunch table but I had opened the door and I told them what was going to be the official story for my family.
"Si, él y su esposa y sus hijos. Amenazó a mi familia, era justo amenazar el suyo." I continued. (Yes, him and his wife and his children. He threatened my family it was only fair to threaten his.)
Stephanie was staring at me wide eyed but I was not going to translate this for her.
"Babe, I was trying to explain to Abuela Rosa. I'll tell you about it later."
"No problem Carlos. You'll just have to start teaching me Spanish before Christmas so I can have a conversation with her." Stephanie stipulated.
"Sure we will find you someone to teach you Spanish. I'm not the right person to teach Spanish. Gun safety, self-defense, take-down techniques I can teach all day long but not Spanish." I clarified.
Abuela Rosa smiled at Stephanie and I had no doubt she understood what Stephanie was asking and was looking forward to talking to her in her native tongue.
"So back to our discussion I have some money now and I want to invest it and share it with the families. Any suggestions?"
"How about college funds for all the kids?" My mother offered.
"I was thinking something like that."
"Or donating to retirement funds?" Abuela Sanja suggested.
"Isabella and Diego have been working hard to save up and buy their own home. An assistance with a down payment would be helpful." Dad was thoughtful.
"What about annual trips like this so the whole family can get together?" Stephanie proposed.
"That would be fun and I think bring the family closer together again. I have been really thankful for this trip. It has introduced Julie and her siblings to all of their cousins and got them more interested in my side of the family." I spilled.
"It has been good for all of us mi'jo. Some of us never take time off work to take vacations." Mama looked poignantly at Papa.
"I am realizing that while I am a critical part of my business it can run without me for short periods of time. When I called David last week for the forth day in a row he told me to stop calling and enjoy my vacation that if any issues come up he would call me. He has called me twice since then, both times to assure me everything was going fine. It is wonderful to build something so stable it doesn't need you anymore but it is nice to occasionally still be needed." Papa bemoaned.
"I'm grateful to have a company that can work without me. But it just seems to do a little bit better when I am there." I agreed.
"So what are you going to do now that you have all this money?" Mama asked me.
"Going back to work. Helping Stephanie prepare for a wedding and planning a honeymoon." I said simply.
"You're not going to invest it and retire?" Mama was curious.
"I will buy out my partners and give my men better Christmas bonuses. But this is my dream and my baby. I can take time off whenever I want to but it's my company. We built it into something big and I want to build it into something bigger. Expand into the Midwest and California. Realize every branch I create I open up jobs for sixty to seventy more men. That's one reason I do it. To create jobs for ex-military men that can't get good paying jobs somewhere else. Jobs that they are good at; jobs that utilize their skills and training."
"That's admirable son and obviously quite profitable."
"My plan when I get back is to hire several retired commanders to come train in one of the four branches we have open. I have several cities I have already scouted. I will have them pick cities and we will start three new branches by the end of summer. One is going to be offered the Trenton branch and I am going to give Tank a raise and put him in charge of all the branches. He may not like all the traveling, but I think I can make it worth his while. I will focus on the expansions so Stephanie and I will be traveling a lot. Babe there is going to be a lot more paperwork in the office if you want something part time to do besides skip chasing."
"No I'm happy with my job and I am good at finding the bad guys. But maybe I would like something else to do besides the search desk. I don't mind all the searches for FTAs, it is interesting searching for criminals. I like hunting them down. But all the other searches are mind numbing and boring. I'd pay someone else to do them."
"I think it is time to hire Rodrigues his own assistant. Someone just to do all his searches and help him with his presentations, because it is more than a full-time job at this point. But Rodrigues is priceless, he finds us most of our accounts and gets most of them signed without any help. For really big accounts and when needed, Tank and I meet with the clients personally. As big as Tank is he scares most people, but in this business, it makes people believe he can protect them. It's a big asset."
"So who will replace him?" Papa asked.
"Someone with Commander experience and who also looks like he could kick the shit out of someone." I said without thinking.
"Carlos," Mama gasped.
"I mean snot, kick the snot out of someone." I corrected. Our meals came and saved me from more recriminations. After we were all into our food I asked. "What is everyone doing tomorrow on Oahu?"
"We are planning on the Arizona Memorial in the morning after we get settled in the hotel. Then the Diamond Head Crater Hike, sightseeing, the Historical Art museum, then a little shopping, dinner and the beach at sunset." Mama laid it out.
"Tomorrow I am going to the Arizona with most of the family, then with Leyla and Richard for the rest of the day to Manoa Falls, Luumahu Falls, Makapu'u Point lighthouse, Waikiki Beach for a short break and then the traditional fire luau." Abuela Sanja read off her phone.
"Voy al memorial y luego a Angelia. Ella necesita mucha ayuda con sus pequeños. Sé que nosotros también iremos a la playa." Abuela Rosa said. (I am going to the memorial and then with Angelia. She needs so much help with her little ones. I know we too are going to the beach.)
"That all sounds like fun." I thought.
"You haven't asked me what I want to do." Stephanie huffed.
"I asked you several nights ago but we haven't discussed it since." I said. "Babe what do you want to do tomorrow?"
She also pulled out her phone and I stared at the dandelion blowing away on her case as she read. "I want to do some shopping, I want to go to this swap meet with 400 venders, then some sightseeing, maybe the waterfalls. I want to go to the beach and then the fire luau for dinner. I think that will be more interesting for you than the luau we watched the other night."
"Sure we can do that but we have an appointment at 9:30 once we get everyone settled into their hotel rooms."
"What are we doing?"
"It's a surprise, but Julie is going with us."
"Then can we go shopping?"
"Then we can go to the swap meet. I'll give you up to 2 hours of shopping but I am not going to be shopping all day." I told her.
"That's fine. I just need to get about 7 or 8 things for other people and a few things for me."
"We have a little time after lunch, we can hit some shops on our way back."
After lunch we drove up the Kuhio Highway and stopped at little tourist shops that littered the road.
Stephanie got a picture frame that had a turtle on it, a turtle t-shirt for herself, a Hawaiian shirt for her dad, a keychain and several magnetized picture frames.
We dropped our rental car off at the airport and got back to the ship with fifteen minutes to spare. At 1:55 Sport texted that they were still in line at the airport to return the car, had already called an Uber but wouldn't be back for 15 minutes. I walked with Stephanie to the gangplank and the two crewmembers there. They assured me that no one was allowed off the boat but we wouldn't be leaving immediately and anyone trying to get back on would be allowed.
The second crewmember told me quietly that they didn't advertise it but since it was our last port he would tell me that the ship usually stays an extra hour at each stop to catch the stragglers. That people often don't leave enough time to return rental cars or catch the bus and are often late. I texted Sport the ship would wait but to hurry. If I told him they had an hour and he told Oshanna she would find more things to stop and do on the way back.
This was Sport's first time watching Oshanna alone, I reminded myself, and he had not been warned of her propensity for delay. We had a quiet afternoon on board the ship. Stephanie wanting to work on her tan poolside under the strong Hawaiian sun. Just since yesterday I could see she was getting darker. I brought my laptop and did work cleaning up the Colombian mess and making sure Bones had been able to get all the necessary information to the new business owners so they could take over on Monday.
He warned me that the mid-manager that was supposed to make sure everyone got six months pay never notified him that the task was complete and when he looked at the account there was only one transfer of funds from the account and it had drained the account of every penny. I asked him to follow the money and get it back.
Thirty minutes later he notified me that it had all been transferred to the manager's private account and then transferred again to an account in his wife's name. That plane tickets were bought for France and Wednesday a large withdrawal of $8,000 had been made. The plane tickets were scheduled to fly out yesterday on Thursday. I told Bones to strip him of every penny he had left in the account and put it back into the business account it had come out of then change the password. I couldn't get the cash back but I had him cancel the tickets for the return flight.
I had to go back to our room to get the Sergio folder that had all the information in it. I found the list of managers and pulled out my satellite phone. It didn't take long to find out that the manager in question had turned his notice in the same day he stole all the money. I found out his secretary was left with all the empty accounts and no way to make payroll. I talked to her directly and promoted her to the manager's position. She told me what was needed and I transferred the money to the account she specified. She told me it would take two days to get everyone paid but that she would have each field and plant manager call their employees directly to tell them their paychecks would be ready next Wednesday. I thanked her and gave her a nice raise to go along with her promotion.
I made reservations for us at one of the onboard steak house restaurants. We returned to our room and got dressed up for dinner. Stephanie in a beautiful clingy blue dress and me in my suit. We had a nice quiet romantic dinner and she looked through all the pictures on my phone.
"I want to put some pictures up in your apartment."
"Our apartment." I corrected her.
"Our apartment." she repeated.
"I don't mind a few nice pictures but you're not going to turn it into my mother's house where every surface is covered in pictures." I said.
"Just some pictures of this trip and your family. I'd like some pictures of Julie around for when she comes to visit."
At 19:00 I followed her to one of the theaters that was having a comedy show. It was pretty good and kept me entertained so I didn't just sweep her back to our bedroom for some night time lovin'. After the show we walked on the deck again to see the stars and just hold hands. When we have our honeymoon I wanted lots of alone time with her. Knowing I was going to be getting everyone up early I texted my family to get up at 06:00 so we could leave the ship by 07:00. Then I took Stephanie to bed so she could get enough sleep.
To be continued….
A/N: Thank you all for your reviews! They are truly loved and appreciated! Only two more chapters left to enjoy Hawaii and get everyone back home safely. Please read and review.
Yes I forgot it was Friday I had some work to finish on this chapter so I am late but thanks for the reminder.
As always big THANK YOU to my beta Sassysaint for all your encouraging!
Second Big THANK YOU to my sister, Jonelle. Thank you for fixing all my many little mistakes.