plopped herself on a fallen log not far from it and waited for the crab to reemerge, aiming her camera in hopes of a close-up.
She continued staring at the burrow until a new noise intruded on the soft drizzle. A rumble from the island’s interior. At its widest, the Palmyra Atoll was only a half mile across. For some reason, Yvonne thought the sound was reaching her from the opposite side of the island.
She stood and peered into the thick foliage. The noise grew quickly, coming toward her. It sounded like a thousand elephants stampeding, knocking down every tree as they charged. Yvonne stepped back involuntarily, stopping only when her boots were splashed by the surf.
She spotted movement in the forest. It was indistinct at first, but within seconds it resolved into an image that took Yvonne a moment to comprehend. A churning mass of water raged toward her, uprooting and splintering every tree in its path. She couldn’t have been more shocked than if it had actually been elephants.
She froze, paralyzed, her voice choked by fear. The roar was so loud that it seemed to go through her, and the wind pushed before the wall of water blew the hood of her windbreaker backward. Yvonne’s eyes locked in terror on the rushing mountain of debris, and she hopelessly wished that she could find some kind of burrow to plunge into as the crab had done.
As the water reached the beach, the closest palm tree—the same one that had seemed so solid when the crab had climbed it—was yanked out of the ground. Just before it crushed Yvonne, she finally screamed.
FOUR
As was usual on Oahu, the May morning was bright blue, with just a few wisps of mist perched on the mountains northeast of Honolulu. The flowers lining the path contributed their sweet aroma to the ocean breeze that tickled the trees. The forecast was eighty and sunny. Kai sighed contentedly as he soaked in the warmth. Teresa and the kids couldn’t have picked better weather for a day at the beach. They were busy packing the boogie boards into the Jeep when the center’s security gate hummed to life. Kai saw a jet black Harley idling on the other side, the distinctive exhaust gurgling.
“Oh no,” he said.
“What’s with the Hell’s Angel?” Teresa said.
“It’s Brad.”
“The playboy, huh? This ought to be good.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Believe me, I’m immune. Divorce will do that for you. What’s he doing here?”
“I have no idea, but I bet I won’t like it.” Since Kai’s move back to Hawaii, Brad stopped by on a regular basis to pester Kai into doing something crazy with him, usually while Kai was supposed to be working.
Brad tore up the drive at a rate that Kai didn’t think possible. He screeched to a stop next to the group, hopped off his bike, and flipped off his mirrored helmet in one move. Kai felt a flare of envy at Brad’s effortless grace, which complemented his rugged surfer-dude appeal.
Brad ruffled his fingers through his thick blond hair and clapped Kai on the shoulder.
“Great day for a round of golf, wouldn’t you say?” Brad waved to the sky as if it had bestowed this day at his request.
Before Kai could answer, Lani ran up and jumped into Brad’s arms.
“Uncle Brad!”
“Hello, my darlin’!” He spun her around and then dropped her and gave her a huge smile. “You are looking as pretty as ever. What? You’re heading to the beach and didn’t invite me?”
Another voice piped up. It was Mia.
“You can come with us if you want,” she said, her eyes wide at the sight of Brad’s tight T-shirt, muscular arms, and sky blue eyes. Her mouth was slightly agape, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. He usually had that effect on women, even thirteen-year-olds.
“And you must be the lovely Mia I’ve heard so much about.” Brad took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Kai thought Mia would melt into the pavement.
“And I must be her mother, Teresa Gomez,” Teresa said. She seemed unaffected by Brad’s physical gifts and looked a little disturbed at her daughter’s reactions to this thirty-five-year-old smooth talker.
“Brad Hopkins.” They shook hands. “So you’re the doctor?”
“Third-year resident.”
“Well, it’s great you got some time off to come visit. I see you’re ready to enjoy our fine weather.” Brad looked her in the eye, but Kai knew he had already given her tall, tan figure the once-over from behind that mirrored visor.
Teresa rolled her eyes, but Kai could see that she was amused. “Your brother is exactly like you said he was.”
Even though the only physical feature Brad and Kai shared was their six-foot height, they were indeed brothers. Half brothers, specifically. When Kai was four, his father died of cancer. Kai’s mother remarried within a year. She was wooed by Charles Hopkins, owner of Hopkins Realty, one of the most successful real estate companies in the islands. They immediately produced Kai’s little brother, Brad, and Charles adopted Kai. Although Kai kept his birth father’s last name, they were a close family. But it was apparent from an early age that Charles was grooming Brad to take over the business. That was fine with Kai. He had no interest in real estate or business. Science was always his passion.
When their parents died in a car crash five years ago, the estate had been split between them, but Brad kept control of the company. Being a consummate playboy, he enjoyed the freedom the business gave him. He could party all night, play golf the next morning, and still have time to close a major hotel deal before the sun set. No wife, no kids, no responsibility for anything but his business. Even though Kai loved his life, sometimes he wished he could trade places with Brad.
Brad flicked his eyes at Kai. “So I hope all you heard was good things about me.”
“Don’t worry, haole,” Kai said. “Your dark secrets are safe with me.”
“Haole?” Teresa said to Brad. “That your nickname?” Brad laughed. “To some people. It’s Hawaiian for ‘white boy.’ At least he didn’t call me ‘ass-haole.’”
Kai shook his head in mock disgust. “See what I have to deal with? I’m thinking about changing the gate code. Again.”
“It is so freakin’ boring around here, you need me to come in and liven things up.” Brad winked at Teresa. “I swear, this is the most secure nerd farm in the world. I don’t know why they need a fence around this place, anyway. Who wants to break in here?”
“That decision was before my time, after the Oklahoma City bombing. I suppose the higher-ups thought some nut would think we were a secret CIA base and try to blow us up.”
“Whatever. Come on, Kai. Let’s go shoot a round of golf.”
“I have work to do this morning. Some of us work most days.”
“Today is Memorial Day, you know. A holiday?”
“Not for me. The director is on vacation, so I’m in charge while he’s gone.”
“So give yourself the day off,” Brad said. “Hop on.”
“You know there’s no way I’m getting on that thing. You drive like a maniac, and I hate donorcycles.” Kai had adopted Teresa’s nickname for motorcycles, so-called because a disproportionate number of organ donations came from motorcycle crash victims. “You’re about as likely to get me on that thing as I am to get you scuba diving.”
Brad’s smile vanished. “That’s not funny.”
“Why not?” Teresa said.
“He had a scuba diving accident a long time ago.”
“It wasn’t an accident,” Brad said with a scowl. “It was a near-death experience.” “You’ve got my attention,”
