Tall palm trees swayed in the breeze, and he thought about his time with Sam in California, before they'd saved her friends. She'd hated the palm trees in Venice, but otherwise seemed to like it there. The trees did seem to fit in better here. Drake had always wanted to go to Hawaii, but wished he'd come under different circumstances. The waves called to him, but he ignored them. He had to find his daughter first, and kill the man who took her.
They arrived at the hotel and settled in, Drake, Sam and Toby sharing a suite. Toby had a lot to learn about manners after spending so much of his childhood on the streets, so Drake made the rules really clear.
"We need to keep this place clean, okay? So take your shoes off while in the room, don't call room service without permission, and don't take anything in the hotel without permission—even the bottled water. It all costs money. Okay? Oh, and don't leave!"
Trying to keep an eye on a kid who could turn invisible at will was a nightmare. Drake hoped he'd never have to deal with such things with his own daughter.
Oh God, what if she can use mind control as a baby? That would be worse. His only consolation was that it took a few years for para-powers to manifest, so they'd have time to figure out how to handle that.
He looked back to the boy, who hadn't said anything. "Toby, do you understand? This is important."
Toby saluted. "Yes sir. Do I have permission to use the bathroom, sir?"
"Right now?"
The kid stood at rigid attention. "I really need to take a shit, sir."
He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Fine."
Sometimes Toby acted like a kid, and sometimes like a teenager. Guess he must be at that age. What do they call them? Tweens? It sounded scary.
Sam grinned. "You're cute with him."
"Me?"
"Both of you. You're almost like father and son. At least, that's the way it is in the movies."
He'd never had a father, but neither had Sam. She probably had less understanding of family than he did. At least he'd had foster families, for better or worse, and Father Patrick. But if that made him the expert on families, they were in trouble.
Talk about one dysfunctional family. Poor Ana will grow into a very interesting person. We'd better save up for therapy.
"So what's the plan? How do we get Ana back?"
Sam had been pacing the room and finally sat on the bed, her back stiff and posture unyielding. "We wait an hour for Lucy to contact me. If she doesn't, we go ahead on our own."
Drake didn't like waiting, but he didn't like going ahead alone either. Still, he'd do whatever it took.
Toby came out of the bathroom, and Sam stood again. "I'm going to take a shower." She grabbed her bag and closed the door behind her.
Drake stepped outside and leaned against their door. The smell of saltwater and the sound of waves washed over him. Once again he wished this had been a fun getaway for him and Sam, rather than the worst kind of rescue mission.
A few minutes later, Darren strolled over, which didn't surprise Drake. "Hey, I was just coming to check up on you guys and see how Sam's doing."
Sure you did. "We're fine. Sam's fine. Thanks." Drake blocked the door.
Darren stepped back. "I didn't mean any disrespect. She's my friend and I know this is hard for her."
"Cut the bullshit, Dude. I know your game. Let me make this clear: Sam is mine. Back the hell off."
Darren smirked. "Is she? Because it didn't look that way on the plane. She can barely look at you. You left her at the worst possible time. You broke her heart, and now you're acting like you own her. You didn't see her fall apart and put herself back together. You weren't the one there for her these last few months. Do you really think she's going to want you back when all of this is over?"
Drake wanted to punch him, but couldn't—and not just because of Sam. Darren was right. What if he'd screwed up things too badly? Clearly nothing he'd done since coming back had been right. Sam could barely stand being around him, and would probably avoid him even more if not for Toby. Still, Darren had no business getting in the middle of the situation.
"Sam and I have been through hell and back. We didn't let anything stop us—not the fact that we were miles apart, nor the fact that she hated my powers. Through all of that, I had her love. What do you have?"
"I'm not the guy who left her and her baby. You're the bad guy here, Drake. It's time for you to see that."
Darren walked away and Drake slumped against the door.
Have I truly passed the point of redemption? Could be....
Chapter 107 – Lucy
Wind whipped Lucy's ponytail into Hunter's face, but he didn't seem to mind as he held her tightly around the waist. Even Luke didn't pout when placed behind Hunter. He was just happy to ride a beetle.