Terence mentally braced himself as he picked up the ultra-private phone he used only for his informant network. Good news seldom came through this line. “This is T.”

“T. I like that! Terence, I thought I should give you a call.” His cousin Penny’s receptionist had one of those breathy, little-girl voices he’d recognize anywhere. “Your cuz won’t call you, but I thought you should know a couple of haoles were asking about you. Supposedly they have a travel agency business, but I smell cop. Penny did too.”

“Tell me more.” Terence grabbed a pen and jotted down the girl’s descriptions of the visitors: a tall, pretty, mixed-race woman, and a large Caucasian man with “a military vibe.” He jotted down Follow Me Faraway Travel Agency and the email and phone number they’d left on a business card.

“You asked me to listen in on Penny, so this is what I got. The two were asking her about the Merrie Monarch Festival and what she did for them. Then the woman, Mary Watson, pretended to be a classmate of yours and asked to meet up with you. Penny told me she thought they were undercover cops. She said she’d just let nature take its course, hoping they catch you doing something wrong. I get the feeling Penny hopes getting busted is the least of what happens to you. No offense.”

“None taken. You did right, gorgeous.” Terence injected his voice with a sexy enthusiasm he didn’t feel. This girl was angling for a relationship as well as a tip to her paycheck, but he’d never cozy up to a woman willing to sell out her employer even if it benefited him. “Look for a little something special from me in the mail.”

Ending the call, Terence tightened his lips. The last thing he needed right now was a pair of cops sniffing around.

His shoulders, arms, and back still ached from dealing with the corpses of his relatives. Other than Emma, there was no one he trusted enough to help him dispose of the bodies. The complete disappearance of an entire family would muddy the waters of whether or not murder had been committed, an important element with so many witnesses still running around.

Terence had done his internet research and found a way to get rid of the bodies permanently. That didn’t mean it hadn’t been hard and grisly work. He flexed sore hands, wishing he could cleanse his mind as well as he’d been able to wash his skin. But there was no erasing memory.

Thank God for Emma. She had nerves of steel and an iron stomach. His cousin was officially his right-hand woman.

Terence opened a browser window on one of the three monitors he had set up in the office that had been Byron’s. He searched the name and contact info of the travel agency. A basic website popped up, but digging a little deeper uncovered that it had only been opened days ago. Who were these people, and what did they want with him? Be interesting to take the bull by the horns and find out.

Terence called the phone number that Penny’s receptionist had given him.

A woman with a sexy accent answered, “Follow Me Faraway Travel Agency.”

“This is Terence Chang. I heard you were asking about me?”

A short, charged pause. “Oh. Terence. What a surprise to hear from you, and how lovely. Your cousin must have let you know I was asking about you. This is Mary Watson. We were in school together. University of Washington, class of 2009.”

Terence narrowed his eyes. “I don’t remember you.”

A husky chuckle. Her voice was oddly familiar. “I remember you. You’re very good with computers.”

“I should be. I majored in computer science.” Terence relaxed back into his chair, flipping a pencil on his fingers. Play along, see where it goes. “My cousin seems to think you and your partner are cops. Glad to hear that isn’t the case.”

“Cops? Oh no.” Mary Watson’s laugh was strained. “I can’t imagine why she thought that. We’re possible clients. Just new to the area.”

“Well. Maybe we should have a beer and catch up.” The longer the woman spoke, the surer he was that he knew her… Tall, pretty, mixed-race, with a foreign accent? Sophie Ang!

The female investigator who’d testified against Akane was out fishing again.

He’d also tangled with the woman a few years ago when she was in the FBI—Ang was a talented hacker and sleuth. She’d infiltrated his online business and uncovered his role in a shady website. The whole thing had nearly derailed his attempt to go legit and sent him to jail.

Terence had also been in the back of a police car observing when Sophie and her military jock of a partner hauled Akane out of the jungle. Since then, he’d followed everything about Akane’s case with obsessive interest, even watched Byron’s button cam recordings of the trial, discovered on his deceased cousin’s laptop.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take the time for a beer right now. Lance and I are moving this weekend. Lance’s my partner, but also my boyfriend.” Ang sounded flustered. She knew he’d recognize her if he saw her. “So much to do with our business launch, too. Can I call you again when things settle down?”

“Sure.” Terence smiled as he recited his confidential phone’s digits for her.

Sophie Ang was here in Hilo. And she was the perfect target to lure Akane out of the shadows, and possibly get him captured.

Terence ended the call and bent forward, his fingers flying as he searched for any Hilo connections to Sophie Ang. Moments later, the Security Solutions website came up with a new page added, listing a location in downtown Hilo and staffed by Sophie Ang and Jake Dunn. Each of their impressive work histories was summarized.

Terence dragged the info to a file he already had on Sophie, containing clips from the trial he’d culled from Byron’s button cam coverage of that event.

Revenge for her testimony would be at the top of Akane’s hit list. Terence had heard the venom his cousin had spouted as he was hauled out of the courtroom.

Julie Weathersby’s name had also been one of those his maniac cousin shouted as he promised vengeance. Terence had already contacted Julie’s parents to tell them that Akane had escaped. He’d suggested a long, foreign vacation for Julie—with bodyguards.

Terence was taking every precaution he could to protect anyone he cared about. He’d warned his ex-girlfriends, and Emma was stashed in his fortified house with his dogs and a team of mercenaries he’d hired from the Mainland.

Terence was in a war, and it was just beginning. Providing Akane with a target and flushing him out by pitting him against a couple of trained investigators with ties to the FBI was a smart strategy.

Still, he felt a twinge of regret as he texted the Security Solutions location info to a cousin whom he knew would pass it on to Akane. “Good luck, Sophie Ang,” he whispered. “I hope you beat him.”