I gathered everyone in the kitchen of the tree house—Tara and Oliver, Kate, Jenna, Dad, and Kaci. Deacon and Royce stood against the back wall. No one had any objections to moving to Oahu—though Tara was worried about the safety of the trip with Oliver. Kate’s sensitive stomach—she had severe morning sickness—was also a concern, but everyone was up for trying.
I wasn’t meant to hear about the planned rescue attempt, but I was in the bathroom when Deacon and Royce passed by, and I remained silent so I could hear every word. Apparently, big hurricanes here brought major flooding, so much of the entire pink house property on Kauai could end up underwater. That was the one flaw in the captors’ defense system—the low elevation of their compound. Trigger and Twix were planning on being on Kauai when the hurricane hit—supposedly they were already on their way there—as close to the property as they could get. They wanted to make sure the captors didn’t move the prisoners—or flee without them—in the wake of the approaching storm. Damien was going to cut the power to all of the islands, including the Hexagon—tomorrow evening—so no one would have an eye on the scene, and Trigger and Twix would then try to breach the house. I heard Deacon say it was their only hope. I wasn’t convinced.
I could only imagine what could go wrong. I envisioned Trigger and Twix being seen somehow and Emily being killed—Abbey and Reagan too. I wanted to step out of the bathroom and tell them I thought it was a mistake… but I didn’t. What if it works? What if this is the only reasonable chance we have?
I exited the bathroom and found Dad in the kitchen. I told him what I’d overheard, and none of it surprised him. His only advice was, “Don’t say a word of this to Tara.”
I went back to our cabin, where Tara was busy packing for Oahu. I agreed with Dad that I shouldn’t say anything to her, but I also knew she didn’t trust me. How would she feel if she found out I’d kept this from her? It was her daughter whose life was at stake.
I decided—against all instincts and wisdom—to test the waters. “Tara, what do you know about hurricanes?”
“They’re big storms.” She basically ignored me.
Duh. “Yeah, I know. I mean, is there a lot of flooding with hurricanes? Are there tsunamis?”
“Sometimes… maybe… Ryan, I don’t have time to play twenty questions with you right now. What’s your point? What’s with this crap?”
Don’t be an idiot, Ryan. Don’t say it. “Sorry, I don’t know. I guess I’m just nervous.” Don’t say it. “I’ve seen videos of other hurricanes, and thought if there were big waves and flooding maybe…”
She walked out of the room, and I didn’t get to finish my sentence. I walked over to my closet and pulled out an overnight bag. I opened a drawer and grabbed a pair of jeans. Then I heard her voice behind me. “Maybe what?”
She startled me, and I glanced back. She was no longer moving around. She was standing still in the doorway, staring at me with a serious look on her face.
“I don’t know.”
“Ryan.”
I hate that look. Don’t say it. “Well…” Don’t say it. “The property where they are—where Emily is at—it’s not that far above sea level.”
“And?”
I sighed deeply. Don’t say it. “So… what if it floods? What if the house—” I saw her face blanch. You idiot.
“Can it—” She stopped herself. I nodded. “Ryan… what if it—”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Tara.” She looked even more worried now. Didn’t think that was possible. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Tara didn’t disagree. Instead she turned around, calling over her shoulder, “Watch Ollie.” And she ran out the front door.
Crap.
She came back twenty minutes later. I tried to decipher her expression. All I saw was concern.
“What’d you find out?”
“You’re right. If this storm is anywhere near a Category 4, there will probably be major flooding. There always is on Kauai. That compound will probably be underwater.”
I didn’t know what to say. I watched her sit on the bed and put her head in her hands. I sat down beside her but didn’t touch her. “What are you thinking?”
“We have to do something.” I was afraid you’d say that. “Deacon says there’s nothing we can do, but I don’t accept that.”
I knew you wouldn’t. “Maybe they’re—”
“Don’t say it.” She stood and angrily shoved a drawer closed. “Don’t you dare say it. Don’t tell me they might be right. I don’t accept there’s nothing we can do.”
There were tears in her eyes. I struggled to find the right words. “Tara, we have to trust them. I’m sure they have a plan.”
Her eyes burnt into mine then—so much so that I had to look away. “Ryan, is there something you’re not telling me?”
I should have said yes. I should have told her. But I didn’t. Instead I shook my head. Instead I said, “No. Of course not.”
I could tell she didn’t entirely believe me. It was also obvious she was really angry. She didn’t say another word to me. We finished packing and took our gear over to the tree house. I ignored my dad’s glare as we carried our bags through the kitchen and climbed the stairs to the deck. He had been right. We both knew that. I just didn’t listen.
We lowered our packs down the zip line to the docks and loaded up the boat for the ride to Oahu. Looking out to the open water, it already didn’t look good. The waves were bigger than normal—rougher than usual. It would have been one thing if they’d all been rolling in the same direction, but they weren’t. Deacon was driving the boat, and he was clearly uncomfortable taking us out into the open water. I saw him glancing at Kate, who had already thrown up once, and we’d barely hit any rough patches yet.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Deacon hollered into the wind. Dad and Tara were both nodding, so I nodded too. Deacon turned the boat around and took us back to the docks.
Royce was going to take the other boat to Kauai after we left—to join Trigger and Twix. He was still standing on the docks when we came back in. “What’s going on?”
“It’s too dangerous,” Dad replied.
“Unless the water really calms down,” Deacon chimed in. “There’s no way I’m taking them out there. The boat capsizes and we’re dead—all of us.”
As the others headed back up to the tree house, I turned and saw Royce and Deacon standing on the beach, staring across the water at Kauai. They were probably trying to decide where they were needed most. Did they leave us here and go help with the rescue attempt, or stay here and help us face the storm? I hollered ahead to Tara that I’d catch up, but she never even looked back. Awesome. I jogged back to the guys on the beach.
“What’s up, Ryan?” Deacon asked.
“I was in the bathroom when you guys were talking about the rescue.” I watched for a reaction but didn’t get one. “Anyway, I don’t know anything about military operations, but it would seem to me that four would be better than two for that.”
They glanced at each other, and Deacon nodded. He patted me on the shoulder. “You’re right, my man. But we can’t exactly leave you guys here either.”
I picked up a rock and skipped it across the cove. “I get it guys. It’s your call. I just would hate to see Trigger and Twix fail because they didn’t have all the angles covered. And I live with someone who would take it worse than you can imagine. Dad and I have this under control. Seriously. You can go.”