Page 9 of Temptation (Temptation 1)

I exhaled a relieved breath. “Thanks, man.”

“I can’t promise we’ll find anything. It very well could have been Caleb and we arrested the right guy.” He paused, narrowing his gaze on mine. “And it’s possible Claire did kill herself. If we want any answers, we need to go back to the start. To that night.”

He held my stare for a beat, an unspoken agreement passing between us. Then he stood. “I’m heading down to The Shack. Care to join me? Or is loco moco not in that fancy diet of yours?”

My mouth watered at the mention of the famous Hawaiian dish. Even more so at his mother’s version of it.

The Barbecue Shack, or The Shack, as locals affectionately referred to it, was Nikko’s family’s legacy. What his grandmother had started as a literal shack on the beach offering small, Hawaiian-inspired food in the 1950s had blossomed into a local legend. While it was no longer a small hut, the restaurant now housed in a piece of prime ocean-front real estate on the windward side of Oahu, it still served some of the best food anyone could find in all of Hawaii.

“Eme would love to see you,” he teased, using the term of endearment we all used when referring to his mother. She may not have given birth to me, but she was as much my mother as my own mum was. Even more so now that my mum was gone.

“I’d love to see her, too.” I scrubbed a hand down my face, eyelids drooping. “But can I take a rain check? My flight didn’t get in until late last night, so I was going to rest today. Try to adjust my body to the correct time zone.”

“Tonight then. Eme already knows you’re in town. If you don’t come to the restaurant to see her, she’ll take offense. Trust me.” He shivered dramatically. “You don’t want to be on her bad side.”

“Don’t I know it.” I playfully rolled my eyes. “I’ll stop by later on. Promise.”

“Good.” He extended his hand. I placed mine in his, allowing him to pull me up. He gave me a quick hug before releasing me. “Then we’ll give you a proper homecoming, just me and the boys.”

I pulled back a bit, gaze narrowed. “What exactly will that entail?”

A devilish smile tugged on his lips. “Nothing but the best for Pohili.”