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to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
    She was shaking her head before he finished. “I don’t want Nani in danger. She’s special. Nothing can be allowed to happen to her.”
    “Nothing will. We’d put a camera on her and let her patrol the waters. If anything showed up, we’d be right there. She would never be asked to stop an intruder, just tag them like the dolphins did in the Persian Gulf War. Apprehension would be my job.”
    “The whole thing is your job,” Kaia said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Count us out.”
    “I can’t. I need you.”
    “I’m sorry. It’s just not possible.”
    He hadn’t expected such uncompromising refusal. She had to know how valuable dolphins had been to the navy in the past. They had cleared the shipping lanes of explosives during the Iraqi war in a fraction of the time it would have taken divers to do the same. Her dolphins could save lives and man hours. But Jesse could tell from the finality in her voice that he’d get nowhere being a nice guy. Her boss at Seaworthy Labs needed to agree to this anyway. Maybe he could get him to order her to help.

Three
    T wo days later, Jesse waved at Duncan Latchet, who stood outside Jo-Jo’s Clubhouse in Waimea. Jo-Jo’s made the best shave ice on the island, though the ramshackle wooden building that housed it was enough to scare away the tourists. Duncan already had his treat. Jesse’s mouth watered just thinking of his favorite—banana shave ice with macadamia-nut ice cream in the bottom. He’d missed it during the twelve years he’d spent on the mainland. The pale imitations they’d called Hawaiian ice were nothing like the real thing.
    “Thanks for meeting me,” Jesse told his friend as he joined him with shave ice in hand. He scooped a bite into his mouth before sitting beside Duncan. Duncan was a year older than Jesse, but they’d played football together for the Red Raiders, the Kaua’i High School team. Duncan looked every inch his forty years and then some. His blond hair was thinning on top, and weary lines marked his mouth.
    “No problem. You said it was important.”
    “Yeah, I hate to have to involve you, but I don’t know what to do. I heard your brother just bought Seaworthy Labs, right?”
    “You’re sure on top of things. That just went through. He’s excited about it. He’s got some great contacts in the park business. Why do you ask?”
    “I need a favor from one of their employees.” He told Duncan about Kaia and her dolphin.
    “No problem. It’s the least I can do after you helped me get that navy contract. Though some days I wonder what I’m doing there.” Duncan laughed, a tired sound.
    “More work than you imagined, huh?” It felt good to talk to Duncan again. They had exchanged heated words when Christy died, and their relationship had never fully recovered. Jesse doubted that it ever would. Duncan tended to imagine himself a knight in shining armor, and in this instance, he’d failed to rescue the fair maiden.
    “More work for less money. I shouldn’t have cut my margins so low.” Duncan took a bite of the ice cream in the bottom of his shave ice. “I’m not complaining though. It will pay off with more work in the long run.” He wiped his fingers on a napkin and tossed it and the ice cup into the trash. “I’ll call you tonight. I’m sure Curtis will see to it that you get the help you need. This is for our own security.”
    “Exactly,” Jesse said, digging into the macadamia-nut ice cream in the bottom of his cup with as much satisfaction as he could muster. He knew he’d hear fireworks from Kaia when she found out. For some reason, he almost looked forward to it.
    “You heard from Jillian lately?”
    Duncan’s question was almost too casual. Jesse glanced at him and suppressed a grin. Duncan and Jesse’s sister had dated in high school but had broken up when Duncan went away to Honolulu for college. Jillian, several years younger, wasn’t ready to