wrath of the Sea Queen (135 page)

"
Ok,
let's
assume that what you say is true.  If Scott is the same person, and if he
did have
something to do with the crash, then I
will
stay out of
his
sight.  He would definitely recognize me. 
His uncle saw me at the lighthouse earlier, but I doubt he knows who I am. 
I
wi
ll have to
tell
Ben, too.  Of course, this means we might have to skip the awards dinner on Friday.
  I don't want you to leave the hotel while
I'm
gone.
  Promise me you'll stay here.
"
 

C
a
eli
again considered
trying to convince Vin to let her g
o
to the conference with him
.  It was a passing notion because h
e was adamant about her safety, especially after
her
revelation
this morning. 
She
w
ould not deny Vin that peace of mind. 
Unfortunately, Ben
had not been able to
convince Salma to change her mind
merely
because of the
protestor
s.
  Salma refused to let them scare her away
from the very reason she was on the island in the first place
.
  She did not come all this way and endure the trials of the journey only to spend the rest of the week hidden away, thereby allowing the work that would benefit so many to be omitted from the conference.

"
I understand, Vin. 
If it will be easier on you
to have
me stay here
, then I
wi
ll stay
.  Besides, I've only been able to help you so far by being out of your way and from a distance
.
"

"
Thank you,
Honey
, I think.  Please don't go out of your way looking for ways to help; but I will certainly call if I need you
.
"
 

"
Ok. 
Please b
e careful, Vin.  These protests might be
nothing more than
a diversion
,
but they can still be dangerous
.
 
If you remember, t
hose men at the lighthouse yesterday were
protestor
s, too.
  They nearly killed you.
"

"
Don't worry.  I
wi
ll
be fine, and I will
bring everyone back safely,
"
Vin said as he placed his hand on
C
a
eli's
belly one last time, kissed her, and headed off to join the others
already waiting
in Apela's truck.

CHAPTER
32

The crowd
in
front of the hotel was larger than any
of them
anticipated
.  As Apela turned his
white
truck into the hotel parking lot, the vehicle was stopped by a barricade and a
n approaching
security officer.  Once
the officer confirmed
Salma's identity, they were escorted
forward
by two black SUVs.  One drove in front of Apela
's truck
, and the other stayed to their left, placing itself between the
ir vehicle
and the group of
protestor
s.  They were led to an area cordoned off on the right side of the hotel near a secluded entrance.

They could hear the crowd getting worked up as they drove
by
.  They were shouting a variety of slogans
;
some religious, some
political, some
slanderous, and some were
downright
absurd.  A few raw eggs even managed to hit the
truck’s
windshield.  Salma held tightly to Ben's hand.  She was glad that he decided to come with her instead of staying at the hotel as she
had
originally asked him to do.  S
alma
never dreamed there would be such an outcry because of her work.

"
Don’t worry, Love.  People are often afraid of what they don’t understand.  They will eventually see the good in what you do.
"
  Ben offered her
a few words of support.

"
Do you really believe that?
"

"
I do.
"
  Ben grinned and gave her a special look as he spoke those two words to her again.

"
Thank you, Ben.  You always know the right words to say to make me feel better.
"

Once Apela parked the truck, the four were rushed inside
,
sheltered from distant cameras by large, black umbrellas carried by
members of
the security crew.  A smiling face suddenly
popped out from under one of
overhanging brims and
appeared beside Apela.

"
H
i
.  I'm sorry about the inconvenience, but there was no better way to get you safely inside.
"

The large man Vin met at the levee now w
ore
a security jacket and h
eld
one of the umbrellas as they hurried inside.

"
Maku, it's good to see you again,
"
Vin greeted the man who
had
also helped with
his
and Jeremy's rescue.

"
Maku, how did you land this gig?
"
  Apela greeted his friend.

"
I got a
recommendation from the
head of
security over at the
arena
. 
T
he pay is good.  They really think this doctor lad
y is important, someone special,
"
Maku unsuccessfully attempted to lower his voice so that only Apela would hear his comment.

"
I certainly think so,
"
Ben cleared his throat and chimed in as they entered the hotel and were immediately led into a
n empty
, c
onference room
on the ground floor
.  At the same time, other members of the security team came to
retrieve
Salma
and take her to the t
enth floor suite where her seminar was
to
be held.  The guys would be able to watch from a table at the back of the room, but would have to enter through a different door.
 
Naturally, Ben
opposed
the idea.

"I don't see any reason why I can't go with you.  It's ridiculous." 
He insisted that he would be going anywhere that Salma went.

"Please don't make a scene, Ben.  I've actually had to do this at my last three seminars."
 
Salma assured
him that this was not unusual.  She often had to leave her guests and let security escort her to the appropriate location.  It was standard procedure to ensure the safety of the speaker
with even the slightest
hint of potential trouble
.  Ben could understand th
e
concept, though he still did not like it. 
Nowadays, even security guards had their price.  Ben preferred to ensure Salma's safety himself.

Salma again tried to convince him that she would be
perfectly safe.  Ben finally agreed
to let her go
on the condition that if he did not see her up in that room in exactly five minutes, he
would
start tearing the hotel apart piece by piece looking for her.  Salma kissed him quickly and then
left with the
assigned
security staff.
  When she was out of sight, Ben turned to join the others in the room.

"
Maku, this is Ben Erickson.  Ben,
this is
my friend, Maku. 
He
i
s the one
, obviously,
with the name you asked about.  W
e grew up together.  I think of him like my brother.  I even tried to get him hooked up with my sister, but she seems to fall for the less savory type.
"

"
Ben, this is the guy from the levee,
"
Vin added.

"
Pleased to meet you, Maku,
"
Ben extended his hand in greeting.  Maku reached out and
hesitantly
shook
it
.  Apela and Vin both noticed the awkwardness between the two men.

"
You have an i
nteresting name.  Is that a family name? 
Apela tells me it is not
common here on the island
,
"
Ben asked curiously.  Vin caught the hint of something else in
Ben’s
voice
.

"
No.  I
ha
ve never run into anyone else who shared my name.  I suppose it is not very common, though it is
an
old,
island name,
"
Maku answered. 
Maku
was certain
that
he knew why the doctor's husband was asking.