A new crop of Lei Crime Kindle World books are coming your way through June, culminating in a big Facebook party on June 27. Paradise Down is D.B. McNicol’s first Lei Crime novella.
By D.B. McNicol
“What a great day. Thanks for being a such great guide, Jared. Diving Hawaii was even better than we expected. We will be calling you tomorrow to book again before we head home.”
Jared waved the clients off and walked up to the shop, thinking this was the strangest vacation he’d ever had. He was glad he’d taken two weeks or he would have had to desert Lucia before she was squared away.
Lucia. She is so sweet and so cute. He then recounted the reasons he wasn’t interested in her. One, she’s too young. Two, I have to go back to Maui and she will go to the university in Honolulu. Three, no responsibilities! Oh, and four, she’s like my kid sister.
He laughed at himself. At least he was here to help her now. He dropped his gear by the front door and enjoyed the sound of the chimes as he stepped inside. The first thing he saw was a big brown dog in front of him, growling. The second thing he saw was everything had been trashed. Someone had vandalized the shop. His head spun around, searching. “Lucia? Where are you? Damn it! Answer me!”
The dog stopped growling and whimpered. “What’s up, pup? Do you know where she is?” He took a step forward, watching for any signs of aggression from the dog. Nothing. He took another step, and another and then he saw her, laying unconscious on the floor.
“Shit! Lucia, it’s me. Jared.” He felt for a pulse and noticed the blood pooling under her head. “Hang on, help is coming.” He ran to the front porch, pulled his cell out of his dry bag and dialed 9-1-1.
“We need an ambulance and police to Dave’s Deep Dive, Anini Beach. The shop was vandalized and the owner is unconscious and bleeding from the head. This is Jared Stevens from the Maui Fire Department. I’m going to try to stop the bleeding. My cell will be beside me.” He clicked off, pulled his first aid kit out of his bag and went back inside.
The dog had lain down beside Lucia, head between its paws, but still watching every move Jared made. “It’s okay. Help is coming.” He found the source of the blood and used gauze pads for compression. The pup whimpered again. “It’s okay. Head wounds always bleed a lot. I’m more worried about a concussion.” He kept talking to Lucia and the dog, straining to hear sirens in the distance. “They’ll be here soon. It won’t be long now, just hang on.”
The front door opened and he shouted out. “Back here. In the back.”
A female voice responded. “Oh my! What happened? Is she dead? I think I feel faint.”
Jared shouted, “Don’t you dare. Please go back outside and wait for the ambulance and police. They should be here any minute.”
“Oh.” With that, she tottered back outside.
Jared looked at the dog. “Well, that was a big help, wasn’t it.” All he got in return was a whimper.
Sitting on the floor beside Lucia, Jared reflected on the damage around him. Who could have done this? And why? It made no sense. First her brother disappears and now this.
The dog perked up and gave a bark. “What, do you hear something.” Another bark and then Jared heard the sirens. “It’s about time.”
About Paradise Down
Aloha Nicholás! But will this be a hello or a goodbye?
When Lucia Santerez returns home to Hawaii to help her brother Nicholás with his new dive shop, she learns Nicholás has disappeared–and someone doesn’t want him found.
Enlisting the aid of hunky vacationing firefighter, Jared Stevens, gets them the wrong kind of attention. They discover what lies under the water off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kaua`i could make you rich or get you killed.
You can find Paradise Down exclusively on Amazon, as part of the Lei Crime Kindle World.
There are a lot more new Lei Crime Kindle World releases this month, and it’s all building up to a huge party on Facebook on June 27 with hundreds of dollars in prizes.
About the author
Visit Donna’s
And follow her on Twitter @dbmcnicol.
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Looks like your party will have a lot of great giveaways. Best of luck to the authors.