Dixie Under Siege (A Warrior's Passion #2) - Natasza Waters Page 0,62
she streaked across the front lawn.”
Josh laughed. “Did he call the cops?”
Mace snorted. “Nah, he bought a new chair for his front porch and sits there for hours in the evening.”
Grinning, he shook his head. “You got yourself a handful, marrying that woman, Callahan.”
“Yeah, I know it,” Mace said. “She’s the best fucking thing that ever happened to me. She’s a lioness when it comes to our kids, Patrick and Gabbs.” He paused. “You gonna share? We all figured out there’s history between you and Dixie.”
A sliver of moonlight shone down on the single lane highway, but otherwise it was miles of rough terrain and scrub brush as he navigated the road. “Yeah, we got history. Long story short, her old man was the town minister. He caught us in the act the summer we graduated high school. Dix and I had been tight since eighth grade. When our hormones bloomed, so did the relationship. Our parents decided we needed to get married. Dix had already been accepted to college, but I wasn’t exactly listening, being eighteen. A few days before the wedding, she called it off.”
“And?” the admiral said, raising a brow.
Josh cleared his throat. “She just wanted some time. I called it quits and left the next day to join the Navy.”
“Not good, Commander,” Mace stated.
Tex piped up from the other vehicle. “So, you’re tracking down her stalker to make amends.”
“Guess I am.”
“She’s easy on the eyes, Commander.” Tex paused. “And single.”
“Down, boy,” Lt. Bach warned. “I don’t think she’s that single. In fact, I’m willing to put money down she’s gonna give our commander a second chance. That is, if all that talk about still loving her wasn’t just BS to piss off Kallis.”
Josh switched to high beams with no oncoming traffic. “Not so sure about that, Lieutenant. I told Dix about Gesem the other night. She shut me down tighter than a hatch on a submarine. Kallis didn’t do me any favors, either.”
Tinman jumped into the convo. “No woman wants to hear about our pasts. They know we got ‘em, but prefer not to be reminded. Thanks to what Kallis said tonight about Gesem, Dixie’s gonna keep her distance until you prove your past is gonna stay in the past.”
Wasn’t that the truth. “If Gesem came to San Diego to find me, I need to locate her. Move her to safe ground. I owe her that.”
Chapter Fifteen
Melodie Kallis traversed the cement steps into the dimly lit wine cellar, carrying a plate with a ham sandwich and a bottle of water tucked under her arm. The room temperature was controlled to suit the hundreds of labels stored in cubby holed shelving. When she reached the bottom step, she paused and stared at their house guest.
A brunette sat behind a small table, tied to the chair with her mouth gagged by one of Chandler’s sadistic toys. Her gaze rose to meet Melodie’s. Ropes cinched around the woman’s wrists led to her throat. If she lowered her hands to untie the straps around her legs, the slip knot would cut off her air.
Melodie approached and slid the plate across the tabletop until it touched the lady’s pale fingers. If she wanted to eat, she’d have to lower her head.
“Eat now because I have to replace the gag when I leave.” Melodie loosened the plastic lid from the water and set it by the woman’s hand.
Shifting behind the chair, she released the ball gag. The brunette gulped a few deep breaths of cool air.
She understood the woman’s predicament. Melodie’s hands weren’t restrained, but she was a hostage, just like this lady. Sighing, she sat in the chair across the table from the woman.
The brunette closed her eyes for a moment as if to calm her nerves, then carefully drank some water. After swallowing, she asked, “I heard glass breaking. Sounded like a window. What happened?”
“I dropped something,” she lied.
The estate staff had retired for the evening. Once the chaos had calmed down, Chandler ordered the groundskeeper to clean up the mess. Melodie had taken cover in her suite then showered her brother’s touch from her body as she’d done so many times before. Minutes later, Chandler strode into her bedroom. Feed our guest, he’d ordered, then tossed the key to the wine cellar on her bed.
Used to following her brother’s orders, she went to the kitchen.
Melodie jerked her head toward the table. “I’m not staying long, so eat.”
The brunette tried a new line of questioning. “What does he want?”