Dixie Under Siege (A Warrior's Passion #2) - Natasza Waters Page 0,75

misunderstanding and he was Mother Theresa. “This a public establishment. Dixie is an old friend. Nothing to concern yourselves with.” He gave Josh a two finger salute. “As you were, SEAL.” He chuckled and swept past Josh and the admiral, toward the door.

Dix ran after him and saw Austen had Josh by the arm to hold him in place.

“Why? Why all the notes? Following me from state to state.” She shook her head. “You need help.”

Chandler smiled over his shoulder. “No. You need me, Dix.” He faced her. “The knuckle-dragging sailor over there doesn’t have what I have, does he?” He opened the door, then paused and lowered his voice. “For now, our secret is safe. If you get my meaning.”

Dixie’s legs suddenly felt as heavy as anchors. “Don’t hurt Josh,” she said quietly.

A quirk of a smile lifted his mouth. “I won’t, if you follow my orders.” She swallowed, then nodded.

Kayla appeared on her left side. “I think you better get the fuck out of this shop and never come back.” She stepped in front of Dix. “Put all that psychopathic intelligence to good use and stop. If you insist on playing this sick game, I guarantee you’re gonna pay the price. Your family’s pedigree isn’t going to save you this time.”

Chandler’s eyes narrowed and for the first time, the cocky smile melted from his lips. “Why, Sheila, it seems you’ve lost your accent.” He winked. “Be careful, you have a lot more to lose.” Then he left the shop.

Dixie palmed her chest as Josh’s thick arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind.

“It’s okay, babe.”

She turned and rested her cheek against his firm pecs as Lumin joined them.

Kayla glared at Chandler’s quick retreat down the sidewalk, then she turned toward them. “He came in here to confirm whether or not Dixie knew the truth. What happened last night?” She glared at her husband. “Out with it, because I know you lied to me.”

Ghost straightened his line-backer shoulders. “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t detail the events.”

“Thane, sometimes I want to—”

The admiral raised his hand to stop his wife from sprinting into a tirade.

“I shot a flare through his back window,” Josh admitted.

Dix stepped from his embrace. “Why?” Angry as hell at Josh for doing something so stupid. “Why provoke him?”

“A distraction,” he answered.

Kayla wasn’t satisfied, by the scowl on her expression. “From what?”

Dix wondered the same thing. “You said he was having sex with a prostitute.”

Josh glanced at the admiral.

“That’s true,” the admiral stated.

Dixie wasn’t following at all. “Then why would you do that? He has the right to screw whoever he wants.”

Kayla tipped her head to the side, her gaze arcing like a welding torch at her husband. “There’s something missing here.”

The admiral’s wife definitely had the ability to shred her husband with a piercing look of her own.

Admiral Austen sighed. “Is there a good reason why you cannot be a wife and a mother and leave it at that?”

Watching Thane and Kayla spar certainly took Dixie’s mind off her own troubles, even if the subject matter was her problem.

“Spit it out, Thane. Right now.” Kayla pointed at the floor between them. “What did you see?”

Josh shook his head as if defending a secret, or didn’t want the admiral to reveal what they hid.

Thane palmed his wife’s slender arms. “Kayla, it’s too close, okay? I know how you’re going to react. For once, will you just back the hell down?” the admiral implored.

Lumin interrupted. “Dixie, I want you to file a restraining order. I’ll help you with the paperwork and I know a judge who will sign off on this. I’ve worked with him many times on abuse cases. We have the notes and we have the video and the witnesses here today. It will be enough.”

Dixie nodded. “Yeah. I’ll do it.”

They’d raised enough fuss to attract the attention of the few customers that were in the store. They’d kept the decibels down but just from the vibes, people kept darting glances their way.

“I’ll talk to you tonight, Dixie,” Kayla said.

“Sure.”

“Thane! We’re going home.”

The admiral squinted and his rugged jaw set into a hard angle. “We’re not discussing this.”

“Oh, yes we are,” she said, following him out the door.

Lumin shrugged her shoulders, her pretty features whimsical. “Don’t worry about them. They can get a little intense sometimes. I remember when I first saw them spar, I thought all hell was breaking loose. Tony informed me they hadn’t even begun to argue. You’ll get used to it. In the