and sat directly in front of him on the coffee table. “Commander, I asked you to bring Dixie, but she didn’t come.”
“She’s tired. She needs rest.”
“Does she?” Kayla asked. “Or did she send you away with an acceptable excuse?”
A tingle of discomfort ignited in his belly.
Snow White’s eyes were so dark, they hinged on black. Mesmerizing. As was the sexy, bedroom timbre of her voice.
“She feels responsible for Gesem’s disappearance, doesn’t she?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Only one of us has a direct link to Chandler Kallis, and that’s her. When you got in his way, he quickly used his assets to hack into your life. He found a playing chip. Something to barter.”
The blood in his veins chilled to sub-zero.
“Commander, I can assure you that Chandler’s family is well aware of his dysfunction. Aware of his psychopathy. They’re not ignorant of the fact he rapes his own sister. They turn a blind eye because of political image. There are two games at play here. I surmise we will learn that Gesem found a link between the human trafficking and Senator Kallis. Her demise would eliminate the problem. But Chandler wants your old flame as a bargaining chip, and Dixie will walk right into his hands.”
Josh shook his head. “Dixie’s smart. She wouldn’t fall for that.”
Ghost cleared his throat. “It’s not falling for anything, Commander. My wife has a point. SEALs have a tendency to underestimate the courage of a woman. I learned that the hard way.”
Josh rose to his feet. “You think Chandler has Gesem stashed somewhere and he’s going to force Dixie to trade her freedom for Gesem’s?”
“No, Commander.” Kayla shook her head, wearing a sympathetic smile. “I don’t think she will. I know she will.”
The idea was ludicrous to Josh. “Why would she do that?”
Kayla clasped her hands together and sighed. “Because you’re not willing to see the truth.”
“What truth?” he shouted. “If I’m so daft, clarify!”
The admiral’s low chuckle attracted his attention, and the other men in the room joined in. He didn’t see anything funny about this.
Mace slowly raised his hand, mimicking a kid in a classroom. “We’re laughing because your response to Kayla used to be the same as ours.” He shrugged. “With all due respect, sir, shouting at Snow White because you’re running blind right now is exactly the point she’s trying to make. We charge in, guns blazing. Offensive. Women, when truly threatened, use finesse and cunning to thwart the enemy.”
Josh glared at Kayla, frustrated. Worried. She tilted her head as if waiting for him to figure something out.
Kayla rose and went to stand by her husband’s chair.
Ghost wrapped his sizeable arm around his petite wife. “Commander, when it came to my wife, I was so far gone, it took me forever to join two ends of a circle. What Kayla’s trying to tell you is that there’s a missing piece. Just as I suggested.” The brief moment of humor dissipated. The admiral’s expression dead serious. “Ask yourself why a man, even a psychopath, would hunt a woman for twelve years without touching her?”
“It’s a fetish. A fantasy.” Josh shrugged.
Kayla shook her head. “No, Commander. A sport fisherman becomes obsessed with the hobby after a catch and release. Not before.”
Josh’s legs weakened. Luckily, he hadn’t moved far from the couch when his ass hit the cushions.
“No,” he said harshly. “She would have told me. At the police station, she gave Det. Dean her dating history. She mentioned nothing about…”
Kayla resumed her seat on the coffee table and covered his hand. “If you understand what I’m trying to say without betraying Dixie’s confidence, then you need to understand the aftermath. I can only describe how I saw the world and myself for many years. It doesn’t mean Dixie is the same, but…”
Ghost crossed the carpet and gently laid a hand on her shoulder, as if he knew his wife needed his touch of reassurance.
“After living through the abuse by my uncle, then my first husband, I was broken. Literally rotting from the inside out.” Kayla cleared her throat and continued. “Shame was my biggest enemy. When Thane wanted to protect me from the Blood Shark, he didn’t know about my past or that I didn’t see myself as worthy of saving. You see, most people think I’m cold and unfeeling. This is the mask I hide behind. Emotions are my worst nightmare.” She sighed. “Or I should say, they used to be. Trust did not exist in my vocabulary. In a moment of clarity, I saw