Admiral Austen said, “Fox. Mace. Cracker. You’re with me. We’ll check out that grove.”
The last person who should be involved was Austen. “Admiral, I appreciate your help, but your wife would have my nuts in a vise if I put you in the middle of a controversy. Chandler’s father is a senator. He’s probably got friends in high places.”
Austen chuckled. “So do I, Commander. Chandler thinks he’s untouchable. We’re gonna give him cause for doubt.”
Greg LaPierre, who’d been relatively quiet, said, “Absolument, mon amie. Tex, Ditz and I will keep a bird’s eye view. We see trouble, we’ll let you know. Give you time to get the hell out of there. Cause a distraction if you need one.”
Lt. Bach pointed at the rough scratches in the dirt. “I’ll take Stitch and Tadpole. We’ll check out the exterior buildings and the compost area. A little manure and lye can decompose a corpse pretty fast.”
The admiral eyed Caleb Stone. “Stitch, if anyone should stay behind, it’s you.”
The redhead with half a year of medical school behind him said, “Look who’s talking. I might be a little rusty, but you’ve been sitting behind a desk for seven years. I’m not the only one that’s put on ten pounds.”
Admiral Austen lowered his chin. “Well at least if I get a bullet in the ass, you’ll be able to extract it.”
Stitch chuckled. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve pulled buckshot out of your hide.”
Against Josh’s better judgement, he knew together they’d find answers and nodded his thanks.
****
Josh and Tinman skirted the property with the shield of darkness. They identified security cameras under the eaves of the house and a couple hidden in the palm trees. Admiral Austen and Lt. Bach’s teams spotted a few more and called them in.
Josh and Tinman approached the home from the east. Shrubs and landscaping hid their approach.
No dogs or security guards roamed the property.
Once in position behind the house, Josh saw interior lights glowing from three rooms. With no window coverings, they viewed an empty kitchen. Two more rooms were lit on the far side of the expensive dwelling.
Josh pointed toward a sculpted group of bushes to their right.
Tinman nodded and they crouch-walked to their next location. Hunkering down behind the trimmed evergreens put them twenty feet from the stucco exterior of the building.
The shutter on Tinman’s camera clicked. Through the binoculars, Josh saw what looked like an office or library. Vera’s dress was gone and a blindfold covered her eyes. Palming the edge of the desk with her long legs spread and her high-priced ass in the air, she was ready to earn another monthly payment for her expensive car.
Josh shifted the field glasses and saw a dark-haired guy in his thirties sitting on a white sofa. A large flat screen hung on the wall behind the desk. You fucking asshole. Zooming in with the binoculars, he recognized the woman on the TV. His blood boiled. In slow motion, the video of Dixie lying on the beach in a bikini shifted to a set of still photos. All of them were Dix.
Kallis sipped from a glass tumbler and watched the images. In no hurry, he eventually placed the glass on the end table and turfed his clothes.
“That’s not Dixie in the room, sir,” Tinman said quietly. “Don’t lose your shit.”
“She is in that room. On the monitor and in his fucked-up mind.”
Chandler kept his attention on the video when he ran his hands up the whore’s body. He pinched Vera’s plump breasts then hammered his cock into the woman. His head rocked back, enjoying the ride.
He and Tinman watched the way Kallis handled the hired professional. Josh’s stomach turned. He must have ordered Vera to face him. When she obeyed, he wrapped his hands around her throat and squeezed while he penetrated her with brutal thrusts. All the while, different images of Dixie flashed across the monitor.
“Guess I’ve seen worse, but this guy definitely has a fetish,” Tinman uttered. The camera clicked with rapid fire.
In the comm set, Admiral Austen said, “Fox found something.”
“Body?” Josh asked.
The show continued with Kallis and the professional changing positions. The senator’s son sat on the desk and urged the woman to suck his cock.
“No confirmation on a body,” the admiral stated.
Kallis palmed the brunette’s forehead and thrust her off his erection. He said something and she put her arms out then slowly walked toward the white sofa, kneeling on the cushions facing the wall. Kallis disappeared from sight for a moment and returned with a ball gag, strapping it around her mouth.
Josh glanced toward the grove of trees.
The admiral added, “There’s disturbed dirt covered with pine needles and brush. Could be a body dump. Long enough to be a grave.”
They hadn’t brought shovels. “Would Kallis be that brazen to bury a body here?”
“You got an ID on Kallis?” the admiral asked.
While Josh grit his teeth, Tinman answered, “Affirmative, Admiral. He’s getting his money’s worth while playing videos of Dixie on the TV monitor. We got our man.”
Stitch checked in. “Commander, there’s a vehicle parked behind the barn. It’s tarped. No license plate. It’s a 2020 Nissan Versa. Good condition. I’ve got the VIN.”
“There’s not much more we can do here,” Josh said. “If we had him backed into a corner with evidence, I’d sure like to leave a note of my own. But I don’t think he’s going to kill the hired help.”
Austen replied. “Stand by. Fox found another mound of dirt. Looks the same as the other one. I highly doubt these are goldfish or the family dog.”
“Tinman and I will make our way toward the grove. I want to see this,” Josh said.
Within five minutes, they’d joined up with the admiral and his men. Tinman took a few shots with the camera. Other than disturbed earth, there wasn’t much to see.
Standing near the second grave, Josh said, “Grass hasn’t had a chance to regrow on this mound.” He squatted, wondering if there really was a woman buried here.
“Admiral,” LaPierre’s voice broke the silence in his earpiece. “Another vehicle has turned onto the driveway. A dark, sports Mercedes. Garage door is opening. Ditz says the plate is registered to a Melodie Kallis. By her age, I’d say it could be a sister or another close family member.”
“I want to get a look at her,” Josh said.
They made their way back to a position where they could view the interior of the home.
Melodie must not have expected Chandler to be in the library with a guest. The door opened and he jumped to his feet. Josh heard him shout, “Get out!” Josh figured he was speaking to Melodie, but Vera quickly slid the blindfold from her eyes, removed the ball gag, and slipped into her dress.
Melodie backed out of the room and Vera headed in the same direction.
Chandler took chase, not bothering to dress.
More shouting erupted from inside the walls. Mostly from Chandler.
Josh and the guys waited. Tinman held the camera to his eye. A few seconds later, Chandler dragged Melodie by the wrist into the library. She resisted by leaning back, but he yanked her to follow. He gripped her shoulders and the woman with dark hair similar to Kallis, shook her head. Through the binoculars, Josh watched her pinched expression.
Chandler’s hand shot to her throat.
She gripped his wrist with both hands. “No!” she shouted.
Ditz interrupted the family drama. “Confirmed, Melodie Kallis is Chandler’s sister.”
Admiral Austen uttered the next words, but they were all thinking it. “Shit, no.”
Kallis tore open Melodie’s white blouse to reveal her breasts. She tried to cover herself, but he ripped the cloth from her hands and tossed it to the floor.
“What the hell are we going to do?” Mace growled.
Lt. Bach, Stitch and Tadpole joined their position.
Kallis hauled off and slapped his sister.
Instead of fighting back, Melodie bowed her head in submission.
The next few seconds sickened all of them.
“I can’t let this happen,” Cracker said and vaulted from a kneeling position to his feet.
“Get down,” Lt. Bach ordered harshly.
“He’s raping his own sister!” Cracker’s eyes burned with emotion, but he kneeled.
“Tinman, you got enough pictures?” Josh gritted his teeth and retrieved what he wanted from his belt.
“Yes, sir.” Tinman lowered the camera. “Got video as well.”
Josh surveyed the men’s stern expressions. He understood. Chandler’s sister was a victim and their mandate was to protect. Frogs weren’t good at being bystanders.
“Move out,” he ordered.
The admiral signaled for the men to follow him. Lt. Bach stayed by Josh’s side. Within seconds, the squad had been swallowed by the darkness.
“What are you doing?” Eli asked.
“Gonna give her a chance. You ready to extract?”
Eli saw what Josh held in his hand. “Let her rip.”
Josh took aim and fired the parachute flare at the library window, but away from Melodie. She’d been through enough that was for fucking sure. The glass exploded, and a large chunk dropped to the patio tiles with a crash.
Melodie screamed, but more importantly, Chandler abandoned the assault and bolted for cover.
Less than two minutes later, the team had mustered back at their vehicles and headed toward I-67.
Josh drove his pickup, the admiral sitting in the front passenger seat, Mace and Tinman in the back.
“I don’t see any red and blue flashing lights,” Mace said in a gritty tone.
“Doubt he wants the cops’ attention,” Tinman stated. “What a sick motherfucker.”
Josh glanced in the rearview mirror. Lt. Bach and Fox were behind him, driving the other vehicles. “If we can put Kallis behind bars, his sister will have her freedom as well.” He shook his head. “What a fuckin’ piece of shit he is.”
They still wore the comm sets and heard each other’s conversations between the vehicles.
The admiral’s brilliant blue eyes stared out the front windshield. “From Melodie’s body language, that wasn’t the first time Kallis had raped her. She’s terrified of him. That tells us we’ve got an ally inside the enemy’s camp.”
“I’ll approach her,” Cracker stated in the comm set. “Give me a couple days.”
Josh and the admiral shared a glance. Ed Saxton had been extremely bothered by what they’d seen. He also wasn’t known for the most sensitive approach. Although Saxton had a smooth, southern accent, he was a little rough around the edges.
Admiral Austen nodded. “Tread carefully, Petty Officer Saxton. She’s terrified of him and that type of abuse leaves a lot of trauma. She may protect him, regardless of what he’s done to her.”
“Roger that, Admiral,” Cracker answered.
Mace spoke up. “Sir, maybe Kayla should take a step back from this and not get involved.”
Josh turned right onto a county state highway that connected to I-15. With light traffic, they whistled along the rural route.
“Is there a problem?” Josh asked.
The admiral rolled his broad shoulders. “No problem. If anything, my wife would go looking for that piece of shit to kill him herself.”
Josh wasn’t following. Admiral Austen and Alpha Squad had spent a lot of years and missions together. He didn’t have the inside scoop, nor would he dig for details.
Austen stretched out his long legs and leaned an elbow on the window ledge. “When my wife was a young girl, she experienced the same type of abuse, Commander.”
Jesus. “Her brother?”
“No, her uncle. It was severe and continued for several years. And he wasn’t shy about sharing her with his doped-up buddies. When it comes to sexual abuse, Kayla will go to war and take no prisoners.”
Fox broke the silence. “Think we should keep this between us for the time being.”
Josh agreed.
“You’re probably right, Master Chief,” Austen said.
Obeying the speed limit, Josh replayed Chandler and the whore’s activities. He and Dix had never gone to those lengths when they were younger. Kallis was a sadist. He got off on the pain. “I’m won’t share this with Dixie either, but I am going to give Det. Dean a heads-up. Stitch, can you text me that plate number from the tarped vehicle behind the barn?”
“Affirmative, sir. You already have it.”
Austen’s cell rang with the first notes of ‘Oh, Canada’.
“Everything, okay?” The admiral listened for a few seconds. “We’re on our way back. You coming home tonight?” He chuckled. “Yeah, sweetheart, that’s fine. See ya in the morning.” He disconnected. “Women are having a margarita party. Won’t be home tonight. Kids are in bed.” He turned his head and looked into the backseat.
“Plenty of food and booze back at my place,” Lt. Bach offered over the comm set.
Why the hell not, Josh thought. “I’m in. Think I need hundred proof to wash what I just saw from my mind.”
The sound of ascent came from most of the men.
Mace grumbled from the back seat. “Jesus, last time Nina got hammered on tequila, I conned her into running around the house naked. Hope she behaves herself.”
Austen barked with laughter.
Josh shot a glance in the rearview mirror at one of the best snipers on the west coast. “Traumatized the kids?”
Tinman cracked up as if he already knew the story.
Mace shook his head. “Hell, no. She ran around the outside of the house. Our neighbor is an eighty-year-old widower and he was just locking up for the night when 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?”
Dixie Under Siege (A Warrior's Passion Book 2) Page 16