Dixie Lynn Dwyer (14 page)

She laid her face against Carl’s chest as Richie slowly pulled from her ass then leaned down to lick and nibble each cheek.

She smiled against Carl’s chest as she wiggled her hips.

Carl grabbed her hip bone. “Whoa, don’t move, my cock is so fucking sensitive right now.”

She leaned up to kiss his mouth.

“I love you guys,” she whispered, and Carl smiled. She felt Richie’s hand massage her ass then him lean down next to her cheek. Both men said “I love you” at the same time, and they chuckled.

“Thank you for trusting us,” Richie stated before kissing her cheek.

* * * *

Juliet could see Danny’s bloody face. She watched as Robert wrapped him in a blanket as Pierce watched.

“Bring her with you. Let her see what will happen to any man who ever touches what’s mine,” Pierce stated firmly as he caressed her hair and brought a handful up to his nose. She was hysterically crying now. She could hardly walk as Teddy pulled her up from the chair and made her follow Robert.

The ride was a blur, merely twenty minutes north of the Mellbrook estate, a dump owned and operated by Mellbrook Industries. Teddy dragged her up the hill, across the high grasses as Robert carried the lifeless body over his shoulder. Her boyfriend was dead, murdered in front of her eyes, and now they were going to show her where his body lay.

It was a good distance deep into the hills of the smelly dump. She had never smelt anything worse in her life—the gray tinge of the ground beneath her feet, the machinery in the distance used to bury the garbage, and of course this body.

Teddy grabbed her by the hair and made her face Robert.

The sick bastard smiled as he looked out across the miles and miles of dumping grounds and told her that this was his favorite place. He said he knew where every body of every person he killed in Texas was located.

She shook with fear so deep and intense Teddy could hardly hold her upright.

“She’s losing it,” Teddy told Robert, and Robert turned to her and smiled.

“Well, we don’t want that now, do we? Take a look, sweetheart, and remember, Mellbrook owns you, and if anyone ever touches you or tries to take you away from him, then they’ll end up like this.”

Juliet tried to turn away. In her nightmare she forced herself to close her eyes, but it only made the scene brighter and as real as the night she actually witnessed Danny’s brutal death.

Robert took out a knife and cut open the blanket.

“Never forget, bitch!”

Instead of Danny’s face, she saw Carl’s.

Juliet screamed as she jumped up from the bed and ran. She fell to the floor, crying, trying to escape the nightmare, when strong hands pulled her up. The sound of both Richie’s and Carl’s voices pulled her back to the present.

“Oh sweet Jesus, baby, you scared us. Damn, baby, you’re okay, it’s just a dream.” Richie caressed her back and her shoulders as he hugged her to him.

She shook her head even as the dim light came on and Carl walked closer to her. His arm bandaged, he walked slowly toward her. Her heart ached with fear and sadness. Carl could have died.

“It was a bad dream, baby. You’re safe. We’ve got you.” Carl caressed her shoulder. Juliet continued to cry and tried to calm her breathing. She just couldn’t seem to control it.

“Please calm down. Come on, baby. Slow, easy breaths,” Richie told her as he placed her onto the bed in a sitting position on the edge. He caressed her thighs as he held her gaze. Carl sat down next to her, and the second she locked gazes with his face, she remembered her nightmare.

“No! Oh God, no. I can’t stay here with you two. He’s going to kill you. He’s going to kill you,” she cried.

“No one is going to kill us. We’re prepared. We have security everywhere,” Carl reminded her.

“They can do it. They’ll get to you. I know they will.”

“No, baby, you’re just scared and freaked out over this nightmare.” Richie stood up.

She continued to shake her head.

“I need my clothes. I need to leave, right now,” she demanded as she got up and searched for her things.

“Honey, calm down. You’re not going anywhere,” Richie told her as she pulled the T-shirt up and over her head. The phone was ringing and Carl was answering it.

She heard him say everything was fine, just a nightmare.

He didn’t know. They were foolish. They didn’t know what Robert and Pierce were capable of.

Carl hung up the phone. Richie ran fingers through his hair. She was looking for her pants when she felt Richie pull her toward him.

“Stop this. Stop freaking out. He won’t kill us. He won’t get near Carl or me.”

“You’re wrong. He will. They will, both of them. They’ve done it before. He almost killed Carl.”

“Almost isn’t dead, Juliet. He wants to frighten you. They want you to cave in like this.”

“They’ll kill you, and they’ll get away with it. I’ve seen them do it. I was there, Carl. I was there when they beat Danny. I saw them torture him then slice his throat. Pierce made me watch it. He was there and Teddy, too, as Robert killed Danny. I saw him wrap up Danny’s body, and then they made me watch him dispose of it. I saw them. I saw him kill others and do other things. I’ll never be free of him. They’ll take you from me, too, and I’ll have nothing. Nothing,” she cried then fell to her knees before collapsing onto the rug.

Richie pulled her up into his arms.

“Holy shit, Juliet. My God, baby. Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why didn’t you tell me or Carl?”

“He’ll kill you both. That’s what they do, they murder, steal, and kill to get what they want, and no one can stop them. Not the cops, not attorneys, and not any of you.”

He held her to him as she continued to cry until exhaustion took over. The last thing she remembered was the feel of their kisses against her skin and Carl’s voice saying, “Get everyone over here in an hour.”

* * * *

“She told you all of this?” Monte asked as Richie, BJ, Chad, Michael, and Mason gathered in Richie’s living room.

Richie ran his fingers through his hair. His stomach hurt, his chest was tight, and he was filled with a mix of emotions. He was angry that Juliet had gone through such trauma. He was scared because she really believed that he, his brothers, and the guys couldn’t protect her. She sounded like she would give in to Robert and Pierce’s demands. He wanted justice. BJ and Monte were working on a lot of leads and ways to get Pierce busted for his crimes. It seemed that Juliet was a witness to murder and God knew what else.

“She was hysterical. Had a nightmare that apparently brought back memories of the murders.”

“That poor girl. She’s only twenty-two and she experienced this shit at nineteen. I couldn’t even imagine,” BJ stated.

“I’m afraid that she really thinks these men can get away with what they’ve done and take her from us. I think, if the opportunity presents itself, then she’ll go with Mellbrook and Sinclair out of fear that they’ll kill Carl and me. She’s terrified of them, and I don’t blame her one bit,” Richie said.

“We can’t let that happen. If they find out that she even told you guys about the murders, then they’ll kill her,” Monte stated.

“We have some news on both men, but more importantly, I took it upon myself to inform some people I know of what’s happening here. It seems that the feds have been watching Mellbrook and are interested in some illegal importing and trading accounts he has overseas. He did a little business transaction with a known terrorist cell. The feds are linking it to a cell here in the United States they’re about to bust,” Mason stated.

“Holy crap, that is great news. How long before they can nail him on any charges?” Richie asked.

“Well he’s got lawyers, and he’s also on to the feds. But I think if Juliet has proof of these murders and the corruption, she could be key to getting these assholes locked up for life,” Mason added.

“I don’t know if she’ll talk. She was really shaken up. Carl is with her right now upstairs,” Richie said.

“We’ll talk to her when she comes down, and we’ll try to help her see that she’s safe and we’re here to protect her,” Monte added.

* * * *

Carl held Juliet against his chest. It hurt his arm to caress her with his hand in this position, but he didn’t care. She mattered more. She was everything to him. Her breathing still sounded shaky, and every so often she would shiver in his arms. It killed him to see her hurting like this and to know how scared and unsure she was. He maneuvered his hand under her shirt, down her backside, and to her ass. She was so petite and fragile compared to him. He could wrap his body around her in a cocoon and keep her warm and safe. He would kill the two men that did this to her.

She began to shift then jolted a little as if she was jousted out of her sleep. She clung to him as she looked up with sleepy, red eyes.

“You’re okay, baby,” he whispered, pressing his palm firmer against her so she wouldn’t try to pull away. She leaned down and pressed soft lips to his bare chest. When she slid her fingertips gently up his arm to his bandage and stared at it, looking sad, he knew he needed to redirect her thoughts. If she pondered over his injury, then she would fall further into the control of Sinclair and Mellbrook. That just wasn’t going to happen.

“Are you cold?”

She shook her head.

“Hungry?”

“I think I’m going to take a hot shower.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you downstairs. I think the others are there, and Mason, Monte, and Michael want to talk with you.”

She looked suddenly timid and afraid.

“What for?”

“Answers, baby. Ways for us to get ahold of this situation and put Mellbrook and Sinclair away for life. We can do this together.”

“Together?”

“Yes, baby, together.” He cupped her face between his hands and kissed her.

* * * *

They were standing in the living room when BJ’s cell phone rang.

“Yeah?”

“Hey, BJ, I just got a very interesting call. I think you may be interested. You’re at Carl and Richie’s, correct?” Tyler Depolis asked.

“Yeah, we are, and what was the call?”

“Apparently there’s an interested party in purchasing Dixie Chix. But instead of going through the traditional method of making an offer to the owners, they sabotage them and, I’m assuming, bail them out after they cause the destruction.”

“What the hell did this person say?”

“They offered me fifty grand to find some serious fire hazards and violations against the owner of the club. Said if I do a great job and enforce this quickly, I’d get another ten as a bonus.”

“Holy shit. Did the bastard give a name?”

“The name was Teddy but no last name and no company name. Said he would transfer the money into my savings account directly or drop off money wherever I was willing to meet him.”

“Bastards!”

“Exactly. Hey I was thinking of taking him up on his offer and extorting a bit of money for myself. He won’t need sixty G’s in the slammer,” Tyler stated sarcastically.

BJ laughed. “I don’t like the route this is going. It could cause trouble for Susanna and the women. They’re all in this together.”

“Exactly. I’m going to call some friends in the health department. Maybe you can have Susanna call her liquor supplier and cut these assholes off before they make problems for the women.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks for the heads-up. I’m going to have Monte call you and connect you with the commander so the feds are in on this. It seems these men are being watched.”

“Good. I’ll talk to you later.”

BJ explained the phone call, and Monte immediately reached out to his commander, who would connect with Tyler, hear his statement, then notify the feds. BJ turned toward the guys. “My understanding is that the feds are running with this information about bribes, murders, and the potential terrorist dealings. They’ll freeze all bank accounts belonging to both Mellbrook and Sinclair. The only problem is that they’ll either try to make a run out of the country, or they’ll retaliate. Either way, now we have the feds helping us and we’re all here to protect the women. This may be over sooner than we think. You have to talk with Juliet and see what evidence she may have. It could seal the deal with the feds’ investigation,” BJ told them, and Richie looked up toward the stairs where he knew Juliet was resting. His heart ached for her, but he would be strong and help her to pull through this.

* * * *

“When can I see her?” Pierce asked as he entered the hotel room followed by several guards.

“Well, I think there may have to be a change of plans here, sir,” Robert stated as he stood in front of the large window overlooking the city of Dallas.

“Why is that? I want to see her. Isn’t this club open during the week? I’ve already waited several days. It’s Thursday, and nothing has changed. I also set the wheels in motion for a takeover. I plan on using that to help convince Juliana that she needs to come with me without a fight.”