Chapter 14

Dalton

“How sure are we that he was compromised? We can’t have her asking any questions we don’t have the answers for. She needs to believe the ruse of us being a mercenary group hired to ransom her back to her fiancé. Everything was going according to plan until she got the upper hand.” I was looking at Jackson who was definitely high on something.

He was the weak link in the group and we had mistakenly thought he was going to be a valued commodity.

“The only thing I can say for sure is that she had time to take off his mask. I was there within seconds and hopefully, she wakes up with a headache and no knowledge of what is really going on.” Melanie was trustworthy, but I knew she would easily sell her loyalties to the highest bidder.

I was the one who had come up with the plan to fight fire with fire. The people coming to find her would learn of her kidnapping. They were loud enough to be heard by Grant to make it appear that we were a kidnapping for hire. It made it more plausible to think of one of his enemies coming to collect.

“Melanie, you can’t blame me. I was minding my own business when she broke free from you. If anybody is accountable….it’s you. You underestimated her training. Of course, she was going to look for an opening. Every one of us would have done the same thing. The only thing saving me from dropping the gun was what I had taken previously to offset any lingering nerves.” I didn’t want to ask what Jackson had taken and it really didn’t matter.

“We have to find out how much she knows. It’s almost time to go in there. Instead, of sending Melanie in to inform her of the reason for her stay, it’s going to be me.” I was determined to see her again and was making up any excuse.

“We follow the plan. I was originally going to go in there and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. A woman has a far better chance to get through to her than any chauvinistic man.” I knew she was right, but I didn’t want to admit it.

The house was vacant and it was one of those real estate Investments that sat idly by when the money ran out. It was definitely a work in progress with many renovations still necessary to get top dollar in a buyer’s market. I’d done my due diligence and found nobody had shown any interest in months. It wasn’t exactly a sought after neighborhood, but there was potential for a millennial influx of young suburbanites.

The house looked like it was still half in the seventies and in the process of being revamped into something more conventional. The kitchen was gutted with half of the floor pulled up to be replaced by ceramic tiles.

“I don’t suppose it would do any good to put my foot down.” She smiled knowingly obviously understanding women had the power. Any man who didn’t think so was deluding themselves.

“Do I really have to justify that with an answer?” She was using the microwave we had transported inside to make the meals to heat up a Swanson dinner.

“The camera has already been set up. We will be able to hear and see everything that is going on down there. You won’t have to repeat yourself when you come back up.” The island was newly installed and had black granite for a countertop.

“We all know how she’s going to react to this. There won’t be a moment where she won’t be trying to devise some way to get away. She might even resort to pinning each of us against each other. This is the only way we can keep her safe without showing our faces.” The basement was a concrete floor with two windows covered to keep her guessing about the time of day.

“I’m going to check the perimeter. I don’t understand why we just don’t tell her the truth. She’s one of us. It seems cruel to keep her prisoner. What the hell do I know? I’ve never been known to make the hard decisions when it comes down to it. If both of you think this is the right idea then I will go along with it.” He was able to tap into a neighbor’s power grid to give us electricity and heat.

“Jackson, I don’t think I have to stress this enough, but you need to refrain from getting spotted. We can’t afford a patrol to stop by to check things out. This place is hidden by trees and the nearest house is a block away. It doesn’t mean there won’t be some kind of neighborhood watch program in place.” It meant keeping the lights dimmed and turned off with the drapes drawn to keep from unwanted attention.

The living room had a picturesque bow window accented by a nook to sit down to curl up with a good book. The wood floor wasn’t laminate. It was the original wood floors. It was going to need to be sanded down, but the potential to make it shine with luster again was there.

I didn’t finish my sentence and already Jackson was gone soundlessly like he had a tendency to do when we were conducting an exercise. We didn’t see much action in Guam, but it didn’t mean we weren’t constantly tested to be the best of the best. As Navy Seals, we were conditioned and called upon at a moment’s notice to go into action. Guam was our base of operations. We could get to any country within hours of being deployed.

I had the monitor turned on and the volume turned up to hear what was going to be said not more than a few feet away. Melanie was making the initial approach by circling the wooden chair anchored to the floor with a chain.

“I don’t know what you expect to get for me, but making Grant your enemy is a mistake. He might give you the money you’re looking for, but you’ll always have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life.” She was using psychology to make it seem like a bad idea to go a few rounds with Grant.

“We only want enough to leave this godforsaken town in our rear-view mirror. Five million dollars is nothing to the Hamilton family. You can’t sit there and tell me you didn’t know you were going to become a target once you married into the family. We saw an opportunity to profit and we took it. Don’t make any trouble.” Melanie was following the script but was able to adapt on the fly.

I could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall and we had purposely acquired dark drapes for every room in the house. It was only 5:00 PM and the sun was barely a blip on the horizon. I could smell a storm coming and the weatherman had mentioned nothing about accumulation.

“I’m telling you it’s a bad idea and you still have time to pack up and leave. I don’t say this lightly and I know the Hamilton family better than anybody. This might seem like your road to riches, but it is only going to make you miserable. Don’t be surprised if he tries to negotiate.” She hadn’t mentioned anything about Jackson and I was waiting patiently for the other shoe to drop.

“This might’ve been a sudden inspiration but your engagement announcement put this into motion. We’ve been watching and planning for quite some time. It’s not easy when he is always changing his routine never sticking to something of a habit. Grant Hamilton is paranoid, but I don’t think I’m telling you anything you don’t already know.” I was watching intently to see if Gillian was playing her part.

“Trust me, if there was any other way than to marry him I would have done it. I’ve seen a side of him that nobody has been able to. I want to help you find a way out of this. The best way is to forget about this and leave an anonymous message for where he can find me.” She was trying to sympathize with her captors. It was a tried and true method.

“I didn’t ask for your advice. It would be better for you to keep your mouth shut unless you want me to shut it for you. There’s no point in screaming and nobody is going to hear you. We will give you a modicum of your dignity by taking you to the bathroom when it’s necessary.” There was a bathroom downstairs with a toilet and sink that had seen better days.

“I can’t promise to be on my best behavior. I’m sure you already know of my navy seals training and duty to my country. I will look for every opportunity. You will have no peace. You’ll always be watching me, to see if I have something up my sleeve.” She was born with a stubborn streak and we had the same navy blood running through her veins.

“It’s refreshing to hear you be honest with your intentions. Let me be crystal clear. Those chains are reinforced and breaking free would take the strength of Hercules. Don’t get me wrong, I’m taking nothing for granted when it comes to you. You have a reputation to go above and beyond the call of duty.” They were having a spirited discussion while I was listening from the kitchen.

I could hear the sawdust from the attempted renovations scraping against the heels of my combat boots.

“Grant will do whatever is in his power and use whatever resource he has at hand to find me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had someone in his employ to follow me. You might think I’m kidding, but I’m not. He can be something of a bull moose when it comes to someone who takes what he believes is his.” It didn’t sound like there was any love for Grant in her tone of voice.

“I don’t care about your dysfunctional relationship with the Hamilton family. You are a victim of circumstance. Somehow your service record has fallen into our hands. We know how the fever of the military is something you can’t run from. I'm going to give you some slack to the chain. You will have enough to make it to the bathroom on your own.” Melanie was taking the precaution of not getting too close. It was probably better to keep her on a short leash.

She returned to the chair with her head held low like she was defeated. I knew better. She was trying to make us believe that her captors had the control. It was merely an illusion.

“I can’t say I like this, but I do see how it could be a lot worse. In other circumstances, I’m sure that we could be friends. We both have the same military mindset. We both know what happened to make us the hardened piece of steel that people see today.” I was tempted to go down there and reveal the true purpose for this subterfuge.

I had my hand on the doorknob and I wasn’t sure if I was going to go through with it. I didn’t have a chance to find out. Melanie was already standing at the top of the stairs looking at me with her arms crossed in a less than friendly way.

I backed up with my hands in the air surrendering to a force bigger than myself. She was never going to allow me to get close enough for her to hear my voice. I had mistakenly thought Jackson was the weak link in the chain of command. I was too close personally to make an unbiased decision.