Justice for Daesha

by Deanndra Hall

“Oh, shit. Amos―look.” He turned and found her pointing at the windshield.

  “Don’t touch it. It’s evidence.” There was a note there, and Amos retrieved an evidence bag from his glove box, using it as a glove to pick up the note. He turned it over in the street light’s glare.

  You were told to back off. This is your last warning.

  “I’m calling Jack and he can take us home.”

  “We can call one of those personal cabs,” Daesha offered, but Amos shook his head.

  “Nope. I don’t even trust one of those right now. What if it was the person leaving the notes who picked us up? No. Not going that route.”

  An hour later, Jack and Aleta rolled into the parking lot, and in just a little while, they were home. “Want us to stay and me stand watch? Because I don’t mind, really,” Jack offered.

  “No. You’ve gotta work tomorrow. Go home, but thanks for picking us up.”

  “You’re welcome. Get some sleep. And make sure that alarm system is turned on,” Jack admonished as he and Aleta left.

  Everything was strained, but once they were in bed, all was well. He rocked into her, loving the feeling of her warmth and softness gripping his steel, pulling him in when he tried to retreat. Being inside her was the best part of his day, but just being with her was everything to him. Soft lips pressed against his neck and he sighed. If there really was a heaven, she’d have to go first, because being there without her wouldn’t be heaven at all. It would be hell. “I love you, my warrior princess,” he whispered down to her in the darkness of the bedroom, its only light the nightlight burning in the bathroom.

  “I love you too, babe. Oh, god, so good … Yeah, just like that,” she said with a groan when he rose up on his knees and lifted her ass just a little. The head of his cock raked that little ridged spot in the front of her pussy and she cried out. “Yeah, babe, more, faster, please? Oh, god.” She was squirming, writhing with desire, and he watched her face as she threw back her head and closed her eyes, her hands wandering down his chest the whole time. She tweaked his left nipple and he worked to hang on. Before her, he’d never thought of a man’s nipples as an erogenous zone, but he really believed she could stroke his kneecap and make him come. “Babe, babe,” she panted, “you ready? Almost there? Because I … oh …” She gripped his forearms so tightly he knew she’d leave marks and moaned out, “Ohhhhh, um, um, um,” with every stroke.

  And that was it for him. He filled the condom, gave three more thrusts, and stilled inside her. Sitting there on his knees, his softening manhood inside her, he looked at the place where they were joined and let his eyes travel up her body. Amos was sure he’d never seen anything more beautiful. Nothing was more beautiful than her. He pulled out of her to a disappointing little cry of, “Awww,” and dropped beside her.

  “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

  Curling up in his arms, she kissed his pec. “Yeah?”

  “I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you consider taking birth control pills? Because I’d really like to not have to use condoms anymore. It’s kind of the last barrier between us, and …”

  The pad of her index finger pressed against his lips. “I’ve already been thinking about it, and I talked to my gynecologist’s nurse practitioner today on the phone. She said she couldn’t think of a reason why I shouldn’t. So they’re sending a prescription to the drugstore tomorrow.”

  Her skin tasted sweet when his lips touched her forehead. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, but it’s for me too. I hate condoms.” He found her eyes looking up at him, her lids shyly dropped. “I’d like to feel your cum inside me.” Talking during sex wasn’t one of her strong suits, and he knew it had taken a lot for her to say that to him. Cum most certainly wasn’t a word in her daily vocabulary.

  But he wouldn’t point that out, just be grateful for the confidence she had when she was with him. “I’d like that too. And I wouldn’t ask you to do that if this was just going to be a two-week fling, you know? I feel like asking you to do that is a commitment on my part. I know that sounds silly, but that’s how I see it.”

  “I see it the same way. Amos, where are we going with this?” Those beautiful eyes searched his face, and he kissed her softly.

  “Where do you want it to go?”

  “I want to be with you forever.”

  “Well, I want to be with you forever too. So let’s proceed with the idea that it’s going to be forever and see what happens. But know this: There is no one else for me, warrior princess. No one. I’m not interested in anybody else, and I won’t be seeing anyone else. As far as I’m concerned, we’re exclusive.”

  “Nobody else would want me anyway, so it’s exclusive regardless.”

  “Hey, wait a minute!” Amos almost yelled and sat up in bed. “Are you saying I have bad taste in women?”

  She laughed. “No. You know what I mean.”

  “Let me tell you something, little girl.” He slid back down in the covers and pulled her close. “Any man who turned you away was an idiot. A true blue, bona fide idiot. There are very few women like you, and anybody who couldn’t see your worth is blind or stupid.”

  He loved the sensation of her fingers swirling through the dark hair on his chest. “Then there are mostly stupid guys out there, I guess.”

  “I’d definitely agree to that. Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow I’ve got to get new tires, apparently.” He could feel her relax against him, but he lay awake, listening to every sound. Nothing would hurt her on his watch.

  Nothing.

  After caring for the animals, they spent the rest of the day inside except for their trip to town. By noon, he had two new tires. He was afraid he’d have to buy four to get them to match, but the tire place had plenty just like them.

  At seven fifteen, they were back at the bar, and it was hopping. It was lucky that they’d gotten there early. Jack and Aleta came in a little after the band started and said the lot was full. The bartender apologized several times for not keeping their drinks refilled because it was so hectic, but everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves, and Limestone Legends was kicking ass, belting out Miranda Lambert and Jason Aldean tunes, along with a lot of others, all evening. Jack and Aleta left around ten because she had to go to work early the next morning. Jack had begged her to quit that job, but she was determined to work until she had money to put in a swimming pool. She’d always wanted one and she wanted to pay for it too. Jack thought it was cute, and Amos smiled. He could tell how much his brother loved that woman, and she loved him right back.

  They were in the middle of their third set with a break due after two more songs when there was a commotion nearby and Amos saw the kitchen door fly open. “FIRE! THERE’S A FIRE IN THE KITCHEN!” People started to scramble, push, and run. Amos tried to calm them, but they were all already on the move. The stage was on the other side of the building from where he was, and he could see the band members heading out the back door, so he turned and tried to get out the front, but it was packed with people. Smoke was starting to filter into the main space, and everyone was still panicking until one of the employees rolled up the garage door-style front windows and the building was transformed into a virtual pavilion. Joining the crush of bodies, Amos finally managed to squeeze his way out and ran around the corner of the building to the back door.

  After losing his old drum set to a fire, Marcus was frantically trying to pull everything out. The other guys were grabbing amps, guitars, and the keyboard equipment when Amos reached them, out of breath from running. “Where’s Daesha?”

  “She’s right …” Gary turned and pointed, but the only person standing there was Marcus. “Where’s Daesha?”

  “She’s right over …” Greg looked at Barry. “She was here just a second ago.”

  “Where’d she go?” Barry spun around. “She was right here!”

  The guys had always watched out for her, and Amos couldn’t understand how she’d been there one m
inute and was gone the next. His eyes scanned the parking lot, and that was when he saw it.

  A dark sedan―looked like a Mercedes―at the corner, and as his eyes caught it, it darted away. In that second, his worst fear came true.

  They’d gotten her. She was gone.

  Chapter 10

  “I should’ve stayed with her. I should never have let her out of my sight.” Amos’s hands were shaking and he could feel his heart pounding. What would the senator do to her? He couldn’t think about that. It was time to keep his wits about him, but he was finding that difficult.

  The war room at the Kentucky State Police post in Elizabethtown was filling up. Every KDCI agent was already there, and KSP troopers were starting to pile in too. Amos felt someone touch his arm and turned to find his younger brother standing there in full uniform. “Hey, they’ll be here in just a minute. ETA on the last one is eight minutes.”

  God, he was thankful for Jack right at that moment! “Great. I’m going to get some answers if I have to―”

  “We’re going to find her. Believe that.” With a pat on his shoulder, Jack moved to the back of the room. Mack was passing out flyers with Daesha’s picture and a picture of the congressman.

  Then the door opened, and a trooper escorted Chance Kelso in. Right behind them was another trooper, this one escorting Benson. There were three chairs purposefully left empty in the front, and they were escorted to them. One glance at them told Amos they were worried, and that was an appropriate response, given that the KDCI agent really wanted to beat the shit out of all three of them. The door opened in the back again, and Ainsley strutted in, but Amos almost laughed when he saw the fashion plate glance around the room and seem to shrink. The time for game playing was over. Shit was getting real.

  Mack made his way to the front and stood beside Amos. “Ready?”

  Amos nodded. “Ready.”

  “We’re here because Daesha Wilkerson has been abducted. We’re not sure by whom, but we believe it to be Senator Marshall Kelso. Reference the picture on the flyer.” There was a rustle of paper in the room as each man took in the photos. “This is a result of our investigation of the murder of her sister, Dorinda Wilkerson Blackmon, fourteen years ago. Someone had been threatening her and sending a message that Agent Fletcher should stop working the case. We have with us Ainsley, Benson, and Chance Kelso, the senator’s sons and personal friends of the Wilkerson family. I’m turning this briefing over to Agent Fletcher.” Mack turned and shook Amos’s hand, then leaned in and whispered, “We’ll find her, Amos.”

  He nodded again, but there was a burning knot of fear in his chest. She’d been gone for six hours. The sun had come up without her in his arm and he was terrified. “Thank you, all of you, for coming. We don’t even know where to begin looking, but we’re about to find out.” Amos stared down at the three brothers where they sat. “You’re going to tell us where she is.”

  They glanced back and forth between themselves before facing Amos. “I have no idea,” Benson announced. “Not a clue. Have you been to our parents’ house?”

  A voice from the back of the room spoke up―Jack. “Yes. KSP did a sweep of the entire property and there’s no one there. Are there any areas we could’ve missed? Like a storm shelter, or an empty underground structure?”

  Chance shook his head. “No. Nothing.”

  “Any voids in the walls or floors?” Amos asked.

  Benson shrugged. “No. At least not that we know of.”

  Ainsley nodded. “He’s right. If there’s anything like that, we weren’t privilege to that information.”

  “What did Mom say about Dad’s whereabouts?” Benson asked.

  Jack’s voice repeated, “We didn’t speak to your mother. As I said, there was no one there.”

  The three brothers glanced back and forth at each other before Chance spoke. “Mom was bound to be there. I can’t imagine he wouldn’t have tried to shelter her from this. Since we didn’t have any sisters, she and the Wilkerson girls were close as they were growing up.”

  “That’s true,” Benson echoed. “They were very close. They, their mom, and our mom used to do all kinds of things together. Dad wouldn’t have wanted her to be party to this. She probably would’ve refused anyway.”

  Something clicked in Amos’s brain. “How did she feel about your relationship with Dorinda?”

  Chance’s lips pursed into a thin line. “She was none too happy about it. Said it was unnatural and …” He stopped.

  Amos glared at him. “And?”

  His voice was a near-whisper when he answered, “That it would ruin us and our dad if word got out, and we’d lose everything.”

  Son of a bitch. We’ve been looking at the wrong person this whole time. Amos couldn’t believe that had slipped past him. He remembered the woman’s icy countenance when he’d been there, and he’d just thought it was because she considered his presence an invasion of their privacy, but it had been more―much more. The words just spewed from his lips. “She took Daesha.”

  “Mom? She’d never do anything like that!” Ainsley blurted.

  “Where would she take Daesha?” The three brothers shrugged. “Think! Does your family own any other property?” Their eyebrows were a mile high and mouths open as they shook their heads and shrugged. “God damn it, THINK! There’s got to be somewhere she could’ve taken her.”

  Without warning, Ainsley yelled, “The plant!” Benson and Chance both turned and stared at him. “The packing plant!”

  “As in meat packing?” Amos asked. The minute he said it, the other two Kelso brothers began to nod.

  “Yes. Our great-great-grandfather owned a meat packing plant in Hodgenville, but it’s been shut down for years.”

  “Does your family still own it?”

  Benson replied, “Yes, but it would be a terrible place to take anybody. I mean, it’s virtually all glass. Back then there was no air conditioning, so from about five feet above the ground, it’s all windows. It didn’t even really have an office, just a big lit-up area on a balcony in the back.”

  “Can you get in there?”

  Chance answered, “If we can’t, we can break out windows. It wouldn’t be that hard to get in, but she may have a key.”

  Amos barked, “Name!”

  “Um, Mallory Meat Packing Company.”

  An officer in the back pulled out his phone and put it on speaker. “This is Captain Halford, KSP SRT. Active team, respond to abduction, female, early thirties, approximately five feet and seven inches tall, blond hair, light green eyes. Military veteran. Repeat―military veteran. Abduction suspect is a female, approximately seventy years of age. All units respond to Mallory Meat Packing in Hodgenville. Report when in position. Copy?”

  A voice floated out into the room, “Copy that, captain. SRT deployed to Hodgenville, Mallory Meat Packing. Will advise when units are in position. Over.” Amos nodded to him, and he sent a chin lift back.

  Amos watched his baby brother take charge. “Guys, Cappy’s out today with the flu. I’m acting officer in charge. We will proceed to the target destination. No lights or sirens. When you arrive, check in with the SRT commander on site. He’ll give you assignments. Go.” As soon as Jack finished, every KSP trooper in the room headed out, with the attending SRT officer in the lead.

  “KDCI agents, you are to do the same. Firearms and protective gear are required on this mission. This is our case, and we want to make sure all the necessary procedures are followed. This is Agent Fletcher’s case. Follow his lead.” Mack turned to Amos. “Do you have a plan?”

  Amos’s eyes bored smoldering holes into the three Kelso brothers. “Do I have a plan? Does a bear shit in the woods? You three, get in my car. Agent Talbert?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “You’ll ride security over these three with me. Agent Ross?”

  “Yes, sir!” Alex replied.

  “I want you to proceed to the address for Lawrence Wilkerson. This is his daughter. He should be th
ere, and he may be able to assist in diffusing the situation. This is a rush.” Amos whipped out his phone.

  “Yeah?”

  “Hey, somebody still in the parking lot?”

  “I am, and there’s one other cruiser here,” Jack replied.

  “I want them to take Alex to Mr. Wilkerson’s house and pick him up. He may be useful.”

  “Got it. I’m on it. Tell him to get his ass out here.”

  Amos hit END. “Alex, see Jack.”

  “Got it!” Alex disappeared out the door just as Jesse reached the front.

  “Stand up, fellas,” Jesse ordered of the Kelso brothers. “We’re goin’ for a little ride.”

  The only remotely positive thing Amos saw when he pulled up was the navy blue Mercedes sitting outside the building. Ainsley had been right―they were there somewhere. He stepped out of the car, pulled his Glock, checked it, then slipped it back into its holster. A quick glance told him Jesse was doing the same. There were three first responder vehicles parked around the corner, and that made him feel a bit better.

  The SRT officer met him at the corner. “Trooper Nolan Boyd, agent. Your plan?”

  “I’m going in, and I’m taking these three with me. This is one of their parents, and they may be able to get a lot more out of them than I could.” The trooper nodded at him, but he felt a tug at his sleeve.

  “Do I have to go in there? I really don’t want to. It smells terrible,” Ainsley whispered.

  “Pull up your big girl panties and let’s get on this,” Amos growled as three SRT officers helped the Kelsos with Kevlar vests. “This ain’t no time for pullin’ that pussy card. Let’s go.” To Amos’s surprise, the front door wasn’t completely closed, and he opened it and stuck his head inside.

  Silence greeted him, and for a split second he thought they’d made a mistake. And then he heard a voice.

  “I can’t believe you wouldn’t take care of this! You had every opportunity, but you just passed on it. Really, Marshall, do I have to do everything for this family?”