Unconditional Surrender

by Desiree Holt

  Because I’m scared to admit to myself that might be the case here. I want this to be over. I want my life back.

  “Come on. There’s nothing we can do right now. Let’s put this aside until you can make your calls.” He stood and pulled her body against his and stroked his hand up and down her back. “I bet I can think of something to keep us occupied until tomorrow morning.”

  Kari hated to tell him, but the mood had changed. She didn’t want to admit that Slade might be right. Hadn’t Ross told her this took someone very smart, very clever, to pull all this off without detection? John Schreiber had graduated at the top of his class from Yale Law, but did that make him knowledgeable and sophisticated enough to do all this and escape detection? If so, then how could he have been stupid enough to get caught stealing mail? The fear she’d lived with for so long and thought she’d now been able to bury came roaring back, throwing everything else out of sync. She wanted to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over her head, wishing the whole thing would disappear.

  Slade tightened his arms around Kari. He could have kicked himself. What he should have done was call her boss himself. He’d already spoken to the man once and he seemed like a smart, savvy guy. He was sure if he explained his misgivings that Kip Reyes would know who to call and what to do about following through on things. He wanted this settled one way or another before he had to report back to base.

  But what if this was still not resolved by the time he left? Who knew when he’d be back again to provide help and support? This was why he never got emotionally involved with anyone. Never tried to become part of their lives. He’d known that from the beginning, yet he’d broken his own rules. Fuck!

  The whole thing had bothered him all weekend. The story was just too neat. Too pat. A stalker who had managed to send her flowers and gifts and not be detected wouldn’t be caught stealing mail from the district attorney’s office. In fact, he wouldn’t steal the mail to begin with. Or would he? Was whoever this was so desperate to find her, so over-the-top obsessed with her that he was making little mistakes? Of all the things he’d learned as a member of Delta Force, questioning things was at the top of the list. His first commanding officer had drilled it into him. When something looked too good to be true, too easy, it usually was.

  Kari pushed away from him. “I’m going to make some coffee. I have a sudden chill.”

  One he knew he’d caused, because with the heat they’d just generated, there was no way she could be cold.

  “All right. I’ll have some too.”

  But not even the hot liquid could take the edge off the icy-cold feeling that had dropped over them with such suddenness. Why couldn’t Kari see he was just interested in her safety?

  But when they sat at the breakfast bar, each with a steaming mug, the silence surrounding them was uncomfortable. Slade kept running through his mind everything Kari had told him about the situation. The one thing that baffled him was the stalker’s confession. If he hadn’t done it, why say he had? Was this one of those situations where someone was so anxious for the fame that came with the notoriety that they’d confess to anything? Jesus, he sure hoped not.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The other side of the bed was empty when Kari awoke in the morning. Last night, for the first time since they’d found each other again, they had not made love. Had sex, she reminded herself. No one had said anything about love so she wasn’t going to put lipstick on it and fool herself.

  She grabbed the robe she’d discarded the night before and made her way into the kitchen, where she found Slade drinking coffee.

  The atmosphere between them was stilted and she blamed herself as much as him. Why hadn’t she been grateful for him looking at her situation from all sides and questioning things that bothered him? It was dumb for her to resent his determination to make sure everything had been done properly. But she knew Ross and the people who worked with him. If they were convinced John Schreiber was the one, then so be it. She didn’t want to spend her time wondering if whoever this was had traced her to San Antonio and was even now following her around, planning and plotting to get her attention.

  “Teo’s on his way.” Slade took a healthy sip of the hot liquid. “The other guys have plans and I didn’t want to interfere. Listen, I’m sorry—”

  “Slade, I’m sorry—” She spoke at the same time, then gave a nervous little laugh. “I apologize for last night. You’re only looking out for my welfare and I appreciate that.”

  God, could she have sounded any more stilted?

  “I didn’t mean to upset you.” His words were as stiff as hers. “I’m sorry that I’m the type to question things. I’m especially sorry you thought I was questioning the efficiency of your friends. I know you want to believe this is over and done with. I want that too.”

  “It’s fine.” She drank some of the orange juice. “You don’t have to leave, you know.”

  He shrugged. “You’re off to work and I have things to do at the ranch.”

  She nibbled her lower lip. “Will you be back later?”

  “I’ll call you.” His cell phone dinged and he looked at the screen. “Teo’s here. He’s outside waiting for me.”

  He rinsed his mug, kissed her forehead then he was gone. Kari wanted to cry. Then she wanted to smack herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She’d behaved like an idiot child. Of course he would question things. It was who he was and the nature of what he did. She should have been grateful instead of acting the way she had. No wonder he was pissed off.

  Well, nothing for it now. She might as well dress and get to the office early. Maybe she could catch Kip before he got caught up in the business of the day.

  All the way to the office and all the way up in the elevator she kept replaying the conversation with Slade in her head. She did her best to blank the tension between them before he’d left, although she knew she’d have to deal with it. She also knew she’d have to be the one to reach out since it was she who’d acted like an idiot. Hopefully when she called him to give him a report, she could convince him to come back up to spend the night.

  There were very few people in the office at this early hour. A couple of the assistant prosecutors were hard at work on whatever cases they were handling and a few of the support staff were busy. She fixed her coffee in the break room and carried it back to her office. She didn’t know if Kip was in court today or had other things scheduled, but she didn’t want to wait until the end of the day to talk to him. He’d been so good to her she wanted to run this past him prior to calling Ross.

  At seven-thirty she heard the ding of the elevator and a minute later saw Kip stride down the hallway. She took her coffee with her and headed for his office. Anita Navarre, his admin, was already there, computer awake, working through a stack of papers on her desk. Kari often wondered if the woman ever slept, or if she just woke up fully clothed and made up.

  She looked up at Kari. “You need to see the boss?”

  “If I could, please?”

  “Let me check real quick.” Anita hit a button on her computer to bring up the calendar. “He’s free for a few minutes right now. Will that do?”

  “I’ll take it. Thank you.” She rapped on the doorjamb. “Anita says I can steal a few minutes with you if I hurry.”

  Kip Reyes looked up from the folder on his desk and smiled. “Always. Come on in.”

  She sat in one of the two chairs in front of the desk, holding her coffee carefully. “This is probably going to sound crazy, so I wanted to run it past you before I called Ross.”

  “This have something to do with your stalker?”

  “It does.” She took a sip of her coffee, organizing her words in her brain. “Do you think there’s any chance they got the wrong man?”

  Kip frowned at her. “What makes you think that’s even a possibility?”

  “I’m just wondering if Schreiber fits the personality profile of a stalker.” She took another sip of her drink, hoping the hot liquid would stea
dy her.

  “You should know there really isn’t any rigid personality profile. Something’s got your knickers in a twist. Out with it.”

  She took another swallow of coffee, framing her words. Was it just Slade’s paranoia or did she really have doubts?

  “It’s just odd that someone who was so careful and so meticulous with every task while I was in Chicago would be sloppy enough to get caught snitching mail.”

  The way Kip eyed her, she knew his brain was going a mile a minute behind those dark eyes.

  “Have you called Ross about this?”

  She shook her head. “I wanted to run this by you first.” And hope you’ll tell me I’m nuts. “If I’m just seeing shadows where there aren’t any then I can relax. But if not, that means someone is still out there and still looking for me.”

  “I’ll tell you what.” He checked his watch. “I’ve got a meeting in five minutes that should take about an hour. Can you be available right after that? We’ll call Ross together. In situations like this, you can’t be too careful. If they’ve made a mistake, he’ll want to get on it right away.”

  Kari released the breath she’d been holding. At least he hadn’t told her she was crazy.

  “Thank you, so much. Really.”

  “No sweat. We’ll get this taken care of and then you can get on with your life without any shadows hanging over you.”

  An hour had never dragged so slowly for Kari. She had trouble concentrating on the brief she was preparing. The situation wasn’t helped any by the strained parting with Slade that morning. The chemistry had still been there, but it was affected by the tension between them. Maybe she shouldn’t have taken off at him when he’d suggested her stalker might still be at large, but it had been a knee-jerk reaction. She’d just wanted it to be over and done with. And he, the big alpha dope, didn’t appear to know how to soften his stance. He couldn’t understand why his attitude had upset her.

  In a way, neither could she. She’d reacted without thinking then didn’t know how to back down. Crappity crap crap.

  She booted up her computer and pulled up a document she was working on, but she found it difficult to concentrate. She didn’t know what she’d do if it turned out Slade was right.

  His voice echoed in her brain, replaying over and over. ’I just want to make sure you’re safe.’

  Safe. She hadn’t felt that for too long a time. Probably the reason she’d reacted the way she had to Slade’s words. She didn’t want him to be right. It meant the nightmare was far from over.

  She alternated between glancing at her watch and at the clock on her computer, willing the minutes to pick up the pace. When her intercom buzzed at last, she almost jumped out of her skin. She depressed the button and Anita’s voice squawked out at her.

  “Kip says to come on down to his office now.”

  “Thanks.” She wet suddenly dry lips. “On my way.” She wanted to stop and refill her coffee mug, but as nervous as she was, she figured she might just spill it all over herself.

  Kip was behind his desk again and waved her into the office.

  “Come on in and close the door. I’m going to call Ross on his direct line. If he doesn’t pick up, I’ll try his cell. I don’t want this to go through the switchboard unless it has to.”

  Kari wrinkled her forehead. “Why? What’s the problem?”

  “On the off chance you might be right, I don’t want this on a line anyone else might be able to tap into.”

  She hadn’t thought of that. In these days of advanced, sophisticated electronics, anything was possible. One more thing to be nervous about. She nodded and sat on the edge of the chair, clasping her hands together to still their trembling. She was nauseous with anxiety, hoping she didn’t throw up on Kip’s carpeting.

  “Take a deep breath,” Kip told her. “We’ll make this right, one way or another.”

  She just wished she could believe that.

  “Yeah, Ross.” Kip leaned forward in his chair. “How’s everything in the Windy City? Good, good. No.” He laughed. “I didn’t call for a weather report. Kari’s here with me. Got something to run by you. I’m putting you on speaker so we can do a three-way here.”

  “Got it. Hey, Kari.” The familiar warm voice floated into the room. “You must be feeling pretty damn good now that we’ve got your stalker locked up.”

  Kari looked at Kip, waiting for him to speak.

  He cleared his throat. “Actually, Ross, that’s the reason we called.”

  He laid out Kari’s misgivings for Ross, short and succinct, the way he did everything. Kari sat there with her hands clenched so tightly she was worried she’d break the bones or at the very least cut off the blood supply. When he finished, there was a long moment of silence before Ross spoke.

  “Kari? I hate to say this, but that may be a valid point.”

  Her stomach heaved and she had to swallow hard to keep her coffee from coming back up. “I was praying I was wrong, you know.”

  God, God, God.

  “If it turns out you’re right,” he went on, “I owe you a huge apology. This means that asshole is still out there.”

  Kip cleared his throat. “Can you fill us in on the details of the arrest?”

  “I’ll fax the file over to you,” Ross told them. “Then I guess we’d better go back and take this asshole’s confession apart word for word.”

  “What was he like when you arrested him?” Kari asked. “Nervous? Frightened? Remorseful?”

  “You know,” Ross said, his eyes narrowed as if his thoughts weren’t on her question, “it’s a funny thing now that I think about it. I think we were all so relieved to have this put to bed and give you back your life that we let things slip through the cracks.”

  “How was he identified?” Kip asked.

  “This is going to sound stupid.” Ross’ voice had an edge to it. “Especially since I’m no greenhorn prosecutor and I should know better than this.” She could hear his sigh over the connection. “We got an anonymous tip from someone who said they’d seen this guy stealing things from Janine’s desk during that little party we had.”

  Kip grunted. “I’m guessing he didn’t resist arrest and he had every detail you needed without putting words in his mouth.”

  “Give that man an award.” Ross sounded disgusted with himself. “Damn, Kari. We were celebrating the fact we’d gotten this bogeyman off your back we didn’t look at it all as hard as we should have. But shit! He had every single detail.”

  “You know what that means, right?” Kip asked.

  “No shit.” She could hear the hard edge in his voice. “It means the real stalker is a close friend of his and he’s still out there.”

  Kari forced herself to take deep, slow breaths in an effort to calm her racing heart.

  “I just can’t picture someone confessing straight out the way he did. Who would voluntarily go to prison for a crime they didn’t commit? Especially someone with a good job and in the judicial system to boot.”

  “We’ve all seen a lot of people do twisted things for ungodly reasons,” Kip reminded her. “Attention. Notoriety.”

  “God, Ross.” Kari blew out a breath. “I don’t know if I can deal with this.”

  “You will because you’re strong,” Kip told her. “And because all of us will help you.”

  “As soon as we hang up, I’ll get things in motion,” Ross told them. “I’ll get the detectives who arrested and questioned him and we’ll go through the whole process all over again. Examine what evidence we’ve got. We still have the tape with the anonymous call so we’ll work on that. Kip, you make sure to keep an eye on Kari, okay?”

  “You don’t even have to ask. You know that.”

  “I also think I’ll have a heart to heart with Judge Glasgow,” Ross added. “He was some pissed off that his law clerk would do something this stupid and dangerous. After all, it also reflects back on him.”

  “Thanks, Ross.” Kari hoped she didn’t pass out in her bos
s’s office. Now she wished she’d stopped for that cup of coffee. She was such a caffeine junkie she needed it to settle her nerves. “I appreciate you doing this.”

  “Don’t thank me yet, kiddo. If everyone had done their job to begin with, we wouldn’t be in this mess now.”

  “Remember the motto,” Kip put in. “If something’s too good to be true, it usually is.”

  “Oh, and Kari? Speaking of Glasgow, he’ll be in San Antonio this week for a judicial conference. When I thought we had this wrapped up, I mentioned to him that’s where you’d gone. He asked if I thought it would be okay for him to get in touch with you. I’m guessing he wants to make sure you don’t blame him for this.”

  “Of course I don’t. And I’ll be happy to see him. I sure appeared in his courtroom a lot.”

  “He could even be there already.” Ross’ sigh was audible over the connection. “I hate to spoil his trip by dumping this on him, but he’ll want to know.”

  “Okay, then.” They heard Ross clear his throat. “I’ll be back in touch with both of you as soon as I have something.”

  Kari just stared at Kip after he disconnected the call. “I can’t believe this.”

  “I’m so sorry, Kari.” His eyes were filled with concern. “This has to be a real blow to you. Just when you thought you were safe, right?”

  “What’s worse,” she told him, “is I had an argument with the very person who brought this up to me and told him he saw ghosts where there weren’t any. I have some groveling to do and I don’t know if I’ll get the chance.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, biting down on it, using the pain to stop from falling apart.

  “I’ll be happy to speak to anyone for you, if you like,” Kip assured her.

  “No!” She swallowed. She hadn’t meant to just spit the word out. “I-I’ll talk to him.” She blew out a breath. “In fact, I’m going to try calling him right now, as soon as I get back to my office. Then I’ll get to work and see if I can keep my brain occupied.”

  She made it back to her desk on shaky legs, closed the door and dropped into her chair. She picked up her cell phone from where she’d left it next to her computer and stared at it. How was she going to do this? Maybe she could get Slade to come over tonight and she could greet him at the door, on her knees. They’d joked a couple of times about the subject of submission after he’d told her he’d experimented at a BDSM club. Well, whatever it took.